The construction industry faces an urgent need to reduce its environmental footprint, in which the adoption of bio-based materials is a valuable step. However, the use of such materials in façades remains limited. This thesis, conducted within the MSc Civil Engineering (Building Engineering track) program at Delft University of Technology, in collaboration with ABT Consulting Engineers, uncovers the experienced challenges and addresses them by developing an information product for start-ups aspiring to bring bio-based non-structural closed façade products to market.
The research focuses on the knowledge and performance aspects necessary for start-ups lacking access to expert consultancy. Through a combination of literature research and interviews with start-ups and industry stakeholders, the study identifies key barriers: difficulties in product testing, difficulties navigating certification and regulatory frameworks, lack of standards tailored to bio-based materials, unfamiliarity with the use of bio-based materials, and difficulty with guarantees on supply, quality and production. Literature was reviewed on bio-based materials (e.g., flax, hemp, straw, cork, mycelium), façade design principles, façade performance (structural, fire, water, air, thermal, moisture, and acoustic), testing methods, and the legislative framework surrounding building products in the Netherlands.
The research methodology involved three phases: (1) expert dialogues to capture industry insights, (2) product development, using the state-of-the-art and results from the expert dialogues, and (3) validation through a feedback questionnaire with the target audience. The expert dialogues, taking place with start-ups, bio-based experts, and building (physics) experts, revealed advice from experience: certification should not be the main focus, but a means to help sell products, and adopt a go-to-market strategy that starts in an accessible market. The experts also gave insight in the useful knowledge from the state of the art, such as information on design tools such as UBAKUS or simple Excel models, testing methods such as compressive and flexural strength, bonding, UV, freeze, and fire resistance checks, how to comply with relevant standards by testing, and sustainability measurement tools such as LCA, MPG, BCI.
The final product is an interactive information guide designed specifically for start-ups. It navigates users through early-stage product development phases, including material selection, performance requirements, indicative testing strategies, and certification (including CE marking). The guide's format follows practices for user engagement: visual, intuitive navigation, and different layers of depth.
In conclusion, the thesis successfully creates a practical, targeted resource that empowers bio-based product start-ups to bridge critical knowledge gaps, increase their market readiness, and contribute to the sustainable transition of the built environment. The findings stress the importance of flexible certification frameworks, simplified early-stage testing, and stakeholder involvement to enable broader acceptance of bio-based innovations in construction.

As concerns about climate change increase, which can harm the environment, all kinds of businesses face a challenge called sustainability. In the construction sector, one pathway to greater sustainability is designing and constructing buildings with low carbon emissions. Some researchers have explored this challenge by investigating the portion between embodied and operational carbon, as well as the methodologies for calculating each type of carbon emission in buildings. Having an understanding of the design's performance against this challenge will provide more opportunities for design optimization. However, there is limited literature discussing methodologies to optimize whole-life carbon emissions, especially for apartment buildings in the Netherlands. This thesis project aims to fill this research gap by closely examining the practical relationship between embodied and operational carbon and by achieving optimized building designs to minimize whole-life carbon emissions. The scope of this thesis includes analyzing embodied carbon from stages A1 to A5, operational carbon at stage B6, focusing specifically on studio apartments located in the Netherlands. To achieve the aim of this thesis, which is to explore the relationship between embodied and operational carbon in apartment buildings located in the Netherlands, several key steps were undertaken. This study began with a comprehensive literature review and analysis to define factors and methodologies for calculating both embodied and operational carbon emissions. Subsequently, a case study was conducted using a simplified model in Excel and IES software to quantify these emissions. Optimization strategies were then implemented using Rhino 7 and Grasshopper. A detailed framework was developed in Rhino 7 and Grasshopper to guide optimization and analyze the resulting data. Finally, validation and evaluation of the framework and its outcomes were conducted through expert interviews. The findings yielded several critical insights. For instance, certain materials with higher embodied carbon can lead to lower operational carbon, while those with lower embodied carbon may result in higher operational carbon. Moreover, increasing thickness can effectively reduce operational carbon and contribute to overall reductions in whole-life carbon emissions, up to Rc 4; beyond this, the benefits diminish. Furthermore, materials with high embodied carbon above Rc 4 tend to increase whole-life carbon emissions, despite potential reductions in operational carbon. Lastly, each Rc of the façade has its own optimal façade opening, and window frame material only influences a small amount of the embodied carbon and has no influence on operational carbon. However, this result is based on Dutch circumstances and specific MEP inputs. Therefore, these results will differ if different locations and MEP inputs are used. Through this framework, designers are provided with practical guidance to achieve optimal solutions in apartment building design. Additionally, this framework has already been tested by expert respondents in this field, as detailed in Chapter 5. Recommendations for future research include expanding the scope to whole entire apartment (from foundation to roof) and integrating financial considerations into optimization strategies.

