All staff on the 'shop floor' in Qatar attended a NINA workshop. Nearly all Boskalis projects, including in Qatar, are carried out by our own staff working with people recruited locally. In the interests of improving cooperation between Boskalis staff and the locals, the two groups attend a series of NINA workshops together.

According to SHE-Q Manager, Amit Walia, "Sharing the same knowledge and using the same terms to speak about your work helps to promote mutual understanding". Small groups were formed to attend the training, based on job description and language spoken. Amit gives the training in Hindi: "People feel more comfortable when you speak to them in their own language and are more likely to share their views."

A real step forward
Participants practice applying the NINA Values in the workshops. According to Amit, "For example, people should give feedback to co-workers who are walking around without wearing any PPE. They usually do, unless we pretend that the co-worker is a supervisor. That's when people hesitate: they are afraid to say something like that to a supervisor or manager. We show them that supervisors are also just human beings who make mistakes like everyone else, husbands and fathers who want to go home at the end of the day still in one piece. We can't change old habits with one workshop. But I do see people's attitudes becoming more open and interactive. We are definitely taking a step forward!"