UTFacultiesETPrIMEResearch ProjectsFinished ProjectsAsset Management Processes and the Dynamic Complexity in Practice: the Case of Public Organizations

Asset Management Processes and the Dynamic Complexity in Practice: the Case of Public Organizations

Researcher: Daan Schraven
Project Duration: February 2009 – February 2013
Project Partner: Rijkswaterstaat

Project Description:

The decision making on transport infrastructure receives much attention by academics and practitioners in the recent decade. Deterioration of existing infrastructure is a well recognized and critical problem that the developed world faces. Also, the problems of congested networks contribute to the risen interest. This increase in demand from our existing infrastructure raises discussion on the provision of extra funds. In addition, the debate has included the options to reduce expenditure. In this respect, academics call Asset Management a useful support process to identify trade-offs for intervention decisions on infrastructure. Its’ rationale entails a coherent approach across different dimensions of decision making. However, the decision-making is often ambiguous in practice. Practitioners are for a large part uninformed about the criteria and data to make trade-offs. As a consequence, asset managers without a support process have to rely on their experience and subjectivity to choose appropriate interventions for their infrastructure.

This research project investigates the support process for intervention decisions by asset managers. Following the dominant logic theory, it seeks to explain the ambiguous aspects in the support process for intervention decisions on infrastructure. The identification of trade-offs is the focus of this decision support. Subsequently, the aim is to develop and test a support process for coherent asset management.