Safety Always Comes First
ASTRID’s 650 masts and antennas must be regularly maintained, replaced, and inspected. Normec BTV assists with the inspections.
As a public organization, ASTRID is required to issue a request for proposals so that contractors can submit bids. The organization first looks at the most competitive price, according to Nancy: “Normec BTV actually always comes out on top.
Not only in terms of price, but also in terms of environmental and technical aspects. With skilled staff and in-house training, they meet all the requirements. That’s why they’ve already been awarded a five-year contract three times.”
Safety is paramount in every aspect at ASTRID. That’s why each of the 650 “sites” must receive at least one visit from an inspection organization every year. Nancy: “An audit is then conducted of the site, and the anchor points for ladders on the mast are inspected.
In the technical room, the fire extinguisher is inspected. This is how Normec BTV ensures that everything is guaranteed to be safe.”
Essential work
“If we have any questions from our safety department, we can always turn to Normec BTV,” Nancy continues. So we’re never on our own. Because of this partnership, we’re very happy with Normec BTV. I can always reach out to Wim Vercammen, our contact person.
And the same goes the other way around. We have a good relationship with the inspector and the administrative staff who keep the contract and schedules on track.”
The benefit of the inspection work is optimal safety, according to Nancy:
“We do this for our employees and for our subcontractors.
For everyone involved in providing our services to the public.
Our teams must be able to respond as quickly as possible, even if there’s a problem with the network or the tower.
If the sites haven’t been inspected, our people can’t go up there.
Then the network won’t work properly, and emergency services won’t be able to respond. So Normec BTV’s work is essential.”
“If we have any questions from our prevention department, we can always turn to Normec BTV.”
— Nancy Roosen, Preventieadviseur en assistente veiligheidsofficier
Flexibly Finding the Middle Ground
There are certainly times when discussions arise between ASTRID and Normec BTV, Nancy explains. Even though both parties usually agree, there still needs to be room for discussion: “We’ve specified in our requirements that we want as many photos of our sites as possible included in the reports. When a new employee hasn’t been to the site yet, they can see exactly what it looks like. That took some getting used to for Normec BTV, because that way of working was much more extensive than they were used to. Ultimately, they did show flexibility in this regard, and together we found a happy medium. I’m also very satisfied with the communication, reporting, and scheduling. I hope we can continue to work together for a long time to come.”
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