dr. A. Hartmann (Andreas)

Open Strategizing for Infrastructures in Transition (PRONTO)

Infrastructure agencies are increasingly aware of the challenges that socio-technical transitions pose to their infrastructure systems and they have started to interact more strategically with various stakeholders in infrastructure planning processes. However, these more open forms of strategic planning, labelled as ‘open strategizing’, remain exceptions rather than the rule. The legacy of institutionalized sector-focused planning processes and the need of bringing together multiple internal and external interests create organizational and institutional tensions and dilemmas that constrain cross-sectoral strategy forming. In practice, infrastructure agencies experience difficulties synchronizing their infrastructure plans to facilitate transitions. The research project PRONTO addresses these difficulties by answering the following research question: What practices of open strategizing are enacted in planning processes for infrastructure in transitions to achieve coordinated cross-sectoral infrastructure strategies, and what governance and modelling approaches support these practices? By adopting a multi-disciplinary approach and integrating governance and modelling dimension of planning processes, PRONTO provides unique insights in the pluralistic planning realities of infrastructure agencies and generates a rich and nuanced understanding on how processes of long-term infrastructure strategizing can be opened up to achieve a more cross-sectoral planning coordination. The research outcomes of PRONTO feed into the development of specific training modules and a serious game which both will facilitate learning for open strategizing of infrastructure professionals and the next generation of infrastructure planners.

Live Insights for Bridges and Quay Walls (LiveQuay)

Cities, public asset owners and citizens currently struggle to keep bridges and quay walls, often long passed their (technical) end of service life, in adequate condition and open for traffic. Asset owners urgently need reliable and transparent knowledge and tools to support decisions on maintenance prioritisation and potential lifetime extension. LiveQuay will provide an integrated assessment of the safety and performance of bridges and quay walls by designing a decision support platform that will be interactive and based on values from stakeholders. However, particularly in the urban context, the utility of information from monitoring data relates to the risk perception of different stakeholders (e.g. owners, users, and citizens). Risk perception is an individual’s assessment of the uncertainty related to the alternatives in a specific decision situation. The acceptance and support of and the decision on intervention measures will depend on whether these stakeholders perceive the measures as necessary to ensure the functionality of quay walls and bridges or to reduce their risk of failure. The utility of information obtained from monitoring systems will emerge from the stakeholders’ perception of the risk represented by this information. Here, the way of representing the risk will influence its perception. Cognitive biases can lead, for example, to the underweighting of risk when a decision maker perceives an outcome as certain while, in fact, it is uncertain (pseudo-certainty effect). As partner in this project, we will investigate the manner of informing and consulting stakeholders about monitoring activities considering the effects of monitoring results on the risk perception of stakeholders.

BRIDGITISE

Industrial Doctoral Network on Bridge Digitalised Lifecycle Management

BRIDGITISE is a European industrial doctoral network that aims at leveraging digital technologies to develop and validate innovative technologies for the cost-effective and sustainable integrity management of bridges. The achievement of this overarching research objective is pursued through the development and validation of innovative technologies to (i) collect bridge information in a cost-effective and sustainable way, exploiting the possibilities provided by new technologies and maximizing their accuracy, precision, spatial coverage, and resolution; (ii) process and share bridge information in a cost-effective and sustainable way, exploiting and tailoring to bridges the possibilities of artificial intelligence to maximize the speed, reliability, security availability, and usability of the information; (iii) model bridge information reliably to support bridge management strategies, maximizing infrastructure functionality, safety, sustainability, and resilience. As partner in the network, we will work on (i) automatizing the execution of visual bridge inspections and the classification and visualization of bridge damages and defects and (ii) developing circularity metrics as decision-support tools for sustainable bridge management.

Collaborative, Digitized and Integral Processes to Achieve Circular and Emission-Free Renovation (PACER)

Renovation projects are complex and multi-objective design challenges characterised by intensive decision-making and organisational activities concerning a building’s future. Such projects uniquely connect a variety of otherwise fragmented disciplines. Crucial for fostering more circular renovation practices with lower emissions is the availability of accurate, timely and concise information on supply chains and material flows and optimal design strategies, considering multiple value-creation perspectives from different stakeholders. PACER will provide collaborative, digitised, integral processes, tools, and legal and economic frameworks to achieve circular and emission-free renovation practices. As partner in this project, we will work on the development of a new integrated data-driven process for identifying, inventorying, harvesting, and distributing recovered materials in renovation projects via reverse logistics.

Sustainable Circular Lifespan-Extension Strategies for Inner-Cities Bridges and Quay Walls (STABILITY)

Historic quay walls and bridges are a landmark in many Dutch cities and give them their unique character and appearance. The cultural value of these structures is at stake. Accelerated deterioration, deferred maintenance, and changed social, technological, and environmental conditions have drastically decreased their technical and functional performance. Maintaining the cultural heritage of inner-city quay walls and bridges and at the same time preparing them for the future is a huge challenge for many Dutch municipalities. Lifespan-extension is a promising way to cope with this challenge. It can increase the structural reliability of quay walls and bridges in a sustainable and circular manner while preserving the cultural value. However, less is known on the structural, environmental, economic, and cultural impact of lifespan-extension measures and their assessment for the management of quay walls and bridges. Based on engaged research with municipalities, contractors, engineering firms and citizens STABILITY addresses this knowledge gap. It combines the development of an integrated life cycle cost benefit approach for the sustainable and circular impact assessment of lifespan-extension measures, with the development of an assessment method for the structural reliability improvement of these measures and the development of an adaptable planning method to optimally prioritize and schedule lifespan-extension measures. STABILITY equips municipalities with the required decision-support to devise rehabilitation strategies for historic inner-city quay walls and bridges that reduce construction waste and emissions, preserve the cultural heritage of cities, and keep cities accessible, attractive, and livable.