Various training courses have taken place in Singapore and the Netherlands. Each training course establishes a link with Salvage’s strategy. There are teamwork activities to get to know and understand each other better, and attention is paid to cultural differences. “In Asian culture, for example, it’s less customary to offer your opinion”, says Peter Kuzee, SHE-Q Manager. “And with NINA that’s exactly what we want. To break the ice, for all the courses in Singapore we first went go-karting. It was quite challenging; especially if, like many of our crew over there, you haven’t got a driving license, and so have no feeling for go-karting. Even so, after a lengthy explanation, almost everyone managed to complete some laps. Learning new things is therefore quite quick and easy, and also a lot of fun! We extended this to communication: in the exercises during the training session, everyone is encouraged to overcome their natural reserve when it comes to communicating.”

RITUALS
Meanwhile, hard work is going into the design of the next phase. Short follow-up courses will soon be developed, and the introduction of ‘NINA Salvage rituals’ is being considered. Pieter: “Of course, we have the bi-annual reflection sessions with senior management, but we’re also looking for ways to make NINA an integral part of the projects. We are looking into whether we can integrate existing non-NINA rituals, such as the project kick-off meeting and evaluation sessions. This is not so simple, in particular for Emergency Response projects, because we have to work against the clock in the first few days, and meeting contractual obligations has to come first. In short: to be continued.”