Social Overview 2012

Long-term thinking and action

‘Our HR policy doesn’t just

concern the present, but the

future as well. Successfully

balancing the interests of the

company, society and our

employees is the core of

sustainable HRM’, says Staff

Director of Personnel &

Organisation Ton van Schaik.

‘Sustainable HRM is characterised

by long-term thinking and action.

It’s consistent with the nature of a

family-owned company and

certainly with that of Van Oord. It

goes beyond the classic HR task of

finding the right man (or woman)

for the job, and is much more

about having satisfied employees

– with the right skills – not just

now, but also ten years from now.

This policy is expressed to our

employees by devoting attention to

developing their specific talents.

Focusing on competencies, skills

and the flexible deployment of our

staff ensures that both they and

Van Oord as a company can adapt

to market developments.’

Sustainable career paths

Ton looks back on the last year: ‘In

2012, a great deal of time and

attention was devoted to defining

career paths within Van Oord, and

this trend will continue in 2013.

‘Career path development’ may

sound like a million-dollar word at

a time when job security is a thing

of the past for many people. In my

view, that is why the term ‘career

path’ must be defined more

sustainably. Specifically, it means

more than ‘making a career’ or

continuous improvement in terms

of status or income. Rather, it’s

about devoting more attention to

career path guidance, developing

your talents, developing as a

person and learning together. A

career path is, after all, not owned

by the company but by the

employee himself or herself.’

More coherence thanks to the

Van Oord Academy

‘Sustainable career paths have been

made part of the Van Oord

Academy. The Academy is intended

to maintain our professional

Social Overview 2012

knowledge at a high level and to

pass it on to our staff, which means

that it not only provides

professional training, it also

ensures that our staff are afforded

development opportunities. It

offers our staff perspective: here’s

where I am now, and here’s where I

want to go. It’s not much different

from what we were already doing,

but we’ve made it more cohesive.’

Flexibility

‘Last year’s ‘Stepping Up a Notch’

programme was designed to

answer the following question: are

we doing the right things and are

we doing them well and efficiently?

If fluctuating market circumstances

cause our cost pattern to fall out of

synch with our turnover, we’ll have

to get together and take

appropriate action. The degree of

our staff’s flexibility is a crucial

success factor in this respect. That

way we’ll be ready for when the

market economy picks up again’,

according to Ton.

March 2013

About Van Oord

3,0852006

Aantal medewerkers in fte’s

3,9332007

4,6132008

4,0602009

4,4102010

5,0852011

4,5502012

Number of employees in full-time equivalents (FTEs)

Type of training and number of employees per training course

Training

Total number of employees that have had training

Traineeprogramme

(Personal) Skills

Technical Safety Management Leadershipdevelopment

2,1252010

2,0812011

2,9532012

Average number of training days per employee, including the traineeship programme

9.77 9.78 9.74

10127 1,037 1,389 264 135

Training

Type of training and number of employees per training course

Training

Total number of employees that have had training

Traineeprogramme

(Personal) Skills

Technical Safety Management Leadershipdevelopment

2,1252010

2,0812011

2,9532012

Average number of training days per employee, including the traineeship programme

9.77 9.78 9.74

10127 1,037 1,389 264 135

1.522008

1.282009

Ongevallen met verzuim per 100 medewerkers (IF)

0.962012

1.022011

1.082010

Target

Target in 2011: 1.25Target in 2012: 1.15

2.62010

2.92009

2.92011

4.5

Aver

ag

e fo

r constru

ction industry in the Netherlands

Ziekteverzuim in % van de werkbare dagen

Ziekteverzuim

3.02012

Van Oord is a leading

international contractor

specialising in dredging,

marine engineering and

offshore projects (oil, gas and

wind). We are an innovative

partner for our clients and,

for over one hundred years,

have been helping to create

the infrastructure for the

world of tomorrow.