Flood risks and its consequences become more and more challenging and are demanding for the currently present dike systems and hydraulic structures in the Netherlands. This automatically raises the question for the possibility of adjustable temporary deployable flood defences that work autonomously. Nowadays it is more likely that a standard earthen dike will not be possible everywhere, due to site-specific characteristics such as available space or protected townscape. At these specific locations, a self-closing flood barrier can offer a solution, in view of minimally affecting the spatial quality with a reliable solution. The goal of this design study is to gain insight in the feasibility of applying a self-closing flood barrier in areas where spatial quality plays an important role and where the hydraulic boundary conditions demand for heavier structures. With the increase of densely built areas nowadays, the concept of an autonomously closing barrier is promising and an interesting alternative to consider.
In this thesis the objective is to develop a customised design of an adaptive self-closing flood barrier in the upper river region of the Netherlands. The city of Arcen in this case study is characterised by its cultural-historical values and its strong connection to the Meuse. This makes it difficult to construct conventional earthen dikes.
For the design purpose software with statistical data such as Hydra-NL is used to provide site characteristics, hydraulic and geotechnical boundary conditions and literature for information on currently applied barrier types and drive mechanisms. Furthermore, the design process has been completed with the help of the Design Guide Hydraulic Structures of Rijkswaterstaat and the Eurocode, from which a design originated in which stability and strength requirements have been met. The design resulted in a floating flat barrier of steel, which does not involve a complex design and is in line with integrating the structure in the area with minimal hindrance. In the design the focus lies on the functionality and the structural integrity with an in-depth look at adaptability and integrability.
The result shows that the design of a floating flat barrier is feasible as a self-closing structure in the city of Arcen. However, because of the location of the structure with the requirement of no townscape obstructing elements, a heavy support structure is needed for a design water level of 2.5 m above the ground surface. Furthermore, the applied boundary conditions leads to a large floater, even though the structure is slender. In order to develop a complete design, it is recommended to make a detailed design on the concrete foundation, to do a cost analysis on the construction and materials and investigate how a certain structure is received by the residents of Arcen. This will gain insight in areas to optimise the design furthermore.

This study examines improving the documentation and application of lessons learned in tender processes within the Dutch construction sector, focusing on Royal BAM Group. Despite the need for effective knowledge management, challenges like fragmented knowledge sharing and inconsistent documentation persist, limiting organizational learning. Using Social Network Analysis (SNA) and Root Cause Analysis (RCA), the research identifies key organizational, technological, and cultural barriers impacting knowledge sharing. The study proposes a GIS-based application to enhance access to lessons learned across departments. Recommendations include short-term actions and long-term strategies to formalize documentation and foster a learning culture, aiming to optimize future tender projects.

Located in Suriname, the village of Ricanau Mofo faces a multitude of environmental challenges. This report delves into a comprehensive study that employed a multidisciplinary approach, leveraging the expertise of students from various backgrounds to address these pressing issues.

The most critical concern identified was the relentless erosion of the riverbank, forming an existential threat to the village. The report explores interventions for both riverbank and soil erosion. Building upon the previous year's sheet pile wall construction by van Dongen et al. (2023), the report evaluates its effectiveness and proposes potential improvements for natural shore protection. It presents an analysis of structural solutions like sheet pile walls and quay walls, alongside nature-based methods that promote vegetation growth. A multi-criteria analysis is employed to objectively evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of each intervention.

Moving beyond the riverbank, the report investigates soil erosion in Ricanau Mofo's old center. To understand the water flow patterns, a hydrological analysis was conducted. This analysis incorporated field measurements, on-site observations, and existing scientific reports. By considering factors like clay content, vegetation cover, discharge, and slope, the study categorized different flow areas within the village center. This detailed analysis lead to the proposal of a combination of targeted interventions, including roof gutters, strategic vegetation planting, and channel improvements, all aimed at effectively addressing drainage issues and mitigating soil erosion.

Waste management emerged as another critical concern. The report sheds light on the impact of inadequate waste collection systems on hygiene and even the success of other implemented solutions. Recognizing the importance of community involvement, the report proposes a roadmap and implements a physical prototype for establishing a more organized and effective waste management system, promoting a sense of shared responsibility for a cleaner Ricanau Mofo.

