Success of the project depends on compliance to requirements amongst other things (Wheeler, 2003). This forms Requirements Management process an important step in the Systems Engineering life cycle. However, poor definition of requirements is an obstacle in automating the verification process. The existing solutions based on various approaches focus predominantly on building codes requirement verification and is not suitable for the dynamicity of client specific requirements. existing solutions also require users to have expertise on programming and construction domain knowledge. Hence, a general approach for rewriting client requirements in a machine understandable way is needed. The research focuses on developing this general approach using object and properties data from standard libraries such as Object Type Libraries (OTL).

The number of raw materials consumed and waste generated by the construction industry is no longer a viable solution in the future. It is required for the construction industry to move from a linear towards a circular economy (CE) by circular construction (CC). The unfamiliarity in actions that need to be taken for CC is still new terrain for many companies since the whole life cycle of a project needs to be considered and is plagued with technical, legal and cost issues that obstruct CC. Contract forms such as Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) involve contractors in the design phase of a project, such as suppliers, builders, and demolition contractors, to engender a better design by sharing and creating new knowledge. There are, however, no sources directly indicating that the benefits of ECI also regard circularity. At the same time, issues that emerge with CC remain an obstacle for fully transitioning to a CE. This research aims to understand better the issues regarding CC and if ECI would be beneficial in solving them due to the knowledge contribution of contractors and their collaboration with other parties in the design process. Therefore the research question is framed as follows: “How is contractor’s knowledge contribution improving circular construction in ECI context?” The research consists of a literature study and an empirical study. First, the literature study was conducted to define the relevant concepts such as ECI, CC and knowledge processes. Next, to understand the knowledge contribution of contractors to CC in the design process, interviews with practitioners involved in CC projects were conducted according to the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). In CIT, research participants are asked to recall and describe a time when a behaviour, action, or occurrence impacted a specified outcome positively or negatively. From the empirical study, there can be concluded that contractors' knowledge contribution plays an essential role in the feasibility of a circular design solution. However, the dynamics in collaboration between multiple parties can lead to better circular results. Since the collaboration can result in knowledge creation and sharing, developing a good work relationship between contractor and client and problems can be jointly solved when there is mutual support. This, however, also requires trust and transparency between the parties, and if lacking, it can obstruct CC.

This research tries to quantitatively identify the relation between team composition, organization structure, communication and team efficiency. The study takes a model-based approach to reach its objective. This research stresses the utility of agent-based modeling as a tool to first replicate the environment of an on-going project in India and then systematically introducing organizational changes into the project team to quantify various impacts.

The process of execution of construction projects is subjected to multiple complexities which are highly dynamic in nature. Among several complex dynamic elements present in a project, the scope is one of the elements which is extremely important. The scope is adjusted multiple times during the definition and execution phases to add or remove a feature which is known as scope change. Whereas, there exists a situation where the scope of the project grows organically, uncontrollably and unexpectedly out of the desired scope during the conception, definition and execution phases which is known as scope creep. The scope creep activities find sources from multiple factors such as flaws in contract, poor scope management process, poor communication and so on. From the identified sources of scope creep Agile Scrum-ban and BIM 5D integrated scope management model for high budget projects and cost conscious solutions such as assigning case manager, including scope creep as risk in WBS etc. for low budget projects are proposed as a suitable recommendations to address scope creep in onshore wind farm projects and thereby improve the project delivery.

The paring of knowledge sharing and agile methodology has been explained by some researchers (Dissanayake, Dantu, & Nerur, 2013), most emphasize that the knowledge sharing enablers embedded in the agile methods (Dissanayake et al., 2013), seldom researches explain agile-induced knowledge sharing inhibitors. Besides, the existing researches are limited by industry. As agile methodology has been continuing spreading beyond software development projects (Dybå & Dingsøyr, 2008; Serrador & Pinto, 2015), little was known on whether the agile methodology is genuinely contributing to knowledge sharing in the non-software development environment. Based on an in-depth study in Philips Research organizations, by conducting semi-structured interviews with different roles involved in agile research projects, this study investigates how agile methods influence knowledge sharing behavior and its effectiveness. The inhibitors are clustered into environmental, individual and motivational factors based on Wang’s knowledge sharing factor framework (Sheng Wang & Noe, 2010). The outcomes indicate a paradox of agile-induced knowledge sharing factors, that with the overemphasis on the intra-team knowledge sharing in agile projects, there is the potential of sacrificing long-term learning and organizational level knowledge sharing. The agile-induced knowledge sharing enablers could transform into inhibitors

