Project Survey Manager

Michel

A Project Survey Manager is indispensable for operations: he takes a lot of measurements and the colleagues from operations start to work with that input.

As Project Survey Manager I have a very wide range of tasks. Together with the Project Manager, I am the first to arrive at the project site to prepare the project. During the project, I am responsible for the surveys, the dredging design, calibrations, etc. This way, we create a picture of the underwater situation. However, the error margin is small, because one mistake can have a serious impact on all planned activities. Therefore, precision and accuracy are essential! It can also be very useful to have a strong dose of creativity, because sometimes technology fails. As Project Survey Manager I also have to follow up quality requirements and update the administration.

Personally, I get a lot of satisfaction from training trainees, new colleagues or local surveyors. If I notice that after a while they are able to carry out surveys independently, and enjoy their job, then my mission is accomplished! Some time ago, I even trained a Congolese team to become surveyors, in French even!

Thanks to my job, I have been to places I would never go by myself, such as Siberia or Saudi Arabia. These worldwide destinations create variety: for one project you stay in a remote area, where you try to spend your free time with the team, while the next project is located in a tourist spot, where you are immediately in a holiday mood after work. Then you quickly forget the 12 hours of work! Thanks to all that travelling, you have the opportunity to get to know new cultures and to make friends all over the world. You could consider it as a kind of student life, but then work related.

So I have a very varied function, which makes that I am still enthusiastic about my job with Jan De Nul. Technology is not standing still either, so there are always new challenges coming our way.