Summary:
To avoid project delays and cost overruns, it is crucial that organisations’ knowledge base on project management is expanded and that experiences in large-scale projects are more widely shared through effective management of lessons learned. However, the management of lessons learned from large-scale projects remains a scientific and practical challenge. In addition to their multi-stakeholder setting, the natural loss of experienced knowledge through retirement and the presence of lessons in both tacit and explicit form make their management quite complex.
This seminar offers insights into the shortcomings of the current process for managing lessons learned and presents a formal process for collecting and managing lessons learned from large-scale projects. It presents insights from a paper published in the journal Research in Transportation Business & Management (RTBM) in which a case study was conducted on the implementation of the European Traffic Management System (ERTMS) in the Netherlands. The speakers discuss the nuanced five-step methodological approach presented in the paper and summarise the main lessons learned from the implementation of ERTMS in the Netherlands. They also address the recommendations made in the paper for policymakers and railway organisations. The seminar aims to encourage researchers to further explore the topic of lessons learned management for large-scale projects in the transportation sector.
Reference:
Abbas, Y., Martinetti, A., Houghton, R., & Majumdar, A. (2022). Disentangling large scale technological projects: Learning from ERTMS roll-out case study in the Netherlands. Research in Transportation Business and Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2022.100856
Alberto Martinetti (1985) is an Associate Professor in the chair of Maintenance Engineering within the department of Design, Production and Management at the University of Twente. He is a member of the maintenance research centre TIME – Twente is Maintenance Excellence. He has worked for the Polytechnic of Turin and for the University of Turin. He holds a Master’s degree in Geo-resources and Geo-technologies Engineering and a PhD degree in Safety and Health at the Polytechnic of Turin in 2013 on the Prevention through Design approach in mining activities.
Yawar Abbas is a part-time postdoctoral researcher with a strong interest in knowledge management, maintenance management and organisational learning. He is also a senior maintenance engineer at Netherlands Railways since 1 July 2022. In his PhD research, he investigated how to improve the management of lessons learned from a technological and social standpoint. In doing so, he took guidance from literature on project management, systems engineering, information management and knowledge management. For the practical exploration and application of his research, he works closely with colleagues from the Netherlands Railways and ProRail.
Yawar completed his PhD on the topic *Advancing knowledge management for system integration: Improving the management of lessons learned to enhance organisational learning and railway system performance* on 14 October 2022.
Yawar holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering with a specialisation in maintenance and operations from the University of Twente. Moreover, he has a fair amount of study experience abroad, having done his bachelor Mechanical Engineering at Politecnico di Torino, Italy. He also participated in an exchange programme during his undergraduate studies, where he spent a semester studying at Mississippi State University, USA.
Speakers’ contact:
Dr. Yawar Abbas: yawar.abbas@utwente.nl
Dr. Alberto Martinetti a.martinetti@utwente.nl