Global societal challenges and limited resources have intensified the need for solutions that accelerate innovation and increase productivity. Repetition, particularly in the construction industry, is widely recognised for achieving efficiency gains and cost reductions. Its realisation, however, remains challenging due to the project-based nature of the industry, which emphasises project uniqueness. In addition, repetition is fragmented across multiple organisations and its recognition is predominantly framed from an intra-organisational perspective. Inter-organisational programs offer a promising setting to enable repetitive activities by strategically bundling interdependent and similar projects. Based on a qualitative multiple-case analysis of three construction programs, the study shows how organisations can identify the potential benefits of repetitive activities earlier, leading to more efficient and effective execution of work and achievement of program goals. The study contributes to literature by providing a conceptual model explaining how repetitive activities manifest and can be leveraged and steered to realise their potential benefits. ... Read more

Ondanks het grote aantal repetitieve, kleine activiteiten dat wordt uitgevoerd voor publieke opdrachtgevers, ontbreekt het zowel in de praktijk als in de wetenschappelijke literatuur aan inzicht in de succesfactoren van dit type opgaven. Dit beperkt de mogelijkheden tot het doorvoeren van relevante verbeteringen ten aanzien van de samenwerking en de eigen rol van de publieke en private organisaties hierin. Dit onderzoek heeft zich daarom gericht op de samenwerking van waterschappen en marktpartijen specifiek bij kleinschalige repetitieve werkzaamheden.
Het onderzoek bestaat uit de analyse van portfolio's van waterschappen en interviews met zowel waterschapsmedewerkers als marktpartijen.

Uit de analyse van inkooporders blijkt dat repetitive werkzaamheden kunnen worden onderverdeeld in vijf typen, waarvan werkzaamheden aan watergangen de meest voorkomende zijn. Het inzicht in deze activiteiten en hun financiële omvang is van cruciaal belang voor optimalisatie.

Het onderzoek identificeert de elementen in de samenwerking tussen waterschappen en marktpartijen die bijdragen aan efficiëntere uitvoering van repetitive werkzaamheden: inzicht in de markt, bundeling door opdrachtgever(s) in relatie tot ondernemerschap bij de opdrachtnemer(s), communicatie, lerend vermogen, en formele en informele contractmanagement.

Dit onderzoek draagt bij aan het optimaliseren van de samenwerking tussen waterschappen en marktpartijen in repetitive werkzaamheden, wat leidt tot efficiëntere en effectievere uitvoering van deze taken in de waterbouwsector.
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Although a considerable amount of literature has addressed the public procurement in the construction industry, still little is known about procurement in small and repetitive activities. In practice, however, public clients are often involved in repetitive tasks such as maintenance activities. Dutch water boards, regional governmental bodies responsible for providing water management services, are the focus of this study. For this research, three main procurement documents of the water boards were performed using content analysis. The aim is to evaluate these documents and to identify the typology of the repetitive activities and the procurement volume of these tasks from a portfolio perspective of the public client. Most of the contractors/suppliers involved in these activities are local Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). The findings of the study indicate that insights into the typologies of these repetitive works and their expected volume over time delivers crucial value for the public procurer. Given the amount of repetitive works procured by public clients, creating such an insight to both clients as well as contractors can ultimately increase efficiency and improve investment opportunities. ... Read more

Successful delivery of projects is the ultimate goal of many organisations. What is observed in practice, however, is that projects do not usually follow what is recommended in literature. Moreover, the dynamic nature of projects calls for continuous adjustments regarding the required project management practices contributing to performance. Therefore, this research aims at evaluating the current practice of managing engineering projects and investigating potential learning points across two main industry sectors: construction (including infrastructure) and process industry. The main output of this research is a model called “Nexcess model” that could help in improving project performance by providing practical recommendations. The model offers a space for interaction in which practitioners can understand the extent to which they can contribute positively to the performance by promoting an integrated approach. ... Read more

This study investigates the factors affecting the integration of sustainability into the project management of infrastructure projects, specifically highway projects during early phases. The research was drawn upon previous studies in order to develop a sustainability framework for measuring the project success in three aspects of sustainability: People, Planet, and Prosperity (triple bottom line). Next, Critical Success Factor (CSF) framework in the construction sector was extracted through a comprehensive literature review. A qualitative cross-case analysis was conducted on three sustainability-oriented highways projects in the Netherlands. Data were collected through document review and twelve in-depth interviews with different roles of Integrated Project Management (IPM) model. The findings suggest that each IPM role is inclined towards specific sustainability dimension which affects the application of sustainability CSFs. The results reveal that among the sixteen identified CSFs promoting the integration of sustainability, following factors were acknowledged by all the IPM roles: awareness of project external factors, clearly defined scope, clearly defined goals/ambitions. Further, the paper conceptualizes a model for integrating key roles involved in the project management of infrastructure projects. The model is based on the triple bottom line of sustainability bringing all the roles involved in the project management of infrastructure projects together. ... Read more

The main aim of this study is to gain insights into project management professionals’ perception of how project success can be achieved. The Q-methodology was followed in this research. Based on an extensive literature review and validation through expert judgment, a framework consisting of 33 factors increasing the likelihood of success was developed. A total of 34 practitioners in three different sectors (real estate, urban development, and infrastructure) in the Netherlands were asked to rank the statements contributing to the success of their projects. Four different perspectives of how project success can be achieved were distinguished in this study: “seeking the best match”, “being adaptive and open”, “keeping the team focused”, and “preparing for opportunities”. The perception of different practitioners of how success can be obtained may stem from factors of project context rather than sector and complexity. This highlights further research opportunities in taking a contingent approach when investigating project performance. The study helps to grasp the subjectivity of practitioners’ viewpoints regarding the potential ways to enhance project performance by understanding the similarity and differences of these viewpoints. ... Read more

This article is aimed at improving the understanding of what conditions are necessary in the front end development of projects in order to achieve high levels of project performance. This research advances current literature in project management by investigating a logic for finding necessary conditions for a certain level of project performance. Using survey data of 106 responses in large engineering projects, this study examines the role of clusters of front end activities and project management competencies in determining the level of project performance. The results show that three clusters of project management competencies, those of collaboration between client and contractor, competent project manager and his /her early involvement, and top management support and client involvement are the necessary conditions for project success. Not satisfying these conditions guarantees project failure. The approach followed in this study proved that Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) is a powerful analysis technique. NCA can be used for setting the baseline conditions as well as triggers for project success. The results of this analysis could be further enhanced by using other complementary methods such as Quantitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). ... Read more

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