‘Asset management starts with building relationships’

Jaap van den Elshout has been actively building infrastructure asset management at BAM Infra Nederland for many years. BAM is a director for clients to optimise management and maintenance and extend the lifespan of infrastructure so that replacements can be programmed dynamically. The projects revolve around strong client and partner relationships and that is precisely where his heart lies. 

After graduating in Organisation Science, Jaap started as a business and policy advisor at BAM Infra Nederland's consultancy and engineering firm. Over 10 years ago, he became Asset Management Project Manager to help shape the then new branch. ‘What fascinates me so much is that we have put ourselves at the wheel of management and maintenance,’ says Jaap. 'We now set up the processes ourselves, set up the systems and organise the necessary knowledge and experience to perform and optimise the work as efficiently and effectively as possible. These are long-term contracts in which we work together with the customer and other expert partners for many years. Building those relationships, internal and external, that's what energises me!'

Longer life with smart and sustainable maintenance

The demand for asset management has risen sharply in recent years. Many bridges, tunnels, locks and viaducts in our country were built after the war and are now under much more intensive load than they were designed for back then. In a short space of time, most reach the end of their lifespan, but replacement is too big and too costly a task. BAM is committed to smart maintenance to preserve these engineering structures for longer. This avoids having to release large budgets for large-scale replacement in a short space of time. Compared to replacement, maintenance and renovation require far fewer primary raw materials and less scarce labour. At the same time, the impact on the environment is smaller because the work is less intensive and takes less time.

Read more (in Dutch)