Annual r eport 2002 Annual r eport 2002 - Boskalis

Left Frances Buirma, director Personnel and Organization,
in the middle Gert Blom, Project director and right
Jan Eygenraam, head of Research and Development.
Knowledge transfer creates a lead
“You can’t learn about dredging from books
alone. Much expertise is lodged in the minds of
experienced personnel. Boskalis looks for ways
of transferring that expertise efficiently to the
new generation”, says Frances Buirma, director
Personnel and Organization.
Project director Gert Blom wrote a manual for
young superintendents and developed, in collaboration
with a training institute, the course
‘Dredging in Practice’.
“The manual contains the specifications of all
Boskalis equipment. ‘What can this backhoe do?’
‘How do you go about submerging a pipe?’ It has
turned into a real reference work. In the course,
people from the practical side - masters, captains,
chief inspectors from the Technical Department - pass
on their expertise and experience. They also act as
mentors for the people on the course for six months.
But that’s not all. The ability to run a project involves
being able to think logically. The course deals with
this side by looking at management skills and
practising with cases taken from real life. And it
works. You see people getting better.”
Boskalis has simulators for trailing suction hopper
dredgers and cutter suction dredgers. The simulators
are specially designed for training purposes.
“It’s incredible how much fun they are to work with
and how much you learn from them”, says Jan
Eygenraam, who developed some of the teaching
materials for the International Dredging Academy.
“And they are very true to life. You can even introduce
different types of seas”, he continues.
Since the simulator is structured like a cabin and
because of the projection of the ship’s bow on the
water, it really is just like being at sea. “As a result,
some people find it difficult to try out new things.
They panic if something goes wrong. But all you
need to do is press the reset button and start
again”, he adds. These simulators allow fleet crews
to learn new things and superintendents to acquire
practical experience. They can also be used to test
and pass on new techniques “in practice”.
42 Annual Report 2002