Responsible innovation in the hydraulic engineering sector

In this chapter we will discuss the practices and methods of responsible innovation in the hydraulic engineering sector, in which we investigate the values involved and how these values are dealt with. In particular, we will concentrate on the RAMSSHEEP concept – with RAMSSHEEP being an acronym for reliability, availability, maintainability, safety, security, health, environment, economics and politics. This is a concept from the hydraulic engineering sector, which was introduced as a risk-driven tool to optimise maintenance strategies. Although the RAMSSHEEP approach has shown its use for maintenance questions, the concept has so far not been applied to evaluate new innovations that are still in the design phase. The aim of this chapter is to explore whether the RAMSSHEEP framework can be used to structure conflicting values in the water sector. We do so on the basis of three short case studies. Dilemmas that emerge in these case studies, and the way these dilemmas are handled, are being addressed. We conclude that the RAMSSHEEP framework is a suitable (semi)quantitative tool to evaluate innovations in the hydraulic engineering domain, already in the design phase.