Construction accidents are known to occur often; in 2022, there were 129 accidents in the Netherlands for every 100,000 workers . Beyond the tendency to place the responsibility on employees, this study investigates the impact of client involvement in enhancing safety performance. The majority of safety research focusses on the building phase, indicating that client influence decreases as projects progress. The study highlights 43 crucial client responsibilities with a focus on pre-construction phases, specifically in the Planning, Inception, and Feasibility; Design, and Procurement and Tendering phases. Moreover, Semi-structured interviews reveal differing practices between infrastructure and oil & gas projects, providing the opportunity to learn from these differences and highlighting areas for improvement, such as establishing stricter safety objectives, early contractor involvement, and enhanced knowledge sharing. The findings suggest that optimizing client roles in pre-construction phases can significantly enhance safety performance in construction projects.

This research addresses the challenge of standardising and integrating information from laboratory tests in pavement engineering to enhance lifetime predictions. Data from laboratory tests is often scattered across various platforms, stored in disparate formats, and described using inconsistent terminologies. This fragmentation poses significant challenges in data sharing, retrieval, and interpretation, leading to inefficiencies and potential errors. The objective is to develop a comprehensive ontology that organises and connects extensive laboratory data from the Knowledge-based Pavement Engineering (KPE) project. This framework aims to facilitate enhanced data interoperability, retrieval, and application, thereby contributing to more efficient and effective pavement design, construction, and maintenance practices. This objective leads to the main research question: “How to effectively standardise and integrate laboratory information in pavement engineering to enhance lifetime predictions?”

The development of the ontology follows a structured methodology involving several steps. The process begins with identifying relevant stakeholders, such as pavement researchers, road owners, contractors, and third parties, and to understand their specific objectives and requirements. Following this, competency questions are formulated to define the scope and functional requirements of the ontology. These questions help in identifying the necessary classes, attributes, and relations within the ontology. The subsequent step involves specifying the structural requirements, followed by showing the alignments with the existing Dutch standard. This structured methodology ensures that the developed ontology is comprehensive, addresses the stakeholders' needs, and utilises existing knowledge.

The Lab Ontology focuses on standardising and structuring laboratory data related to pavement engineering. It categorises key concepts such as laboratory instrument, testing conditions, sample properties, and their relations. By establishing clear definitions and relations, the ontology enhances data consistency, comparability, and interoperability. Ultimately, the Lab Ontology answers the main research question by providing a standardised framework that improves data sharing and enhances decision-making processes in pavement engineering. This framework can significantly contribute to improving the lifetime predictions of pavement materials.

Climate change is one of the most urgent global issues, with the construction sector contributing nearly 11% of global CO2 emissions. Cross-laminated timber (CLT), is proposed as a sustainable alternative for concrete and steel that, can reduce carbon emissions. The primary objectives are to identify the main drivers and barriers to using CLT in multi-storey buildings in the Netherlands and to propose strategies to overcome these barriers. The results indicate that timber’s natural ability to store captured carbon dioxide was the most important driver. Besides, CLT's lightweight nature allows for precise, modular prefabrication in factories, enabling quick and safe on-site assembly.

The biggest barriers are related to financial and political aspects, but also to technical and sociocultural aspects. Some of the regulatory barriers are CLT’s unfair representation in the MPG system and its incompatibility with building codes. Additionally, CLT is oftentimes more expensive than concrete and steel, making it less attractive. Moreover, there is still till some extent a lack of knowledge and experience across the AEC industry regarding CLT, leading to perceptions of risk and reluctance to adopt it. Some of the technical challenges are related to fire-safety, acoustics, moisture, and connections.