It is no secret that (asset)managers are currently dealing with a difficult task to maintain and improve the quality of their assets. The main reason for this urgency is the change of use and the end of lifespan of these assets. This is especially the case regarding the inner-city quay walls. These quay walls are usually owned and managed by local governments. The city of Amsterdam in particular has a tough task ahead of them. Approximately 200 km of quay wall need to be maintained or renewed of which the technical state is unknown. A vast majority of these inner-city quay walls are retaining walls on wooden piles. The absence of this information makes it extremely difficult for the asset owner, to determine the current technical state of their quay walls. The combination of limited information and time have shown in practice that quay walls can fail at any moment. To prevent this from happening a variety of intervention measures can be deployed to ‘extend’ the lifespan of the quay walls (short-term). Thereafter a systematic approach can be applied to rebuild or renovate these quay walls (long-term). However, the implementation of intervention measures is an overall complex task due to the densely built area and the stakeholders with divergent interests. This study provides an objective conceptual decision-making model to determine which intervention method is best suited for a particular location while considering the impact on the city, stakeholders and organizations. The research revealed six important topics which need to be incorporated in to the decision- making model. The topics were determined based on literature review, a case study and interviews. These six topics are: the critical cases (1), failure mechanisms (2), intervention measures (3), characteristics of the physical surrounding and the intervention measures (4), decision- making criteria (5) and lastly mitigation measures (6). Additionally, three decision-making moments are identified.

Cost estimation of construction projects is still carried out using highly manual traditional tools and processes, which are deemed as inefficient and have a direct impact in the productivity levels of the industry. Building Information Modelling or BIM is changing the way projects are developed and has introduced some changes to cost estimation. One of these changes is the possibility to generate semi-automatic quantity take-offs from BIM models, greatly speeding up the project quantification process. Furthermore, the concept of 5D BIM, or BIM with the addition of a cost “dimension”, aims to connect BIM and cost estimation. However, the participation of the cost engineer in BIM-based processes is still limited, and this actor frequently only appears at the end, to deliver single cost estimates. This study aims to observe and identify the possibilities of integrating cost engineers in BIM-based project development as a step towards reaching 5D BIM. The research is carried from a managerial and organizational perspective. The potential outcomes of the integration impact the process of cost estimation and other associated processes, namely project design and modelling, and project management and development. To conduct this study, a case study was carried out at a Dutch engineering company where interviews were carried out to respondents of different specialties. Activity theory was used as a theoretical framework for the analysis, discussion and development of a solution. Its use marks an interesting approach to the current problem as it provides the ground for simultaneous analysis of multiple activity systems to reach an integrative solution. The results support other studies that conclude cost engineers are detached from BIM-based project development. Furthermore, the results show that the integration of cost engineers in BIM-based project development has mainly positive potential outcomes for cost estimation and associated processes. It is, however, also concluded that at its current state BIM instruments alone are not fit to handle all information relevant to cost estimation, namely non-graphical elements. The research concludes that to achieve positive results from integration of cost engineers, it is required, a) 5D BIM specialized software, b) appropriate integration of actors in project development, and c) adoption of standards, mainly for development and use of three key tasks. The final deliverable of the research is a collaborative framework which is intended to provide the ground for the integration of cost engineers in BIM-based project development, aimed at reaching 5D BIM.

