Case Studies

He is part of a major construction project in the port area of Rotterdam, where E.ON are building a new coal and biomass fired power station. Jan is a Lead Construction Supervisor heading a team of contractors who are putting a cooling water system in place. Cooling systems are an integral part of generating energy from coal.

When finished, the new 1.100 MW gross capacity Maasvlakte power station will meet around 7% of the electricity needs of Holland. It’s a massive project.

Jan is a mechanical engineer, originally from Germany. He joined E.ON in 2007 and after a period of training and some work on another power plant project, he was promoted to his current position.

In his role, Jan is not only responsible for making sure the cooling system is built to specification and on time. He must also ensure the work is carried out safely. The work is high-hazard, with some contractors regularly working at a height of 120 metres above the ground. It also involves potentially life threatening machinery.

Jan says his employers, E.ON, want to take safety to “another level”. So as part of this they’re asking people in a lead role, whether in construction or engineering, to gain a qualification which provides them with the practical skills to manage safety effectively. Their choice of qualification is the NEBOSH International Certificate in Construction Health and Safety.

According to Jan, the course was very helpful. “For me, this was my first real big site and in the beginning I felt I was a little inexperienced in health and safety. This qualification has given me technical knowledge, so that when I now go on site I am really sure of what I see there and what I need to tell people.”

In particular, he found the practical element of the course useful. Here, candidates must carry out a site inspection and complete a report.

“What is learned can be applied, and you also learn to talk to people, how to deal with them, how you are going to manage, and how you can get people to co-operate with you, it’s important,” he told us.

Jan says he was surprised when he learned he was the ‘Top Candidate’ for the International Construction Certificate after achieving the highest mark in 2010/11. He is modest about this, claiming he had an advantage over others as E.ON had allowed him to study full-time, with colleagues temporarily taking over his responsibilities.

Jan recently featured on the E.ON intranet. They’re keen to highlight his achievement as health and safety is an important issue for them and one they are keen to emphasise internally.

Jan says: “It’s a good way to promote this course to other people and to show we do the right thing here. This award of ‘Top Candidate’ is a great honour for me and is one I hope will further my international career with E.ON.”