Working to advance the sustainable development of maritime and inland navigation infrastructure through the international exchange and publication of expert technical information on port and waterway development.

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Inland Navigation Commission

InCom 29
Innovations in Navigation Lock Design
Fact Sheet

InCom 30
Inventory of Inspection and Repair Techniques of Navigation Structures
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InCom 31
Organization and Management of River Ports
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InCom 32
Performance Indicators for Inland Waterways Transport
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InCom 125
River Information Services (RIS)
InCom Working Group 125 River Information Services is dedicated to enabling safe and smooth navigation on the inland waterways through the introduction and advancement of information sharing enabling better, more informed decisions faster. WG125 River Information Services has participating members from Austria, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Russian Federation and the US. Previous meeting was held 25 - 27 May in Gent, Belgium. At that meeting each member reported the status of RIS implementation in their country and the group reviewed the following documents: •Minutes of Meeting #2 in Pittsburgh, PA USA •Draft Definitions Related to RIS •Guidelines and Recommendations for River Information Services (Revision 3) •Technical Report on the Implementation Status of RIS (version 1) The group also attended the opening of the newest RIS Center and Lock facility in Flanders and the RIS Center in Netherland. Next meeting is 19 - 21 October in Prague, Czech Republic. Agenda items include review of the latest revision of the following documents: •Technical Report on the Implementation Status of RIS •Guidelines and Recommendations for River Information Services •Terms and Definitions Related to RIS •Proposal for an e-Navigation Task Force/Working Group The group will also attend working meetings on the waterways of the Czech Republic and implementation of River information Services. USA IMPLEMENTATION REPORT Since the last meeting USACE and USCG have made strides in implementing RIS. A meeting was held by the national Commanders of both organizations and an agreement to move forward with RIS was achieved. USACE is moving forward with a public/private partnership that will establish a Joint RIS Operations Center in Pittsburgh, PA. The Center will feature navigation safety and operational information available to all users of the system. Concurrently the USACE IMTS (Inland Marine Transportation System) Board of Directors has established an e-Navigation initiative that will be the umbrella organization for PIANC WG 125, RIS, Loma, FILS and FINDE activities. USA POC: Richard C. Lockwood, Chief Operations Division Pittsburgh District, 412-395-7140, RICHARD.C.LOCKWOOD@USACE.ARMY.MIL
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InCom 127
Fish Passage
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InCom 128
Alternate Bank Protection Methods for Inland Waterways
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InCom 129
Waterway Infrastructure Asset Maintenance Management
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InCom 137
Navigation Structures Resilience to Overloading
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InCom 138
Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Lessons Learnt from Navigation Structures
InCom Working Group 138, "Mechanical and Electrical Lessons Learned from Navigation Structures", held its 3rd meeting October 6-8, 2010, in Dublin, Ireland. The group consists of members representing Germany, the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, and the US. Areas of investigation include hydraulically operated machinery, electro mechanical operating machinery, and maintenance and general issues. The meeting concentrated on maintenance issues as well as an update on the hydraulically operated machinery section. The group also visited Spencer Lock and Buckingham Lock as well as the Samuel Beckett Swing Bridge and the East Link Bascule Lift Bridge. The group has divided responsibilities for the development of various sections among working group members. The US representative has responsibility for compiling the section covering electro mechanical operating machinery. The report is scheduled for completion in 2012. POC: Brenden McKinley, 304-399-5593, brenden.f.mckinley@usace.army.mil.
Fact Sheet

InCom 139
Values of Inland Waterways
The objective of this working group is to gain greater insight of the benefits/values of waterways for society. This will help in the process of increasing the benefit to cost ratio which would increase the attractiveness of a waterway project. InCom Working Group 139, "Values of Inland Waterways", held its 3rd meeting 23-24 September in Maastricht, Netherlands. The group consists of members representing Germany, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Argentina, Egypt and the US. Report compilation continues with components addressing not only commercial cargo use of inland waterways but also restoration of canals, environmental benefits, landside redevelopment, tourism, cultural and historic components, and other elements adding to the economic and social values of waterways that are not often quantified or even recognized. Presentations included the restoration of the Gota Canal in Sweden and Rideau Canal in Canada. Chapters will be broken out by various topical areas with the US team member responsible for coordination of materials and text on commercial freight use. The report is scheduled for completion in 2011. POC: David Grier, 703-428-6438, david.v.grier@usace.army.mil.
Fact Sheet

InCom 140
Semi-Probabilistic Design Concept for inland hydraulic structures
The objective of this working group is to develop a plan for creating a Semi-Probabilistic Design Methodology for a Eurocode section on Hydraulic Structures.
Fact Sheet

InCom 141
Design Guidelines for Inland Waterways
To objective of this working group is to undertake a review of current papers, data sources, current research and experience relating to the design of inland waterways and prepare a PIANC publication.
Fact Sheet

InCom 142
Inland Navigation Safety
The objective of this working group is to identify useful safety measures and /or regulations and establish recommendations to develop technical and organizational measures to reduce accidents.
Fact Sheet

InCom 151
Impacts of Seismic Loads and Vessel Impact on Lock Gates
The main objective is to define a general methodology for the analysis and design of lock gates and approach structures considering seismic loads and vessel impact.
Fact Sheet

InCom 154
Mitre Gate Design and Operation
The main objective of the WG is identifying “Best Practices” for the design, fabrication, and operation of lock mitre gates.
Fact Sheet

InCom 155
Ship behaviour in locks and lock approaches
The manoeuvring of ships in the approach of locks and the behaviour of the ships in the lock itself is a key factor for the hydraulic design of the locks. The design can significantly impact on the forces which act on the ship, as it approaches the lock, is being moored and moved upwards or downwards. The forces are the basis for the safety of the locking process, as they affect the ease to enter in the lock and the forces that are imposed on hawsers and bollards.
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InCom 156
e-Navigation for Inland Waterways
In the first decade of the 21st century River Information Services have been developed to deal with the information services supporting traffic management and transport management. RIS has become mature and is in an implementation stage throughout the world.
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InCom 158
Masterplans for the Development of Existing Ports
Port masterplans are a truly strategical tool for the competitiveness of a port. They should ensure the technical, environmental and financial feasibility of infrastructure within a framework of possible development of a port area with time, well before the conceptual and detailed engineering design stage.
Fact Sheet

InCom 166
Inflatable Structures in Hydraulic Engineering
The objective is gathering the experiences, showing the application range of inflatable structures and developing a compendium. The main objective of the WG is to define a general methodology for the analysis and design of inflatable structures, in particular of the membrane and the anchoring system. Therefore, it is necessary to review the research presenting it in a comprehensive publication to aid designers and operators in their preliminary tasks.
Fact Sheet