Within this chapter an introduction will be given on who the client is, thereafter what the problem is they are facing. From the problem description the purpose of this report can be conducted. Followed by the scope of the research and the research question.
1.1 Client
The client for this research is ‘Rijkswaterstaat’, executive of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment in the Netherlands. Their mission is to manage and develop the highways and waterways and to make a sustainable habitat. Rijkswaterstaat is responsible for safety, livability and reachability (rijkswaterstaat.nl).
For the Netherlands water safety is a big issue, because of the low location it is vulnerable for floods from the sea and the rivers. Together with regional water authorities Rijkswaterstaat protect many Dutch and the economy against high water.
Another important mission is liveability. They are working on the highways and waterways every day and this in cooperation with the citizens, companies and other government organizations. Stakeholder management is important part of their projects, because the interests of all stakeholders in the public area differs a lot.
The third mission is reachability, Rijkswaterstaat maintains and develops the highways and waterways. Also they take care of the connections between the highways and waterways and the regional infrastructure network.
1.2 Problem description
The navigation locks in Hansweert are the main shipping corridor connecting the port of Rotterdam to the harbours in Vlissingen, Terneuzen and Belgium. The locks were built to protect against high water, but also to transport larger vessels via this route by overcoming the difference in tidal water. The transport is an ongoing process without a break therefore the main goal is a fast and safe passage of the ships. An additional advantage is that the locks are used by cyclists, pedestrians and destination traffic. But even emergency and service vehicles use the connection.
The primary function of the lock is to protect against high water and therefore the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment agrees with the client on a Service Level Agreement (SLA) every four years. This is based on the National Water Act to establish the performance requirements of the locks. Also an agreement is set up on the lock passing to keep the hindrance for transport to a minimum.
The main concern in this case is, if the client is able to manage the locks properly by minimizing the hindrance to navigation transport and without loss of safety. Managing the locks causes issues as the interpretation of the service levels are unclear. This leads to questions if the system is even capable of meeting the service levels and therefore meet the performance requirements. At the moment there is a need for a workable interpretation of the service levels so that the client can assure the availability. This can be done if the consequences of system failure are minimized.
To narrow the problem down a quick FMECA is made to determine the most critical aspects of the project. By pinpointing the most critical element(s), recommendations can be given on the availability of the most influential aspect(s) of the Hansweert locks to the client.
1.3 Scope
First the geographical scope of the project will be established. In which the location, shipping routes and reach of the locks are described. In the second part the scope will be narrowed down to the functions of the locks. By doing so this report will be able to give specific recommendations on availability.
1.3.1 Geographical scope
Even though this navigation locks form part of a shipping corridor that goes from the port of Rotterdam to the harbours in Vlissingen, Terneuzen and Belgium, the spatial scope is limited to the navigation locks at the location of Hansweert, the lock chambers, gates and operating mechanisms, as well as the rest of the components. The project further includes the Postbrug and the Vlakebrug. The Vlakebrug rail is maintained by ProRail and is therefore not included in the project. However, all the movable bridges crossing this canal must meet the requirements from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment. The department for the region of Zee & Delta of Rijkswaterstaat is responsible for the availability of the locks at Hansweert.
1.3.2 System scope
As described in the problem description the project in its whole concerns the performance and availability of the passing of the ship's, bridge crossings for land traffic and the locks to protect the hinterland against high water. But also the workability and feasibility of the current agreements made between the client and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment.
In this case there will be three primary functions distinguished. The passing of the ships and the high water protection which are depended on the third function, the working of the mechanism of the locks. The scope of this report is narrowed down to the passing of the ships and the lock mechanism by focussing on the most critical aspect(s) of the working of the locks. The bridge will be excluded as there is no data available. In further research the other aspects can be involved and investigated to establish a workable strategy that the client is able to applicate. With as final result a better availability of the entire system.
1.3.3 Time scope
To determine the time scope there are various influencing factors. Over time maintenance will take place, upgrading of systems and eventually replacement. For the time scope the replacement of the doors are considered as an important indicator. The current available data can be used to determine the availability up till 2037 when the doors are replaced. From 2037 the availability will have to be recalculated as it is very well possible that the new doors have lower risks in terms of failure and unavailability and will perform better than the current doors. Another possibility is that the technology will be so advanced in 2037 that there are new solutions available and a new system will be implemented. Because of these uncertainties around the replacement of such an important and big aspect of the system the time scope will be set to 2037.
1.4 Purpose >what are the products we are giving to RWS> recommendations on PINs
The main purpose of this report is to give an advise to Rijkswaterstaat about the availability of the locks at Hansweert. At this point there is a lot of room for improvement on the availability strategy of Rijkswaterstaat. A big issue is for instance the maintenance checks that seem to be insufficient. This causes unnecessary unplanned downtime, which results in negative effects on the navigation shipping.
To improve the client’s strategy on the availability of the locks this report will provide recommendations on improving the performance indicators. As shortly mentioned in the problem description the current SLA-PINs are unworkable. In this report the aim is to improve these by recommending alterations of the current indicators. Making the indicators clear and workable so that the client can improve the availability.
How can Rijkswaterstaat make better use of the planned maintenance downtime of the locks?
How can these downtimes be reduced?
Is there a more efficient strategy for the maintenance and therefore the availability of the locks?
These are all examples of questions that we will take into consideration before coming to a final advice. The conclusions and recommendations of this report can be used to re-assess the locks of Hansweert and make alterations in the maintenance strategy which will lead to a higher availability of the locks.
modifications to the system on the critical components
1.5 Research question
Rijkswaterstaat would like to manage the locks properly by minimizing the hindrance to navigation transport by optimizing the availability. Questions arise on the capability of the locks and safety for trespassing but also the water protecting function of the locks against high water.
Summarizing the goals, objectives and the problems the client is facing, the purpose of the report becomes clear. The client would like to receive recommendations on alterations of the system to achieve a higher availability of the locks. Taking all these objectives into account the following research question is proposed;
“Which alterations can Rijkswaterstaat implement to assure the availability of the locks of Hansweert till 2037?”
To answer the research question first the definition of availability has to be defined. Further the working of the locks will be assessed to determine where the availability can be optimalized. >further content description of the entire report
Evaluate the current availability of the navigation locks to determine the present state of the system.
Restructure the navigation locks maintenance scheme to provide redundance in order to ensure the required availability.
Advise an actual strategy to increase the efficiency of the locks for Rijkswaterstaat.
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1.6 Reading Guide
In this section the reading guide for this report is clarified. In chapter 1 the introduction is given, in this chapter it is explained who the client is, thereafter what the problem is they are facing. From the problem description the purpose of this report can be conducted. Followed by the scope of the research and the research question.
Chapter 2 the case description is determined. The general description of the locks of Hansweert and the functions of the lock are described.
Chapter 3 is about the research methodology that is used in this report. How the tools are chosen and how they will be applied. An approach will be presented on how the results from the calculations will be converted into recommendations.
In chapter 4 a brief explanation is given of the chosen tools. The FMECA and RAMS analysis is chosen as main tool. In this section the definition, purpose and, limitations will be discussed.
Chapter 5 the RAMS requirements are discussed. It is separated into the standards and the SLA-PINs.
In chapter 6 the methods are executed. …..
Chapter 7 is the discussion it is about the limitation of the methods that are used. What are the disadvantages and where can it be improved.
Chapter 8 the recommendations of this research will be described. What can Rijkswaterstaat do to improve the lock system in relation to the availability of these locks.
In chapter 9 the conclusion is discussed. The research question that is asked in the introduction will be answered.