Crucial Craftsmanship

Crucial craftsmanship: Collin Goedegebure

Collin Goedegebure is a technician/supervisor at DNWG. What does 'crucial craftsmanship' mean for him? 'We also keep an eye on each other; it is not nice to see a colleague who is overworked.'

>What makes your work of vital importance?

'As a technician/supervisor, I carry out maintenance and inspections on high-voltage installations together with my team. We remedy failures, draw up work plans and exercise safety oversight. Most of the time, we do this in Zeeland, but we have also started doing so closer to Rotterdam recently. It is a very wide and varied job. If we don't do our job, the likelihood of failures increases significantly. And that's when the lights go out.'

>How do you recognise a professional in your field?

'We are immediately recognisable by the company vehicles and our work clothing, of course. That way, you can easily recognise a skilled professional. The real stars for me are my colleagues who have been in the job for years and who, 9 times out of 10, have the answer to your question. We also refer to them here as "our walking encyclopaedias".'

>What has working been like for you during the lockdown?

'I have been busy every single day. We now work in smaller groups, and I do all the administration and paperwork from home. Other than that, I haven't really noticed any difference, although it's been quite a different story in my personal life. Football was suspended, the gym was closed and I couldn't go out for a meal with my girlfriend – I could do none of these things. My holiday in the sun in Tenerife was also cancelled. The Veluwe national park was also nice, don't get me wrong, but it was still a shame.'

>How do you ensure that you remain fit and healthy yourself?

‘I make sure I get enough exercise and eat a varied diet. A healthy work-life balance is important to me. You should leave your work at work and take regular leave. We also keep an eye on each other; it is not nice to see a colleague who is overworked.'

>What gives you the most satisfaction in your work? How does your work help you maintain vitality?

'I enjoy my work very much, as it is extremely varied and there is a good atmosphere. I travel around a lot, I have good tools to work with, the supervision is excellent and there are plenty of opportunities for advancement. One day, I do the administration and paperwork; the next day, I am rectifying a fault and spending time outside. It's an ideal combination.'

Crucial craftsmanship: Raymond Kloos

Raymond Kloos is a service & maintenance engineer. What does 'crucial craftsmanship' mean for him? 'An employer that gives you confidence: you are professionally competent, you've got the PPE, you can do it.'

>What makes your work of vital importance?

‘Connections occasionally break, due to wear and tear or excavation activities. It's my job to remedy the failure as quickly and effectively as possible. I also carry out maintenance on medium-voltage switchgear. My work is important, because society simply does not function without electricity. People are used to power being available 24/7, so when an outage means they cannot use their vacuum cleaner, or the oxygen pump for their saltwater aquarium has stopped working, I can't tell you how pleased they are to see me!'

>How do you recognise a professional in your field?

'In-depth knowledge is absolutely essential. Alongside a solutions-driven mindset, knowledge of the area and a professional approach, I think it is important that you know your own limitations. Don't be afraid to ask and keep asking questions; know your weaknesses. For example, you may know a lot about low-voltage or medium-voltage grids but next to nothing about digitalisation. If you can admit to having doubts, then you are a true professional in my book. Our job can be dangerous; we are stronger together.'

>What has working been like for you during the lockdown?

'Our department is vitally important, and failures always have to be fixed, so my work continued as usual. Providing our children aged 8 and 11 with home-schooling was a challenge. My wife is also a key worker, and she found it difficult to get any work done from home whilst also teaching the children, I was given extra days off to help out with their education. I was also the first Stedin employee to enter the home of someone who had been infected with the coronavirus. I was on the emergency repair shift and got a call at 11 o'clock one evening. My first thought was: I'm not going! But my boss said: you are professionally competent, you've got the PPE, you can do it. I soon regretted wearing a warm jumper under the full PPE kit, though. Obviously I couldn't take it off, but it was okay in the end. Later, I shared my findings with my supervisor. He was impressed, and the following day, I was invited to share my experience with our CEO, Marc van der Linden.'

>How do you ensure that you remain fit and healthy yourself?

