This thesis investigates the integration of human-centric factors (HCFs) of communication, trust, and flexibility into project management frameworks to enhance performance in civil and offshore constructions. As a reaction against the usual 20-45% cost overrun and 30% schedule delay problems, where 70-80% of failure is caused by human factors, this research presents a new framework to increase schedule compliance, cost-effectiveness, quality, and responsiveness under high-uncertainty situations. Traditional methods like PRINCE2 and PMBOK overlook behavioral team dynamics, but a people-centric approach is needed to mitigate inefficiencies created by disruptions like supply chain disruptions or regulatory changes.

Employing a mixed-methods design, the study integrates systematic literature review, semi-structured interviews with eight field experts, Gioia methodology, A12 highway project case study, and Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT) modeling. Literature review also identified gaps in empirical data and systematic synthesis of HCFs, whereas thematic synthesis of 50 studies established their impact, e.g., communication of a 10% delay reduction. Gioia analysis and interviews yielded three aggregate dimensions: Integration of Human Factors, Human-Centric Performance Optimization, and Adaptive Team Dynamics. GERT simulations quantified performance improvement with 8% reduced schedule delays using empathetic communication and 10-12% cost and rework avoidance with cooperative workshops. The A12 case study verified the results, wherein stakeholder briefings and trust minimization reduced conflicts by 15%.

The proposed framework offers practical recommendations, including active listening training, joint monthly workshops, and anticipatory planning based on GERT, which supplement mainstream methodologies. It achieves 10-15% reduction in delays and 15-20% increase in team satisfaction. It also advances project management theoretically by creating a qualitative foundation for the merging of HCF and widening the application of GERT in behavior modeling. Despite having a constraint like a small interview sample size, this thesis presents a sound foundation for enhancing construction project performance and resilience through human-centered methods.

Keywords: Human-Centric Factors, Project Management, Project Performance, Communication, Trust, Flexibility, Gioia Analysis, GERT

The construction industry is under growing pressure to reduce carbon emissions in response to climate change and regulatory demands, particularly in the Netherlands, which has set a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030. Timber construction emerges as a promising solution, offering a more sustainable alternative to traditional materials like concrete, given its lower carbon footprint and its capacity to capture and store carbon. At present the domination of concrete and steel as traditional heavy construction material in new buildings poses the underutilization of using the new timber innovative technique within the Dutch residential construction industry, respectively a small market share of 3%. Therefore despite its potential, timber construction remains underutilized, and asks for research on several socio-technical challenges that are needed to advance widespread adoption.

To examine the factors affecting the large-scale implementation of timber building practices in the Dutch residential sector, a Technological Innovation System (TIS) framework is applied. By combining a literature review, case studies, and semi-structured interviews, key socio-technical elements and market actors influencing timber adoption are identified. Both embodied and operational carbon emissions need to be tackled, with the shift toward timber materials offering a significant opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of buildings. However, the construction industry and its actors remain cautious, often perceiving timber as too complex, risky, and lacking in standardization.

This study reveals that the socio-technical factors of leadership, management strategies, and business processes play a crucial role in supporting the transition to timber construction. In particular, project management and commercialization emerge as essential drivers of success. To help organizations prioritize their actions, a quadrant matrix is developed, categorizing strategies based on their level of control and impact on the success of timber projects. Moreover, the findings point to the necessity of integrated design, industrialization, and standardization as key approaches to overcoming the barriers hindering timber adoption. Practical recommendations include fostering open communication within organizations, clearly defining responsibilities, and implementing risk assessment strategies. Looking ahead, future research should explore the operational phases of timber construction and further refine the TIS framework, particularly by examining how socio-technical factors evolve over time. Continuous learning and adaptation are highlighted as vital components for driving innovation in the early adaptors phase of timber building practices.

