Dirk van der Tol
Discipline Project Leader
Education: MTS (Technical Secondary School), Mechanical Engineering, HTI (higher technical institute)
Age: 52

What does a discipline project leader do?
In this case the term refers to structural engineering, specifically structural steelwork. When I began working for Iv-Groep 24 years ago, all of the work activities intersected in this discipline. In the meantime, Iv-Groep’s arsenal has expanded tremendously and other disciplines have been added.

What makes the Panama project so interesting?
In 2008 Iv-Infra submitted a tender design for the construction of 16 lock gates for the new lock expansion programme. In terms of size, this is a huge undertaking, as it includes massive plate structures. Technically,
the project provides various challenges. We had to take into account not only strength and fatigue factors, but also the seismic and ship collision risks. And last but not least, the prestige of the Panama Project made this an amazing job: the stuff that dreams are made of . . .

Hendri Koop
Engineer
Education: Delft University of Technology, Civil Engineering
Age: 26

What is your job as an engineer?
As an engineer my tasks have to do with the structural design and engineering of steel and concrete structures, pertaining to the infrastructure. More specifically, locks, dams, bridges, and so on.

What sort of work did you do on the Panama Project?
During the tender phase I focused on the preliminary structural design of the lock gates. Now that we have entered the engineering and construction phase, I am stationed in Panama as a project engineer together with other colleagues. We maintain contact with the canal authority and the contractors, and we are able to carry out proper supervision.
 

What makes lv-Groep projects so appealling?
They have generally large projects of a multi-disciplinary character. Because of this cooperation with the other Iv divisions is essential, and this makes the work interesting. One learns from others and together complex structural designs are created. A distinctive feature of projects at Iv-Infra is that technology and quality are always top priorities. This emphasis makes us very good at what we do and our clients appreciate this.

‘Much of our know-how is not written down anywhere, but is embedded in the brains of our people. This know-how and expertise is transmitted to a new generation through intensive communication and collaboration.’