Dr. Al-Mhdawi is a lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Engineering Project Management at the School of Computing, Engineering, and Digital Technologies (SCEDT), Teesside University, UK. He earned his Ph.D. in Risk Management from the University of Southampton in 2022. His thesis focused on construction risk management under extreme conditions. He has over ten years of experience in integrating risk and safety management into core business processes across different industries (construction, manufacturing, mining, oil and gas, finance, space, and healthcare systems).

Dr. Al-Mhdawi’s research focuses on modelling construction risk behaviour, as well as developing mathematical models that capture the dependencies between risk categories and their levels of riskiness. He has a special interest in developing decision support systems for risk management and risk communication. Moreover, Dr. Al-Mhdawi is interested in hazard recognition, construction safety risk perception, safety culture parameters, and the management of diversity in the construction workforce. Furthermore, Dr. Al-Mhdawi's research involves developing hybrid assessment, prediction, and optimization models utilizing a number of quantitative methods such as Fuzzy Sets Theory, Artificial Neural Networks, Bayesian Networks, Analytical Hierarchy Process, Discrete Event Simulation, and Structural Equation Modelling.

Dr. Al-Mhdawi is a member of the Association for Project Management, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the American Society of Safety Professionals.

In addition to his academic appointment, Dr. Al-Mhdawi holds the position of President-elect of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) UK International Group.

External Research Collaborations

Dr. Al-Mhdawi is open to and welcomes collaborations with national and international industry experts and researchers. He is currently collaborating with Plastron UK Ltd on developing an agile compliance framework for the European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS) and assessing the risk associated with non-compliance with ECSS. Furthermore, he is actively involved in collaborative projects with Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Southampton Centre for Advanced Project Management, the University of Southampton, and Southampton Centre for Risk Research, the University of Southampton, related to critical infrastructure risk management and risk behaviour modelling.

Funded Research Projects

Digital Transformation in Public and Private Sector Project Management: A Comprehensive Analysis of Methods and Skills in the Emerging AI Economy (Co-I) – a research funded by the APM (£50K; 2023 – 2024)

Current PhD Students

1. Aris Arismawan: Logistic and Supply Chain Management for Disaster Preparedness and Post-disaster Emergency and Recovery (As a first supervisor, Teesside University)

2. Yan Jingyang: Sustainable Supply Chain Adoption: Social, Economic, and Environmental factors Under Industry 4.0. (As a technical advisor, University of Southampton).

Teaching 

ENG1027 Construction Practice and Management

ENG 1001 Construction Practice and Management (HN)

ENG4005 Enterprising Leadership and Project Management

CEN4017 Risk Management in Projects

ENG4011 Engineering Research Project (MSc and MEng Dissertations Supervision)

Research Outputs

2023

Alzarrad, A., Al-Mhdawi, M.K.S., Maynor, O., Hall, A. 2023. Wearable Sensor Devices (WSDs) for Construction Workers Safety: A Review. The 32nd European Safety and Reliability Conference (ESREL 2022) (In Press).

Al-Mhdawi, M.K.S., Brito, M., Onggo, B.S., Qazi, A., O’Connor, A. and Namian, M., 2023. Construction Risk Management in Iraq during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges to Implementation and Efficacy of Practices. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 149(9), p.04023086.  https://doi.org/10.1061/JCEMD4.COENG-13099

Al-Mhdawi, M.K.S., Brito, M., Onggo, B.S., Qazi, A., O’Connor, A., Ayyub, B.M. and Chan, A.P., 2023. A Structural Equation Model to Analyze the Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic Risks on Project Success: Contractors’ Perspectives. ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A: Civil Engineering, 9(3), p.05023003.  https://doi.org/10.1061/AJRUA6.RUENG-1008

Al-Mhdawi, M.K.S., Dacre, N., Brito, M., Baxter, D., Xu, K., and Young, C. 2023. An Agile Compliance Framework for the European Cooperation for Space Standardization. 2023 IEEE Aerospace Conference (pp. 1-12). IEEE.  https://doi.org/10.1109/AERO55745.2023.10115917

Al-Mhdawi, M.K.S., Brito, M.P., Onggo, B.S., Qazi, A., and O'Connor, A., (2023). COVID-19 Emerging Risk Assessment for the Construction Industry of Developing Countries: Evidence from Iraq. International Journal of Construction Management. https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2023.2169301

Kineber, A. F., Massoud, M. M., Hamed, M. M., Alhammadi, Y.,  Al-Mhdawi, M.K.S. 2023.  Impact of Overcoming BIM Implementation Barriers on Sustainable Building Project Success: A PLS-SEM Approach. Buildings, 13(178). https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13010178

Qazi, A., Angell, L.C., Daghfous, A. and Al-Mhdawi, M.K.S., 2023. Network-based risk assessment of country-level sustainable development goals. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 99, p.107014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2022.107014

Qazi, A. and Al-Mhdawi, M.K.S., 2023. Exploring dependencies among global environmental, socioeconomic, and technological risks. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 98, p.106912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2022.106912 

2022

Al-Mhdawi, M.K.S., Brito, M.P., Onggo, B.S. and Rashid, H.A. Analyzing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Risks on Construction Projects in Developing Countries: Case of Iraq. In Construction Research Congress 2022 (pp. 1013-1023). https://ascelibrary.org/doi/epdf/10.1061/9780784483961.106

Al-Mhdawi, M.K.S., Brito, M.P., Abdul Nabi, M., El-Adaway, I.H. and Onggo, B.S., 2022. Capturing the impact of COVID-19 on construction projects in developing countries: A case study of Iraq. ASCE Journal of Management in Engineering, 38(1). https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000991