{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/29390"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/29390","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Outsourcing transportation infrastructure maintenance : a theoretical approach with application to JR East","abstract":"In transportation agencies, how to reduce maintenance and operation cost is one of the biggest and most common concerns, because their revenue is not expected to increase drastically in the future. One of the solutions undertaken nowadays is contracting out and utilizing contractors' efficiency for cost cutting and performance improvements. Actually, highway agencies in the US have already tried several pilot programs, employing performance-based contract, aiming at reducing their cost of maintenance and rehabilitation of their assets. It has been reported that these agencies achieved huge cost-reduction and performance improvement at the same time by implementing these strategies. Railway infrastructure maintenance is not outsourced as much as highway maintenance in the US. However, a theoretical discussion about outsourcing and contracting shows that railway track maintenance can be outsourced to enhance operating efficiency. Exploring the cases in several railway organizations and highway agencies, fixed-price contract with incentive schemes turn out to be mainly utilized. Evaluating maintenance contractor's performance by several comprehensive performance metrics is also a useful tool to manage and control the contractor's performance, which is linked to reward or penalty payments.","abstract_html":"In transportation agencies, how to reduce maintenance and operation cost is one of the biggest and most common concerns, because their revenue is not expected to increase drastically in the future. One of the solutions undertaken nowadays is contracting out and utilizing contractors' efficiency for cost cutting and performance improvements. Actually, highway agencies in the US have already tried several pilot programs, employing performance-based contract, aiming at reducing their cost of maintenance and rehabilitation of their assets. It has been reported that these agencies achieved huge cost-reduction and performance improvement at the same time by implementing these strategies. Railway infrastructure maintenance is not outsourced as much as highway maintenance in the US. However, a theoretical discussion about outsourcing and contracting shows that railway track maintenance can be outsourced to enhance operating efficiency. Exploring the cases in several railway organizations and highway agencies, fixed-price contract with incentive schemes turn out to be mainly utilized. Evaluating maintenance contractor's performance by several comprehensive performance metrics is also a useful tool to manage and control the contractor's performance, which is linked to reward or penalty payments.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hirano, Jun, 1974-"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering.","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Joseph Sussman."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2004,"date_issued":"2004","date_published":"2004","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:11Z","subjects":["Civil and Environmental Engineering."],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."],"rights_urls":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/29390","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Joseph Sussman."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.other","label":"Dc Contributor Other","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 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They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/29390"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2004.","Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-98)."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In transportation agencies, how to reduce maintenance and operation cost is one of the biggest and most common concerns, because their revenue is not expected to increase drastically in the future. One of the solutions undertaken nowadays is contracting out and utilizing contractors' efficiency for cost cutting and performance improvements. Actually, highway agencies in the US have already tried several pilot programs, employing performance-based contract, aiming at reducing their cost of maintenance and rehabilitation of their assets. It has been reported that these agencies achieved huge cost-reduction and performance improvement at the same time by implementing these strategies. Railway infrastructure maintenance is not outsourced as much as highway maintenance in the US. However, a theoretical discussion about outsourcing and contracting shows that railway track maintenance can be outsourced to enhance operating efficiency. Exploring the cases in several railway organizations and highway agencies, fixed-price contract with incentive schemes turn out to be mainly utilized. Evaluating maintenance contractor's performance by several comprehensive performance metrics is also a useful tool to manage and control the contractor's performance, which is linked to reward or penalty payments.","(cont.) Considering the lessons learned in the discussions above, applications for railway maintenance in JR East is discussed. Its maintenance contract structure is in the midst of transition, but still imbues a traditional style. Instead, a long-term, performance-based contract with incentive scheme is suggested to improve the efficiency of infrastructure maintenance and adjust the future environmental changes JR East faces."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["S.M."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Outsourcing transportation infrastructure maintenance : a theoretical approach with application to JR East"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Joseph Sussman."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering."],"dc:contributor.other":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering."],"dc:creator":["Hirano, Jun, 1974-"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2005-10-14T20:17:07Z"],"dc:date.available":["2005-10-14T20:17:07Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2004"],"dc:description":["Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2004.","Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-98)."],"dc:description.abstract":["In transportation agencies, how to reduce maintenance and operation cost is one of the biggest and most common concerns, because their revenue is not expected to increase drastically in the future. One of the solutions undertaken nowadays is contracting out and utilizing contractors' efficiency for cost cutting and performance improvements. Actually, highway agencies in the US have already tried several pilot programs, employing performance-based contract, aiming at reducing their cost of maintenance and rehabilitation of their assets. It has been reported that these agencies achieved huge cost-reduction and performance improvement at the same time by implementing these strategies. Railway infrastructure maintenance is not outsourced as much as highway maintenance in the US. However, a theoretical discussion about outsourcing and contracting shows that railway track maintenance can be outsourced to enhance operating efficiency. Exploring the cases in several railway organizations and highway agencies, fixed-price contract with incentive schemes turn out to be mainly utilized. Evaluating maintenance contractor's performance by several comprehensive performance metrics is also a useful tool to manage and control the contractor's performance, which is linked to reward or penalty payments.","(cont.) Considering the lessons learned in the discussions above, applications for railway maintenance in JR East is discussed. Its maintenance contract structure is in the midst of transition, but still imbues a traditional style. Instead, a long-term, performance-based contract with incentive scheme is suggested to improve the efficiency of infrastructure maintenance and adjust the future environmental changes JR East faces."],"dc:description.degree":["S.M."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/29390"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."],"dc:rights.uri":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"dc:subject":["Civil and Environmental Engineering."],"dc:title":["Outsourcing transportation infrastructure maintenance : a theoretical approach with application to JR East"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:11Z"}