Keeping the Netherlands safe and accessible 

We either work safely or we don't

A-Quin inspectors are working all over the Netherlands. Every project site has its own risks. The inspection and consultancy firm therefore works continuously on the safety awareness of its employees. This has led, among other things, to the achievement of level 3 on the Safety Culture Ladder on December 17, 2024. A-Quin also has great ambitions for 2025 to further develop safety awareness. An interview with Karin Coonen, HSE coordinator at A-Quin. 

To ensure safety, certification is an important part of our organization, says Karin. "So is certification on the Safety Culture Ladder. We were already certified for Step 2 since the end of 2022 and recently in proud possession of a Step 3 certification. This looks specifically at attitude and behavior in the area of safety and health in a company. Ultimately, a safe working environment leads to a healthy working environment. This makes you aware of potentially dangerous situations and timely action can be taken. This theme recurs at all of our toolbox meetings and has been implemented at the operational level within our organization."

Safety Tool

A-Quin specializes in performing inspections in the areas of conservation, programming, maintenance, renovation and new construction in the disciplines: mechanical, electrical and civil engineering. "A large part of our services consists of safety inspection. With certification for Tier 3, we are demonstrating precisely our quality and professional competence," says Karin, who reveals in advance that there is much more in store for 2025. "We will continue to develop safety awareness unabated. One of the ways we do this is with our Safety Tool. Every month a personalized e-mail goes out to all colleagues asking if they have experienced, seen or heard anything unsafe in the past month. All reports are discussed during toolbox meetings. By talking about safety issues, we learn from each other and are able to collectively raise the safety level to an even higher level."

More and more clients, according to Karin, are also demanding that structural attention be paid to managing risks in the area of safety. "In our cooperation framework agreement engineering and consultancy services with and for Rijkswaterstaat, step 3 on the Safety Culture Ladder has been mandatory since the beginning of this year." Karin even dares to look cautiously ahead to step 4. For now, we are very proud of achieving step 3 and we will get to work implementing the Safety Tool."

If you also want to work at the most challenging locations in the Netherlands and contribute to A-Quin's mission to keep the Netherlands safe and accessible, feel free to contact them.