“I HOPE THAT WITH NINA, WE CAN PAY ATTENTION TO EACH OTHER BETTER.” Arno van Poppel, general director VBMS “NINA brings uniformity and clarity. I hope this will help us to get the message on board clearly. Despite our tumultuous growth, we have managed to keep safety statistics reasonably flat, but every incident is one […]

“I LIKE TO CALL MYSELF THE NINA ‘AMBASSADOR’, BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN THAT IT WORKS.” Jan Bos, manager operations VBMS “In Nigeria, many people have generators in their bedrooms. That is extremely dangerous, because the exhaust gases contain carbon monoxide. If the exhaust gases cannot escape (due to a lack of ventilation), this can lead […]

“IT’S GREAT HOW THE FOCUS ON SAFETY STIMULATES INNOVATIVE THINKING.” Arnoud Roels, general manager Near Shore & Repairs VBMS “To sink cables, we were working with wet riggers who cut the buoys loose under water at the moment that there was no current. Looking for a safer method, we came up with a system in […]

“WE WANT TO BRING THE FIELD OPERATIONS AND OFFICE CLOSER TO EACH OTHER.” André Zimnik, Deputy Business Unit Manager BOW “I was still young when a main contractor said to me: ‘The guys there want to cut corners. Don’t let them come out of the water too fast’. Not much later, the foreman came to […]

“THE FEELING OF HAVING TO CHOOSE BETWEEN PRODUCTION AND SAFETY IS UNFOUNDED.” Alex Klaver, Director Boskalis Civil “Do you know what you should do if the alarm went off now? When I ask this question to participants at a NINA session here at the head office, most of them admit they don’t know.

“NINA MAKES YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR OWN ROLE: WHAT CAN I CONTRIBUTE?” Stefan van Keulen, BOW project manager Hornsea Offshore Windfarm One “I have noticed that NINA is very valuable in the relationship with our client. It is a good, solid programme that gives substance to the high safety level we strive for. We organised […]

ALEX KLAVER (BOW): “I think what kills every safety programme is its mandatory character. I came to understand that when I was on a plane in Australia, and the flight attendant said ‘close your eyes and count in your mind how many rows there are between you and the closest emergency exit’.