Cost overruns in infrastructure projects has been a well-known phenomenon for almost a decade. As per the generally accepted definition, the industry has been measuring cost overruns as the cost exceedance with respect to the approved contractor’s budget. But researchers are realizing the fact that the decision-to-build is generally taken long before the ‘budgeting’, which thereby falsifies the existing definition of ‘cost overruns’. It has been henceforth also realized that projects under overruns also don’t offer the best capital value because their as-built costs exceed the costs estimated for them during the “decision-to-build” stage. As a result, such projects debar other deserving projects from getting approved by the funding authority/infrastructure ministry, which could potentially deliver more value for the same invested costs. A lot of projects which were in high overruns in the recent past shouldn’t have been approved/funded/preferred by the decision makers over others (For example: The Channel Tunnel in the UK, cost overruns = 100%, Denver intl. airport in the USA, cost overruns =200%). Consistent overruns also indicate that even with consecutive projects, the experts are not learning to improve on it as well. As a result, cost overruns in infrastructure projects have been a subject of discussion for more than 2 decades now. It has been realized that not only the estimates presented to the decision makers should be accurate, but also the total project costs post approval (at the decision to build point) should adhere (be controlled) to the approved estimate. Either of the two situations/or both would lead to cost escalations/overruns. Researchers have been demanding more exploration on the front-end cost escalations of the projects rather than on the cost overruns in the execution phases. It has been realized that the front-end phases allow for the maximum control over the as-built costs, but ironically, the industry experiences more cost escalations in the front-end phases. It has been emphazied that ex-post studies on the front-end phases of projects can bring revelations on how projects suffer front-end escalations. Limited research exists on the front-end phases of infrastructure projcts, with almost all of them based on the Nordic countries and only one on the Dutch governance setting by Nijkamp & Ubbels (1998). The limited research mostly includes the studies that have produced ‘characteristic escalation figures’ & the ‘factors/causes’ (technical, political & cognitive). All these factors except ‘technical & cognitive’ are quite external to the project teams and are difficult to research on through ex-post studies. Citing ‘political factors’ as the prime cause, most researches on the ‘solutions’ counterpart have been discussing over ‘political misrepresentation’ as the main factor/cause of front-end cost escalations. Very less researches have been done on the ‘technical & cognitive’ factors, which are more internal to the project teams and can be easily studied through the ex-post researches on the front-end phases of recently completed infrastructure projects. This thesis aimed to gather such ‘technical/control’ based factors & their data collection/analysis methods, in order steer them for controlling the total project costs from the very front-end phases itself. This thesis gathered 19 such ‘control’-based technical factors from Arcadis cost experts and considered it as the starting point. Structured-questionnaire surveys then helped to filter out the most important factors which lead to front-end cost escalations. Finally, 12 interviews from two recent Dutch projects (Schiphol Expansion : Landside works & Redevelopment of highway N270) gave insights on what approach should be taken for data collection [cross-learning (CL)/open-data gathering (OA)] & data analysis [top-down (TD)/bottom-up (BU)] methods in order to steer the ‘factors’ in the front-end phases of the projects. The thesis concluded that ‘project-control’ based technical factors are crucial as well, and can be steered. The research results gave some insights on which data collection/analysis approaches should be taken for steering each of such ‘factor’ from the front-end phases itself. The thesis conclusively highlighted the need of further research on gathering more such ‘factors’ and obtaining suitable data collection (CL/OA) & data analysis (TD/BU) methods for steering them. The need to focus on ‘project controls’ based factors (and not just political factors) from the very front-end phases was also conveyed.

Today’s rising project complexity in combination with the changing economic environment has led to an increased interest in improving organizational business processes. Large multinational companies were always affected by those two factors in a greater extent than other smaller more localized competitors, rendering process reengineering an indispensable need for their continuous thrive. Determining best-practice approaches and integrating scale and knowledge into business process management may improve business performance by reducing error potential. This could be achieved through process standardization according to best-practice approaches. However, the proclaimed uniqueness of construction projects in combination with the numerous uncertainties that the industry is facing is rendering process standardization in the construction industry more complex. This research aims to explore the implications, opportunities and barriers of standardization in the construction industry and the implementation of previously gained knowledge – marked as best practices.

