Unburdening customers

AS A FULL-SERVICE SPECIALIST IN LIFTING TECHNOLOGIES SINCE 1997, LIFTAL GIVES ADVICE ON HOISTING, LIFTING, AND FALL PROTECTION. THE COMPANY HAS IN RECENT YEARS BENEFITTED FROM THE GROWING DEMAND FROM THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY, HENCE ENTERING A NEW MARKET.

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF LIFTAL.

According to Lifal’s Project Manager Maritme & Industry Adrie Nieuwenhuize, business in the ofshore wind is at present running like a charm. However, as it concerns an ad hoc industry, this does require fexibility and fast-forward thinking from Lifal’s highly trained staf.

“In the ofshore wind industry, it is common business to be called today for a job that needs doing tomorrow”, Mr Nieuwenhuize states. “Customers contact us for testng, inspectng or certfying any kind of lifing and hoistng equipment on ofshore vessels. As we are used to this kind of last-minute projects, we know exactly how to deal with them. It is just a mater of asking the right questons. What has already been taken care of? What can we expect, and what does our customer expect from us? It is always important to be honest about our capabilites and explain what we can do ourselves and which things are beter lef to someone else’s expertse. We can upon a customer’s request certainly act as an intermediate, as we know the industry very well and have a very large network. What really makes us unique though, is that we think along with our customers.” Mr Nieuwenhuize gives an example, “When I, together with our customer walk around his ofshore support vessel and I notce life vests that need to be inspected, I will inform him about this and will propose a soluton, even though it is not part of our scope. We will of course not inspect the vests ourselves, but are fully capable and licensed to certfy the vests once they have been inspected by an acknowledged company. This kind of unburdening is what difers us from most colleagues in the market.”

Apart from testng, inspectng, and certfying, Lifal also installs, maintains, repairs, sells, and rents hoistng, lifing, and fall protecton materials. “Our team comprises of highly trained and versatle engineers and inspectors that are familiar with the latest developments in their felds. Our staf is experienced, qualifed, and certfed, and available 24/7”, Mr Nieuwenhuize voices. He contnues, “We have been operatng in the maritme sector for many years now and have built up an impressive track record in that market. As mentoned before, we have over the past few years also become involved in various >>

ofshore wind projects in our region, operatng from our Vlissingen base at North Sea Port. We have thus been able to show our capabilites, and contractors and shipowners actve in ofshore wind have goten to know us as a reliable partner. It is good to see this has resulted in lots of additonal projects. Even projects abroad, as we are nowadays ofen asked for projects in the northern North Sea region. Of course there are companies like ours in that region, but our customers apparently like the way we work and recognise our expertse and skills.” The growing number of projects in the ofshore industry is a positve development for Lifal. “More work means more challenges,” Mr Nieuwenhuize elaborates, “which results in a very positve vibe in our team and an extra stmulus to do our job even beter than we are used to.”

Sending out technicians abroad requires a fne preparaton. “Our most experienced technicians are selected for jobs abroad, as they are versatle in skills and expertse. This requires good planning, as we are only a small team and our most experienced engineers are always on the road. The more requests we receive thanks to our expertse abroad, the more fexible we have to become. But so far, we have always found a suitable soluton.” One of the challenges the entre engineering sector faces lies in the recruitment of new technicians and according to Mr Nieuwenhuize, Lifal is no excepton here. “Today, everyone in the industry is fghtng for new engineers. One of the problems is that for most youngsters, engineering is not among their favourite studies. I think that in our case, the ignorance concerning what we do makes it even more challenging to fnd new engineers. This is one of the reasons why I have become a so-called Techniek Ambassadeur (Techniques Ambassador). In this role, I provide guest lectures at schools of various educatonal levels to tell young people about engineering in general, about the importance of (load) testng and inspecton, and of course about my job. The most important thing I try to explain is that engineering is a combinaton of hands and brains, and that both are necessary to successfully undertake projects. I hereby hope to enthuse boys and girls to opt for a technical educaton and profession. It is good for them to know that in our case, everyone joining our company receives a dedicated training on the job. They will work together on projects with experienced colleagues. This will gradually prepare them for independently working on projects in a safe and appropriate fashion. I am convinced that working in this manner is good for both them and us, and is ultmately good for our customers as well.”