{"id":10265,"date":"2022-02-15T14:00:33","date_gmt":"2022-02-15T14:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1380300"},"modified":"2022-02-15T14:00:33","modified_gmt":"2022-02-15T14:00:33","slug":"how-the-dutch-use-big-data-and-real-time-analytics-to-keep-their-country-afloat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=10265","title":{"rendered":"How the Dutch use big data and real-time analytics to keep their country afloat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With over 27% of the country below sea level, the Netherlands boasts one of the world\u2019s \u2013 if not the world\u2019s \u2014 most intricate and advanced water management networks. Over 5,000 kilometers of waterways crisscross the country, connected by a sophisticated network of bridges, dykes, and locks. There are even more waterways than highways in the country, which are used to transport around 35% of the countries\u2019 goods.<\/p>\n

Rijkswaterstaat, the department tasked with managing and maintaining this gargantuan system, was founded in the late 1700s, and relies on thousands of employees to keep the Dutch waterways running smoothly. While inspections and maintenance used to take up a large percentage of the department\u2019s person-hours, more and more monitoring is now done remotely, sometimes using innovative new technology \u2014 and sometimes with downright ingenious workarounds.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s challenging here is that bridges and locks are sometimes tendered by the responsible province or municipality, explains Therry van der Burgt<\/a>, solution architect at Rijkswaterstaat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no one-size-fits-all approach to extract data<\/a> from public infrastructure, so we had to come up with a standardized way to tell if a bridge is open or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which they did, by attaching internet-connected sensors to the road barriers on those bridges.<\/p>\n

Locks from the 13th century<\/h2>\n

\u201cThese sensors are completely independent from the bridges\u2019 systems, but do tell us when the barriers close, which means the bridge is open,\u201d he tells me in the typical Dutch way of downplaying something inventive as if it\u2019s nothing remarkable. Which it definitely is, considering the system had to work with locks built in the 13th century.<\/p>\n

Want to learn more about Rijksoverheid projects in your IT field? Sign up here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Other solutions are more complex, especially when it comes to trying to predict if maintenance might be needed before an object actually breaks. Van der Burgt explains how Rijkswaterstaat installed current meters in bridges that constantly monitor the use of electricity and send that data back to the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch public infrastructure uses a ton of power when it\u2019s being used. Think, for example, about a bridge that opens,\u201d van der Burgt continues. \u201cSo when we combine data on the behavior of an object and its use of electricity, we get interesting results.\u201d How much power a process requires becomes predictable over time, so Rijkswaterstaat deployed systems that raise an alert when an object is consuming too much, or too little, electricity. When this is triggered, they send someone to check out what\u2019s wrong.<\/p>\n

Calculating the best shipping routes<\/h2>\n

As a solution architect, van der Burgt is tasked with safeguarding that data from the right system ends up in the hands of the right person at the right time. This can be as diverse as intrusion data from off-shore wind farms being passed on to security companies, to designing the tool that allows captains to calculate the fastest shipping route with real-time updates on traffic, wait times for bridges, and water levels.<\/p>\n

That last bit is a lot more complicated than you think. Traffic on waterways is governed by a completely different set of rules than air traffic. Planes are managed centrally, neatly routed into corridors and order. Barges on the waterways, which can reach lengths of roughly two Boeing A380s (147 meters), abide by more road-like procedures, with first-come, first-serve rules at locks and bridges.<\/p>\n

In such a dynamic system, more data means a greater ability to predict the future. This allows captains of large barges to not have to stop and start as much, which means less fuel consumption, and goods arriving on time. This underlines the importance of central and standardized real-time data collection \u2014 and distribution.<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/a>Therry van der Burgt, solution architect at Rijkswaterstaat, together with a coworker<\/figcaption>