Last month, we announced that Tree C Technology has won the European tender for a Bridge and Lock Simulator Project, commissioned by Provincie Zuid-Holland and Stichting NNVO. If you haven’t read our joint press release (Dutch) about this exciting news yet, you can check it out here. This project marks an important innovation in how operators and coordinators are trained to remotely control complex bridge and lock environments.  

Overseeing bridge and lock operations is a high-pressure task; decisions made must take account of public safety, traffic flow, and accommodate shipping routes. The smallest error or delay could have a big impact on people: a line of frustrated road users; the captain of a container ship on a tight schedule; or a serious incident involving the public.

Training operators and coordinators normally happens ‘on the job’, an approach that is limited by design. As a result, employees get less opportunities to build the experience they need to handle high-risk incidents before they occur. Thankfully, the first time they respond to an incident doesn’t have to be when it happens for real: a Tree C simulator helps people safely and properly prepare for any eventuality.

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“Learning ‘on the job’ makes it difficult to get adequate training. One trainee might encounter incidents that prepare them well. Another trainee might not see any. That makes it hard to prepare people properly for different eventualities.”

– Willem Knijnenburg, Lead Simulation Projects, Tree C

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Tree C Technology sails into new waters

Tree C Technology has built robust yet flexible simulators for offshore and remote handling industries for many years now. The company’s expertise has always been on recreating complex, high stakes environments where safety and efficiency are paramount.

Now, for the first time, that same expertise is moving inland, developing bridge and lock simulators for government authorities. The first project is already underway in one Dutch province, and it’s already plain to see: this is a sector with a pressing need for realistic and flexible training simulation.

Much like offshore and subsea operations, bridge and lock management involves strict protocols, unpredictable external conditions, and the need for rapid, coordinated decision-making. The key difference is that it involves greater awareness of the public directly: pedestrians, cyclists, cars, and trucks moving alongside shipping vessels.

An incident during operating can result in serious traffic congestion and government accountability.

Much more than training to press a button

Operating a bridge or lock might look simple from the outside: there are few buttons involved, and the procedures are straightforward. But, as one of our clients recently pointed out, there’s much more to it than that: you can teach a child to open a bridge. It’s situational awareness and timing that make it difficult.

Every day, operators and coordinators are making hundreds of judgment calls – about timing, communication, and prioritization – before they even hit a button. Incidents can range from a car breaking down on a bridge to reckless cyclists ducking under barriers, or even pedestrians wandering into danger.

That’s where Tree C’s simulator framework adds real value. By building a library of assets and scenarios drawn from real-world incidents, trainees can practice handling situations they may only ever encounter when it happens for real.

Bridging the gap between reality and simulation

The Tree C simulator framework creates a safe environment where operators learn to respond quickly, follow the right protocols, and communicate effectively with captains, drivers, and the public.

In developing this training simulator, the Tree C team has been working closely with bridge and lock authorities to integrate real-life incidents into training modules. While the range of scenarios is broad and unpredictable, operators need to be prepared for any eventuality, including:

• Cyclists ducking under barriers only to collide with them moments later

• Pedestrians standing dangerously close to descending counterweights

• Vehicles breaking down between the barriers

• A member of the public entering a restricted space to rescue a pet

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“We’re not only training the operators, we’re also training the coordinators who assign the bridges. It’s planning, it’s safety, and it’s logistics all at once.”

– Willem Knijnenburg, Lead Simulation Projects, Tree C

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Coordinated planning for traffic flows and safety

The role of coordinators is critical. They decide which operator controls which bridge, and how vessel and vehicle traffic is prioritized across a region. For example, one vessel may pass through 20 to 25 bridges on a single route.

Every minute counts.

With simulation, coordinators can test different planning strategies: grouping ships to minimize delays, anticipating knock-on effects at nearby bridges, and learning to balance economic and environmental impact.

Training simulators with total versatility

The project is technically ambitious. Unlike offshore simulators, where the focus is on a single vessel or crew, bridge and lock simulators must manage entire regions spanning tens of kilometers. Multiple bridges, locks, vessels, vehicles, and even pedestrians all have to be accurately simulated to recreate life-like scenarios.

To achieve this, Tree C’s development team creates modular building blocks that allow bridges and locks to be dynamically added or removed. Environmental conditions, ship and road traffic are all realistically generated. It gives instructors the ability to tailor training programs to specific scenarios by setting up and controlling multiple variables.

Hardware setup also plays an important role. Operators can train on the exact same control desks used in live operations. With a simple switch, the system can toggle between real-world mode and simulator mode. That means the learning environment is indistinguishable from reality, helping trainees build both competence and confidence.

6 benefits of a training simulator for bridges and locks

• Improved safety: Operators are prepared for rare but high-risk incidents before they happen.

• Consistency in training: Every operator receives the same exposure to critical scenarios, independent of season or chance.

• Operational efficiency: Coordinators and operators can practice managing complex vessel and traffic flows to minimize disruption.

• Reduced risk: By training in simulation, operators gain experience without putting the public, or expensive infrastructure, at risk.

• Future-proofing: Building-block technology means new bridges and locks can be added quickly to create real-world systems.

• Learning from real-life: By recreating real incidents in the simulator, you can base your training on actual events rather than hypothetical scenarios.

Next steps for bridge and lock simulation

This project is still in its early stages. At the time of writing, the first version is due for rollout in a few weeks time; it will allow basic evaluation and feedback, helping Tree C fine-tune both the training scenarios and the underlying technology.

And this is only the beginning. Other Dutch provinces have already shown interest, and as the simulator evolves, it has the potential to become a national standard for bridge and lock training, helping ensure consistency, safety, and efficiency across the country.

Lock in the latest developments from Tree C Technology

What if the next time one of your operators faced a critical decision, they had already experienced it in the safety of a simulator? If you’re responsible for remote operation or surveillance of infrastructure, then you already know how that training is critical.

The innovative application of Tree C simulator technology to operator training for infrastructure, like bridges and locks, represents a new way forward: safer, smarter, and scalable to each region’s needs. We’ll be sharing updates as the project progresses, including lessons learned from the first rollout, feedback from operators, and new features as they’re developed.

To get updates on this exciting project, subscribe to our newsletter and follow Tree C on LinkedIn. Watch the project showcase below to see some footage from the demo of this project!