Similarity, Modularity, and Commonality Analysis of Navigation Locks in the Netherlands

Abstract

In the coming decades, Rijkswaterstaat (RWS), the executive branch of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, has to replace or thoroughly renovate more than fifty navigation locks. Given the substantial number of locks that needs to be renewed in a relatively short time frame, Rijkswaterstaat is exploring the development of a lock family platform from which future locks can be designed and realized. This study aims to find basic lock component modules, optional lock component modules, and their interfaces, together shaping the platform. Its aim is to identify modules and components that are candidates for standardization. For this purpose, 127 locks in the Netherlands are analyzed using a similarity matrix to find lock variants. Dependency structure matrices (DSM) are built to find commonalities among the variants. By projecting impact scores upon the DSM, component modules are sought that are candidates for (partial) standardization. The results provide clear insight in how to design the lock family platform.