Digitalization: Everything starts with an A

Evaluating the impact of digitalization on the maintenance strategy of digitized assets

Master thesis (2023)

Authors

E.A.H. Thelen Civil Engineering & Geosciences

Contributors

Wijnand Veeneman Organisation & Governance - TPM (supervisor 1)
N. van Oort Transport and Planning - CEG (supervisor 2)
Milan Toet Nederlandse Spoorwegen (supervisor 1)
Faculty
Civil Engineering & Geosciences
Copyright: © 2023 Eleanor Thelen
Sensor Digitalization Maintenance Effect Asset
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Published Date

12-12-2023

Language

English

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Faculty

Civil Engineering & Geosciences

Abstract

The number of digital systems that is used for business processes in many organizations is increasing. These digital systems can be used to support decision-making in the maintenance process. In this research the effects of digitalization on the maintenance process are evaluated. This is done by focusing on five aspects: actors, agreements, approach, applications and availability. By comparing the recent knowledge described in the literature with the experiences from practice, a maintenance aspect framework is designed. The experience from practice is obtained from conducting interviews at four organizations. These organizations are: NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen), Port of Rotterdam, Rijkswaterstaat and ProRail. At each of the organizations, one specific asset is selected for which the effects of digitalization are evaluated. The findings of
the comparisons are reflected on the features of the asset and the organization to generalize the conclusions. Furthermore, an implementation plan and recommendations on how to use the framework to ensure that all the relevant aspects are included in future policies, are derived from the findings. The implementation plan is designed to be applicable in general, and the recommendations are made for NS specifically. In the recommendations, advice is provided on which aspects should be prioritized more and which aspects are
already well formulated in the long-term plans. Lastly, a time line is presented in which the phases of the digitalization transition process are represented. The implementation plan can be used as a guideline to determine in which phase an organization is currently in, and what steps should be taken to proceed to the next phase.