Five sets of strategies have been developed to overcome the aforementioned barriers. The first set of strategies is aimed at increasing industry-wide knowledge and awareness on CLT. The second set of strategies is focused on changing the industry by promoting collaboration and reorganizing the timber supply chain. The third set of strategies addresses the cost barriers by offering new financial models to overcome the cost surplus of CLT construction. The fourth category is focused on overcoming technical barriers by making technical advancements like improvements and innovations in prefabricated systems and increased standardisation. The last set of strategies is aimed at addressing regulatory barriers. Strategies include revising the MPG system to better account for biogenic carbon storage, expanding the national environmental database to include more timber products, establishing building codes that support timber construction, and setting timber building quotas.

This thesis investigates the role of external stakeholder management in fostering resilience within infra-structure projects, focusing on the complexities arising from interactions between stakeholders and pro-ject organizations. The research problem centres on how different stakeholder management strategies affect project resilience, especially in challenging environments.

To address this problem, a qualitative single-case study methodology was used, examining the "Tunel Diamante" project in Acapulco, Mexico. This approach allowed for an in-depth exploration of 26 events involving external stakeholders, such as government entities and landowners, to determine how their influence strategies and the project’s responses affect project resilience.

From the analysis, the thesis identified three primary traditional influence strategies employed by ex-ternal stakeholders: 'progress obstruction,' 'protest,' and 'demand for compromise.' Additionally, it in-troduced two innovative categories: 'collateral events' and 'proactive mitigation.' These latter strategies indicate a broader and more nuanced understanding of stakeholder influence.

The project adopted four response strategies: resourcefulness, dialogue and negotiation, coercive nego-tiation, and ignoring. These influenced the type of resilience, from absorptive to adaptive and trans-formative. Resourcefulness, characterised by adaptability, was linked to all types of resilience, while dia-logue and negotiation generally led to absorptive resilience. Coercive negotiation had mixed results, raising ethical concerns.

The findings suggest that stakeholder management strategies can significantly impact project resilience but may involve trade-offs and ethical considerations. This thesis contributes to the discourse on resili-ence in project management and offers practical insights into how external stakeholder management strategies shape resilience. It concludes that proactive and ethical stakeholder management is crucial for achieving sustainable project resilience, emphasising the importance of engaging stakeholders early and addressing their concerns constructively.

This thesis aims to design an interactive tool that facilitates collaboration between Microsoft’s teams in the datacenter development design process. Current datacenter development strategies of Microsoft do not sufficiently take into account socio-technical aspects which is causing project delays. Such socio-technical aspects are internally represented by different teams at Microsoft, such as the Community Affairs team and the Environmental team. Incorporating the preferences of all the relevant teams during the design, results in enhanced collaboration through increased mutual insights, which can be used to develop new design solutions. Such new design solutions inherently incorporate more socio-technical aspects...

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has emerged as a transformative technology in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, offering significant potential for improving project efficiency, collaboration, and transparency. However, its adoption in post-Soviet countries, particularly within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), remains limited due to a range of socio-technical, organizational, and regulatory challenges. This research investigates the primary barriers faced by Building Client Organizations (BCO) in the CIS region when adopting and implementing BIM. The study also examines the role of Design-Engineering Organizations (DEO) in supporting BCO during this digital transition.
The research follows a qualitative methodology, combining semi-structured interviews with professionals from a design-engineering company and document analysis of BIM Execution Plans (BEP) and Employer's Information Requirements (EIR). Four interviews were conducted with industry experts who were involved in BIM projects in the CIS region. This data was analyzed using selective coding to identify key challenges and strategies for overcoming these barriers. Additionally, the research employed document analysis to validate the insights from interviews and to provide context for the identified challenges.
The study proposes a comprehensive change framework to address the identified challenges in BIM adoption. The framework emphasizes the need for enhanced collaboration between BCO and DEO, with a focus on standardizing processes, improving client education, and aligning expectations. It integrates change management models, such as Kotter's 8-Step Change Model and the ADKAR model, to guide organizations through the digital transformation process. This framework aims to address technical barriers, such as interoperability and data standardization, while also fostering cultural and organizational shifts needed to overcome resistance to change and low client engagement.
Despite the limitation of a small sample size and validation from one organization, the research contributes valuable insights due to the expertise of the participants and the lack of existing studies focused on BIM adoption in the CIS region. The findings provide practical recommendations for advancing BIM implementation in this context, contributing to the broader body of knowledge on BIM adoption in transitioning economies.