Megaprojects are inherently uncertain due to their scale, complexity, and unique, one-time nature, making accurate forecasting challenging. Throughout the project lifecycle (PLC), multiple internal and external stakeholders often perceive uncertainty differently due to their varying interests and values, which can intensify conflicts and fuel uncertainty. Additionally, the growing complexity of these projects—driven by both technical and human factors—poses significant management challenges. Even within the same organization or project, individuals may have differing perceptions of project uncertainties. Despite the importance of addressing uncertainty, current practices focus heavily on risk management, often neglecting uncertainty.
Complex infrastructure projects, as large and transformational megaprojects with significant societal impact, often underperform due to the underestimation of uncertainty. Private organizations, key players in procuring and managing these projects, traditionally emphasize the "Iron Triangle" of project success—budget, timeline, and scope. However, these risk-centric approaches often fail to address the broader complexities, leading to unmanaged uncertainties. Consequently, there is a pressing need for organizations to shift from traditional risk management practices to a more comprehensive perspective that accounts for uncertainty. Effective uncertainty management has become critical for the successful delivery of such projects, yet organizations continue to struggle to make meaningful progress in this area.
While the technical aspects of risk management are well-researched, successful uncertainty management requires organizations to cultivate a culture of awareness and adaptability. This study addresses this gap by emphasizing the need for developing both technical and soft skills within internal teams and stakeholders to build the competencies required to manage uncertainty effectively.
To tackle this pervasive issue, the study proposes a development framework that outlines strategies for enhancing key competencies among project members. Grounded in strong theoretical foundations from existing uncertainty management literature, the framework offers practical recommendations based on the case study of the 2GW Landstation project. This approach aims to accelerate the development of key competencies, equipping organizations to manage the uncertainties inherent in infrastructure projects more effectively.

The Dutch Climate Act (2019) requires a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, targeting a 49% reduction by 2030 and 95% by 2050. The construction sector, which is responsible for 15% of the Netherlands' CO2 emissions, largely relies on concrete, a material that contributes up to 8% of global CO2 emissions, primarily due to cement production. Transitioning to sustainable concrete is vital for meeting these climate targets. This study explores how demand-side organisations, particularly purchasers, can facilitate the adoption of green concrete in the Netherlands by establishing environmental standards and prioritising sustainable materials in construction projects.

This research utilises qualitative methods, including literature reviews, stakeholder interviews, and case studies of both conventional and green concrete projects. The findings emphasise the importance of promoting the 'cement with purpose' concept, generating demand for near-mature innovations, providing extensive testing for emerging innovations, and contributing to the development of alternative materials beyond slag. At the project level, the successful adoption of green concrete is associated with clear sustainability targets, strong engineering capabilities, client willingness to accept risks, and the strategic use of pilot projects.

The study proposes a conceptual framework, the Green Concrete Adoption Strategy for Purchasers (GCAS-4P), which combines strategic and practical insights to assist demand-side organisations in advancing the green concrete transition. It also highlights the need for further research to consider supplier perspectives and broader regional transitions.

Because of the potential consequences of sea level rise, decision-making to set adaptive strategies to handle the uncertainty over these consequences is required. There are several decision-making methods to deal with deep uncertainty and attempt to contain the impacts of sea level rise in organized response as the future unfolds. These methods are under development and need improvements to overarch challenges and strengthen the flexibility to work in different circumstances. Although each method has advantages that can be valuable and constructive in specific scopes, there are still future challenges and limitations concerning each method. Therefore, more research is required to widen the current focus and improve the applicability of the methods beyond the functional context.
Objective:
This study aims to provide a framework to improve decision-making methods by focusing on the decision context stage and the important aspects that must be considered by decision-makers at this stage. The decision context stage is the theoretical fundamental for the methods and a signpost to steer the whole decision-making process.
Questions:
The objective leads to the following research questions:
How to improve the decision-making context stage to deal with deep uncertainty in redesigning delta infrastructure?
1. What are the decision-making under deep uncertainty methods (DMDU) and to what extent do they consider uncertainty over sea level rise and future states of the delta?
2. What are the different functions of the Eastern Scheldt barrier system and how are they affected by the drivers?
3. What are the steps to improve the decision context for decision-making?
The resulting framework emphasizes the importance of zooming in to improve the context stage and integrate the life cycle management and shows an iterative way to improve the context stage in case of disagreement on the definition of success between different stakeholders and disciplines. Furthermore, the framework includes understanding the influence of drivers and the order of priorities to minimize uncertainty by integrating long-term planning into social and political contexts to avoid radical changes in the future. The study attempts to include these different steps in the context stage within other steps that already exist in the methods. The suggested steps can be considered as a trial to interconnect the infrastructure with the changing factors on the political, social, and economical levels. Redesigning delta infrastructure requires an integral approach to comprehending different aspects that play a role in handling deep uncertainty in the future.