This report illustrates the value of a multidisciplinary approach. By combining diverse expertise and conducting thorough analyses, the study provides a comprehensive understanding of Ricanau Mofo's environmental challenges. The proposed solutions for riverbank and soil erosion control, improved drainage, and effective waste management offer a sustainable path forward for the village's future development.

With the growing demand for expanding sustainable energy production in the Netherlands, investigating potential renewable energy sources has become imperative. Scheduled replacement projects for weirs along the river Meuse within the next decade present an excellent opportunity to assess the feasibility of integrating hydropower plants into these future weirs. This thesis explores the feasibility of implementing hydropower plants in future weirs along the river Meuse, addressing criteria such as hydraulic aspects, impact on vessel navigation, fish migration, and economic viability.

To achieve this objective, an initial case study was conducted, focusing on the development of a design for the weir replacement at Grave. Subsequently, the broader applicability of the developed design was explored to investigate large-scale implementation in the river Meuse. At the outset of this study, no specific design existed for the future weir at Grave. Therefore, the initial research phase concentrated on creating a future weir design for the Grave location. Following this, the optimal method for integrating a hydropower plant into this future weir was explored, employing the basic engineering design cycle as applied in civil engineering. The Archimedean screw turbine technology was selected, leading to the development of multiple hydropower plant designs using this technology. Initially, their direct integration into the weir was explored. However, it was determined that placing more than two of these turbines directly within the weir was hydraulically unfeasible, posing risks to water safety. To overcome this challenge, three potential implementation concepts were developed: temporary removable turbines, a hydropower plant in the floodplain, and turbine integration into weir pillars.

The optimal design for integrating a hydropower plant into the future weir complex at Grave was determined through a Multicriteria Analyses and the calculation of the internal rate of return for the various design variants. An essential finding is that economic feasibility depends on factors such as electricity prices and subsidies. The research suggests promising potential for hydropower implementation but underscores the need for further investigation. The design appears widely applicable to future weir projects along the river Meuse, which could potentially provide sustainable energy to approximately 32,000 households. Nevertheless, complexities necessitate additional research. It is crucial to emphasize that this thesis serves as an exploration rather than a definitive assessment of hydropower plant implementation in future river Meuse weirs. The study concludes by offering recommendations for further research.

One of the crucial aspects of BIM is the data rich environment connecting project information from different sub-sectors. (Mesároš et al., 2020). Therefore, developing models with consistent and trustworthy building data has gained significant importance in the industry. In contrast, incorrect or incomplete building data in a model could result in chained mistakes across disciplines, rework, or inadequate models for other stages of the building lifecycle.
Most of the improvements in BIM data in organisations take place in data quality reviews by BIM specialists. The lack of integration and complexity of existing data checking tools raised the expertise leading to assessment tools used mostly by BIM specialists. After a specialist reviews a project, corrections are communicated to the designers to solve the data issues in their models. This process is repeated until the desired quality is reached by the design team. Furthermore, missing, or wrong basic data structure can often lead to incomplete or inaccurate data checking processes.
The higher goal of this research is to produce perceivable benefits in the organisational data checking process. This is approached by facilitating the implementation of BIM standards and increasing the compliance of objects during design periods before entering the organisational review. Previous research showed that professionals would prefer to use simple dedicated quality checkers that can minimise manual tasks precisely and reliably instead of advanced software solutions. Thus, the goal is not to replace current workflows and practices, but instead to enhance basic data structures in models before entering the data reviews, by developing and implementing a new design-integrated checking and reporting tool.
The new checking process was verified and validated with specialists and modelers in three ongoing projects. This research showed that the developed design-integrated tool can produce the perceivable benefits in the organisational data checking process explained below:
•Enhancements in data quality before and after regular organisational checking reviews.
•Decrease in the duration and iterations in the organisational reviews.
•Increase of effectiveness and efficiency in detection and correction of data quality issues.
•Decrease of personnel frustration in the organisational process.
Thus, the research fulfilled the main objective to produce perceivable benefits in the organisational data checking process by developing and implementing a dedicated solution that engages designers in the process. The role-specific approach was essential to achieve a solution that meets the specific needs and system requirements of the target group, the designers. The purpose was to add a new prechecking layer to support and enhance existing data quality practices and processes. The result was a steering instrument for modelers working on the detailed design phase to involve them in identifying and correcting data quality issues.
Although the perceived benefits may vary in different contexts and organisations, the new data checking and reporting solution would raise awareness and promote designers’ engagement in the organisational data checking process, who are in a dominant position to identify and correct data quality issues.

