Happy New Year

Contents

GIJS VAN WEIJEN

Chief Support Officer / Total Quality Manager P. 5

P. 7

DUTCH PASTRY

Oliebollen P. 8

VARINDER GHARIAL

ANNA CHERTKOV

P. 11

Technical Support Engineer / Service Engineer P. 13

NEW YEAR’S TRADITIONS

From around the world P. 14

DENNIS WAARDENBURG

SIXUE YAN Consultant P. 17

Senior Technical Support Engineer

CHANTAL MOOIJ Marketeer

Senior Project Manager P. 19

GIJS VAN WEIJEN Chief Support Officer / Total Quality Manager

BOOTS IN THE MUD

Working a large amount of my career in the interna�onal services industry, you could say I live and breathe service. Being in the service business taught me that quality is one of the suppor�ng pillars of a service organisa�on so the second hat I’m wearing in CERTUS as the TQM (total quality manager) fits me well. Loving to travel the world, married to my wonderful Sco�sh wife and the worldwide presence of CERTUS makes the picture complete. Fortunately, in the past year things have changed a bit back to normal again, giving me the opportunity to change my role as CSO from a virtual world into a more physical world. In my opinion service is all about rela�ons with our customers, assuring they get the best service

that fits their business needs and requirements. In 2022, we were able to op�mise our service by automa�on but more importantly by being there with and for our customers. In other words, a virtual Teams face became a real-live person again. We were also able to provide our customers with solid documenta�on, maintenance training and videos, proac�ve tooling, reac�ve system monitoring tools as well as excellent CERTUS service and customer installa�on performance. On top of all the above with my other TQM hat on, we recer�fied the CERTUS ISO9001 cer�ficate, our VCA ** cer�ficate, passing our external Cybercrime audit with a “b” level, ensuring our GDPR compliance and our first steps towards our ISO 27001 Cer�fica�on.

In the new Year we will con�nue to improve and extend all the above to be and stay the number 1 service provider in the business. The major difference in the New Year will be the educa�on and training of our customers, partners, and subcontractors. Less remote, more face-to-face on-site , with our boots in the mud.

NEW YEARS TRADITION

Our New Year's Day was a mix between Sco�sh and Dutch tradi�ons. For the Dutch part there were the Dutch pastries (Oliebollen & Appelflappen) and fireworks and for the Sco�sh part, the first person that entered the house in the new year should bring gi�s for good luck; a bo�le of water of life (Whiskey); a piece of coal to warm you and a fruitcake to feed you.

BUILDING BRIDGES

Born in a small inland city in China, the world used to be wide but far away. With my restless curiosity and blind courage, I made my way to where and who I am today; Working as a consultant for CERTUS Automa�on. This job perfectly combines my background in ICT with my passion for consultancy. I consider myself the bridge between customers’ business needs and developers’ technical designs. I am honoured to work on all NewCold Projects. One of those

projects, NewCold Lebanon (USA) went live recently. I learned and grew a lot in 2022 and I could not make it without my dear colleagues who taught me, trusted me, and supported me in �mes of challenges.

PICK UP KNOWLEDGE

With the experience gained in the past year I aim to assist other ongoing projects to go live even smoother. Apart from that, I plan to pick up more knowledge in system administra�on and SQL database to improve my work as a consultant.

And join more a�er-work drinks with my colleagues to get to know them be�er.

NEW YEARS TRADITION

I did a thorough house cleaning before the new year, set off some fireworks on New Year's Eve, and put on new clothes for a walk on the first day of the new year. Being away from my family, it brings me a bit closer to home when keeping up with old tradi�ons.

DUTCH PASTRY: OLIEBOLLEN

INGREDIENTS:

50g of bu�er

500 ml of milk

7g dried yeast

1 egg

500g of flour

1 pinch of salt

125 g of raisins

75 g currants

1 apple, Jonagold

PREPERATIONS

Heat the milk to lukewarm and dissolve the yeast, egg and bu�er in it.

S�r in the flour and salt and mix well.

Soak the raisins and currants in warm water for about 30 minutes.