'I use the vitality scheme provided by Stedin, and I work out in the gym two or three times a week. I also train my son's football team twice weekly. I enjoy having the chance to coach them, and my son loves the fact that I run the team. At 1.95 metres tall and weighing 120 kilos, you could say I'm a big guy. My new year's resolution for 2021 is to pay more attention to what I eat.

>What gives you the most satisfaction in your work? How does your work help you maintain vitality?

'We are a close-knit team of 30 professionals with whom you can discuss whatever is on your mind. Stedin is generally very concerned with the well-being of its employees. We look after each other, making sure that we take timely breaks on warm or cold days and that there is enough variety in our work. It is nice to have that kind of support. And I get plenty of fresh air in my job, which I love.'

Crucial craftsmanship: Sanne de Boer

Sanne de Boer is a senior analyst in the energy transition. What does 'crucial craftsmanship' mean for her? Real craftsmanship means being able to explain the consequences of choices that are made. The energy transition is just not that simple, after all.'

>What makes your work of vital importance?

'I work as part of a team of four people analysing the energy transition, and in particular the heat transition in the built environment. The leading question we seek to answer is: what will we use instead of natural gas? Solutions differ from one district to the next. My job within the team is to disseminate knowledge. This is of such importance to me that I self-published a book this year, "The energy transition explained". I'm delighted that 1,200 Stedin employees have asked for a copy. I wrote the book to explain concepts that are used, such as the difference between kW and kWh, in plain language. It also bugged me that the media make so many errors, such as referring to a water pump when it is actually a heat pump. They are totally different things. I don't think my work is directly of vital importance to society. Unlike fitters, who are absolutely essential. But I do contribute to making our energy infrastructure future-proof. My work has relevance in the long term.'

>How do you recognise a professional in your field?

'A true professional can clearly explain, in plain and balanced language, the interests and tensions involved in the energy transition. The system as a whole is complex. Take the current discussion about biomass, for example. Opponents believe it shouldn't even be considered. Its advocates believe it is a necessary option. A true professional can explain the consequences of choices in terms of the cost, space and speed of the transition. It is just not that simple.'

>What has working been like for you during the lockdown?

'After the Prime Minister's first press conference, I felt anxious. I live alone, and I wasn't keen at all on working from home. I even phoned my boss to ask whether I could come in to the office. But I have completely changed my mind; now, I wouldn't want to work any other way. I work far more effectively from home. It's difficult not to be distracted by the clamour in an office environment. My daily commute is normally 2.5 hours, but now I can stay in bed an hour longer. I love it! And I like the fact that we start the work day with a half-hour casual meeting to touch base with the team.'

>How do you ensure that you remain fit and healthy yourself?

'The daily ops remote meetings with my colleagues really help to maintain focus on my work. I also exercise three times a week, including one skateboarding session. I have a healthy diet and make sure I eat something every two to three hours. I also stay active throughout the work day by going for short walks.'

>What gives you the most satisfaction in your work? How does your work help you maintain vitality?

'I am really happy to be part of this team. I also enjoy doing work that, in my view, is useful for society. I could never be a tobacconist, for example. That has no added value for me. The idea of doing purposeful work is what motivates me each and every work day.'

Crucial craftsmanship: Frederique Ankone

Frederique Ankone is a project coordinator at Meters & Connections Complex. What does 'crucial craftsmanship' mean for her? 'During the lockdown, we carried on with work that could be done from a laptop; the fitters, by contrast, were stopped in their tracks. It was difficult to stay motivated: what are we doing it all for?'

>What makes your work of vital importance?

'Together with a colleague, I am in charge of directing work to replace obsolete electrical connections. I am responsible for the region of The Hague. When we began the smart meters project, we came across jute wiring, main junction boxes with asbestos cords and Weber boxes. These are often located in old staircase-accessed flats. We decided to start up a project to replace them all, as the meter replacements could no longer be done safely or carried the risk of causing outages. Lots of things need to be arranged, from soil surveys to temporary road closures. My work is of vital importance for ensuring the safety of electrical connections.'

>How do you recognise a professional in your field?

'To me, being a professional is not so much about knowledge as about drive, about wanting to realise your full potential and always looking to learn more. To me, that is a valuable attribute and a foundation for achieving a great deal. I am pleased to work with lots of colleagues with a strong drive.'

