process optimisation | Arnór Elvarsson

My doctoral defense

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Process optimisation in rail system development

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Safe and efficient railway systems traditionally rely on centralised control and human-in-the-loop monitoring of its moving parts. However, this requires large amounts of resources for the network operation. Operators, responsible for implementing system developments based on innovative technologies to improve operational efficiency, must adhere to safety requirements for scalable and well-documented solutions to acquire regulatory approval. This requires consideration of multiple stakeholders and a highly complex conceptualisation process guaranteeing railway system safety. This involves significant expertise and coordination with the content of approximately 50-80 interconnected documents for a development of a new system, depending on the complexity of the technology. The interactions between the engineers and the documents, as well as among themselves, are key factors in determining the efficiency of the overall development process.

Over the long-duration development process, adjustments to the solution may be necessary. Accordingly, changes to the interdependent documentation to ensure ongoing compliance with safety requirements would also be necessary. Any changes can trigger cascading effects throughout the entire project, potentially increasing costs and delaying development, ultimately slowing down innovation within the railway system.

Strategic implementation of digital tools (including, but not limited to, Large Language Models), alongside procedural optimisations, can improve the efficiency of system development processes by facilitating the approval workflows for safety-critical railway systems. Successful improvement of these processes requires a thorough understanding and assessment of the in-between actions and the operational bottlenecks within organisations, as well as the interplay between the stakeholders involved, their respective technical and operational expertise, and the technological limitations. Existing rail infrastructure, technologies, and operational processes should also be considered as new solutions are built on limitations of the existing systems.

This goal is achieved by mapping the system development processes and its stakeholders, followed by an assessment of the potential of digital tool implementations and the necessary procedural changes to achieve streamlined and efficient system development processes that maintain the critical safety requirements. Insights from the Swiss and European rail system development projects are fundamental to ensure that the project remains grounded in industry knowledge and practice. The following objectives are therefore defined:

The system development process for innovative technologies at SBB Cargo is mapped, including involved stakeholders and exchange of information in each step, The European system development process is investigated based on the example of the European Train Control System (ETCS) development, A holistic process analysis is conducted to identify opportunities for improving the process for development of safety-critical rail systems, Hypotheses for implementation of digital tools are proposed and assessed based on the possible benefits to the investigated processes and costs related to required procedural changes, while critically assessing the reliability, accessibility, maintainability, and safety of these technologie. This project will act as an important first step to help move SBB Cargo towards an efficient development of safety-critical railway systems and contribute to guiding efforts in the digitalization of the system development processes across the railway sector.

This project has received funding from the ETH CSFM Mobility Initiative and the Federal Office of Transport (FOT).

Optimising construction processes for prefabricated renovation

Sat, 01 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

RENOMIZE is an EU Horizon Europe project* lead by Joanneum Research with 16 consortium members joining forces to leverage know-how and engineering innovations for more sustainable and efficient building renovation processes. This includes, but is not limited to, the use of novel building materials, pre-fabricated element production optimisations and innovative robotics solutions. This is done to meet four objectives:

Development of well-selected innovations tackling the most labour-demanding aspects of prefabricated renovation
Holistic process & product optimisation of the prefabricated renovation process
Demonstration and validation of the system’s versatility, its efficiency, and its effectiveness in reducing on-site execution times, costs, and disturbance.
Maximisation of the potential for uptake of process and product innovations of RENOMIZE to enable an increased renovation rate. ETH Zurich is responsible for the development of a BIM-based construction process simulation tool, which will combine the developments in on-site construction and off-site material production with the supply chain logistics required to ensure an efficient construction using pre-fabricated panels.

To do this, the IM group at ETH Zurich will:

Set up a process simulation based on case studies provided by consortium partners
Expand existing databases and catalogues for the exchange of building information across vendors.
Assess the impact of process alternatives considering process flow, costs, timing, waste and supply of produced construction material

This work has received funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI)

Adaptive Mobility Infrastructure and Land-use

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Responsiveness of infrastructure planning - Embracing adaptive planning methods to meet societal needs

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Infrastructure is continually constructed and modified to meet changing needs of stakeholders. However, this is sometimes completed later than expected, resulting in unmet stakeholder needs for unnecessarily long periods. This delay is related to long duration of the planning process, length of time during which infrastructure is to be used and uncertainty associated with change in stakeholder needs over time. Improvement in speed with which changing needs can be met is likely to yield substantial benefits for stakeholders. The responsiveness of infrastructure planning organisations describes their ability to meet stakeholder needs quickly.

This research (1) maps the planning process of the relevant decision-makers planning regional transport infrastructure in practice, (2) identifies the potential of adaptive planning methods in planning practice, (3) develops state-of-the-art tools to plan regional infrastructure development considering future uncertainties, e.g., impact of automated, connected and electric vehicles and the complex interactions between mobility, infrastructure and land use.