Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to develop comprehensive risk management tool, Intelligent Risk Mapping and Assessment System (IRMASe) with a contingency for multi-site, multi-partner concurrent engineering projects with the aim of achieving above-mentioned paradigms. Its unique knowledge warehouse enables the use of organisational knowledge, lessons learnt, captured as well as best practices to minimise risks in project management. Design/methodology/approach -IRMAS is designed to identify, prioritise, analyse and assist project managers to manage perceived sources of concurrent engineering risks. Several knowledge elicitation techniques were used to compile the knowledge used for the intelligent system developed. The core of the research is the reasoning methodology that not only supports the decision-making process of the user, but also aids the knowledge retrieving, storing, sharing and updating process of manufacturing organisations.

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Concurrent Engineering aims to incorporate the overlapping of processes in order to reduce its time-to-market and thereby sustain the existence of organizations in increasingly competitive times. Although faster product design, development, and delivery are the intended outcomes of concurrent engineering, one of the undesirable by-products is an increase in risks as a consequence of uncertainties between interdependent processes. Hence, the risks need to be identified, assessed, and mitigated together with concurrent engineering considerations for the elimination of the 'domino-effect' within risk management. This paper concentrates primarily on knowledge elicitation techniques that were used to provide information to the Intelligent Risk Mapping and Assessment System (IRMAS TM ) to identify, prioritise, analyse, and assist project managers to manage perceived sources of CE risks. Techniques such as expert interviews, brainstorming, the Delphi technique, and the analogy process are discussed in relation to compiling the knowledge used for this expert system. A total of 589 risk items were identified for different project types, and information on 4372 items and 136 lessons learned were collected from experts at HdH. The core of the research is a reasoning methodology used for Knowledge Elicitation of a Risk Mapping and Assessment System which will not only support the decisionmaking process of the user but also aid the knowledge retrieval, storage, sharing, and updating process of manufacturing organizations. This research provides a systematic engineering approach to risk management of concurrent product and process development.

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