Worldwide, cities rely on the proper functioning of critical infrastructures (CIs) such as electricity, telecommunication, water supply and transportation. Failure of those infrastructures can lead to significant and long-lasting impacts, even far beyond the flooded areas due to cascading effects. Local authorities are eager to take action to reduce flood risk and strive to increase the resilience of their communities. However, CI are often not considered in flood risk assessments. One of the reasons is that CI operators do not share their CI data and internal risk assessments. Therefore, an integral view on flood risk is lacking and risks may be unidentified or underestimated. To overcome this limitation, in this paper we propose an integrated framework for flood risk assessment of urban critical infrastructures (UCIs) for local authorities, which is based on publicly available and field-surveyed CI data. The proposed framework supports cities to carry out cross-sectoral risk screenings on urban district level to evaluate the need for in-depth risk assessments and risk dialogues with CI operators.

Organisations aim to create value from infrastructure assets under varying circumstances with asset management. Asset management is inherently complex with multiple interacting actors and processes, varying asset stages, and evolving contextual conditions. While performance management should enable the evolution and improvement of asset management, conventional approaches often neglect its complexity and dynamic nature. In this study, we adopt a sociotechnical system perspective to asset management performance to (i) explain how performance results from interdependencies across social and technical elements and their alignment and (ii) embed adaptation to contextual change as intrinsic to performance management. We developed and demonstrated this perspective with an abductive research approach based on an in-depth study of asset management for storm surge barriers, providing a unique and safety-critical infrastructure context. We iterated between theory and field data to code interdependency associated with performance pathways and consolidated them into sociotechnical alignments. Based on these empirical results, we developed a conceptual model for monitoring and managing asset management performance over time, connecting it to leading indicators and performance outcomes. We made the model actionable by linking contextual signals to the alignments they disturb and directing targeted sociotechnical adjustments. By integrating sociotechnical systems into asset management performance, this study contributes to the theory with a contemporary approach to performance, while emphasising adaptation. The findings provide context-specific insights while demonstrating a methodological approach that can be adapted to other infrastructure domains operating under dynamic governance and operational conditions.

Due to increasing flood risks, storm surge barriers become crucial for the socioeconomic continuity of coastal areas. They provide flood protection, especially against extreme events, by operating under specific circumstances. This imposes high-performance requirements for storm surge barriers and their asset management during their lifetime and emphasises the role and criticality of their asset management. For this purpose, the research investigates asset management for storm surge barriers by focusing on the approach in the Netherlands and analysing it relative to distinctive characteristics of storm surge barriers. Based on thematic analysis, the study unfolds that barriers’ characteristics: (1) clarify the vital motives for the asset management approach, (2) confront the approach with challenging conditions, resulting in further maturation of the approach, and (3) require ongoing support from the approach, enforcing continuous improvement and resilience of the asset management approach. These findings demonstrate the strong influence of barriers’ characteristics on their asset management approach and provide a fundamental understanding of asset management for storm surge barriers. This supports flood defence authorities in the development and improvement of asset management for storm surge barriers and underpins associated complexities for future designs and research. Furthermore, the study assists in tailoring approaches for other assets.

The infrastructure we build is increasingly complicated and automated. After it is designed and constructed, it needs to be maintained and updated to sustain its functioning for far longer than the careers of its designers and builders. Continuity of engineering knowledge is necessary to make future updates and adapt to changing demands, conditions and technology in a safe and reliable manner. The Dutch storm surge barriers protect the low-lying hinterlands from flooding during extreme weather events. Each of the six barriers managed by the Directorate General of Public Works (Rijkswaterstaat) was designed at a different time, to different requirements, and using different types of contracts. This has resulted in six unique structures, some of which use systems and components found nowhere else. In 1997, the Maeslant Storm Surge Barrier was completed, pioneering the use of Design and Construct contracts for major hydraulic structures. Experience with maintaining this hallmark structure through its first decades of operation provides a valuable opportunity to reflect on the effect of contracting- and design choices. Little work has been done to evaluate different contract types on the basis of delivering long-term maintainability and reducing the knowledge continuity challenge. This study views the Maeslant Barrier in the context of the earlier storm surge barriers with regard to facilitating knowledge continuity through design. It was found that the interdependent behaviour of subsystems in a high-reliability structure results in a notable increase in engineering complexity, especially in the control systems, increasing the challenge of achieving knowledge continuity. Examining the knowledge flows in a design-and-construct contract shows several advantages, but also that it does not naturally facilitate attention to important but less obvious aspects of maintainability, such as those related to knowledge continuity.

Purpose: Engineering knowledge continuity is crucial for the life cycle management of long-lived and complex assets, such as nuclear plants, locks and storm surge barriers. At the storm surge barriers in the Netherlands, engineering knowledge continuity is not yet fully assured, despite long-standing efforts. This study aims to explore the relationship between system characteristics, the organizational demarcation of maintenance and operation and the challenges in achieving engineering knowledge continuity and provides suggestions for improvement of theory and policy. Design/methodology/approach: Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with professionals from various backgrounds in construction, engineering and asset management of the Dutch storm surge barriers, augmented with visits to barriers and barrier teams. A thematic analysis was used to identify and describe the challenges to engineering continuity, their origins and potential solutions. We reviewed knowledge management policy documents and asset management consultancy reports to validate the findings. Additionally, we engaged in frequent interactions with professionals at the barriers. We achieved saturation and validation once no new issues were raised during these discussions. Findings: The thematic analysis developed multiple themes describing the challenges to engineering continuity, their origins and potential solutions. The key findings are that expert engineers are critically important to deal with redesigns induced by obsolescence. Moreover, due to barrier uniqueness, long redesign cycles and reliability requirements, conventional knowledge continuity tools are insufficient to enable new engineers to reach expert level. Finally, the thematic analysis shows that, in some cases, outsourcing should be reduced to facilitate internal learning. Originality/value: The study introduces the application of the knowledge-based view of the firm and the concept of requisite knowledge redundancy to the long-term management of complex assets. It calls for more attention to long gaps in the use of unique knowledge and the effect on knowledge continuity.

Managerial flexibility in infrastructure investment and replacement decisions adds value. Real options analysis (ROA) captures this value under uncertain market prices. The concept of ROA is that future unfavourable payoffs can be deferred as soon as more information about market prices becomes available. The popularity of ROA is seen in a growing number of case studies on real assets. Despite its increasing popularity, ROA has not gained a foothold in public infrastructure decision making. One of the difficulties in the application of ROA is the required estimation of market variables. To avoid this, a simplified but not correct version of ROA is easily applied, referred to as a Decision Tree Approach (DTA) to ROA. Another difficulty is that infrastructure assets are subject to other types of uncertainties, defined here as asset uncertainties. This study investigates the value of managerial flexibility in a public infrastructure replacement decision. The uncertainty drivers are the strength of a bridge, political decisions regarding traffic flow and the price development of construction costs. Three valuation approaches are compared: DTA, ROA and the DT approach to ROA. Although it is complex, ROA certainly adds value in public infrastructure decision making when market price uncertainty is prevalent. However, in the absence of reasonable estimates of market variables, the DT approach to ROA is the best alternative. In the absence of market price uncertainties, ROA should be avoided DTA is to be preferred.