Our experts developed and implemented BOS (an acronym for the system’s Dutch name Beslis & Ondersteunend Systeem). The solutionĬGI accepted the challenge to build a system to control the barriers on a fixed-price and fixed-time basis. The Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment decided that it was safer to let a computer make the decisions to close the Maeslant and Hartel barriers. It is scientifically proven that a human being fails once every 1,000 times when making a decision. No room for errorĬareful analysis determined that manual control of the barrier would limit its reliability. They are closed only when storms are expected with a danger of flooding. During normal weather conditions, the two sector doors rest in their docks. There is also a ball hinge 10 meters in diameter and weighing 600 tons. Each of these arms is as large as the Eiffel Tower. One of the largest moving structures in the world, it consists of two hollow floating walls called sector doors (each 240 meters wide and 22 meters high) connected with steel arms to pivot points on both banks. The Maeslant barrier is a unique example of engineering ingenuity. To achieve this degree of reliability, an erroneous decision to leave the barrier open during a storm could not be made more than once every 100,000 times. The barrier also had to be extremely reliable, with an error rate of no more than one flood every 10,000 years. A closed barrier restricts shipping traffic, costing millions of euros. The river poses a major risk for flooding, and therefore a storm surge barrier, the Maeslant barrier, was constructed.īecause Rotterdam is a major port, it was critical to ensure that the Maeslant barrier was closed only when absolutely necessary and as briefly as possible. The 360-meter wide Nieuwe Waterweg is an important shipping river for Rotterdam, the second largest city in the Netherlands, and an outlet for the Rhine. For client Rijkswaterstaat, CGI developed and manages a decision and support system that controls the Maeslant barrier, as well as the Hartel barrier. The Maeslant barrier is part of the Delta Works and one of the largest moving structures in the world. After the great flood disaster of 1953, the Netherlands initiated a series of major projects called Delta Works to build storm surge barriers and dams to protect its land from flooding. The history of the Netherlands has been shaped by struggles with the sea. Rijkswaterstaat is responsible public works and water management, including the construction and maintenance of waterways and roads and, importantly, flood protection and prevention. Rijkswaterstaat is part of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment.
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