Infrastructure mega-projects are highly important for economic and societal growth, but they are also extremely susceptible to a high degree of risks leading to massive delays. These delays affect not only the project schedule but also the cost and the quality. The delay events are present throughout the project life cycle but, according to the researcher’s observation, most of the delays were found to occur in the design-construction interface. In general, the problem of delay has been studied a lot by previous researchers; however, being one of the critical phases, delays in the design-construction interface have still not been investigated. Therefore, this research conducts a detailed study for developing mitigation measures for delays within the design-construction interface in the infrastructure mega-project. To achieve the above goal, the research investigates critical events in an infrastructure megaproject to develop measures with the help of the critical incident technique (CIT). CIT was used for the research because it helped in evaluating the success or failure of the adopted and recommended measures. Based on the evaluation the research proposed a preventive and corrective measure framework to minimize the delay's effect on the project schedule.

As climate change concerns increase, more and more clients are aiming for higher sustainability ratings for their properties. Green building assessments are of great importance to stimulate the sustainable paradigm shift within the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry. However, the current working process for green building assessments, such as for BREEAM-NL certification, still requires tedious manual work. The application of Building Information Modeling provides an opportunity for automated assessments and real-time feedback. Despite the significant amount of research on technological possibilities of BIM-based sustainability compliance verification, this is not a commonly adopted BIM application. This thesis project aims to address this research gap, by taking a closer look into practice to identify the barriers that are hindering the adoption of BIM for BREEAM-NL assessments and proposing a strategy to further the utilization of BIM for this purpose. The primary contributions of this research lie in the following areas: 1) Investigating the actual status of BIM use for BREEAM-NL assessments in practice and discussing the needs of the industry 2) Integrating the topics of process and policy along with technology in the discussion of BIM-based Green Building Assessments and lastly, 3) Providing a practical strategy to initiate the implementation of BIM-based BREEAM-NL assessments.

‘The Dutch are not going to lose against the sea’, is a commonly accepted quote of the citizens of The Netherlands. Having developed a country below sea level, Dutch people are aware of the challenges of the sea, but are committed in an endless fight against it. Nowadays, with global warming increasing, the challenge for them is even bigger. Sea level rises threateningly, and the estimations about the future conditions are characterized by deep uncertainty. For that reason, the Dutch government identified 13 weak links in the coastal defence system, one of which is the area of interest for this research, the Scheveningen district and its surroundings, belonging to the Municipality of The Hague. Apart from its vulnerable coastal defence position, the area is densely populated and the most popular beach destination of the country. The aim of this research is to provide water safety solutions in the long term (until 2100), while taking into account the stakeholders demands. Secondly, compare the designs and identify specific aspects in which decision makers in the Municipality of The Hague would be forced to make compromises in order to implement a final solution for the project. Thirdly, investigate on additional measures that can complement and optimize the water safety design. For that reason, a background research was conducted through literature reviewing, interviewing experts and stakeholders, in order to collect information about possible sea level rise scenarios, existing boundaries of the system and stakeholders perspectives. The water safety issue was tackled with nature-based solutions following the principles of Integrated Coastal Zone Management by Building with Nature a framework that delivers solutions for sustainable infrastructure. Two solutions packages were obtained. The first one uses a Preserve strategy, attempting to maintain the current coastline position with soft (sandy) interventions where possible, keeping construction costs relatively low. The second package uses an Advance strategy, extending land in the seaward direction, and creating a large space for the development of natural habitats and human activities. To evaluate and compare the resulting designs, a Multi Criteria Analysis was conducted according to five criteria: Recreation and tourism, Social values, Ecology, Economy and Finance, Sustainability, Design. The goal of this part of the analysis is not the selection of a winner option but the assistance to the decision making process by providing strengths and weaknesses of each option, as well as a comparison between the two in terms of the above mentioned criteria. From this point on, this research identified a total of eight aspects where the decision maker, the Municipality of The Hague, would be forced to make some sort of compromises between different interests, in order to implement the project. The evaluation process resulted in a slight preference for the Advance strategy as the most integrated solution package. The optimization of this design was realised and four additional measures were proposed, leading to a more holistic proposal with more chances to bring acceptance among all stakeholders involved.