The infrastructure of the Netherlands is mostly built in the 1950s and 1960s and is approaching the end of its theoretical lifespan of 80 to 100 years. Due to more intensive use and increased traffic loads many bridges need to be renovated or replaced. National and regional infrastructure managers, such as Rijkswaterstaat, ProRail, provinces, municipalities, and regional water authorities, are tasked with managing these assets with an estimated replacement and renovation cost of 170 billion euros until 2100, potentially reaching 260 billion euros. To first get an insight however into the state of the bridges in the Netherlands, these bridges need to be constructively recalculated.
This research considers practical challenges and solutions related to knowledge management within an inter-organisational programmatic approach for the replacement and renovation of bridges in the Netherlands. This research therefore considers the 'bureau herberekeningen': a recalculation programme organised by Rijkswaterstaat in which ten engineering firms are involved for the recalculations of more than 250 steel, concrete, and moveable bridges. This research aims to inform on what a programmatic approach can consist of, identify possible challenges related to knowledge management in an inter-organisational programmatic approach, and advice on overcoming these challenges.
A literature study was conducted on three topics: the programmatic approach, knowledge management, and inter-organisational collaboration. The programmatic approach is defined as a combination of related projects managed together to achieve benefits and objectives that cannot be obtained by individual projects. The organisation of a program must consider the interrelation of projects, their characteristics, and the nature of the involved organisations. This results in the need for a programme management office for governance and adaptation. Knowledge management at the programme level involves organising activities and systems to facilitate the identification, storage, retrieval, sharing, and use of knowledge, incorporating both social and codified approaches. Network governance is recommended to support the relations in inter-organisational collaboration, focusing on relationships between programme and project managers, the programme and organisational strategy, and among individual projects, while considering the importance of trust, communication, and collaboration.
The empirical study, conducted in collaboration with the Dutch engineering firm Witteveen+Bos, reveals several critical insights. Key challenges include the need for improved collaboration and communication, overcoming competitive barriers to knowledge sharing, and ensuring efficient and less detailed assignment descriptions to maintain project momentum. The study also highlights the importance of fostering a culture of openness, reciprocity, and trust among involved parties to facilitate effective knowledge management.
The findings suggest that the programmatic approach, when combined with knowledge management, can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of recalculations. Recommendations include using technical assessments between engineering firms for knowledge sharing, organising regular collaboration days, and ensuring the pace and bundling of project assignments to make optimal use of the relations between projects.

Digital Twin (DT) technology has transformed construction by creating virtual counterparts of real-world objects for improved project design and management. Integrating Building Information Modelling (BIM) with Game Engines (GEs) like Unity3D is crucial for effective DT implementation in construction. However, research in this area is limited, particularly in seamless BIM data exchange to GEs. This study bridges these gaps to enable successful DT deployment in construction.

This research addresses BIM-GE integration for construction DTs, evaluating commercial, customized and custom built data exchange methods between Autodesk Revit and Unity3D. Drawing from literature and commercial software, the methods are tailored to diverse DT use cases. The goal is to optimize workflows, enhancing efficiency and accuracy of data transmission between DTs implementing technologies. Findings provide guidance for seamless BIM-GE integration, fostering innovative and sustainable infrastructure.

Comprising four branches, the methodology involves a literature review to establish data needs for various DT applications, software pipeline evaluation, comparative analysis of data exchange methods, and prototyping using Dynamo.

Key findings include insights into DT use case requirements, analysis of data exchange method pros and cons, recommendations for DT development, and a practical prototype illustrating data exchange.

In conclusion, strategies for effective data exchange are highlighted, including bi-directional methods and real-time synchronization. Recommendations involve suitable file formats and polygon reduction techniques. Embracing emerging technologies like object behavior and sensor data enhances DT simulations. This research demonstrates how the DT use case influences the type of data need and therefore highly affects the data exchange methods to be considered when developing a DT.