The construction industry in the Netherlands is taking numerous measures throughout the industry to achieve the possible reduction of CO2 emission or GHG emissions by 2050 to become carbon neutral. Based on the current situation the major focus is usually on the production and construction phase of a building or a civil infrastructure. To meet the requirements to minimize CO2 emissions, the municipalities and the stakeholders involved in the maintenance phase of civil structures have to improve the emission reduction process. This can be made possible if the quantification of the CO2 emission is improvised from the current status and focuses only on the maintenance activities alone.

The results of the research are obtained from the developed information model. The information model allows the user to estimate the CO2 emissions from the maintenance activities of the assets located in a municipality. The data obtained from the estimation of CO2 is used in the dashboard of the information model to visualize and compare the data in terms of different criteria like building materials, size of the assets, location of the assets, heavy machinery usage, etc. This way, the decisions can be made by the involved stakeholders in asset management in the strategies of the maintenance planning of the assets or the overall municipality.

This information model can add value to the existing life cycle applications since the maintenance or the usage phase emission is redefined and the necessary scope for maintenance is added to the existing scope. The consultants, asset owners/managers can monitor the CO2 emission from the maintenance activities specifically and can take any measures with the output data available from the information model. This information model currently quantifies the CO2 emission from the minor maintenance activities of the assets in a municipality. With this information, the next step can lead to optimizing the CO2 emission with other criteria like time and cost for the entire Municipality.

One of the fundamental goals for the success of a construction project is found to be completion within the budget. To reach this goal, cost estimation is a key process which can be divided into the estimation of direct and indirect costs. Unlike direct costs, indirect costs are not directly connected with the performance of any particular element of a project which makes proper allocation of these costs a challenging issue. Although the classification in the ABK model (2018) provides clarity regarding the content of the indirect cost items, estimation of these costs (ABK) and especially the tasks for quantity take-off (QTO) were identified as time-consuming and lacking standardised guidelines and procedures.
At the same time, Building Information Models (BIM), which are increasingly used, offer an effective platform for linking data regarding construction costs. The fifth dimension of BIM in particular adds cost information to the 3D construction model. Full interoperability between the various information models is still a goal that has not been reached yet within the construction sector. Recent studies have examined inefficiencies caused by inadequate interoperability, like manual re-entry of data and duplication of tasks.
This research aims to positively contribute to the efficiency of the indirect cost estimation process by developing a 5D computer-based tool. The development of the tool was based on literature review and interviews with practitioners. Features of BIM applications were used and linked to the outcome of the indirect cost estimate. The tool was able to reduce manual interventions and reduce task durations, which resulted in a positive contribution to the efficiency of the indirect cost estimation process. Main benefits of the tool were hereby the structured guidelines for quantity take-offs, a reduction in manual intervention and time for QTO tasks and implementation of project changes within the outcome of the ABK estimate.

Container terminals are critical infrastructure for the economy, and the need to digitalize is felt in the industry. One solution is to combine digital integration and process automation with a digital twin. This is an ideal tool to identify weaknesses and opportunities in the operations of a container terminal. However, digital twins are often developed for a single terminal with unique characteristics, which means that the tool cannot be easily scaled to other sites. To optimize operations at multiple container terminals, it is necessary to explore how the twin can be scaled. Such a strategy for scaling digital twins at container terminals cannot be found in literature. Therefore, this research aims to fill this gap by developing a criteria-based roadmap for the senior management of global container terminals. The scaling strategy focuses on scaling up to multiple locations instead of scaling out to several processes on the same terminal.

After a detailed review of the literature and conducting interviews, the main findings were combined into design criteria for the roadmap. The three phases for the timeline are shown as three columns in the roadmap. The phases are 'developing the digital twin', 'using the digital twin' and 'scaling the use of the digital twin'. Most used in transformation projects is the People, Process and Technology (PPT) framework, so people (key actors), process (operations and strategy) and technology (data, hardware and software) are the three themes and shown as rows in the roadmap.

When all criteria were established and the roadmap template was designed, the logical steps of the roadmap were identified for each of the three phases. These steps were complemented and validated to see if important information was missing. For each step, it was determined which themes (people, process and technology) were applicable. After the first design, several interviews with experts from the container terminal industry were conducted to validate the roadmap. Based on their feedback, the roadmap was improved. Six stages were added to the final phase to emphasize the scaling phase. Each stage describes an essential element for scaling up and it is important to understand these to establish successful scaling procedures.

