Learning from case studies and monitoring of Dutch tunnel projects

Abstract

Individuals and project-based organisations in the construction industry can learn in a (more) systematic way from case studies and the monitoring of underground construction works. Underground construction projects such as tunnels and excavations suffer as much or more from failure costs compared to other parts of the construction industry, making this subset of projects suitable for learning in general and evaluation of the learning process more specifically. Several case histories from Dutch underground deep excavation projects are presented in this paper, including the lessons learned and the learning processes involved. Finally, ideas for learning approaches are proposed based on risk management principles.