>What has working been like for you during the lockdown?

'It was pretty hectic when the first lockdown began. For a while, we had to suspend our project. We carried on doing preparatory work from home, but it was difficult to stay motivated: what are we doing it all for? Our goal is normally to carry out the work. When we got the all-clear to start again in July, I noticed that customer contact was easier than expected; there was very little hassle and people kept their distance. I do a lot of work from home, and that's fine, although I do miss my colleagues' input and the conversations at the coffee machine.'

>How do you ensure that you remain fit and healthy yourself?

'In January, I joined in with the programme run by our colleague Irving Aarnoutse, who was training to become a fitness coach at the time. We used to exercise together once a week, and now we have online sessions twice a week instead. There are 18 of us, all colleagues from work, and we improvise where necessary, with bottles of water as weights, for example. I also make an effort to keep up the lunchtime walk. As for my mental health, I'm glad to have lovely people around me.'

>What gives you the most satisfaction in your work? How does your work help you maintain vitality?

'I very much enjoy working around motivated colleagues. Together, we achieve good solutions. I also get enjoyment out of constantly improving processes. At the moment, I am working on an improved planning system that will make my colleagues' work easier. That gives me personal satisfaction.'

Crucial craftsmanship: Rashied Imambaks

Rashied Imambaks is a data engineer. What does 'crucial craftsmanship' mean for him? 'We often write the manual for our work as we go along. That keeps the work interesting.'

>What makes your work of vital importance?

'The key question in my work is always: how do I get data from A to B? In my work, A is a source file and B is Data Lake, our system in which all the data come together. Data Lake is a sort of supermarket, a one-stop convenience store bringing together all the things previously available from different sources. We ensure that all the data are neatly laid out, so our analysts can quickly and easily pick out what they need. That way, they can more easily pinpoint bottlenecks from the data taken from smart meters, for example. This enables us to make smarter investments and savings.'

>How do you recognise a professional in your field?

'As we work in a relatively new field, the problems we encounter are also new. A good data engineer is inquisitive, focused and able to think out of the box. Our team comprises people from lots of different backgrounds, including an archaeologist. My own background is in hydraulic engineering.'

>What has working been like for you during the lockdown?

'Much of my work is computer-based, so I didn't have much difficulty switching to working from home. It took some getting used to not having any colleagues around me, but it has been a smooth transition. I did go into the office for a few days during the summer heatwave, however, when it got too hot at home.'

>How do you ensure that you remain fit and healthy yourself?

'I usually go to the gym, so my fitness levels dropped when it had to close during the first lockdown. But I have started exercising again since. I am reasonably careful about what I eat, although I will admit to cheating a few days a week – that's when I can eat what I want. That is also good for my mental health.'

>What gives you the most satisfaction in your work? How does your work help you maintain vitality?

'In my field, you need to constantly innovate, and I enjoy that challenge. We often write the manual for our work as we go along. Sometimes, we have to move data across six systems to another system. Then you have to test whether everything has gone as planned, since each step and each interface is different from the last one. You learn something new from each test. That is what makes this work interesting.'

Crucial craftsmanship: Fitsum Fesseha

Fitsum Fesseha is a fitter in the Gouda-Nieuwerkerk-Rotterdam region. What does 'crucial craftsmanship' mean for him? 'Working just makes me very happy'.

Why is your work of vital importance?

'Society simply does not function without power. Lots of things stop working if electricity cuts out. Power is important to everyone. As a child, I used to play with cables all the time, and now I'm replacing meters. I am pleased that my hobby from back then has now become my profession.'

How do you recognise a skilled professional in your field?

'A skilled professional is someone who always comes home safely. They can also come up with creative solutions for problems and continue to develop. It is also very important to communicate clearly with customers. Customers need to understand what is going on and what needs to happen. I have just started my training, and I hope to continue learning and developing as much as I can in the coming years.'

What has working been like for you during the lockdown?

