Remco Goudriaan takes the floor

Remco Goudriaan
Crane operator

Who are you and how did you end up at Jan van Dam?

My name is Remco Goudriaan, and I've been working at Jan van Dam Machine Transport since I was 16. When I was in high school, I had to find an internship. I walked into Jan's office and asked if I could intern for one week. He agreed, and I was supposed to work with Benno in the workshop. This happened for exactly one day, and the other days I went out on jobs. I enjoyed that period so much that I asked Jan if I could do my vocational training with the company. Jan van Dam Machine Transport was not yet a certified training company, but they became one with me as the very first trainee.

From trainee driver to experienced crane operator, how did that transition go?

After completing my two-year training, I was hired as a driver. At one point, Jan asked me if I wanted to work with the truck-mounted crane. That sounded interesting to me, so I started learning how to operate it. At that time, it wasn't mandatory to have certification, so I learned on the job. When the crane license became mandatory, I got it right away.

You've been with Jan van Dam for over 20 years now. How has that been?

The work is different every day, and I really like that. I especially enjoy the variety and the more specialized jobs. Recently, I went to Germany with two colleagues to assemble a filter cabinet. We used two truck-mounted cranes and our portal set and managed to place the filter cabinet in a week. It was a great job! There wasn't much space, and completing a task well together in a short time is really exciting.

'The work is different every day, which I really like. I especially like variety and more special jobs.'

Is there a particular job that stands out to you?

Let me think for a moment, there have been plenty of special jobs. I remember my first job with the crane. A colleague and I were setting a 16-tonne oven in place. I had just started with the crane, and the colleague delivering the oven had also recently finished his training. It was quite nerve-racking, but we just went for it!

You are now also involved in training new students. How do you find that, and has much changed since you started as a young man?

Yes, it’s very enjoyable, though it’s quite different now. During my training, I always went with one colleague. He was quite fast-paced, and we had long days, getting up early the next day for another long day. It’s not comparable to now; it’s a different time. The students today sometimes have long days, but it’s different from my experience. We now have more people and resources to make our work easier. Students now go out on jobs with different colleagues, which I think is good because they experience more. When they come with me, I let them do everything. Of course, I explain the procedures first, but once they understand, I let them perform the tasks themselves. This is always under my supervision, and if things go wrong, I will correct them.