Changes in the climate have forced municipalities to rethink urban development and become more climate-resilient. One way they can achieve this is by implementing Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems, or SUDS. Permeable pavements are a type of SUDS designed to let rainwater infiltrate, thereby reducing runoff and lowering peak flows. They can be used to mitigate climate change effects. Municipalities have slowly started implementing permeable pavements into their projects on a small
scale, but numerous barriers still stand in the way of widespread implementation. Various barriers are related to information sharing.

This thesis aimed to improve the innovation implementation process by examining information sharing between municipalities and companies. Grass concrete pavements, or green parking, was chosen as a case study, a relatively new permeable pavement system using open pavers, substrate, and a mix of grass seeds to allow precipitation to infiltrate while adding green to urban areas. Three main flows of information were considered: between companies and municipalities, between different departments within the same municipality, and between municipalities and other levels of government. Interviews were conducted with interviewees in various roles from both companies and
municipalities involved in the process of innovation implementation.

A network of various factors was formed, with three key issues:
• A lack of consensus on what a successful project should be.
• Uncertainty about responsibility leading to a situation where the implementation of green parking
is dependent on the motivation of individuals.
• Pilot projects are conducted by municipalities without clear goals, therefore, producing no results that can be analyzed or used for upscaling.

The second part of the thesis involved further analysis of the three key issues. Multiple recommendations for municipalities and companies were formulated. Recommendations for conducting successful pilot projects are also provided and are applicable to both green parking as well as other innovations. For municipalities, the recommendations are to make responsibilities clear, perform a life cycle cost analysis, set clear and concrete goals in their climate adaptation strategy, share successful experiences, and create a step-by-step guide for innovations to become standardized. These recommendations are mainly aimed at green parking but will also benefit the implementation of other innovations.
For companies, the recommendations are to create realistic expectations, convince the water board of the water storage capacity of the system, and conduct further research into optimizing maintenance plans. These recommendations are mainly aimed at green parking and Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS). For pilot projects, the recommendations are to reach a consensus on what defines a success beforehand, set realistic goals and start small, include a follow-up plan, find partner municipalities to collaborate with, and find a balance between intensive and superficial monitoring. The results from this thesis consisted of concrete recommendations for both municipalities and companies to improve the innovation implementation process. Furthermore, the results can be a starting point for more profound research into information sharing and how it relates to innovation implementation. This can include testing the recommendations at a municipality to optimize the process, like setting up a pilot program or expanding the climate adaptation strategy.

The construction sector plays a significant role in the environment, and concrete structures constitute a substantial portion of this sector. The government is actively seeking ways to reduce the environmental impact of construction activities by promoting a more sustainable approach. In the Netherlands, a considerable number of repetitive cellular residential buildings are constructed using the tunnel formwork building method. Although this method can be enhanced in terms of sustainability by utilizing environmentally friendly cement mixtures, it poses challenges, such as an increase in execution time. This research aims to explore a more sustainable approach to the tunnel formwork building method while devising strategies to maintain the same execution time as before.

The tunnel formwork building method operates with a 24-hour daily execution cycle. During the initial 8 hours, the formwork, reinforcement, and installations are set up, followed by pouring concrete at the end of the day. After 16 hours, the concrete attains sufficient strength for the formwork to be dismantled, allowing it to be placed on the next grid. This approach results in rapid construction, high-quality output, and cost-effectiveness. However, a significant drawback is the reliance on CEM I mixtures, which consist of approximately 100\% Portland cement, contributing to substantial greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact. Blended cement mixtures, such as CEM II and CEM III, offer more environmentally friendly alternatives by incorporating lower percentages of Portland cement blended with fly ash or blast furnace slag. Despite their environmental benefits, these mixtures exhibit a slower strength development, making it challenging to achieve a hardening time of 16 hours.

