In conversation with Annette Ottolini & Trudy Onland

Smart collaboration is essential to moving resiliently forward. This is the only way for us to fulfil our social responsibility while at the same time tackling scarcity in many different areas. Annette Ottolini, CEO of Evides Waterbedrijf, and Trudy Onland, COO of Stedin, discuss how to develop effective collaboration in critical infrastructure and also where the challenges lie.

If you put the water company and grid management side by side, you see two organisations with many similarities: both manage essential utilities, both have a clear position and role by virtue of legislation and both face similar challenges. As Annette says, ‘Different as they are, electricity and water nonetheless have current in common.’ They face a shared challenge in terms of scarcity, evident in a shortage of qualified staff, an increasingly crowded subsurface and scarcity of materials. And with both companies sharing routes and having abutting operations below ground, it is only logical that they should work together. That is efficient and is in the interest of society in general. However, cooperation also presents some interesting issues.

A shining example: cooperation in Zeeland

When asked about her experience of cooperation in the past year, Annette first mentions the Cooperation Agreement for Zeeland, which Evides and DNWG/Stedin signed at the end of 2020. The two parties have a long history of working together below ground in Zeeland, with DNWG previously being contracted by Evides to carry out work in the province. With the new Cooperation Agreement, this relationship changed into one of equal partnership. ‘That change called for a high degree of coordination. Naturally, we were always driven by the desire to make life easier for our customers in

Zeeland. That means adopting efficient working practices and making quality and safety a priority at all times. The cooperation is good, and customers are highly appreciative of the good progress that is being made.’ Trudy, who has been on board at Stedin since mid-2021, also sees the cooperation in Zeeland as a shining example. ‘Customers don’t want the road to be dug up all the time; they just want to be able to park their car near their home.’

The same language

Annette believes the fact that both sets of employees ‘speak the same language’ is beneficial in the cooperation between Stedin and Evides: ‘Both organisations work with professionals. That our companies are similar is also evident in our shared focus on safety, for example. This common ground facilitates cooperation between us, at all levels.’ It is true that highlighting possible differences in our respective DNA is the last thing we need, adds Trudy. ‘For that reason, it is important that we can have access to what goes on behind the scenes, in terms of operational planning for example, at each other’s companies. Openness between us is crucial. It’s okay if our interests are not always the same, but let’s be honest and open about it. That creates clarity.’

Rules governing cooperation

Legislation makes cooperation between different parties in the subsurface difficult at times. ‘Yes, it’s complex,’ says Annette, ‘but we have found a solution, in the legal field, which enables us to work together.’ Trudy finds the current legislation ‘regrettable’ more than anything. ‘Because it means we sometimes have to construct unnecessarily complex arrangements to allow the same people to perform combined work in a smart manner. That shouldn’t be necessary in a tight labour market.’