Stories to inspire: Fugro Values Awards 2022

We are determined to deliver

Barge master Nelbert Sa-Onoy from the United Arab Emirates is determined to deliver every time he works on large and complex nearshore and offshore projects – even during a pandemic. When Covid-19 hit, he spent over 4 months on a project in the Maldives with only limited crew and no chance of a crew change due to legal restrictions. Covid-19 also meant he was unable to go home for over 18 months but he still completed another project, this time in Bangladesh, which included mobilising a jack-up in a tidal river and towing it out into the Bay of Bengal.

In respect of teamwork at Fugro, it would be difficult to find a team more determined to deliver than our Deep Drive® team in Brazil! They were assigned to a project to deliver urgent and specific cone penetration test (CPT) Geo-data in challenging and remote terrain offshore Brazil at the height of the pandemic. These demands coincided with the Ever Given container ship blocking the Suez canal, which squeezed the supply chain and logistics of getting equipment needed for the project from the Netherlands to Brazil. However, our team used their innovation and ingenuity to surmount these global issues and delivered a successful project to the client’s complete satisfaction, including zero lost time incidents (LTIs).

We prepare for tomorrow

Preparing for tomorrow is vital for any company’s longevity and Jef Michielssen, Global Cloud and Data Services Lead, is always out in front! His drive and constant curiosity successfully led Fugro through our global implementation of Microsoft Teams, meaning we were prepared for fully remote working when the Covid lockdowns hit in 2020. More recently, he headed up our Cloud journey in 2021 and is a fundamental player in our innovation and Geo-data strategies.

Commercial Manager Simon New and his team are preparing for tomorrow by addressing complex global challenges centred on digital insights and accelerated design. Their collective dedication enabled them to overcome obstacles and deliver an important seismic survey in a textbook example of teamwork!

We do what's right

Doing what’s right is second nature for Kevin Tokhai, a party chief based in Trinidad. For the last 14 years, Kevin has not only delivered offshore projects to the highest standards but also mentored junior colleagues while working hard at improving technical processes and procedures. Safety and acting according to the highest standards are extremely important at Fugro and Kevin has been exemplary in everything he’s delivered, which is why we recognised his unfailing commitment to clients and colleagues.

Showing kindness is the ultimate example of doing what’s right, and this is exactly what Remko Kloos and his Fleet Services (FS) team did when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. They quickly mobilised the Seafarer Support team from a mix of FS colleagues and volunteers, who worked 24/7 to support any crew stranded by the conflict. The team provided accommodation, travel, health care and insurance, and arranged for families to be reunited in the most difficult of circumstances, showing great humanity and compassion in the process.

We build trust

Client Delivery Manager Charl Bosman joined Fugro 10 years ago and, in that time, he’s professionalised client delivery and invoicing, while also changing the entire service line’s ethos. He builds client relationships on trust, reassuring our clients and giving them unerring confidence that Fugro contracts are always fair and followed.

As well as full trust from our clients, it’s essential that colleagues know they can trust Fugro as an employer and that’s exactly what Angelique Reynolds, Global Fleet Crewing Manager, has achieved among our 800 seafarers across the world.

The impact of Covid-19 and then the war in Ukraine has affected everyone but even more so our seafaring staff, whose demanding work far from home means that trust takes on even more importance. Her team goes above and beyond to support everyone working on our vessels and this is reflected in our high offshore retention rate – further proof that Fugro is globally a great place to work, whether on land or far out to sea!

Did you know?

• Fugro has approximately 9,000 talented people in 59 countries

• Values awards were given to 4 individuals and 4 teams from our global workforce

• 130 individual and 35 team nominations were received and, with such high standards, it was extremely difficult to decide!

About the author

Maaike Leene is Global Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at Fugro