In pursuit of a dependable and sustainable approach to the tunnel formwork building method that preserves the 24-hour daily cycle, the research question is articulated as follows: "What concrete mixtures and execution strategies can be applied in the Netherlands to diminish the environmental impact of the traditional tunnel formwork building method, utilizing sustainable cement mixtures, while upholding existing advantages in time, cost, and quality?" This research question will guide the exploration of optimal concrete mixtures and execution measures for implementing sustainable cement mixtures within the tunnel formwork building method, while ensuring the continuity of the daily execution cycle.

In addressing this research question, an Excel calculation sheet has been developed. This sheet serves to compute the material costs, shadow costs, and formwork removal time associated with specific modifications in the design, concrete mixture, and additional execution measures for the tunnel formwork building method. The calculation sheet offers flexibility with three grid sizes: 4.5m, 6.0m, and 7.2m. It incorporates various concrete properties, such as the cement mixture (CEM I, CEM II, or CEM III), w/c ratio (0.45 or 0.55), aggregate types (fine and coarse), Blaine value (300 or 400$m^2/kg$), and admixtures (basic and additional). Additionally, the calculation sheet allows for adjustments in seasonal conditions, with options for summer (20°C) or winter (10°C)...

Equalized involvement of stakeholders in decision-making processes (DMP) allows them to achieve a balanced outcome, when aiming to create value for each participant. However, as the number of stakeholders increases, traditional methods of interactive engagement become more complex, often leading to unbalanced solutions. Identifying such balanced outcomes also becomes more challenging and time-consuming, considering the wide range of potential outcomes. To address this complexity, this thesis introduces a new approach, Preference-based Goal Attainment (PBGA), and develops a tool for its application in DMPs. The PBGA tool facilitates transparent communication of stakeholders' needs, desires, and values within the DMP, helping to bridge satisfaction gaps among various stakeholders and yield an equitable and optimal outcome.

For the development of this tool, a multi-objective optimization framework is proposed. This framework allows stakeholders to integrate their needs, desires, and values as objective functions, with decision parameters represented as variables, in the tool. Crucially, it enables stakeholders to specify preferred states within their objectives, known as preferences. The framework also considers the varying influence of stakeholders by incorporating a weighted goal attainment method. This method focuses on improving the objective with the largest weighted preference deficit in each iteration of the genetic algorithms used in the optimization process.

For testing and validation, the approach is applied to a DMP in a selected case study. Data, including objectives, variables, and stakeholder preferences, are collected through semi-structured interviews, and transformed into a computational format for MATLAB® implementation. The outcomes are verified using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Chi-Square comparative methods. Additionally, the tool and its results are validated by stakeholders, ensuring the tool's practicality and acceptance of the new design.

With the PBGA tool, stakeholders can transparently communicate their needs and desires in the DMP and achieve an outcome that involves equal participation from each stakeholder. The thesis concludes with a comprehensive discussion on the practical applications, limitations, and assumptions of the tool, highlighting its potential to improve stakeholder collaboration and decision-making in project management.

This study addresses the critical need for specialized risk identification practices in green retrofit projects within the construction industry, particularly under the increasing pressure to meet the EU's net-zero emissions target by 2050. Focusing on the Netherlands, it investigates how companies navigate the unique challenges posed by updating existing infrastructure to be more sustainable and energy-efficient. Through a mixed-method approach comprising a literature review, field study in Voorburg, and semi-structured interviews with experts, the research identifies distinct risks such as performance risks, supply chain disruptions, and uncertainties in returns on investment. Royal Haskoning DHV's approach, including their Fast-Lane Method, is examined for its effectiveness in predicting energy use but noted for its limitations in estimating carbon emissions and broader retrofit tasks.

The study advocates for an integrated approach utilizing Building Information Modelling (BIM) to enhance risk management and project outcomes. It highlights the gap in current risk management practices that fail to fully address sustainability challenges in retrofits and suggests future research directions, including broader studies involving multiple companies and technologies, to develop more comprehensive risk management strategies for green retrofit projects.