Tunnel safety is high priority in the Netherlands

Case
Smart sustainable transport

Activities for tunnel safety

Rijkswaterstaat

As a response to major incidents in road tunnels in Austria and Switzerland, the European Union has issued a directive on tunnel safety, which has been implemented through legislation by all the member states, including the Netherlands. The legislation is not limited to technical standards only; matters concerning the organisation of tunnel safety are also incorporated into Dutch national law. As a consulting firm, we support state parties in the organisational challenges of tunnel safety.

Contact

Organisational matters of tunnel safety

Twynstra supports clients in their preparation of safety plans, project and programme management, and strategic environmental management. We also help clients with their programmes for the instruction, training and testing of tunnel operators and emergency response teams.

Examples of Twynstra’s assignments

Twynstra has lent its support to the national tunnel director of Rijkswaterstaat (an agency of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment) in drafting and adopting national tunnel standards on asset management, instruction, training and exercises, and crisis management. Twynstra drew up the safety and crisis management plans for the construction and commissioning of several tunnels for Rijkswaterstaat, municipalities, emergency response teams and contractors. In addition, Twynstra designed and implemented programmes for the instruction, training and testing of tunnel operators.

These programmes allowed us to ensure that tunnel operators would be fully prepared and ready to respond quickly and effectively in the case of a tunnel incident. Through individual tests, the operators demonstrate the knowledge required of them and skills available.

Approach

Our approach to assignments is one that combines safety know-how with process supervision. All parties concerned are involved and committed to delivering results on time, within budget and meeting the highest achievable safety standards. This requires motivated colleagues in tunnel safety with an interest in connecting people and organisations.