Blog: ‘Innovation in an established company’
Deze maand geven we het podium aan Rachel Terry van Van Oord.
‘Innovation in an established company’
Van Oord is a leading international marine contractor specialising in dredging and offshore energy. We are an independent family owned business and this year we are celebrating 150 years of marine ingenuity!
Seven years ago I started my career at Van Oord in the execution and construction of our offshore wind projects, using different innovative solutions to design and build wind farms offshore. I am now in a role as Project Manager where I contribute to our goal to come up with smart and innovative solutions which provide value and sustainability in the long term across the whole business.
The United Nations adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs.). Van Oord have assessed which of these goals are closest to our business and we will contribute to meeting the below seven SDGs:
Our Offshore Wind business is contributing daily to goal number 7 “Affordable and Clean Energy” through the construction of multiple offshore wind farms generating clean energy. Our programme of continuous improvement and innovation has made it possible to reduce the cost of this source of renewable energy and the need for subsidies. The challenge is balancing a growing business in an industry which is dynamic and open to innovation with lots of opportunities. For this reason, Van Oord makes an open environment for its employees bringing together ideas, supporting each other and helping to move innovations forward.
Van Oord also rewards internally for innovation and forward thinking, and I am proud to say I have been part of a team that won the Marine Ingenuity award for the implementation of innovations on Gemini Offshore Wind Project. These innovations are driving the industry to establish proven technology and reduce overall costs. One example of these innovations was replacing the traditional grouted connection in the turbine foundations for a bolted one, which since then has become the industry standard. Van Oord has been supporting, and currently still supports certifying agency DNVGL in a Joint Industry Project to further optimise this solution.
More broadly; Van Oord is actively involved in the accelerator programme PortXL meaning that in a one hundred day period, scouted start-ups of the PortXL programme are mentored within Van Oord to become market winners. These initiatives bring new ideas into Van Oord from the market and inspire us to look at things from a new perspective.
If you would you like to know more about our innovative projects you can read about it in our online magazine or contact us directly.
