Particularly relevant for 65 years

It's celebration time at Aboma. The company celebrates its 65th anniversary this year and has become a leading institution in promoting a healthy and safe working environment in construction, infra and vertical transport. "After all these years, we are still particularly relevant," says general manager Jeroen Lammertse, who is using the anniversary to launch a very special and new initiative. 

Aboma's roots are in the 1960s, when the mechanization of road construction emerged, says Lammertse. "From the Nederlandse Vereniging van Wegenbouwers (Dutch Association of Road Builders) a consultancy was founded that focused on the safe use of road construction machinery: Weboma. Five years later a second line emerged from TNO for construction machinery, called Aboma. In the mid-1970s, Keboma was added with the specific task of inspecting construction cranes. At the time, it was the only party in the Netherlands designated by the government to perform these inspections. Over the years the three organizations grew closer together. Eventually the name Aboma remained as the umbrella identity covering all activities."

Critical phases

Looking at the critical phases over the past decades, the whole release of the European market and the introduction of CE marking in the early 1990s did cause some panic in our organization, Lammertse acknowledges. "Compliments to the board at the time that anticipated this well. We have since continued to broaden our activities by entering other markets. It was the moment when we also started doing elevator inspections, among other things. Furthermore, the introduction of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in the 1980s was very important in strengthening our position. It became so complex for companies that they needed help. That service is now provided by Aboma Consultancy. They provide support in improving working conditions, while Aboma Inspections and Aboma Certfication ensure that customers do not fall through a minimum level. Those three activities together mean that we still have a very relevant position in the market."

Knocking on doors for subsidy

Aboma emerged from initiatives by employers' associations, workers' organizations, industry associations, governments and many other interested parties in the construction and infra sector. "We have no commercial interest and still operate on a non-profit basis," Lammertse emphasizes. "Our shares are held by a foundation governed by employer and employee organizations. We are taking the 65th anniversary as an opportunity to launch a new initiative. Our foundation provides funds for initiatives that improve working conditions in our industry but may not be commercially viable. So the market can turn to our foundation for funding to further pursue the goal of a safe and healthy work environment."

Unsafe work has now become socially unacceptable, Lammertse rightly notes. "Where we originally focused on the technical side of safety, we have now evolved more to the organizational side where we will focus on human behavior and safety culture in the coming years. There are still serious steps to take in this area in the industries in which we operate. And we will also develop new services around it, focusing on occupational hygiene and the prevention of absenteeism and occupational diseases, among other things. Our ultimate goal is that we no longer need to exist as an organization. Then the world will be completely healthy and safe. However, it is not yet that far."