Roos-Anne Wansink Projectleider

What was your first impression of VDL ETG Almelo?

Immediately after my WO study in Technical Business Administration in Groningen, I came here for a job interview. I immediately noticed the friendly and open atmosphere. Even though a lot of people work here; everyone greets each other in the corridor.
 

How did you start here and what is your position now?

I started here as a Production Assistant, but was soon able to move up to Project Leader in assembly. In that role, I am QLTC responsible, or in other words, responsible for quality, logistics, technology and costs. In this, of course, I do not work alone but with a whole team of colleagues with the goal of serving our customers as well as possible. We want to deliver top quality, deliver on time and generate the right turnover. That is what I am working on every day.

What does your workday usually look like?

Every working day is different and some days you can plan better than others. That makes it fun. A regular part of my workday is the daily whiteboard meeting. This meeting ensures that everyone on the team is aware of what is going on, what the status of our project is and what actions are needed to keep the project “on track.
 
By the way, before we start the whiteboard meeting, I always walk around the factory. That way I get a better idea of how far along we are and where challenges might arise. I can then share that in the meeting. The actions and issues discussed there then partly determine my tasks for the day. I am often busy working out, putting away or implementing improvement plans. Or I give extra attention to special requests from the customer.

As project leader I am in frequent contact with our customers, and sometimes my schedule is suddenly taken over by escalations that occur at their premises. But also when things don't go as expected at our own company, I have to solve that together with our team. As project leader, you are ultimately responsible. That is why there are also a number of meetings every week in which we review our score on KPIs from the past week and look ahead to the coming period.

What qualities should a project leader have?

You have to be critical. Most of the work is done by other colleagues and you have to help them with that. Thinking through and looking ahead is important then. If you have doubts about the result, you must also be able and have the courage to ask the right critical questions. Keeping an overview is also important and of course you have to be a real team player. You work together with many people and good communication skills are a must
 

And how do you like working at VDL ETG Almelo?

I enjoy going to work every day. There is a lot of variety and I like the way we work together here. The informal atmosphere that I noticed on my first tour is still there. Everyone treats each other with respect and that makes it a nice working environment for me.