In light of the energy transition and resulting electrification of the energy systems in the Netherlands, Distribution System Operators (DSOs) need to rapidly expand their operations to facilitate consumers. At the same time, their own activities need to become more sustainable as well. One of the important methods for this is integrating the principles of the circular economy in their supply chains (SCs).
This study focuses on designing a circular supply chain (CSC) for the redeployment and recycling of components from the electricity grid. It combines two CSC design methods, the SCOP method and the CSC guiding framework, with the Evolved Double Diamond to guide the design process. Throughout the entire design project other methods are used to generate input or boundaries for the design like qualitative workshops, data analysis, brainstorming and MCDA techniques for evaluation.
As a case study a design project is done for the Dutch DSO Stedin which allows to develop a concrete design, identify key remaining design decisions and develop an elaboration and evaluation framework to guide Stedin in CSC design decision making. In this case study, the focus is on cables and transformers for all voltage levels as these assets are most important in reaching the sustainability targets of Stedin.
The combination of the design methods was helpful in structuring and inspiring the CSC design process but lacks more detailed steps a designer should take. The use of the MCDA in design component decision making instead of alternative evaluation does seem a new and useful technique in CSC design but needs further development.

Transport and storage operations in a steel coil manufacturing industry make up a large part of a factory’s operating costs. With the advent of automated forklifts, unmanned transport and storage operations are becoming increasingly viable. Automated forklifts have the potential to lower operating costs, reduce the required number of employees, minimize transport damages and eliminate over-processing. Nonetheless, transitioning from manual forklifts to a fully operational automated transport and storage system requires addressing a range of complex decisions. These include the flow path layout, fleet sizing, vehicle dispatching, storage location assignment, and other relevant subjects.

This thesis presents an integrated approach to how the flow path layout design influences the material flow effectiveness, incorporating vehicle scheduling and storage location assignment policies. Based on a real-world case study, analyzed through Discrete-Event Simulation (DES) software, this study addresses the following research question: What in-plant system design facilitates effective material flow by implementing automated transport in a steel coil manufacturing plant?

First, applicable literature is investigated, thereafter, the system is analysed, and design alternatives are generated. The design alternatives vary in the use of manual and automated forklifts, and the flow path layout considers both conventional and zone-based flow approaches. The experiments test the influence of dispatching policies and fleet sizing on all alternatives. Furthermore, battery management, idle-vehicle positioning, unit-load selection and case-specific system constraints are integrated. The storage location assignment is based on the order identification number and the fill level of the storage parks.

By capturing the dynamic and variable nature of a stochastic production system, the DES evaluates the impact of different configurations on performance, costs, and other performance indicators. The cost-performance relations are plotted, resulting in a Pareto front consisting of a set of non-dominated system design configurations. A preferred automation alternative is selected from this set. Conclusions regarding the most effective transport system design and the integrated system design process are drawn.

This paper investigates the uncertainties underlying carbon footprint estimations of freight transportation, with a particular focus on trip-level shipment data. The research aimed to identify and classify possible causes of these uncertainties using Walker’s uncertainty matrix, drawing from literature reviews, protocol analyses, field research, and interviews. Findings suggest that the accuracy and transparency of assumptions are crucial when communicating carbon footprint estimations, as emphasized in current literature. This study contributes to the existing knowledge by providing deeper insights into the influence of uncertainty causes on the final estimation. The primary source of these uncertainties can largely be attributed to data accuracy in the calculation of carbon footprints. A structured approach is proposed to examine potential causes of uncertainties and their potential impacts on the final carbon footprint estimation. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach, a case study analyzing three freight movements to a building site was conducted. This research offers valuable insights and a systematic method for addressing uncertainties in carbon footprint estimations, ultimately supporting more informed decision-making in the freight transportation sector.

