Roy Goedhart, “You don’t just build an Ampelmann by yourself”

A veteran of the company, Roy has seen considerable changes and developments over the years. “We are rather busy,” he says. “When I started working for Ampelmann, we had, maybe, two or three projects running concurrently. At the moment, we are working on nine different systems! This requires a lot of organisation, of course, and we need to adapt to this rising productivity. We are hiring a lot of new people so our team is growing.”

Teamwork and safety

Roy’s varied responsibilities not only require very precise knowledge and skills, but are especially reinforced by teamwork and cooperation. As he points out: “you don't just build an Ampelmann by yourself. You really need to be one team as you need a lot of hands to build a gangway. When I'm hiring a new colleague, this is something I really take into account: you need to be a team player.”

“When we work on the systems, we all share the same hall, tools and equipment, so it’s crucial that we keep communicating with each other. Especially since our team is growing, this is very important. I’m constantly working to ensure we are in synch and as tight knit as possible so that we can complement each other whenever needed. Of course, we don’t have to be the best of friends, or meet up during the weekends, but we do need to know why we’re here; we’re here to make an Ampelmann and that needs to be done perfectly.”

Team spirit and communication are also important components of staying safe. As he notes, “If you do something without informing each other or without taking your colleague into account, then you invariably get into situations that are less safe. In other words, communication is key.”

Of course, staying safe has a much broader meaning that transcends the physical: “It also means that you can go home after working hours and still be fit, healthy and energetic. We have our work to do here, but we don’t want our home life to be affected just as we don’t want our work to be affected by our private lives. It’s important to be able to “let go” and when you’re back at work you can start thinking about work again. If you can switch well between these two worlds, I think you’re mentally strong, so to speak.”

Communicating inclusively

Communicating effectively requires a great deal of empathy and understanding. According to Roy, “thinking inclusively means that you try to see things as they look through the eyes of the other. That you don’t just consider your own feelings and perspective, but that you include the thoughts of someone else into your own and not just hold to your own opinions. In other words, before you say what you think, imagine what it could mean to the other person.”

“As a team lead, it’s important that you really give all team members the space to think out loud. To avoid thinking and acting on someone’s behalf, so to speak. In the end you can get involved, but it’s important that everyone in the team is encouraged to come up with a solution themselves.”

In turn, Roy thinks it’s exactly this that allows everyone to dare to make a difference: “If you’ve got an idea, then you should always be heard and be taken seriously. Yet, it’s not only important to know that you can make a difference, but, equally, to know how to contribute. Really, it’s about listening to your colleagues when they want to make a difference. Of course, when you work in a team, it's very important that before you throw an idea on the table, you estimate what the rest would think. You can always share ideas anyway, but it's always good to be considerate of others when you're working together.”

“Over the years, many of these ideas have ended up in our gangways. It’s particularly nice that when you dare to make a difference and are good with steel you can make adaptations to our processes or gangways that later become adopted or even standardised. Out of convenience, for example, I made a small brace for the installation of high-pressure filters and now it's directly copied into each new gangway we build, exactly like I designed it. Seeing ideas such as these directly implemented really makes a difference.”

Building innovations

Continuous innovation is the backbone of a high-tech engineering company like Ampelmann, and for Roy to drive engineering excellence comes as natural as teamwork. Emphasising the double meaning of the term he says that: “drive technology is what makes our gangways tick and we always strive to create and produce the best possible product. An Ampelmann doesn’t leave our facility unless we’re certain it’s ready. Our systems need to be as close to perfect before they go offshore, so in that sense we aim to bring excellence to them.”

“That excellence hinges on training our team as best as possible,” says Roy. “Along the way, we’re determined to get more experience, strengthening the team and improving our processes in the OZB. We’re continuously updating our work items and through rigorous quality control and asking questions, we’re not only optimising the production process itself but making organisational and technical improvements to how we build our gangways and maintain structure in the OZB.”

With such a strong emphasis on teamwork and communication, it is perhaps unsurprising that Roy thinks that: “in some way, all of the core values are connected. Of course, we all want the best quality gangways, people and working environment. From my perspective the best way to achieve this is through close collaboration, teamwork and mutual respect as we’re all working to produce the same end product. The core values help to create a shared vision and point everyone in the right direction.”