Podcast: The Building BITE

Episode: 3 Key Tips to Optimizing a Contractor’s Risk Management Function

Welcome to The Building BITE Podcast— a podcast for construction owners, insurance professionals, and contractors. In today’s episode, host Peter Duggan, President and CEO of Proactive, and cohost Mike Diercksen, Senior Innovation and Content Solutions Consultant at Proactive, welcome Peter Kapler. Peter is the Senior Vice President and National Director of Performance Security for AON. Listen as they discuss tips for optimizing the risk management function with contractors.  

Mr. Kapler provides a little background about himself and how he got to where he is today. His experiences range from being an accountant to leading a passion project in a non-profit, to his current position at Aon. How has the risk management function evolved over the past 20 years? Peter provides his perspective as he asks “why” and seeks to evaluate the role of risk management in a company. He says that for some, this role can be merely a price buying and watching function and that it originally emerged as projects became larger and more complex.

Peter Kapler provides three guidance tips for listeners:

1. Breaking Down Silos   

This involves Risk Managers serving as a knowledge hub with risk discovery and control, rather than just evaluating the efficiency of risk transfers. Risk management has access to so much aggregated data through their networks, and it is crucial that companies use them. 

2. Leveraging Data  

There are several pools of data available within a construction company’s ecosystem; if this data is not appropriately pooled and linked together, there is a missed opportunity for the discovery of the true cost of risk. Data can help Risk Managers make intelligent decisions on how to evaluate risk.

3. Empower Your Risk Management Team  

This function serves as a huge opportunity for the enterprise by using data to ensure their engagement in the best practices. Develop alliances and relationships internally.  

Peter provides one action item for the insurance professionals, contractors, and providers listening—pick up the phone and have a dialogue with others who would help you implement and evaluate these things; start building these critical ally-ships and relationships. Listen to the importance of being vulnerable to risk by engaging with brokers and clients to better-understanding risk with projects overall. Gain fundamentally better working relationships.

Links:

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