This PhD project is focusing on one of the key challenges of the Dutch construction transition: scaling prefabricated modular housing while drastically reducing logistics-related emissions. With the ambition to deliver up to 50,000 prefab houses per year, modular construction creates large, predictable transport flows. MULTIPLIER leverages this as a demand-side trigger, while inland waterway transport (IWT) serves as the supply-side multiplier, offering scalable capacity and significant emission reduction.
The project focuses on end-to-end planning, connecting prefab factory production schedules with urban construction projects through an AI-driven decision-support system that synchronizes production planning, IWT capacity, terminal availability, and urban delivery constraints.