The Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) has charged professional engineers to ensure excellence in project planning and delivery.

APWEN President, Dr Adebisi Osim, led the charge at a technical workshop titled: “Mastering Risk Management for Technical Excellence”, organised by the association. She argued that in a world where complexity, uncertainty, and rapid technological change are constants, risk management is no longer a luxury, but a necessity in infrastructure development, power systems, oil and gas, Information Communication Technology (ICT), and project delivery.

She said the ability to anticipate, evaluate and mitigate risk is what distinguishes competent professionals from exceptional ones. Osim, a civil engineer, said, “As engineers, we are not only creators of systems and infrastructure; we are also guardians of safety, quality, and performance. Therefore, mastering risk management is crucial for our credibility, innovation, and leadership in both national and global contexts.

“Our mission has always been to encourage, enhance, and excel, and this workshop reflects our commitment to continuous learning and professional development. APWEN is not just a professional association; it is a movement to empower women in engineering, raise role models, and influence policy and practice for a more inclusive, safer, and sustainable future.”

She further urged the professionals to strengthen their understanding and apply global best practices to projects, institutions and communities.
An expert in quality and risk management from the University of the West of Scotland, Dr Evi Viza, explained that risk management is increasingly recognised as being concerned with both positive and negative aspects. However, she said in the safety field, the management of safety risk is focused on prevention and mitigation of harm.

Viza advised professionals to deploy the SWOT principle which stands for ‘Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats’ to integrate risk and excellence in projects and other endeavours.

“Risk is a part of life. We cannot avoid it, but we can acknowledge it, manage it and use our intelligence to respond to it. Quality management and technical excellence are interlinked with Risk Management. This is not only for avoiding hazards, financial costs, defective products and project overruns but also for identifying opportunities – no innovation or progress would be possible without ‘taking a risk’,” Viza said.