- Turnover EUR 1.6 billion

- Net profit EUR 98 million

- Order portfolio EUR 1.9

billion

- Shareholders: MerweOord

B.V. (78.5%), Cobepa

(Nederland) N.V. (10.75%) en

ConsOord B.V. (10.75%)

- Number of employees:

4,550

- Number of offices

worldwide: 30

Accidents leading to absence per 100 employees (IF)

Sickness absenteeism in % of working days

Based on approximately 2,175 employees

12.5 years 25 years 35 years 40 years

120 13 12 5

45 years

1


< 30 31 - 40 41 - 50 >50

15.00% 29.81% 31.69% 23.51%


< 5 5 - 10 10 - 15 >15

32.43% 19.87% 21.80% 25.90%

Years in service (of employees on the Dutch payroll)

Jubilee (of employees on the Dutch payroll)

Average age (of employees on the Dutch payroll)

Highlights of 2012

Launching My Career@VanOordWith the intranet page

MyCareer@VanOord the Van Oord

Academy has opened an online

platform containing all of the

information about career policy,

career paths and training

programmes. The career paths

clarify the professional know-how,

skills and competencies you need

to be able to successfully fulfil the

duties entailed by certain

positions.

80 x Coaching leadershipTwo coaching courses were started in 2012: Coaching Leadership and

Coaching Soundboard. Coaching Leadership teaches supervisors to

listen to employees instead of immediately coming up with a solution,

with the objective of bolstering our supervisors’ roles as coaches. Eighty

supervisors took this course in 2012.

A growing networkVan Oord is active on

the LinkedIn social

media network. We now have more

than 5,600 followers, approximately

a quarter of whom work at Van

Oord. Thanks to our career pages,

which we launched on LinkedIn in

2012, the number of applicants who

submit applications this way has

soared: more than 1,000 applicants

responded to vacancies posted on

LinkedIn.

VOMS digitalThe Van Oord Management System

(VOMS) has been updated: all

existing procedures have been

revised and updated by the various

parties involved. A digital version

of VOMS is available on the

intranet, which means revised

versions will become available

more often. The digital version will

also save production and

distribution costs and reduce paper

consumption, making the company

environmentally friendlier.

Our rules (Code of Conduct launch)We at Van Oord want all our staff to

be able to work together well in a

pleasant and safe environment. We

will achieve this by nurturing

mutual respect, trust and friendly

relations between colleagues. The

Code of Conduct contains all of the

company rules, and so provides all

of our employees with a clear idea

of what behaviour is desirable and

what behaviour is not. The various

topics, such as the rules for dealing

with company property, the media

and undesirable behaviour, are

concisely summarised.

The move to the new head officeOn 21 June 2012, His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange officially

opened Van Oord’s new head office in the presence of hundreds of guests

and Van Oord employees. There are some 700 employees working at the

new building. Besides somewhere for people to work, the new building is

also somewhere they are trained. For example, the head office has

simulators for the company’s most important working vessels.

OHSAS 18001 certification In 2012, Van Oord

achieved company-

wide OHSAS 18001

certification. This

certification shows that Van Oord

monitors its employees’ safety and

health. Now the company has its

safety certification as well as its

ISO 9001 quality certification and

its ISO 14001 environmental

certification.

Performance reviewsIn September 2012, ten Van Oord

supervisors attended a training in

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The training

was designed to offer practical

tools and theoretical insights into

conducting performance reviews.

By applying the same method

worldwide, both our supervisors

and employees will know what to

expect during a performance

review regardless of where they

may be working at the time.

A prize-winner

Marine Construction

Prize

Engineer Johannes Becker won

the Marine Construction Prize

2012 for his graduation project

‘Dredging Plumes: An

Ecological Risk Assessment’ at

Delft University of Technology.

The jury awarding the Marine

Construction Prize was

impressed by his method of

approaching the topic and his

meticulous work.

Awareness is keyThe Work Safe

programme keeps

the company’s

safety awareness

at a high level, with

the ultimate goal being a

proactive safety culture.

Several trainings were rolled out in

2012: the Van Oord General Safety

Introduction course, Hazard

Identification Training (HIT) and

the Safety Leadership course.

Using local know-howThe dredging project in Darwin,

Australia, commenced in

August 2012. We have engaged

the expertise of a local

researcher/naturalist so that we

may protect sea life during the

dredging process. She is

training our staff on-site. The

Marine Fauna Observers (MFOs)

Best Training

Company

Van Oord was named the Best

Training Company 2012 in the

Shipping sector. The institute

awarding the prize, VTL

Verkiezing Leerbedrijf &

Praktijkopleider, place

particular value on employees

and companies that function as

excellent training companies

that strengthen the sector and

the Dutch economy. Each year,

SMD Fleet offers approximately

thirty internships with its fleet.

Vessel Safety Award 2012

who are present are charged with

ensuring that dolphins, whales,

dugongs, sea turtles, sawfish and

crocodiles are, and will remain,

protected.