In conclusion, the roadmap developed in this study is useful for container terminals looking to scale up digital twins. It provides insight into the steps required to develop, use, and ultimately deploy digital twins on a larger scale. Especially for terminals that have no experience with such projects, it serves as a starting point to define the strategy and free up resources within the organization. Because the roadmap was developed at a strategic level, not all steps are very detailed, so an organization will need to do further research to determine its strategy. Each organization can determine for itself which steps are familiar and which steps require more attention. Therefore, this roadmap serves as a solid starting point for senior management looking to scale digital twin solutions.

The construction and waste industry would move towards applying Circular Economy (CE) strategies, to meet the circular ambition of the Dutch government before 2050. In order to accelerate this transition, it is necessary to explore and adopt more innovative and sustainable solutions within the construction and waste sector. A small amount of waste including materials and elements from the construction projects is being reused after End-of-Life phase, and this issue must be optimized considerably. On the other hand, the aforementioned sector suffers from the lack of a centralized and harmonized data platform which can contribute either to advancing of CE transition by optimizing reusability or the collaboration among the stakeholders involved in the deconstruction process. There are still various sustainable and circular issues that need to be taken into consideration when realizing, developing and enriching a newly designed data sources. Therefore, this research is aimed to conceptualize and develop a ‘Circular Construction Element (CCE) Information System’ as a tool which consists of an import sheet, an analysis and processing sheet and a dashboard. The ‘CCE Information System’ takes into account the functional performance characteristics of the existing elements and also the cost-related issues of the stakeholders involved in the deconstruction for reuse process. The developed tool is therefore intended to support various stakeholders in the decision-making process regarding reusing the existing elements.
In this study, different functional performance properties of the existing concrete elements have been analyzed and it can be concluded that those characteristics depends largely on functional properties of the substances used in them. On the other hand, there are a large number of stakeholders involved in deconstruction process with different ambitions and benefits. The research showed that deconstruction for reuse is an uneconomic process for the actors, as this process requires more time, manpower, equipment and costly interventions. By measuring the Reuse Potential (RP) factor from a functional (qualitative) and economic (quantitative) perspective, it is possible to indicate the extent to which the functional residual value and also the profitability of reuse of the element is. The developed tool has been applied in real cases and the results showed that the existing elements have sufficient functional reuse potential value, but this depends largely on the function of the newly designed projects. Furthermore, the reuse cost including deconstruction and other associated costs can be optimized by the proposed tool. Thus, based on the results obtained by applying the CCE information system in real cases, it can be concluded that the existing elements can be kept in a closed loop by finding the elements and linking them to the most suitable project from a functional and economic point of view. Moreover, the client and the contractor (demolition company) can deal with many costs uncertainties, including benefits and loss. These parties may also face different uncertainties that can arise due to many other reasons such as the exceedance of process time, additional labor costs, and uncertainties regarding salvage value. Therefore, it can highly be recommended to analyze the impact of those uncertainties on the deconstruction cost and consequently on the reuse and other associated costs as these uncertainties will take into consideration in the deconstruction process.

The current research stems from the motivation of reducing the information loss that asset managers face in the operation & maintenance phase of the project. Most of the public infrastructure assets’ condition nowadays deteriorate due to ageing and municipalities confront challenges to manage their portfolios effectively by adopting proactive management strategies. To succeed the highest possible value from assets, asset management is being adopted as an industry practice in the Dutch construction sector. Successfully managing assets requires managers at the handover stage to acquire accurate, explicit, and complete information from the earlier stages (Design and Construction phase). Only with reliable information they can make the right decisions about costs, performance, and risks which are the pillars of asset management theory. However, the information in the operations stage is incomplete or invalid and dispersed in various sources. This is an obstacle to reuse knowledge as asset managers have to identify information from various sources leading to secondary costs. Significant barriers are the asset managers' limited involvement from the project's beginning. That makes their needs less explicit for contractors and reduces the level of understanding of what information they have to deliver. This thesis works towards providing a more reusable and flexible method in the construction industry for capturing and structuring the strategic information needs of asset managers in a machine and human-understandable way. Linked data and semantic web technologies were used to capture and structure the information and create an ontology. In conclusion, the research demonstrated a way of identifying, capturing and structuring asset information needs with which users can communicate effectively using a common language. The ontology aggregates and stores information from diverse sources and enhance the communication between parties by providing them a common understanding given the specific scope. In this way, the information needs of asset managers can be explicitly defined from the beginning of a project, resulting to complete and reusable information. Now the understanding of what information has to be transferred to asset managers is more straightforward, reusable and unambiguous, resulting in reduced time retrieval of information and secondary costs (e.g. looking for information).

