A ship approaches a section of a river spanned by a bridge.
Suddenly, the ship loses control and collides against one of the bridge's pillars.
The bridge is damaged and, as it is unclear whether it is still safe to use,
the bridge is closed to traffic.
The ship has also sprung a leak, with oil spilling into the water.
What should Rijkswaterstaat do?
The Crisis Management process is activated when the other six processes…
can no longer proceed according to plan.
This accident impacts three Rijkswaterstaat networks: the road network,
the waterway network and the water system. As such, the traffic and…
water management process no longer runs according to plan.
This means there is a crisis situation.
Minor and major crises occur every day.
The Crisis Management process is helpful in these kinds of situations.
It ensures a quick, uniform and adequate response to crises,
enabling us to return to the normal situation as quickly as possible.
The Crisis Management process describes which national…
and international developments must be tracked, what our objectives are…
in crisis situations and what kind of organisation is required…
to provide emergency response.
But how do we know what kinds of crises to prepare for?
First of all, we ensure that we have a good idea of the threats…
to our networks, people and resources.
We then set out our working procedure in crisis and emergency response plans…
and set up crisis teams with trained and experienced members.
We also make agreements on emergency assistance with…
security regions, the police and water boards.
Back to our crisis.
The skipper reports the accident to the traffic control centre.
As normal procedures are not designed for an accident of such magnitude,
the crisis organisation is activated.
The Duty Officer takes charge at the site of the crisis. The regional crisis team…
is responsible for taking the tactical and strategic decisions
– with respect to repair work and communication, for example.
The decisions of these two parties then determine what action…
must be taken in the other processes, such as…
Traffic and Water Management (VWM), Construction and Maintenance (A&O)
and Stakeholder and Asset Management (OAM).
In this case, the first course of action is to plug the oil leak in the ship…
and tow the ship away.
The technical advisor concludes that the bridge is safe to use.
Meanwhile, the oil in the water is cleaned up…
and the lawyer begins work to recover the damage.
Road and water traffic resumes.
When crises arise, it is our aim to provide citizens with good information.
In this case, we release press statements and use social media platforms…
like Facebook and Twitter to let people know whether they should make a detour,
or to let farmers know whether the water is still safe to use.
We also use social media to get a better picture of the situation…
and monitor reactions to the accident.
If the biggest problems have been resolved and media attention decreases,
the other processes are once again put into operation.
Behind the scenes, Crisis Management and the other processes…
record their experiences to improve their response to future crises.
This is how Crisis Management contributes to one Rijkswaterstaat.
If you would like to find out more, please visit rijkswaterstaat.nl.