‘I ended up spending three months at home. My work is always carried out in people's homes, so I couldn't do my job. I didn't like being at home. My work makes me happy, and lazing around is not my thing. Every morning, I would wake up early. I used the opportunity to improve my Dutch language skills. I originally come from Eritrea, and I would really like to learn to speak Dutch perfectly. When we were allowed to go back to work, I felt uneasy. You want to be certain that everything is safe, for customers as well as yourself. There is also less contact, which is a shame – visiting people in their homes is a chance to practice my Dutch proficiency. Now, people stay in their living room, and there is less opportunity for a chat.'

How do you ensure that you remain fit and healthy yourself?

'My work keeps me healthy. It involves plenty of movement, and I enjoy it. In addition, I often go for walks in the evening. A healthy diet also comes natural to me, so that's no problem.'

What gives you the most satisfaction? How does your work help you maintain vitality?

'I really enjoy the contact with customers. People notice that I don't come from the Netherlands, and that generates plenty of interesting conversations. I learn a lot from what they explain about their jobs. I also love chatting to my colleagues. Even though we work alone, we still talk to each other regularly and they help me out. I have the job I want, and I look forward to going to work every morning.'

Crucial craftsmanship: Dave de Wit

Dave de Wit is a gas-free specialist. What does 'crucial craftsmanship' mean for him? 'Ensuring a healthy mind in a healthy body.'

>What makes your work of vital importance?

'My work focuses on the safety of gas grids, and together with my team, I remove gas pipelines that are no longer in use. This can be because customers have switched to another energy source, for example. These types of pipe remain pressurised, which can give rise to dangerous situations They need to be removed. Many customers are fine with that, but they are not so happy when they hear that this involves digging up their garden. We are currently developing a pipe puller, which will enable us to extract the pipe without having to dig a trench and with minimal damage to the garden, other than a hole in the outer wall. We are now conducting a series of pilot projects, and customer response has been very positive so far.'

>How do you recognise a professional in your field?

'A strong sense of safety and customer experience is a key priority. Creativity within the framework of safety is also important. We come across countless different situations in our work, from gas meters behind sofas to ones installed in small sheds next to houses. If you have a solution for all these types of situation, that makes you a true professional in my book.'

>What has working been like for you during the lockdown?

'I found it strange. I have worked for Stedin for more than 40 years, and I'm just not used to working from home. It does save a lot of travel time, though. Quite often, I'd be stuck in traffic from where I live in Spijkenisse. That is one thing I definitely don't miss. I do miss my colleagues – communicating on a little screen is not the same. Keeping your distance when working on the pipes outside also takes some getting used to. Sometimes, you come across something you want to show someone, and then you find yourselves standing too close together before you realise it. That is why we've agreed to keep each other on our toes. We're in this together, after all.'

>How do you ensure that you remain fit and healthy yourself?

'I work out for half an hour every morning on the spin bike, which has a TV screen, in my garden shed. We also have a large dog who needs taking out for long walks three times a day. My wife and I take turns doing this. I have always done a lot to keep fit, and then, suddenly and unexpectedly, I had a heart attack two years ago. It was touch and go; the ambulance arrived just in time. That's a sign that something is not right in your body. I took it as a warning signal and a prompt to make extra sure to get enough exercise, at work and when at home.

>What gives you the most satisfaction in your work? How does your work help you maintain vitality?

'Pioneering, trying to solve things, making the transition from policy to practice – these are the things that give me satisfaction. The pipe pulling project also includes several young fitters from the in-house training school. Innovation projects like this provide them with a great learning ground, and we learn from them as well. They're not yet stuck in a certain way of thinking, which helps them come up with good ideas. That is great to see. Discussing ideas together helps to open up new avenues.'

Crucial craftsmanship: Nicole Onrust

Nicole Onrust is a senior allocation and reconciliation analyst. What does 'crucial craftsmanship' mean for her? ‘My work keeps the lights on in the Netherlands.’

>What makes your work of vital importance?

‘For many people, what I do is quite abstract. To put is simply, as a household, you pay monthly advances to your energy supplier. The price you pay is based on estimates. Once a year, the meter readings are passed on and you receive a final settlement. My job is to check whether those consumption figures and invoices are correct, are complete and have been paid on time in the Stedin grid. So as far as the importance of my job is concerned, my job allows suppliers to purchase effectively, which keeps the lights on in the Netherlands.’

