Prioritization of Infrastructure Renovation and Replacement works
L.I. Loaiza Osorio (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
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Abstract
The civil engineering sector in the Netherlands faces significant challenges, particularly in Renovating and Replacing (R&R) infrastructure from the 1950s and 1960s. These challenges are exacerbated by limited budgets and a shortage of skilled personnel, especially for municipalities, which manage over 80% of civil structures and bear most R&R costs. This research aims to develop a Roadmap to help municipalities prioritize R&R tasks, meet stakeholder
demands, and optimize resources, exploring the challenges, stakeholder roles, current practices, and decision-making processes involved.
The literature review reveals that decisions on infrastructure intervention depend on the asset's condition, available resources, and objectives. Exploratory interviews identify five prioritization approaches for R&R projects: Asset-driven, Importance-driven, Capacity-driven, Area-oriented, and Collaboration-driven. The study also introduces the concept of organizational maturity to assess a municipality's capacity to address the R&R challenge.
The study concludes that municipalities face significant hurdles in prioritizing R&R tasks, including stakeholder management, information management, defining objectives, asset condition assessment, internal coordination, and uncertainties about future demands and political agendas.
To address these, a Roadmap is proposed, guiding municipalities to select prioritization approaches based on their organizational maturity. The recommended sequence starts with Asset-driven for safety, followed by Importance-driven for cultural value, Capacity-driven for compliance, Area-oriented for resident benefits, and Collaboration-driven to leverage market capacity. The study suggests municipalities begin with Asset-driven approaches and incorporate others as they grow in maturity. Additionally, it recommends establishing independent funding for R&R, creating a central information platform, formalizing prioritization processes, forming dedicated teams for urgent projects, and adopting alternative procurement criteria.