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Programme for Infrastructure Management Excellence
Programme for Infrastructure Management Excellence
UTFacultiesETPrIMEAbout the Programme

About the Programme

Our perspective

An optimally designed, constructed and maintained infrastructure (e.g. transportation, energy or water) is of economic and social importance in every modern society. The performance of an infrastructure system strongly affects the distribution of resources and goods, the accessibility and economic development of regions, the mobility of citizens and the broad well-being. Economic strength and social health of countries are directly related to the effectiveness and efficiency of the infrastructure system. Professional infrastructure management is required to guarantee a performance level throughout the entire infrastructure life cycle that meets the needs of the users and the owners.

Infrastructure management (IM) involves activities and decisions that reduce the expenditures over the life cycle of an infrastructure asset while extending the period for which the asset provides its required performance. It focuses on three main questions: the why, when and what of activities and decisions. The “why” concerns the objective or purpose of infrastructure. An infrastructure asset represents a resource used by an organisation (e.g. public agency) to deliver services to its customers or run its production processes. By defining infrastructure objectives, the importance of an asset for an organisation and its role in its business can be determined. The “when” addresses the performance situation of infrastructure. An infrastructure asset wears out over time and can reach a critical stage of undesired performance. By analysing the development of infrastructure's functional and technical performance, the point in time when the performance of an asset becomes critical can be identified. The “what” deals with the kind of interventions throughout the life-cycle of an infrastructure asset. Interventions may include preventive and corrective maintenance, renovation or (re)building.  

A professional IM is characterised by the continuous alignment of the why, when and what (Figure 1):

IM decisions and activities are embedded in and influenced by a specific institutional context. The alignment of the three questions is not only a response to the deterioration of infrastructure. It also answers changing social, technological, political and environmental issues (Figure 1). Particularly in recent years, the complexity and dynamics of decision-making in infrastructure management have steadily increased.

Many infrastructure assets (e.g., bridges, locks) were designed and built under social, technological and environmental conditions that substantially differed from today's. Consequently, they are approaching the end of their technical and functional lifespan. Bridge closures and traffic restrictions drastically show the consequences of deteriorated structures that do not comply with changing conditions. Combined with neglected maintenance in the past, the increasing structural deficiencies of infrastructure pose a considerable challenge to managing agencies. This relates to the amount of infrastructure assets for which the functional performance needs to be restored. The challenge also includes making infrastructures future-proof. Restoring the functionality of infrastructures is more than just solving a technical and safety problem. It needs to be integrated into the broader context of societal transitions, such as the energy transition and the transition to a sustainable and circular economy. It requires a lot of financial investment, technological innovativeness, planning, and stakeholder engagement. However, it also offers opportunities. For example, instead of replacing infrastructure assets completely, their lifespan can be extended by interventions that increase functional performance. These interventions can reduce the consumption of resources (material, products, energy, etc.) and the intervention task's environmental impact (greenhouse gas emissions). They can keep the material of the existing assets longer in the resource loop. However, this requires not only insights into the environmental, technical and economic impact of interventions on the future performance of infrastructure assets but also an understanding of the extent to which investments in infrastructure shape societal transitions.


Figure 1 Infrastructure Management Framework

 

Our approach

The Programme for Infrastructure Management Excellence (PrIME) seeks to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of decisions and activities that aim to maintain, restore, or increase infrastructure performance.   

PrIME adopts an integrative approach that brings together ideas from technical, organisational, and social science to understand the dynamic and complex character of IM better (Figure 1). We strive for new methods, models and processes that allow optimised decision-making throughout the life-cycle of infrastructure assets. Since conventional infrastructure management approaches are insufficient to tackle the complexities of socio-technical transitions and deal with the increasingly interrelated infrastructure systems, PrIME aims to reveal institutional and organisational changes needed in the infrastructure sector to cope with the challenges ahead and tap the opportunities opening up. To this end, PrIME involves a number of research projects which address a diverse range of IM aspects, such as:

Education activities are also part of PrIME. Many organizations are looking for a new generation of infrastructure managers who can cope with complex problems in a multi-level, multi-interest decision context. PrIME facilitates the development of IM competencies and capabilities through the provision of courses and training.

Although PrIME is an initiative of the University of Twente, we provide many programme activities in close collaboration with other organisations in the industry and academia. Our industry partners are:

 Our partners from academia include:

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