Mumbai,as a rapidly growing megacity faces considerable challenges with its CDWM endeavours. This research is motivated by the unique context of the city, characterised by its highly fragmented construction industry in critical need of government interventions, to promote effective CDWM due to its fragmented, unorganised and competitive nature. This thesis explores the transitioning of the construction industry in Mumbai towards effective construction and demolition waste management (CDWM) from the perspective of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It seeks to identify the challenges faced by SME’s and propose strategies to enable them to meaningfully contribute to CDWM efforts.
Amixed methods approach was taken, beginning with a literature review to identify barriers and stakeholders involved in CDWM. This was followed by a comprehensive review of international case studies pertaining to Shenzhen, Singapore City and Hanoi to identify international best practices for compara
ble Asian contexts. Semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from Mumbai’s construction industry were conducted to adapt these identified solutions to Mumbai’s unique industry fabric. This was followed by the application of the Socio-Technical Systems (STS) theory framework to investigate the interplay of technical and social dimensions within their relevant environment. This leads to societal outcomes in the form of solutions for CDWM in Mumbai, steeped in its specific context using a phase wise approach.
The literature review revealed that the construction industry in India and by extension Mumbai suffers from; insufficient infrastructure, lack of knowledge and technology, lack of governmental incentives for CDWM,mindsetproblems, lack of enforcement, fragmented nature of the industry, supply chain issues and corruption as barriers towards the adoption of effective CDWM measures. Out of these barriers; the fragmented nature of the industry, lack of enforcement and corruption emerged as the key barriers that serve as stumbling blocks towards the adoption of effective CDWM. Studying international best practices through a case study approach provided solutions that can be divided in to 4 categories,
these are; strong governmental interventions, improving monitoring and enforcement, establishment of a thriving recycling market and improvements in infrastructure and technology.
These best practices were aligned to Mumbai’s unique context through stakeholder interviews and thematic analysis was conducted using the 4 dimensions of STS analysis as the themes. This allowed for the application of the STS theory framework to Mumbai’s construction industry, employing a phase-wise solution due to its suitability to transition projects and the requisite-prerequisite nature of some of the suggested measures. The solution is divided into 3 phases namely; Foundation and Preparatory Measures, Strengthening Implementation and Innovation and lastly Advancing Utilisation and Transition. These measures were suggested with the aim of transitioning Mumbai’s construction industry to largely eliminate illegal dumping, improve infrastructure and technology through collaborative research, improve quality of recycled materials, set up a thriving recycling market and introduce technical specifications for their use resulting in establishing material circularity in the industry. The final aim is for landfilling to be restricted purely to soil with all recyclable materials being recycled and processed to improve material circularity and reduce environmental impact of the construction industry in Mumbai.
The research also revealed that SME’s operating in Mumbai can be integrated positively into CDWM endeavors by improving the enforcement in the industry, providing incentives against punitive measures and enabling them to incorporate material circularity in projects without significant changes to their operating procedures. This cohesive solution, inclusive of all industry sectors, offers a means for the government to integrate, the historically challenging to organise SME sector into CDWM endeavors in Mumbai.

This research is about the contribution of community engagement professionals (CEPs) to project result. CEPs focus mainly on stakeholder management but also have other responsibilities like permits, claim handling and cables and pipes detection. There are several studies on stakeholder management and its importance, however, there are no studies on how CEPs contribute to project results. This research distinguishes between three different levels in determining project success, these are output, outcome and impact. This research investigates how the vision and actions of CEPs, working for contractors, contribute to project outcomes. To investigate this, narrative interviews were done, with CEPs and stakeholders.

Based on these interviews, a general view of CEPs was determined. Furthermore, several categories were created. From these categories, three tasks CEPs perform and five actions CEPs do to accomplish these tasks, were established. Task 1 is “CEPs arrange permits", Task 2 is "Creating external stakeholder support" and Task 3 is "Connection internal and external stakeholders". Through these tasks, CEPs contribute to their vision on community engagement. The five actions implemented by CEPs can be linked to two of the three tasks of CEPs. Task 2 includes the following actions: "Engaging stakeholders early", "Stakeholder communication & needs gathering" and "Relationship building with stakeholders". Task 3 includes the actions: "Proactive stakeholder engagement & solution orientation" and "Project overview & intermediary". The literature study revealed that there are three perspectives CEPs can have. CEPs focused on task 1 and 2 have a project management perspective. CEPs focused on Task 3 see themselves as intermediary. Furthermore, the literature study revealed three different stakeholder management approaches. The actions associated with task 2 are done with a descriptive and instrumental stakeholder management approach. The actions done to perform task 3 are done from a normative approach.

