An incident response manual for construction AI: incident categories, S1 to S4 severity levels and the first steps when an AI system gets something wrong.
Keep the complete branded version for internal review and implementation.
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Preserve evidence, stop further action, determine scope, protect project/customer systems, notify the appropriate owner and restore only after the cause and control change are verified.
| CATHA PRACTICAL AI FOR CONSTRUCTION LIBRARY When Construction AI Goes Wrong The Construction AI Incident Response Manual Guide 9 |
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| Best use Use this guide to create a runbook before the first production failure, not after it. |
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| Category | Examples | Immediate priority |
|---|---|---|
| Incorrect output | Bad recommendation, fabricated fact | Stop downstream reliance; correct affected work |
| Unauthorized action | Message sent, record changed, transaction attempted | Contain authority; revoke access |
| Data/privacy | Sensitive content exposed or mishandled | Contain, preserve evidence, notify responsible owner |
| Runaway automation | Loops, duplicates, repeated tool calls | Stop execution, rate-limit, deduplicate |
| Cost spike | Unexpected token/API/tool usage | Cap spend and identify trigger |
| Outage/dependency | Model/API/vendor unavailable | Fail safe; route to manual process |
| Control failure | Approval or policy gate bypassed | Disable affected path and investigate |
| Severity | Definition | Response |
|---|---|---|
| S1 | Low impact; internal; reversible | Owner fixes and records. |
| S2 | Material workflow disruption or repeated quality failure | Pause workflow; manager + technical review. |
| S3 | External impact, sensitive data, financial or contractual risk | Contain immediately; executive/security/legal involvement as appropriate. |
| S4 | Severe or widespread harm, irreversible action, major breach | Enterprise incident process; full shutdown of affected authority. |
| Check | Item | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Root cause understood | ____________________________ |
| ☐ | Affected access reviewed | ____________________________ |
| ☐ | Fix tested against incident reproduction | ____________________________ |
| ☐ | Regression suite passed | ____________________________ |
| ☐ | Backlog/duplicates reconciled | ____________________________ |
| ☐ | Stakeholders informed | ____________________________ |
| ☐ | Monitoring heightened | ____________________________ |
| ☐ | Rollback available | ____________________________ |
Practical questions construction owners ask.
What are the first steps when construction AI goes wrong?
Preserve evidence, stop further action, determine scope, protect project and customer systems, notify the appropriate owner, and restore only after the cause and control change are verified.
How are AI incidents classified by severity?
S1 is low impact, internal and reversible. S2 is material workflow disruption or repeated quality failure. S3 involves external impact, sensitive data, or financial or contractual risk. S4 is severe or widespread harm, irreversible action or a major breach.
When should the incident runbook be written?
Before the first production failure, not after it.
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