Peel the apple and cut it into cubes.

Mix the raisins, currants and apple with half of the ba�er.

Let the ba�er rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes under a damp cloth or plas�c sheet.

Preheat the oil to 180 °C.

Before you scoop out the ba�er, dip the spoon into the oil. This way there is a layer of fat around it and scooping the ba�er is easier.

Let the oliebollen fry for 5 to 6 minutes and then drain them on a paper towel.

‘Successful closure of projects is the ul�mate defini�on of success for a Project Manager. ’

VARINDER (AKA VIN) GHARIAL Senior Project Manager

A�er 6 years as a Database Analyst in the financial services, years I accepted voluntary redundancy and went back to study for professional qualifica�ons. My goal was to return into the financial sector un�l a recruitment agent asked if I was interested in a career in Ports and Logis�cs. I dis�nctly remember that a well-known TOS provider asked me if I would like to see the world for free! Well, that sold it for me there and then I was offered the posi�on as a Professional Services Consultant. My current role with CERTUS is as a Senior Project Manager managing some of our biggest projects globally.

I am a “hands on” SPM, always willing to pick up tools and lend a hand to our Engineers. This became prevalent during the Covid pandemic. I was managing a large Gate Automa�on project in the UAE and ended up installing much of the Gate

Automa�on equipment myself with some local help. I can honestly say it was a great learning experience.

I am a United Kingdom na�onal but am based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai is a great airport hub that allows me to travel easily to terminals. I have a son (UX Designer) and daughter (Law under-graduate) who s�ll live in the UK but find any excuse to visit me and party in Dubai!

Successful closure of projects is the ul�mate defini�on of success for a Project Manager. I am proud to say that over the course of 2022, I was able to deliver successful closure to Gate Automa�on and Crane OCR projects on �me, in scope and on budget. I am also proud that I con�nue to develop and learn. I have con�nued to expand my knowledge and experience from all things

Mechanical to Electrical and not just in Project Management. My focus for 2023 will be successfully delivering a major Gate Automa�on project in Nigeria, West Africa. No project is the same and no country has the same working environment. It’s about blending into the culture and build rela�onships with the port and sub-contractors to make sure we deliver a successful automated gate solu�on.

NEW YEARS TRADITION

Since living in Dubai, my partner and I have been lucky to see the fireworks at the famous Burj- Khalifa building. This year we returned from a vaca�on in Portugal on New Year’s Eve and then headed out to celebrate with friends. Despite the jet lag, we stayed awake up to Midnight!

‘Learn the requirements to the system from the people who work with it.’

ANNA CHERTKOV Technical Support Engineer / Service Engineer

23 YEARS OF KNOWLEDGE

I lived exactly half of my life in Uzbekistan un�l we decided to move to Israel in 1996. A couple of years later I was accepted to the CERTUS family. I have an MBA in mathema�cs from Tashkent university and like to help people so that is how I became a member of the Support Team. Today I am working as a Technical Support Engineer for external customers and I am a Professional Service Engineer for the R&D department responding to the tasks related to the OCR part of R&D. I am Jewish by na�onality, Russian by mother language, Uzbek by the kitchen and family tradi�ons and

currently living in Haifa – a North port of Israel. In this city we also successfully deployed the Haifa SIPG project last year. I visited the port several �mes and it helped me a lot with understanding how the system will work and what the customer expects from it. By the way, I can see the SIPG cranes from my apartment window and talk about them with my family and friends when they visit.

Last year, I have seen how important it is to visit sites and learn the requirements of the system from the people who work with it. I hope Covid difficul�es are over giving us more opportuni�es for customer site

site visits. I also wish to have �me for learning and helping with new image process technologies in 2023.

Resolving issues with old systems such as SeeGate 2 or 3 makes me proud. With 23 years of experience, I have unique knowledge. I can remember solu�ons of issues that happened a long �me ago.

NEW YEARS TRADITION

A week before New Year’s Eve, the family sets a tree in the salon, then for the New Year’s night we had prepared the most lovely meals, and at 12 o’clock everybody ate 12 grapes and made a wish.