By analyzing the tasks, perspectives, actions, management approaches together with considering which actions contribute to which level of project result, it could be concluded that the vision and actions of CEPs working for contractors did not contribute to project success at outcome level.

Sustainability has become a prominent term in policy-oriented research as an expression of what public policies seek to achieve (Kuhlman & Farrington,2010). It has been a developing idea, frequently receiving attention from society, governmental agendas, and the innovative field (Tamak,2017). Organisations are now rapidly taking steps towards incorporating sustainability in their activities and projects. However, even though there are guiding principles mentioned in the literature, practice reveals that organisations still have trouble in the long-term implementation of sustainability in projects (Kammerl et al., 2017; Stewart et al., 2016). One of the most difficult challenges TSOs (Transmission Grid operators) face in successfully integrating sustainable requirements in projects is translating high-level sustainability goals into quantifiable and measurable sustainability aspects.The main aim of this research is to develop a framework for managing sustainability requirements in TSO projects. The objective of the research is to successfully reduce the gap present in managing sustainability requirements in TSO projects.This research is divided into three phases. Phase one is literature review, where an in-depth study regarding sustainability requirements from the context of TSO, organisations and projects was done. Phase two is emiprical research done through semi-structured interviews. This phase contributed towards understanding the current situation of sustainability requirement in TSO's projects as well as the uncertainties found. This is followed by phase three, which develops the framework. The sustainability requirements management framework is a goal oriented process and aims in translating ambitions into actions. The practicability of the framework is at the program level only, as this framework aims in aligning project sustainability requirements with the strategic ambitions, resulting in better sustainable performance. The framework also assists in understanding the benefits sustainability requirements gives when implemented well in the project.

This report provides a flood risk assessment of the Isiolo River Basin, in collaboration with Nelen & Schuurmans (3Di, FIS Tool) and Zephyr Consulting (SLAMDAM). This flood risk assessment includes a study of the current flood risk management in Kenya, and in the Isiolo River Basin in particular, because the need for proper flood management is urgent: various climate studies predict an increase in rainfall and an increase in flood risk as a result of the effects of climate change.

Current flood risk management is inadequate. Kenya has defined 21 flood-prone areas whereof one of them is Isiolo Town. Isiolo Town is located in the ENN basin which is, relatively, the most prone to the effects of climate change compared to the other basins. Furthermore, the ENN basin currently has the highest poverty rate and avoidance of further enlargement in poverty rate is important, so there is a need to mitigate flood risks. Since Isiolo Town is located in the Isiolo River Basin, this basin has been chosen for an in-depth study.

The Isiolo River Basin is an Arid Semi-Arid Land region which is often prone to flash floods. Isiolo Town is a flat area located downstream of mountainous area, the rain which falls upstream flows fast downstream and converges into town, often resulting in inundation. Many hazards, both natural and others, are increasing the flood risk in the basin and specifically Isiolo Town.

This flood risk demands flood risk mitigation measures. One possible measure is the SLAMDAM. The SLAMDAM is a movable water-filled flood-barrier. One dam has a length of 5 meters and a height of 1 meter and the dams can be connected to a desired length. The water stored in the dam can be used afterwards for irrigation or other uses.
To recommend effective areas to implement the SLAMDAM, 3Di and the FIS Tool are used. 3Di is a hydrodynamic model and it creates flood maps for different rain events. These flood maps are used as input for the FIS Tool. The FIS Tool calculates the benefits for deploying the SLAMDAM at a certain location for a particular length. The locations which result in the highest benefit are recommended to deploy the SLAMDAM in case of particular rain events. However, a site visit is required to see whether the modelled situation aligns with the real-life situation and to see whether boundary conditions are met.
The SLAMDAM is also compared to other flood risk mitigation measures. Some were analysed using the FIS Tool, whereas others are evaluated based on five self-formulated ranking criteria. These criteria form the base of a scoring matrix where each relevant mitigation measure is scored on.

