RENÉ’S CHALLENGE: to guarantee the safety of millions of people at all times

The world's largest sea lock is currently being built in Ijmuiden in The Netherlands. The lock exceeds the size of the locks in the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal. Ambitious? Certainly. But it's a sheer necessity in order to ensure that the Port of Amsterdam remains accessible for large container vessels and cruise ships. And to create a water barrier that stops the sea during storms in order to guarantee the safety of millions of people.

René van der Pluijm, Project Manager at ICT Group working on the OpenIJ project. 'Unsafe situations must never arise, under any circumstance whatsoever. The economic and public interests are simply too large. This is the reason why we predict possible failures. What can possibly go wrong, and how can it be prevented? We think of all possibilities in advance, and test all possible situations just as extensively as in a normal situation.' Everything is recorded, right down to the smallest detail. And there's a considerable list of requirements and applicable legislation that must be complied with, in a demonstrable manner. 'The decision of one person can have consequences for someone else. I communicate and harmonise, and I keep an overview over the entire design.'

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