Innovative solutions for safety and risk management on construction sites are required to reduce the amount of accidents that occur globally, as too many occupational accidents still happen in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry. A particular problem is the fall from height (FFH) accidents on construction sites, due to failing barriers with the underlying cause of insufficient planning. In previous research it has been suggested to develop dedicated BIM plug-ins to automate and visualise risk identification and evaluation of construction sites as a means to assist the safety management process. To explore the impact of BIM on FFH accident reduction through automation and visualisation, a digital tool prototype is developed. This prototype focusses on fall from height (FFH) identification on construction sites during early project phases of civil engineering projects. It is programmed in Autodesk Dynamo for Revit, based on technical and functional requirements derived from literature and industry professionals. A simulation of the FFH tool prototype has been conducted through a pilot project. The result of this product development is a working fall from height detection prototype that is to be used as a supporting tool during the safety analysis of construction site design in Dutch civil engineering projects. The developed tool is added to the body of products that can be used for digitalisation and innovation within the construction process, where it digitalises part of the safety management process that is otherwise performed manually. The added value of the tool prototype is the addition of automated risk detection, creating support in the design and planning process and providing added information to group discussion on safety matters in risk identification and evaluation meetings. Recommendation for future use of the tool is to implement the FFH tool prototype during the design phase to provide the designer with insights in the safety of the constructability. Additionally, the FFH tool prototype can be implemented by safety managers to use the results during safety meetings for better discussion and evaluation of the construction site. For the implementation, improvement of the level of detail in the 3D models for the projects and including temporary construction site works is essential. For further development it is recommended to focus on improving the import of linked models into the script and developing alternative operations to determine the height differences. More developments and improvements can be made to the script to increase the applicability on more complex projects. Concluding, the FFH tool prototype is considered to bring added value in digitalising an otherwise manual process regarding safety management. It is suggested to incorporate use of the FFH tool prototype in the design and planning process to proactively engage in digitalising and innovating engineering processes.

Risk management, a process aiming to decrease or eliminate the likelihood and impact of unwanted effects on a project during its lifecycle, has become highly significant due to complexity, uncertainties and high competition. Numerous tools and techniques have been developed for successfully implementing risk management. However, risk is frequently inadequately addressed and existing tools and knowledge are not used and exploited at a high degree. This research examines current practices of the risk management process and identifies barriers and opportunities pointing to improve its implementation through the exploitation of information and knowledge of past projects. The investigated knowledge and information focus on project drivers, characteristics and other KPI’s. The empirical study of the research incorporates the analysis of seven risk registers/projects of Witteveen+Bos and development of interviews of W+B risk and project managers involved in the analyzed projects. Subsequently, validation of the results is achieved through extra interviews of risk management experts external to Witteveen+Bos and a conceptual framework is developed. The last step of this qualitative research entails the validation of the conceptual framework which is tested with a case study implemented through an online workshop and a questionnaire.
By analyzing the literature findings and empirical data, it is concluded that information and knowledge management during the implementation of risk management are not adequately developed while simultaneously constitute a major barrier to its success. Therefore, a conceptual framework that incorporates a way of structuring risk related information is developed while targeting to also tackle certain identified barriers of the current procedures such as the understanding of risk structure to the whole project and the adequate exchange of information during the process.
The framework suggests a higher quality use of risk registers while structuring information and afterwards exploiting the information for capturing lessons that can be reused in future projects. It provides a way of clustering information during the development of projects and at the same time incorporates the development and use of risk networks. The development of risk networks is initiated by grouping risks based on their source. The aforementioned sources are selected based on the results of the research and named ‘Key Sources’. The aim of using risk networks is to increase risk insights while displaying risk exposure visually. In this way barriers such as lower understanding of risks, incomplete communication of risks as well as short term view of risks may be addressed or eliminated. Another part of the framework concerns the development of evaluation concerning the process as well as the description of risk related information. It is concluded that even though, there is a wide array of identified barriers to the effectiveness of risk management implementation, overcoming information and knowledge management barriers can constitute a higher level way of overcoming other barriers as well.

