Table 1

Case (organisation) characteristics

Public organisation – Road (The Netherlands)
Responsible for main road and waterways and water management in the Netherlands
Public organisation – Rail (The Netherlands)
Responsible for main railways in the Netherlands
Road ARoad BRail ARail B
Private organisation (supplier)Consortium of: (1) a large supplier (20,000 employees) specialised in construction; and (2) a medium-sized supplier (175 employees) specialised in hydraulic engineeringConsortium of: (1) a large supplier (46,500 employees) specialised in electro-technical installations; and (2) a medium-sized supplier (180 employees) specialised in constructionMedium-sized supplier (275 employees) specialised in construction and maintenance of railroad systemsLarge supplier (6,500 employees) specialised in construction and maintenance of railroad systems
Public and private organisation's objectivesRoad (public): Safeguard public interests (e.g. availability, security) and maintain aging infrastructure with limited budgets in a sustainable manner, while also dealing with extended responsibility (Road is publicly accountable in case failures occur, even if supplier's actions caused it)
Suppliers (private): Increase volume of maintenance activities (e.g. remain focussed on preventive rather than predictive maintenance, so that more maintenance activities can be performed), thereby potentially decreasing the availability of infrastructures
Rail (public): Safeguard public interests (e.g. availability, security), maintain aging infrastructure with limited budgets, and perform effective traffic management on the railroad network. Rail also needs to deal with extended responsibility (Rail is publicly accountable in case failures occur, even if supplier's actions caused it)
Suppliers (private): Increase volume of maintenance activities (e.g. remain focussed on preventive rather than predictive maintenance, so that more maintenance activities can be performed), thereby potentially hindering effective traffic control
Information needs of both public and private organisationRoad (public): Is reliant on up-to-date information about the health of assets and performed maintenance from their suppliers to more efficiently manage assets and monitor availability/safety of the network due to their extended responsibility. Requires technical knowledge of the suppliers regarding assets to transform data
Suppliers (private): Requires historical data from Road's systems to calibrate degradation models for assets in order to detect failures and better plan future maintenance activities
Rail (public): Requires up-to-date information about the health of assets and maintenance activities to re-route or re-schedule trains in case of failures, check suppliers' performance, and monitor availability/safety of the network due to their extended responsibility
Suppliers (private): Requires the newest data from inspection trains to complement their own inspection data to monitor the condition of assets. Builds on historical data from Rail's systems to better plan future maintenance activities
Prior relationshipNo prior relationship with either supplierNo prior relationship with current supplierSecond consecutive contract. Previous contract period: 5 years
Contract
- Scope
Maintenance of an important waterway corridor (15,000 ships per year) connecting the eastern part of the Netherlands with GermanyMaintenance of an important waterway corridor connecting inland waterways to the North Sea. Water pumping station keeps 1/3 of the Netherlands dryMaintenance of a major railway connection (10 passenger trains per hour) between two large cities in the middle and southern part of the NetherlandsMaintenance of the railways directly connected to the area surrounding the most central train station in the Netherlands (100 passenger trains per hour
- TypeLocally customised performance-based contractLocally customised contract with performance and behavioural aspectsCentrally led performance-based contract
- Duration and start of contract period5 years (option for two 1-year extensions)5 years (with extension option)
2014201620172019
Digital strategy (case organisations)Recently initiated an organisation-wide programme, focussed on implementing smart maintenance supported by digital technologiesAn established, central department that acts as a Data Lab that analyses data coming from digital technologies
TechnologiesSensors mounted to critical (moving) parts of sluice doors and to motor units in the water pumps. Start implementation: 2018Sensors mounted to railroad switches (started in 2017) and fourteen passenger trains belonging to one of Rail's customers (started in 2018)
Data sources
  1. Sensors and suppliers' inspection reports

  2. Road's operating systems for moving assets (such as sluices)

  3. Road and suppliers' asset management systems

  1. Dedicated inspection trains equipped with cameras and sensors

  2. Sensors and suppliers' inspection reports

  3. Rail's asset management system

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