dr.ir. M.M. Ramtahalsing (Merishna)

With a background in Mechanical Engineering, a specialization in Asset Management and Maintenance Engineering, projects on Risk Based Inspection, Deferred Maintenance Management, Innovation Management, Systems Integration, and experiences gathered within the oil refining- and architectural coating industries, and railway and energy sector, I am certain that convergence between industries and academics is key.

I carried out my PhD research in the SIRA project (Systems Integration for Railway Advancement). The research was carried out in close collaboration with our industry partners NS and ProRail in the railway sector. Moreover, focused on applying systems thinking in practice to enable change integration in complex sociotechnical systems.

I am currently working as strategic assetmanager at Distribution System Operator Stedin, and am affiliated with the University of Twente as a guest researcher in the Faculty of Engineering Technology, within the chair of Asset Management and Maintenance Engineering.

Business & Economics

# Railway
# System Integration

Mathematics

# Railway

Earth & Environmental Sciences

# Adaptation Strategy
# Climate Change
# Infrastructure
# Organization
# Railway

Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET), Asset Management & Maintenance Engineering (AMME)

An important step in studying or designing changing systems is to define the system of interest, or at the least to set bounds on the different aspects that are considered to be of interest. Limiting the scope of the study in complex systems and thus focusing available resources. The trend is that socio-technical systems are becoming increasingly more complex. Because of this, defining the system of interest (S.o.I.) also becomes more difficult. This is especially the case in railway transport, where there are constant modifications (technical, organizational, etc.) or new (sub)systems integrated, to achieve or keep achieving the desired performances. Here different organizations and multidisciplinary teams with different views, skills, responsibilities and interests are working towards improved performance, all adding to the complexity. Failure to properly manage changes can severely influence the quality of the designed process or system.

The advance planning and preparation of integration which includes defining the system of interest, should include the scope, purpose and environment of the S.o.I. and describe essential characteristics of it. Moreover, it should clarify the interfaces to other systems, including the input to be provided and the output that can be expected. In order to define the S.o.I., different stakeholders having different interests and perspectives of the S.o.I. need to have a common and integral view of it.

In this regard, the goal of this Ph.D. research is to aid in defining the S.o.I. for inter-organizational projects in the complex railway context. This should facilitate a joint approach to create an integral view of the S.o.I.. In addition, aid to identify crucial factors of these S.o.I.s, to which proper attention should be paid which result in effective integration and finally upgrade railway system performance.

Ramtahalsing, M. M. (2023). Enabling Inter-organizational Change Integration in Sociotechnical Systems: Systems Thinking Applied in the Dutch Railway Systems. [PhD Thesis - Research UT, graduation UT, University of Twente]. University of Twente. https://doi.org/10.3990/1.9789036558303

Ramtahalsing, M. , Haanstra, W. , Braaksma, J. , Rajabalinejad, M. , & van Dongen, L. (2023). MOSAIC: A Structured Multidisciplinary Analysis for Managing the Integration of Inter-Organizational Changes. Engineering Management Journal, 35(4), 405-419. https://doi.org/10.1080/10429247.2022.2143709

Ramtahalsing, M. M. , Haanstra, W. , Braaksma, J. , Rajabalinejad, M. , & van Dongen, L. A. M. (2021). Systems Control in Railway Transport, Challenges Towards Managing Integration. In 10th International Conference on Through-life Engineering Service Social Science Research Network (SSRN).

Ramtahalsing, M. M., Kuiper-Hutten, L. , Haanstra, W. , Braaksma, J. , Rajabalinejad, M. , & van Dongen, L. A. M. (2021). Climate Change in Dutch Railway Infrastructure: Towards a Framework for Adaptation Strategies. In 10th International Conference on Through-life Engineering Service Social Science Research Network (SSRN).

Ramtahalsing, M. , Jafari, M. , Braaksma, J. , Rajabalinejad, M. , & van Dongen, L. (2020). The System (of Interest) Definitions phase: Key features and challenges in the Dutch Railway system. In 2020 IEEE 15th International Conference of System of Systems Engineering (SoSE) (pp. 229-234). Article 9130473 IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/SoSE50414.2020.9130473

Rajabalinejad, M. , van Dongen, L. A. M. , & Ramtahalsing, M. (2020). Systems Integration Theory and Fundamentals. Journal of the Safety and Reliability Society, 39(1), 83-113. https://doi.org/10.1080/09617353.2020.1712918

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Invited to participate as teacher/assistent in:

ME-Masters Course Maintenance Engineering & Management
Master Class FMEA within Master Risk Management
Master Class Systems Performance

Master

Mechanical Engineering

Vakblad Asset Management 2021, #1: Systeemintegratie. Voor beheer en onderhoud op kort termijn al onvermijdelijk. https://issuu.com/nvdo7/docs/vam1_februari_2021
iMaintain Prestatiemanagement 2019: Creating Value. Systeemintegratie SIRA. https://imaintain.info/inschrijfpagina/prestatiemanagement-2019/