In recent years the AEC industry has started implementing more new technologies. Still, the adoption process is slow. One of the crucial steps during the building designing is a justification of design according to previously defined requirements. That process is still manual to a large extent, therefore unnecessarily time-consuming and prone to errors. The need for automation of requirements compliance checking has been rising in recent years, and the science community presented various approaches for automation. Still, most of the proposed methods has similar problems: using a black-box approach, require that the designer is highly skilled in programming, focusing on only geometric requirements and not covering whole process of compliance checking. Therefore, there is a need for a new approach that can solve all these problems. The rise in popularity of parametric design and tools like Grasshopper opens the possibility to overcome some of the current limitations. Also, the possibility of using requirements management software to have the process fully organized supports the belief in automating compliance checking. The fundamental objective of this project is to explore the possibilities of automating the requirements verification for a building design by using requirements management software to systematically structure the requirements and Grasshopper to generate the rules, which afterwards can be verified. To achieve this objective, the project was divided into three main parts. First, the conceptual framework for automated code checking is developed. Afterwards, the system architecture of the prototype tool was explored, and instructions for scripting the tool were given. Finally, after the tool was scripted, it was tested on a real building model.

From the literature review the two main types of requirements are found, the functional and performance requirement. Since the functional requirements are qualitative and cannot be quantified, that category is not suitable for checking with the approach proposed in this project. Therefore, the focus was on performance requirements. The central part of the project is the creation of a framework for automated compliance checking. The five steps are defined and these are:
1.) Requirements defining and logical structuring into RMS
2.) Interpretation of requirements
3.) Building model preparation
4.) Checking phase
5.) Reporting phase

After the theoretical basis is set, the modelling of the tool is elaborated. Firstly, the requirements for the tool are set. Afterwards, the system architecture is explored, and finally, instructions for scripting the tool are developed.

After the prototype tool is scripted, it is tested on a real building model, and it shows clear advantages compared to other approaches or manual work, still, it also has some disadvantages.
Test of the tool proved that the Visual programming language environment is a great platform for developing a white-box approach for automated compliance checking. Also, testing on the real-world building model shows that a five-step approach for automated testing of building design works and can be used. Lastly, the test shows that the proposed system architecture and instructions for scripting the tool can result in a well-operating tool.

Finally, recommendations for future research are given.

The construction industry has always been plagued with a high number of accidents and fatalities. The Dutch construction is not an exception in this case and had the highest percentage of workplace accidents among all industries in the national economy, in the year 2019. The high number of accidents and resulting fatalities can be attributed to a plethora of factors. Traditionally, the construction industry has relied on inspections by safety coordinators and supervisors to monitor compliance to the safety regulations by the workers. However, in this manual approach, accuracy of recognizing hazards and making proactive interventions is subject to experience and competency of the supervising personnel and has often proven to be unreliable. Thus, a more objective approach is required to for recognizing hazards and thereby making proactive interventions to prevent accidents.This can only be achieved by analyzing observational data from the construction site in real time. The problem is that with increased use of technology, the sheer volume of data generated by construction projects has surged exponentially. Massive amounts of data are being generated throughout a project’s life cycle but there is a dearth of data management processes which can help construction organizations manage health & safety of workers on construction sites in real time. Thus, this research develops a process map to achieve data driven health & safety management in the construction industry. Various causal factors of accidents in the construction industry and have been identified from literature and co-related with the ones found in archival health & safety data from AECOM Netherlands and opinions of industry experts. The common factors are discerned and later steer the design of the process map. Moreover, type of data, specific data management technologies and best practices to implement these technologies to mitigate the risks, have also been identified. Based on the findings and the researchers’ critical thinking, ten requirement specifications have been formulated. The ten requirement specifications and the identified best practices are then used to design subsets pertaining to the four stages of data management process proposed by Mello et al. (2014), which are data acquisition, data organization, data analytics and data application. Furthermore, an integration framework has been developed, which is used to integrate the individual subsets and develop the final process map. The integrated process map clearly demonstrates checkpoints, placement of data acquisition technologies, data & information flows, actors & responsibilities, to achieve data driven health & safety management on construction sites.The process map is then validated by interviewing experts from construction organizations, which have deployed the innovative technologies used to develop the process map in this research, albeit not in an integrated manner. From the information shared by the experts and their opinions, it has been deduced that the developed process map will secure the construction site against specific risks. Moreover, the developed process is expected to expedite a cultural shift towards a more organized and consistent approach to construction and establish consistency of work environment across an organization’s project portfolio. However, the developed process also has certain shortcomings as well, which in turn may give rise to secondary risks. The findings of this research are not limited to a specific type of construction projects. However, it is more suitable for implementation on large construction projects, in order to realize return on investment. The integrated process is also likely to find suitors in the upstream oil and gas industry, wherein ensuring safety of workers is more complicated. On a holistic level, this research determines that there is immense potential in data acquisition, organization, analytics and application, for the construction industry to exploit. By discerning the primary techniques and real-world solutions, the research establishes the necessary groundwork for the development of a real time health & safety management system, which would help construction organizations in achieving semi-automated management of health and safety conditions on construction sites.