The performed research has shown the SLAMDAM to rank the best compared to other mitigation measures, both when using the scoring matrix and when using the FIS Tool. However, it is highly recommended to use the SLAMDAM in combination with a Flood Early Warning System. In this way the community downstream can be warned in time to deploy the SLAMDAM. The FIS Tool is found to be especially valuable in finding proper locations for deployment and the dam can be stored close to these locations, enabling fast deployment of the dam in case of need.

Recently, the construction industry has been confronted with changing regulations, especially with the advent of sustainability goals and circular economy ambitions. The Dutch government wants to accomplish its ambitious initial objective of using 50% fewer primary resources by 2030. Further, by 2050, the goal is to have a waste-free economy that relies mostly on sustainable and renewable resources and reuses both products and raw materials.

Steel is a fundamental building component in the construction industry. However, due to changing market and industry conditions like lack of availability of raw materials for the production of virgin steel, exponential rise in prices of virgin steel and production of virgin steel being a high carbon and energy-intensive process - the use of virgin steel is becoming a not feasible option. Therefore, to meet the ambitions of the Dutch circular economy and to comply with the changing regulations like the demonstration of the Environmental Cost Indicator (ECI) as part of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the introduction of carbon taxes or EU ETS (European Union Emissions Trade System) is forcing the construction industry to limit the adoption of virgin steel. Thus, the reuse of structural steel elements is discussed highly in the building industry as an alternative. However, the reuse of steel encounters several barriers to its implementation.

A combination of these barriers results in a paradoxical tension during the decision-making process in the design phase of the project is that “whether is it feasible to first locate existing reclaimed/demountable materials available for reuse from the market and then design around them [Material-Driven Design] or design first with the intention of sourcing/ identifying the required materials later during the procurement phase [Form-Focused Design] ?" The contradictory tension is called the design-acquire paradox. In this research, Biopartner 5, a project which has successfully implemented large-scale reuse of structural steel elements, is used as a case study to analyse the processes involved in adopting the reuse of steel. The successful implementation was facilitated by several favourable conditions that do not match the current market scenario and industrial conditions. Thus, the approaches adopted cannot be used unanimously for all projects that intend to consider the opportunity of reusing steel.

The Ambidextrous Management Approach is identified as a feasible solution to deal with paradoxical tensions. In this research, with the principles of ambidexterity, an intervention is made into the existing industrial practices adopted to develop an Ambidextrous Process Tool. The tool can be used by various parties involved in the design phase of projects which intends to reuse steel. The tool aims to improve the potential and optimise the reuse of structural steel elements in buildings by mitigating the design-acquire paradoxical tension. The process tool emphasises balancing the exploration to improve the traceability of materials available in the market and the exploitation of identified materials. Furthermore, the tool focuses on embracing the potential of both Material Driven Design and Form-Focused Design simultaneously without making a trade-off between them.

The Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operations (AECO) industry can be descripted as a fragmented industry, with relatively low productivity and efficiency. Digital solutions like Building Information Modeling (BIM) can increase an organization's productivity. However, the Built Environment has been slow to adopt digital transformation, due to insufficient information management. Existing literature concentrates on addressing this challenge, by focusing on a single aspect of information management rather than providing a comprehensive picture of all the procedures, parties engaged, information, formats and platforms used as well as their interdependencies. Therefore, the objective of this graduation research is to determine the workflows for information management to allow digitization across the whole lifecycle, by examining multiple aspects. The case study findings lead to the creation of a process map, demonstrating more efficient workflows to be followed, by linking the distributed information between the different parties involved throughout the several project stages, while also considering each party’s digital ambitions. The main processes identified during each project stage concern the production of information deliverables by the respective party, using the suitable format. As both geometrical and non-geometrical information is generated during the different project stages, different formats are used, i.e. information models and documentation. Subsequently and at the end of each stage, the respective information is shared to other parties during specific information exchange moments. A collaborative environment is used by the different parties, both during the production and information sharing. Concluding, as digital transformation becomes even more widespread, a growing number of organizations strive for effective information management. To acquire a more reliable view on the subject, it is necessary to look at several aspects at once, hence the development of the proposed process map. To increase the validity of the outcome, more research and elaboration of the process map's elements is advised. Recommendations for the construction industry, with regard to the incorporation of digital ambitions, are also provided together with suggestions for a further enhancement of the company’s information management.