Ingenuity Award 2012

Hansje Brinker Award 2012

The Wicks Yard in Bolsward,

the Netherlands, won the

Hansje Brinker Award for their

ongoing concern for safety.

Technical Superintendent

Rienie van der Meer and

Accounts Clerk René Sybrandy

took receipt of the award.

The crew of the trailing suction hopper dredger Volvox Asia

received praise for their efforts to integrate safety into their work

throughout the year. Captain of the Volvox Asia Hein Hiemstra and

Chief Mechanical Engineer Theo Timan took receipt of the award on

behalf of the entire team.

Smart and

shrewd

colleagues with innovative

ideas or practices are having a

change of winning the

Ingenuity Award. This year the

Ingenuity Award 2012 was

presented to two persons:

Superintendent Johan

Wiersema (rigth) and Project

Manager Roeland Hartlief.

2 • social overview 2012

We work worldwide

Abiye Amadi is Site Manager

at the Lower River Niger

dredging project in Nigeria.

‘It’s a challenging and

exciting job!’ says Abiye. ‘I’ve

worked for Van Oord Nigeria

for almost twelve years now,

three years of which I’ve

spent on this dredging

project.’

‘I started working for Van Oord

Nigeria in 2001 as a Projects

Community Liaison Officer. My

first job offshore was in 2003

at the Cawthorne Channel 1

and 2 flow stations. After

working on several other

dredging projects, I’m now

working as Site Manager for the

Lower River Niger dredging

project. My job as site manager

involves the administrative

management of the project,

logistics control, assisting with

security and safety checks, and

sorting out any problems which

could hamper work as they

arise. I keep in close contact

with other members of the site

team at all times.’

River Niger project

In 2008, Van Oord was awarded

a contract for dredging a

navigation channel in the Niger

River. Abiye: ‘The essence of

this project was to dredge and

deepen a channel 572 km long to

be perennially navigable for light

cargo vessels, construction of river

training works, cross dams, groynes

and the placement of buoys, and it

included a two-year maintenance

campaign. The project is divided

into lots for four contractors; Van

Oord Nigeria is working in Lots 3

and 4 on a stretch of channel

approximately 218 km long. The

first phase and the first year’s

maintenance dredging work has

successfully been completed. Our

two cutter suction dredgers,

Calabar River and Aegir, are

currently performing the second

year’s maintenance dredging work.’

Amazing colleagues

‘The thing I enjoy most about my

job is the dynamic atmosphere,

which inspires me to come up with

innovative ideas that come in handy

in solving issues on-site. Most of

these challenges are security related

or regard harmonising multi-

cultural differences in the work

environment. Being a part of the

Lower Niger River dredging project

team from start to finish has given

me the rare opportunity to work

with experienced colleagues from

various fields of engineering, as

well as from a wide variety of

cultural and social backgrounds.

They have all been amazing and

supportive as team members’,

ends Abiye.

Wouter Steenbeek received his

bachelor’s degree in Construction

Engineering and his master’s

degree in Transport,

Infrastructure & Logistics from

Delft University of Technology.

He completed his studies in

September 2011, and started his

traineeship at Van Oord, which

he completed in January 2013.

‘I learned about Van Oord from the

stories I heard from acquaintances.

They made me curious about the

company. I wanted to work in the

maritime sector, a world that

appealed to me and related in

various ways to my master’s

programme. A week after

I completed my studies, I wrote a

letter of application to Van Oord

and, after an selection extensive

process, I was offered a contract!’

Traineeship

Wouter: ‘I started as a trainee. The

traineeship took a year and

included two projects abroad, short

work periods at three different

departments in the Netherlands

and several courses in between.

The programme was intensive and

switching projects so quickly

means you learn a lot. For my first

project abroad, I went to the United

Arab Emirates, where an SPM buoy

had to be installed 3 km off the

coast. My second project

experience was in Colombia, where

we deepened a port and access

channel, it was real dredging work.

It was a smaller-scale project than

the first, which meant I had more

responsibility on the project and

that made it even more enjoyable.’

Passion for technology

‘After my traineeship, I got a job as

a Cost Estimator with the Offshore

Wind Projects business unit. In this

unit, we calculate how much it will

cost to build an offshore wind farm.

I could never have imagined ahead

of time that I would have a job like

this, but it suits me down to the

ground’, according to Wouter.

