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Working safely sounds so obvious, but an accident is in a small corner. "Working safely is a high priority for us," says Daan van der Linden, operations manager Region South-East at BUKO Infrasupport. "Not only among ourselves as employees, but also together with our customer relations, clients and subcontractors."
BUKO Infrasupport provides the complete picture of temporary traffic measures, for any project and at any location. "But it's so much more than that," says Charlie Boom, foreman at BUKO Infrasupport. "We actually literally sell safety."
In practice, awareness of working safely is the most important factor. But what exactly does that mean in day-to-day work? Boom: "It starts, of course, with wearing the right protective equipment, applying the most modern tools and complying with the guidelines with the necessary professional knowledge. But most importantly: paying close attention, including to each other. Our team is often at work in a hazardous location to achieve a safe work situation for the customer. Our people are constantly concerned with their own safety, but just as important is paying attention to each other. Because there are factors beyond your control. After all, you work in the middle of traffic, so you are also dependent on your fellow road users."
"Together on the road to safety is an important mission within BUKO Infrasupport," says Van der Linden. "In that context, I have been doing a safety walk every month for a year now. During this I visit several teams and we discuss safety. I ask what they themselves do to increase safety, how they experience it and whether they still lack tools to do the job more safely. After all, they are working on it day in and day out. By refreshing their safety knowledge every time, you prevent the attention to safety from slackening due to automatism."
Boom: "Such a safety walk is enthusiastically received by our teams. Everyone wants to finish each day at work well and return home in one piece. It is appreciated that this attention is there and that everything is open for discussion. Also towards our clients: we encourage our people to also speak to them if something should be improved in the area of working safely. The client is not always aware of this, while for our people it is an everyday occurrence. To each his profession of course and if you do it with respect you will get very far." Van der Linden is proud of BUKO Infrasupport's skilled teams but notes that there is often a lot of pressure at work. "On large projects everyone has different interests, people are in an ever-increasing hurry. It doesn't get any easier to constantly maintain focus under high time pressure. More and more is being demanded of our people. 'Just quickly' is then a risk. That's why we say to both our people and our clients: we either do it safely and neatly or we don't."
"BUKO Infrasupport is really there to unburden the customer in all areas, both smaller contractors and large construction companies," says Van der Linden. "They, too, obviously want the work to be done well and safely. They are familiar with our working methods and expertise, know that we are aware of the latest laws and regulations but also that we look at the practical situation and sometimes advise more than is legally required to optimize safety. That already starts in the preliminary phase with the creation of a smart traffic plan." Boom adds: "Of course we make sure that the equipment is geared to the project, that it is clean, that it is placed correctly and that we create clarity for other road users. That is also safety." Van der Linden concludes, "So we are on the road to safety together. Day and night. Everywhere in the Netherlands."