The Flemish government is in pursuit of reaching their mobility and environment goals for 2040 and onwards. Therefore, the Flemish government sees building pipeline infrastructure as an option for transport of liquid bulk goods in the Antwerp – Ruhr trajectory. Pipeline transport is considered as an environmental friendly transport mode, which also offers opportunities to relief the stress on the Flemish transport infrastructure. At present, several pipeline systems operate in this region, though (chemical) companies in Flanders and the Ruhr region request for additional pipelines and capacity. As of 2016 the Flemish government is researching the need and opportunities for additional pipeline infrastructure.
This research contains a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) for assessing the potential gains of new pipeline infrastructure for liquid bulk goods in Flanders. Two types of CBAs are carried out, a social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) and a financial cost-benefit analysis (FCBA). In the SCBA effects of the project are estimated that have an influence on society, this includes climate change costs, air pollution, but also safety and the loss of space due to the potential pipeline infrastructure. The FCBA addresses the financial viability of the pipeline project, including the investments costs of the project and operational costs among other project effects.
In order to estimate several effects, such as the external effects of transport, the research developed an aggregate mode choice model with limited transport data. Mode choice models can be a tool to support substantiation of the estimated effects in the cost-benefit analysis. The objective is to develop a mode choice model that provides sufficient accuracy to estimate the effects of a cost-benefit analysis, with the limited amount of data and information at hand.
The conducted SCBA concluded that pipeline transport can offer considerable reductions in terms of external effects of transport, which is beneficial for society. Still, there is an important social trade-off between the gains in terms of the reductions in external effects of transport and the effect of the pipeline infrastructure on nature and people. Furthermore, the FCBA shows multiple scenarios in which a competitive transport tariff can be offered to persuade a shift towards to pipeline transport.
However, there is uncertainty to what extent a modal shift to pipeline transport will take place. The followed approach to estimate a mode choice model with limited aggregate data and even missing data can be suitable for exploratory research, still the required assumptions and missing data make the results of the mode choice model prone to under or overestimation of the modal shift. Therefore the main conclusion is that pipeline transport is a potential alternative, however more information and data is required to conclude that the pipeline infrastructure is a cost-efficient option, which is also the foremost recommendation.

To achieve the goals set by the "European Green Deal" of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it is imperative for heavy goods vehicles to transition towards becoming climate neutral. To address this challenge, Electric Road Systems (ERS) with overhead conductive and in-road inductive technology present a promising sustainable mobility solution. However, little is known about the real-life feasibility of these technologies, particularly as in-road inductive systems are partly still under development. ERS is a system of systems, it contains several linked subsystems with complex interaction effects, which makes it difficult to predict its performance across different dimensions that are important for the many stakeholders involved.
Therefore, this study aims to evaluate, from a systemic perspective, the different impacts that the two ERS technologies will have on all stakeholder groups, thereby providing input to the decision-making process on the adoption of either technology. The methodology is an adaptation of Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis (MAMCA) and Design for Value (DfV), based on a literature review, stakeholder interviews and conceptual modelling. With the study area of the corridor between Rotterdam and Antwerp, related stakeholders are interviewed to understand their main values and criteria for evaluation. The data on ERS technologies is collected to carry out the evaluation and comparison. The results of the impacts of two ERS technologies are shared with stakeholders for validation purposes.

The Mekong Delta is facing some complicated challenges in the near future. Its geographical location and the fact that it is a delta result in low elevation levels which makes it vulnerable to inundation. This problem will only become bigger in the future due to the effects of climate change. To get funding from organisations like the world bank it is important to propose multiple solutions that are beneficial to multiple parts of society. It is favourable to split
a complex system like the Mekong Delta into subsystems to make it more feasible to build realistic models. The subsystem defined in this report is the Hau River estuary. This area mainly suffers from riverine inundation caused by tidal variation in the South Chinese Sea. The biggest city in the region is Can Tho with 1.3 million inhabitants.

The research question is: Which integrated solutions reduce riverine inundation problems in the Hau River estuary while also considering socio-economical aspects? To answer this research question the following four solutions are proposed and designed.

• Discharge sluice in the mouth of the Hau River to reduce the tidal influence

• Wetland with a double levee system and buffer zones to reduce peak discharge

• Bypass channel to the Gulf of Thailand to reduce discharge during the wet season

• Protection of valuable assets and adaptation of local citizens to the new natural balance

Based on desired discharges and water levels preliminary design parameters of the proposed hydraulic structures were determined. The effectiveness of these solutions was assessed based on their ability to reduce the water level in Can Tho. The reduction that the discharge sluice achieved was determined with a zero-dimensional model, whereas the water level reduction that the wetlands and bypass option achieved were determined by Delft3D models. The discharge sluice performed best in reducing the water level in Can Tho, as it opposes the tidal influence in the Hau River.

To assess the quality of the solutions relative to each other a best-worst multi-criteria analysis is done. In this assessment other factors such as financial aspects, socio-economics and transportation are taken into account. The most important criteria are flood reduction and funding opportunities. According to the assessed criteria, the discharge sluice and the wetland are the best-scoring solutions. These solutions have the most potential in reducing the river inundation problems in the Hau River estuary. This does not mean that the bypass and adaptation solutions should be neglected or are not useful. For a complex problem in a complex system like the Hau River estuary, one solution is not going to solve all the problems. A good balance between different aspects has to be determined by also considering other problems like sand mining, subsidence and salt intrusion.