‘Van Oord is an international

company, but it’s also very clearly a

family-owned company. An informal

company that offers its staff a

wealth of opportunities. Van Oord

fits who I am, I’ve really found my

niche here. One thing I find

particularly special, is how

passionate the company is.

Passionate about technology and

marine construction. The staff is

proud of Van Oord and their

contribution to the organisation. I’m

only at the very beginning of my

career at Van Oord, and I want to

use the coming years to learn as

much as I can and become a

specialist in offshore wind projects.’

Harmonising multi-cultural differences

Calculating the cost of a wind farm

Vanessa has a Bachelor of

Science degree in Geodetic

Engineering, and, after working

for a private company doing

land surveys, she started

working at Van Oord eight years

ago. ‘A regular working day

consists of a meeting with the

staff, dealing with e-mails and a

quality check of survey data and

charts. Some days are hectic,

some aren’t. Last minute

changes to the scope of our

work are not unusual. Huge

platforms, quarries, majestic

fjords, sunrises and sunsets:

these make up our daily views.’

Special experiences

‘What I enjoy most about this

job is that working on a vessel

gives me the chance to travel

and see different places. As for

my job, I like that we get

exposed to many different kinds

of projects that present different

kinds of challenges. Projects like

the installation of Malampaya

Gravity Based Structures (GBS)

and the installation of GBS in the

Arkutun Dagi field off Sakhalin

Island were very special

experiences.’

Work environment

‘I have the good fortune to

work with people from all over

the world. You see the cultural

differences and diverse

personalities, but these only

make the work environment

more interesting. At the end of

the day, we are just one big

family helping each other out.

I believe Van Oord has been

true to its concept of Marine

ingenuity. I have witnessed

firsthand how Van Oord makes

its most important investments

in its people.’

stated my preference to be

assigned to the self-propelled

cutter suction dredger Artemis.’

Adjusting

Theo: ‘Adjusting to that kind of a

transfer takes a while. When my

assignment to the Artemis was

finalised, I was given the

opportunity to work a rotation on

the Athena. Of course, it was a lot

different than working on a

hopper. You have to work in a

different way and the work is really

done right around the ship. When

you work on a hopper, the working

area changes more, which means

the surroundings do as well. I’m

really glad I had the opportunity in

advance to see what it was like

working on a cutter. The dredging

simulator at the head office also

helped. I took the in-house

dredging course for cutters to

bring myself up to speed.’

Ready to get to work

Theo spent the last year ashore.

‘While Artemis was being built,

I kept myself busy checking

construction work and acceptance

testing various parts. I also ordered

spare parts and, in the last phase

of Artemis’ construction,

I inspected the orders that were

delivered and monitored

acceptance testing while the vessel

was being put into operation. The

best part was the sea trials. Then

you can see the result of all the

efforts we made with the team. The

entire team, myself included, are

straining at the leash to get to our

first project in France. Then I can

really get to work on stationary

equipment, a new experience that

I’m really looking forward to.’

Theo Haegens has worked for

Van Oord since 1989. When he

was hired, he very much wanted

to work on stationary equipment,

but there was little call for that

work at the time. There was

plenty of work to be done on the

trailing suction hopper dredgers,

however. Now, 23 years later,

Theo is making a career switch

to stationary equipment.

Theo explains: ‘I started out as a

trainee deckhand in 1982. After

I completed my training at the

Maritime Institute, I became a

trainee pipe operator. From there

I was promoted to pipe operator,

second mate, first mate and then,

in 2002, to captain. I’ve worked on

a lot of different hoppers, and I’ve

spent the last six years on

Geopotes 14. When I started feeling

like I was becoming fused to the

ship, I requested a transfer and

Vanessa Venida is Chief Surveyor on the flexible fallpipe vessel

Nordnes. Vanessa: ‘Working on board a vessel can be tough

when the seasickness combined with homesickness kick in.

Apart from that, every assignment’s an adventure. The people

you work with quickly become your close friends and the

vessel becomes your second home.’

‘ Every assignment’s an adventure’

Career switch

social overview 2012 • 3

Social Overview 2012 is published by Van Oord, Communication & Markets, postbus 8574, 3009 AN Rotterdam

Editors Irene den Braven, Genarda Brinkers, Pauline van Winden Design Boulogne Jonkers Printing Veenman+ Translation Balance

People, planet, prosperity

Equal opportunities for everyoneEmployee participation

We consider employee

participation to be a crucially

important aspect of our

company. Our Works Council

plays a leading role in

employee participation, making

substantive contributions to

the end result and the goal of

our employees achieving an

optimal balance between their

personal and professional lives.