>How do you recognise a professional in your field?

‘I can easily pick out the people who could do my job properly: they're a little nerdy, analytical and like sniffing around in data. The real top performers know all market processes, can calculate these at the drop of a pin and know the laws and regulations by heart.’

>What has working been like for you during the lockdown?

‘Not being able to go to the office is quite annoying for me. I have a coordinating role, which is a lot more difficult if you can't just quickly drop into someone's office. I am also part of a team of people from other grid managers in which we work on the basis of the scrum method. It is a lot more difficult to liaise if you're not physically in the same room. But I have found a way that works for me, and though I like being in the office, working from home is not so bad either. Every working day, we have a stand-up meeting in which we talk to each other. That helps.’

>How do you ensure that you remain fit and healthy yourself?

‘I am in a boot camp workout club where I exercise three times a week. During lockdown, I performed exercises in the back garden with weights I had bought for myself. I would run around my house with small blocks, and I could see the neighbours thinking: what on earth is she doing? I have also started on the Sonja Bakker diet, and I crochet to empty my mind: blankets, shawls. But you can't order anything from me! It takes a huge amount of time. Finally, I deliberately opted to work for three days a week. That way, I can combine being a vital colleague with being a vital woman and a vital mother.’

>What gives you the most satisfaction in your work? How does your work help you maintain vitality?

‘What I really enjoy most is resolving difficult puzzles together with my colleagues and looking how, for instance, we can put sector agreements into practice. I also like bringing everyone together. There are quite a few men in my discipline, so I tell myself, 'Let's get all these alpha males to agree with each other. I love it when that works out.’

Crucial craftsmanship: Frank Krug

Frank Krug is a specialist in outages. What does 'crucial craftsmanship' mean for him? ‘Don't just blame the fitter or the components. You need to be curious and investigate why an error was made.’

>What makes your work of vital importance?

‘In the case of major failures and incidents, I investigate the cause. For instance, I investigated the 2 major incidents in the last 18 months in The Hague. What happened and what can we learn from this? Do we want to change certain processes? I work a lot with various organisations, such as the State Supervision of Mines. Through my work, we can prevent new failures. Both my colleagues at Stedin and society benefit from this!’

>How do you recognise a professional in your field?

‘You have to be investigative, curiosity needs to be part of your nature. Always think beyond what you see, with an open mind and a helicopter view. The real professionals in my discipline always exclude options, instead of thinking in terms of limitations. Rather than just blaming the fitter, they examine why an error was made. That is how you get results. I also derive inspiration from people from other organisations, like specialists of the fire brigade. I can learn from them as well.’

>What has working been like for you during the lockdown?

‘To be honest, I occasionally get a bit fed up with the whole situation. I miss the personal connections. In the office, you could just walk over, make eye contact. You hear and see a lot that you then need to respond to. All of that is missing now. I sometimes feel the contact with colleagues is something of a surrogate for that reason. Of course, there are advantages as well. For instance, I regularly have meetings at the KIWA research institute in Apeldoorn. You would spend almost a full day on a meeting of two hours. Now, without the travel time, a two-hour meeting really only takes two hours. I aim to stick to my old regular routine. I start work at the same time and take a walk during my lunch break, just as I did at the office.’

>How do you ensure that you remain fit and healthy yourself?

‘Last August, I turned 62, and I make use of the Vitality Scheme. It's pretty generous, you know. It's good to take things a little easier. I'm not exactly 20 years old any more. In this way, I am slowly moving towards my retirement. Every Saturday, I work as a volunteer on a small tugboat from 1958 that is moored here in Maassluis. We are completely refurbishing the boat, which is called “Tonijn” (Tuna). Some say, “If you buy a boat, you'll be working yourself into the ground to get it to float”. That might be true, but it's also a lot of fun.’

>What gives you the most satisfaction in your work? How does your work help you maintain vitality?

‘I get the most satisfaction from finding the cause of an incident or failure. The process of analysing. What happened, exactly? And if we can then introduce changes, for instance in behaviour, and you can really induce people to change the way they do things, that is what gives me real satisfaction.’