NEW YEAR’S TRADITIONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

DENMARK

Throwing old plates

Throwing old plates against the doors of family and friends. The more broken kitchenware on your door step, the be�er off you’ll be.

AUSTRALIA Fireworks

People pack picnic baskets and arrive early to get the best view of the tradi�onal fireworks in ci�es and towns throughout the country.

SOUTH AFRICA

Throwing out the old In South Africa people literally throw old appliances out of the window represen�ng out with the old and in with the new.

COLOMBIA

Carrying empty suitcases

In a hope for a year filled with travel and adventure, Colombian residents walk around the block on New Year’s Eve with an empty suitcase.

JAPAN Ea�ng soba noodles

Because the long thin noodles are firm yet easy to bite, it is believed ea�ng them symbolizes a literal break away from the old year.

BRAZIL

To the beach

Jump seven waves while making seven wishes. This tradi�on is rooted in paying homage to Yemanja, goddess of water.

SPAIN

Ea�ng 12 grapes

The Spanish start of the new year by ea�ng 12 grapes. Each grape symbolizes one of the twelve strikes of the clock.

USA Watch the ball drop

Since 1907 millions of Americans gather around the television or on the streets of �mes square in New York City to watch the ball drop.

SCOTLAND

First-foo�ng

The first person who crosses a threshold in the new year should carry a gi� for good luck.

‘We now have a solu�on that is ac�vely monitoring the state of services, performance and diskspace’

DENNIS WAARDENBURG Senior Technical Support Engineer

ACTIVELY MONITORING

Born and raised in a small town in the Netherlands, called Schipluiden, I am currently living in another small town called Bergschenhoek (next to Ro�erdam). My name is Dennis and I’m a Senior Technical Support Engineer. My team is the first point of contact for customers in need of support. Most of our support �ckets are solved within my team. In some cases, it may be needed to assign the problem to a different CERTUS team, but even then we stay the first point of contact for our customers. I’m therefore constantly trying to improve the experience our

customers have with our support team.

CERTUS MONITORING TOOL

As one of my star�ng projects, I was given the task to upgrade the monitoring tools at CERTUS. We now have a solu�on that is ac�vely monitoring the state of services, performance, diskspace and much more at the customers sites. This is all integrated in our support portal and we receive push no�fica�ons on our phones. With this system we provide pro-ac�ve support; we inform our customers that a problem is going to occur. This has already prevented many problems!

Besides suppor�ng our customers, one of my main goals for 2023 is to op�mize the use of our monitoring tools. Also, I will be leading the implementa�on of our new and more secure remote access so�ware at customer sites. And finally, I would like to con�nue the collaborate with my team so we have a clear image of what is going on and where we can make improvements.

NEW YEARS TRADITION

New Year’s Eve, I’ve spend together with family to celebrate and eat "oliebollen" a tradi�onal Dutch donut like snack.

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

As a daughter of an inland skipper the ports are no stranger to me. Working as a marketeer for CERTUS Automa�on brings me back to the world in which I grew up. Although my partner also owns his own inland vessel, I never decided to join him on the river. In high school I already knew that I wanted to combine commerce with crea�vity. Working at CERTUS as a marketeer brings both worlds together for me!

example, at a height of 50 meters in the top of a STS Container Crane. Awesome experience. We have recorded some very cool images during these visits for our marke�ng purposes.

LOOKING FORWARD AT 2023

We have a great team in the Sliedrecht office and I’m always curious to hear what others are working on. In the new year I want to work more in the office and maybe start taking lunchbreaks in the canteen and try out the new table tennis table.

In the past year I was allowed to visit several container terminals and given access to areas where you are normally not allowed to go; for

I believe in images more than words. In 2022 I have taught myself the programs Adobe Animate and Adobe Premiere Pro. Cool so�ware to make anima�ons and movies. In 2023 I’d like to impress our customers with footage that clearly explains our solu�ons.

NEW YEARS TRADITION

New Year's Day we did our tradi�onal visit to the family. Grandma made dinner for everyone and we toasted together to the new year.