Bilfinger offers both Consultancy and Engineering services. The fact that we have both disciplines in-house is a huge benefit to our clients. However, this is only beneficial if both disciplines work together and achieve synergy.

To show what the cooperation is like, we asked Leendert Wijnbergen, Consultant Industrial Safety, and Ruud van Holland, Project Manager, to discuss this topic in a blog. They are currently working together on a project and are therefore able to describe this synergy perfectly.

Leendert and Ruud, you are currently working on a project together. Can you describe how that is going?

Ruud: “We are currently doing the Basic Engineering for a Dutch company involved in plastics recycling. The client wants to scale up their existing pilot plant to a demo plant and need our assistance with that. They are fully focused on the research and development side of their process and we provide the Basic Engineering including cost estimate needed to scale up.”

Leendert: “The scope for Consultancy is mainly focused on safety, environment and sustainability within the complete project. Think of topics such as explosion safety, fire safety, permitting strategy, machine safety, process safety (e.g. HAZOP). For example regarding explosion safety (ATEX), we work closely together with our engineering colleagues from the process department. We also executed an SDG-scan to identify ways to a more sustainable way of doing business. These results are currently being implemented in the engineering.”

How do you experience the cooperation between Consultancy and Engineering?

Leendert: “Cooperation between Consultancy and Engineering requires a lot of alignment. Especially the multidisciplinary approach we strive for requires us to structure our work and departments well. I feel this is going well and has been improving steadily. This synergy is very important, for example if something changes in the design that affects fire safety, and our consultants are not aware of this change, it could cause problems during the construction phase of the project. Everyone involved in the project should be aware of what is happening, regardless of his or her role or department.”

Ruud: “I agree with Leendert. We are a company that unburdens clients and help them with a successful execution of their projects. This includes both Consultancy and Engineering activities. When we started the project for the plastics recycling company, Leendert took the role as main contact for the consultancy scope.  By being part of the project team, alignment is achieved and all actual developments can be taken into account. I am happy to see that because of the close cooperation between all disciplines the work is done very organized and structured. Everyone is on the same page, which is what we strive for.”

Do you see the synergy between Consultancy and Engineering as a benefit for our clients?

Ruud: “Definitely. We can offer a multidisciplinary approach with a full spectrum of services for our clients. No need for them to look for several companies that offer different disciplines. Because we can offer the complete package, we can be more efficient in our projects. And because we can offer multiple disciplines, we are able to look at a client’s request from multiple perspectives. Not many companies can offer the complete package. We can.”

Leendert: “Another disadvantage of having to get several companies involved is that it increases the chance of disciplines not aligning and mistakes to slip into the project. This is dangerous because it can take a while to find out a mistake has been made. For example with safety, often you only find out something is wrong when the plant is operational. That is too late. We can combine disciplines during the project, offering clients a complete scope and thinking along with them about the best solution for their requirements.”