CD Risk Management & Mitigation 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client verbally requests a design change during a phone call. What is the drafter's best risk mitigation step before revising the drawings?
- Obtain written confirmation of the change and route it through the formal change-order process (Correct answer)
- Make the change immediately since the client is the ultimate authority
- Wait until the client calls again to confirm they were serious
- Make the change but keep the old drawing hidden in case of problems
Correct answer: Obtain written confirmation of the change and route it through the formal change-order process
Written change confirmation through a formal process prevents scope disputes and unauthorized revisions.
Question 2: Which backup strategy best protects a drafting office against data loss from ransomware or server failure?
- The 3-2-1 approach: three copies of data on two different media types with one copy stored offsite (Correct answer)
- Saving all files twice on the same network server
- Emailing important drawings to a personal account weekly
- Relying on each drafter's local hard drive as the backup
Correct answer: The 3-2-1 approach: three copies of data on two different media types with one copy stored offsite
The 3-2-1 rule ensures at least one uninfected, physically separate copy survives most disaster scenarios.
Question 3: A drafter notices that a vendor-supplied shop drawing conflicts with the design intent drawings. Approving it without comment creates which type of risk?
- Professional liability risk, since the reviewer may share responsibility for the resulting error (Correct answer)
- No risk, because vendors are always responsible for their own drawings
- Only schedule risk, since conflicts never affect safety
- Financial risk to the vendor only
Correct answer: Professional liability risk, since the reviewer may share responsibility for the resulting error
Reviewing and approving a conflicting shop drawing can make the reviewing firm partly liable for the error.
Question 4: In a project risk register, what does a 'risk trigger' identify?
- An early warning event or condition indicating the risk is about to occur (Correct answer)
- The person assigned to own the risk
- The total budget reserved for all project risks
- The software used to draw the risk matrix
Correct answer: An early warning event or condition indicating the risk is about to occur
A trigger is the observable warning sign that tells the team a risk event is materializing.
Question 5: Why do drafting standards require revision clouds and revision blocks on updated drawings?
- They make changes traceable so field crews can identify exactly what was modified, reducing construction-from-stale-information errors (Correct answer)
- They are decorative elements required only for plotting
- They allow drafters to avoid updating the title block
- They increase the drawing sheet count for billing purposes
Correct answer: They make changes traceable so field crews can identify exactly what was modified, reducing construction-from-stale-information errors
Clearly flagged revisions prevent builders from missing changes and constructing from superseded information.
Question 6: A drafting team accepts a fast-track project where design proceeds while construction begins. Which mitigation best addresses the elevated rework risk?
- Freezing and formally releasing design packages in stages, with strict interface coordination between packages (Correct answer)
- Skipping quality checks to keep pace with construction
- Issuing all drawings as preliminary so no one can rely on them
- Refusing to communicate with the construction team until design is complete
Correct answer: Freezing and formally releasing design packages in stages, with strict interface coordination between packages
Staged design freezes with managed interfaces control rework exposure inherent in fast-track delivery.
Question 7: Which situation represents residual risk after mitigation controls are applied?
- The small chance of an error remaining even after independent checking and CAD standards are enforced (Correct answer)
- The original risk level before any controls existed
- A risk that was transferred entirely to an insurer
- A risk listed in the register that was later proven impossible
Correct answer: The small chance of an error remaining even after independent checking and CAD standards are enforced
Residual risk is the exposure that remains after all planned controls are in place.
CD Risk Management & Mitigation 3
A client verbally requests a design change during a phone call.
What is the drafter's best risk mitigation step before revising the drawings?