Making decisions regarding delayed line haul transport is a very demanding and complex process in E-commerce distribution centres. Automating this process can decrease decision-maker discussion and assessment time and, as a result, allow decision-makers to spend more time on other demanding tasks like sorting and distributing. Automation in this domain increases on-time deliveries and strengthens the E-commerce firms’ competitive position. However, such decisions involve experts’ knowledge, discussions among planners, and complex thought processes. Therefore, it is necessary to involve planners’ inclinations and preferences to automate their decisions. This paper proposes the Behavioural Artificial Intelligence Technology (BAIT) to automate expert decisions in delayed line haul deliveries. BAIT uses fundamental Discrete Choice theory under the hood to capture expert preferences effectively, and incorporates these into a decision-making tool. We use this method in a case study to replicate expert decisions in delayed line haul deliveries at DHL Express. The case study results show that BAIT can accurately replicate expert decisions.

This report explains the design of an information tool, created to help shippers inform themselves on the emission reducing actions available to reduce road freight transport emissions. Different emission reducing actions for road freight transport are researched and compared based on emission reducing potential and cost. These different solutions, together with a calculation method to determine emissions per trip form the basis for an informational tool for shippers. As shippers buy road freight transport from logistic service providers, third-party logistics or directly from the carrier, they do not have a direct influence on the amount of emissions emitted during transport. However, by making use of collaboration, shippers can influence emission reduction by working together on implementing emission reducing solutions and influencing the corresponding decrease or increase in the price of transport.

Goods transportation is essential for economic development. In a highly globalised world, it is expected to become more important over the years. Inter-urban freight transport has a major role when it comes to resource consumption, pollution and climate change. Thus, its decarbonisation is one of the biggest challenges to be tackled nowadays. One way of achieving decarbonisation is a modal shift from more polluting modes to less polluting ones. In this research, we investigate Brazil as a case study due to its rapid growth in transportation demand, the need for new transportation infrastructure and its uneven modal split. The high-level objective of this research is to explore potential policies that promote a modal shift towards decarbonisation of freight transportation in Brazil. Policies include fiscal and regulatory measures, vehicle technology innovation, in addition to the infrastructural investments made in highways, railways and waterways. We investigated impacts on modal split, demand per mode and CO2 emission. The findings show that the process of modal shift is slow, which is in line with what observed in practice. However, implementing a combination of stricter policy measures early on and changes in investments strategies accelerate the process and create robust measures capable of promoting modal shift and decarbonising the system under different scenarios. Experiments highlighted how the system tends to adjust to the measures and how they tend to lose efficiency over time, slowing the decarbonisation's rhythm. Moreover, findings also display how modal shift policies alone might not be sufficient to achieve the reduction in CO2 emission desired by policy-makers. Addressing the problem with this approach helps decision-makers to develop more efficient policies strategies. The research sheds light on modal shift dynamics over the next 30 years in Brazil and whether a System Dynamics approach can assist in the policy-making decision for modal shift towards decarbonisation of freight transportation.

Urban freight logistics currently has to deal with multiple unsustainabilites. Physical Internet characteristics can be promising to make urban freight logistics more sustainable. It was researched if this can be the case and, what opportunities and barriers there are belonging to this change. With Q-methodology different stakeholder perspectives were revealed. This resulted in four different perspectives from which three had a positive attitude towards PI characteristics. One perspective was more moderate in relation to this and stated that a lot is possible already without changes happening. Opportunities and barriers are defined and it was concluded that there is currently no real need to change. Because an increase of national coordinated regulation was also assessed positively a policy framework was created that states individual and collaborative actions for stakeholders. With this 'an environment where efficiency pays off' should be created.

Construction logistics has a negative impact on the urban environment. Therefore, in this study, construction logistics structures are designed for residential and non-residential development that should reduce the negative effects of construction-related transport in cities. These structures were made for the urban development project IJburg II in Amsterdam and were designed on the stricter requirements for construction logistics and construction activities drawn up by the Municipality of Amsterdam. To design these new construction logistics structures, the engineering design process was used. The requirements of the new structure were identified by means of a case study to the development project IJburg II. The new designs of subsystems were generated with applicable construction logistics centres and new types of transport derived from literature. This led to several new designs for subsystems. Out of these subsystem designs, three new construction logistics structures for IJburg II were developed. The three structures were tested both quantitatively and qualitatively on the new requirements which showed that two of the three structures fulfill the new standards. For the quantitative test, a calculation model was developed that calculates the vehicle movements and vehicle emissions for each design. The results of this calculation model indicated that all three designs significantly decrease the CO2-, PMx- and NOx-emissions and vehicle movements to and from IJburg II. The last-mile deliveries, however, remain unchanged or even slightly increase due to the deployment of light electric vehicles. The research proved that by changing the construction logistics structure, significant vehicle emission reductions can be achieved. In addition, a reduction of vehicle movements to and from construction sites can be established but will in most cases lead to slightly more last-mile deliveries. However, stakeholders need to be specifically engaged to enable implementation of these new structures. Last, this study demonstrated that the engineering design method is a suitable approach to design new construction logistics structures.