The Works Council includes

representatives from every

discipline in our company.

In 2012, the Works Council was

closely involved with a number

of issues, including the new

variable assessment system,

the amendment to the pension

scheme, the change in the

composition of the Supervisory

Board, and the appointment of

Joep Athmer and Niels de Bruijn

to the Executive Board. The

Works Council issued its

approval or a formal opinion on

these issues and several others.

Sponsoring

We believe that it is important to

make a contribution to the

society in which we live. Van

Oord focuses on sponsoring

cultural and community

activities and on initiatives in

the marine sector. We are

concentrating on four themes:

passion for water, cultural

activities, People & Planet and

One Team. Employees can

receive a sponsorship

contribution if they initiate

activities around the themes

One Team and People & Planet.

One of the cornerstones of Van

Oord’s sponsorship policy is

Community Investment – giving

something back to the

communities in which we work. In

2012 Van Oord started activities

and community projects in Brazil,

the Netherlands and Liberia.

In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the

Instituto Brasileiro de Inovações

em Saúde Social (IBISS) assists the

most disadvantaged groups in

Brazil. Its Preparar programme,

which is based on the principles

CO2 footprint

total carbon footprint

840,190

2010

of which wasattributable to

fuel consumptionby equipment

97,40%

785,749

2011



95,99%

780,000

2012



95,46%

of the UNESCO’s Education for All,

prepares four to six-year-olds for

school by tutoring them and

helping them with homework. Van

Oord sponsored the construction

of a new school building. It will

give more than a hundred children

a shot at a better future. The

opening of this new school took

place in June 2012.

In the Netherlands, Van Oord

works closely with the

organisation Beautiful People.

This organisation tries to reduce

Coral Rehabilitation

Van Oord invests in several social and environmental studies.

One of these studies is focused on Coral Rehabilitation, the

scaling up of coral. We are working with a team of international

specialists on this, and our aim is to use existing techniques

that are applied on smaller scale to generate coral on a larger

scale and boost the amount of coral reef. The main focus is on

creating suitable conditions for coral generation. That way we

can give Mother Nature a helping hand so that she can take

over the reins. In the future we want to apply this technique on

a larger scale, and that’s why Van Oord started in 2012 to build

a container laboratory for coral generation.

More than just profit

indexation pensions in the Netherlands

indexation pensions Van Oord

0.2 0.4 0.1 0.1

1.31.41.41.7

per 1- 4 -’12per 1- 1 -’11per 1- 1 -’10per 1- 1-’09

Energy-saving measures pay off

The new office building in

Rotterdam is an eye catcher in

every sense of the word.

The nautical theme communicated

through the use of glass and wood

imbues the building with an

extraordinary character.

Sustainability in accordance with

the GreenCalc+ assessment was the

highest priority during the

building’s construction. GreenCalc+

is a tool that measures a building’s

sustainability by analysing its use of

materials, water and energy.

The following are examples of the

exceptional energy-saving measures

used in constructing the building:

- All roofs have a covering of sedum

moss.

- A heat/cold storage system: the

building will be cooled in the

summer using ground water.

- LED lighting and low-energy light

bulbs.

- Video conferencing in various

conference rooms.

- Energy-saving lighting with

automatic daylight control and

motion detectors in the offices.

Continuous attention to the environment

FaunaGuard

An innovative and animal

friendly method to protect

marine life. This is in short the

FaunaGuard. This method is

the result of close collaboration

between Van Oord, various

research institutes and

the distance to the labor market

for mentally handicapped people.

Van Oord supports More Than Me.

This organisation gets young girls

in Monrovia, Liberia, who are

perforced into prostitution off the

experts/scientists in the field of

marine biology and underwater

acoustics. FaunaGuard keeps

fauna from construction sites with

specialised (safe) acoustics. This

method is still under development.

Regarding keeping at a distance

from the dolphins, successful field

applications at Van Oord

projects in Sweden and Brazil

have proven the effectiveness of

the FaunaGuard. Meanwhile

various clients have shown their

interest in the deployment of

the Fauna Guard.

In tonnes (1 tonne = 1,000 kg) of CO2

CO2 footprint

streets and back in school.

A government building in

Monrovia is turned into a school

and safe haven for these girls.

The opening of this school took

place early 2013.

Documents

Social Overview 2012