In the current breakwater design process, not all feasible concepts can be explored due to time constraints. However, designers are also influenced by breakwaters constructed near, or at the same location as their breakwater project. But also conservative assumptions influence the breakwater design process, for instance, regarding the wave height and water depth for which caisson and rubble mound breakwaters are both economical feasible. This results in a suboptimal design, which can result in losing a tender.

By developing a design automation tool more concepts can be generated in the same period, allowing designers to explore more concepts during tenders. However, before developing a design automation tool one must first understand the process to be automated. Therefore, interviews with experienced designers have been conducted to investigate how they design, i.e. what is their design approach and how do they generate and select concepts.

It appeared that the practical breakwater design approach relies on the experience of designers since engineering judgement and experience were mentioned as the preferred methods for the selection of the most promising concept. Furthermore, the designers described an iterative approach for generating concepts during the conceptual design phase, but they did not explicitly stated that these iterations were part of their design approach, indicating that experienced designers automatically perform the required steps.

During the interviews, it also became apparent that implementing a probabilistic design approach is unwanted by designers. According to the interviewees, this results in a too conservative and too expensive design, which can result in losing the tender. They also reported that there is a lack of data, which likely results in the designers making conservative estimates to compensate for the missing data. However, this research did not investigate if conservative estimates are made when data is missing, and therefore requires further research.

Based on the interviews a design automation tool was developed which can design rubble mound, caisson, and vertically composite breakwaters. Because of the importance of experience the decision was made to automatically selects concepts. This to give the largest freedom to the designer so that his experience is incorporated in the process, while using the benefits of automation for the quick generation and verification of concepts, resulting in a semi-automatic design process.

The developed tool was verified and validated by interviewing experienced breakwater designers. From a document and code inspection, it was concluded that the new tool fulfilled all requirements. During these interviews, the designers stated that they would be able to use the developed tool in their design approach. One of the main advantages of the tool is that it was able to quickly design concepts, 0.14s per concept, and made it possible to explore the influence of parameters on the design and cost. This enabled designers to explore more concepts and assess the feasibility of different breakwater types, and thus enabled them to generate a better design. Therefore, it can be concluded that the developed design automation tool can indeed improve the breakwater design process.

In Chile, the Biobío river separates the cities of Concepción and San Pedro de la Paz. Bridges crossing the Biobío river ensure a fast and dependable connection, which contributes to the transport options in the region. With the Biobío region being the second largest contributor to the country's GDP, an unreliable transport network is highly undesirable. However, this is exactly what happened since 2016. Some of the bridges crossing the river collapsed, excessive local pier scour near the foundation and negative effects of morphological dynamics were deemed to be one of the causes. Furthermore, Chile is prone to earthquakes and the resulting tsunamis, which can also damage the structural integrity of the bridge. The Chilean Railroad Agency (EFE) wants to realise a new railroad bridge crossing the Biobío river in Concepción, replacing the existing century old railway bridge. To prevent the failure of the new railway bridge, which can result in unnecessary economic damages, the morphological influence and damages due to scour, earthquakes and tsunamis, must be thoroughly understood and modelled. This process of modelling the current and future situations of the Biobío river is part of this project, using Delft3D-FLOW and NeoWave as modelling agents. With the outcomes the programme of requirements and the preliminary design for the bridge are updated and presented.

Traditional construction planning and performance control tools such as Gantt Charts and S Curves fail to visually represent physical project progress, construction sequence, interfaces and the critical path, which means that decision makers carry out their job with incomplete information. Moreover, these tools motivate a quantity-oriented mindset and a project island approach. Furthermore, traditional information flows in projects are inefficient since these present a significant lag between data collection and project status reporting. With improvements in technology and enhanced visualization through 3D object-based models linked to the schedule (time being the fourth dimension), opportunities arise that enable bridging the information and communication gaps currently experienced in planning and evaluating as built performance in a Building Information Modelling (BIM) approach. 4D BIM has been seldom implemented in the execution phase of projects and has been utilized merely as a preconstruction planning tool. The end goal of the research is to make recommendations on how to apply 4D BIM during the site execution phase to improve construction performance control in mega projects and provide a conceptual model of a work methodology to be implemented in civil engineering projects...