Working together and helping people make the most of their strengths is what I enjoy most.

With more than twenty years of experience in maintenance, mainly as an Engineer, I have held various roles, covering technical, process engineering and systems engineering work. I really enjoy my work and find it challenging, and that is often the reason I go and work somewhere else. When my current position no longer suits me, I usually stay a few more months to try to change my work or role. If that does not work, I look for new challenges elsewhere. That actually applies to many aspects of my life, because I like to seek out challenges.

At DOC Kaas there is plenty of challenge, both on a technical level and in the way our department functions and how my role is set up. Although technical issues are assigned to me, I firmly believe that teamwork is essential.

Working together and helping people make the most of their strengths is what I enjoy most. I am even willing to type for a few hours straight if necessary. The shared feeling of working together appeals to me. When I go home at the end of the day knowing that I have been able to make someone happy, I have had a successful day.

For many people the term “Maintenance engineer” is confusing, because it can in fact be described as “maintenance technician”. In reality, though, I am more of a “Maintenance consultant”, specialised in giving advice on maintenance. My focus is increasingly on “Reliability Engineering”, where we think about what we want to achieve as a factory in the future.

The technical department, technicians and work planners together ensure the operational continuity of the factory. As part of my role I am responsible for optimising the factory and safeguarding operational efficiency in the future. This includes drawing up investment plans and implementing improvements to reduce the number of breakdowns and tackle structural problems in the department. Despite existing structures and clarity on paper, we notice that these sometimes slacken. Together with my team, we work to bring the structure back to the desired level and keep it there.

My working day starts with a cup of coffee and starting up my laptop. I usually first take a look at the notifications and work orders from the past 24 hours. The work orders list all the faults reported in that period. We look specifically at high-priority work orders from the past few days.

Sometimes I am involved in improvement projects in the factory, where we aim for minimal downtime of the cheese dairy, because every minute counts. On other occasions I chair a shutdown meeting or analyse team processes to identify where improvements are possible. I am also the study supervisor of an industrial engineering student.

I know Robert, co-owner of Yes, from his previous job. In my previous job my work-life balance got out of balance. Robert heard about this and offered to come for a coffee with Hielke to see whether a position at DOC Kaas would suit me.

When I called Hielke with questions, I noticed that he understood what I was talking about. It is nice to have someone to fall back on when you are new. The great thing about Yes tech careers is that you get good guidance and the opportunity to take part in the Smart Skills Program. For me, the Smart Skills Program was one of the most challenging and educational training courses I have ever followed. That is because it focuses mainly on personal development and how you can shape your future as a technical professional. In the 1990s I studied mechanical and electrical engineering at the HTS (higher technical education). Back then there was little attention for personal development. I once took an assertiveness training, but after that I never did anything on personal development again.

During the Smart Skills Program I was challenged to look at myself. Although some days were challenging, the group of six people in which we could openly discuss everything offered a safe environment. This was partly created by a great trainer who teaches you to look at yourself and to dare to set boundaries, both personally and at work.

I really found the programme valuable, although I sometimes went to the sessions with a heavy heart. There is still a taboo on looking at yourself, but that is exactly what is so important. I think that is where the biggest development lies for everyone.