Being a Project Engineer at Squadron, what does that look like?
Each project and each customer are of course unique. As a project engineer you realise this all too well’, Michiel testifies. He himself is currently working on 3 different projects at the same client. Admittedly, at the moment he is actively working on 2 of the 3 projects and the 3rd one is temporarily on the back burner. ‘As a Project Engineer, it is very important that you really dare to take hold of a project! Unburdening the client and taking ownership of the project is always central. Gradually, it becomes clear what you will need to study in order to make the project a success and come up with the best possible solution for the customer. As a project engineer, you are the contact person for the customer, his employees and the suppliers who carry out the project.
It is crucial for the success of the project to build up a good relationship with the customer and his employees. After all, it is the customer who possesses the crucial product and process knowledge. Without that knowledge, it will be very difficult to bring the project to a successful conclusion. Frequently visiting the shop floor helps enormously. It is only when you frequently go to the work floor and talk to people that you learn more about the production process and build up a bond with the employees. In this way, you also notice more quickly where things go wrong or where they could be just that little bit more efficient. Once you have the trust of the employees, you have a basis for your solution and its implementation will also go much more smoothly. Michiel goes on to explain that open and smooth communication is really key to the success of the project.
I also have the advantage of working in a top team at Motionminds. . It is a young and close team where you can easily discuss technical issues with the other members. This way, our customers do not only benefit from our individual knowledge, but they also get the expertise and know-how of a complete team! And there is a lot of expertise and know-how in our team!
What does a typical day as a Project Engineer at Squadron look like?
‘Honestly? The job is very varied, there is little or no routine to what I do. I try to go to the customer or site as much as possible,’ replies Michiel. The project I spend most of my time on at the moment is building a greenfield factory in Romania for a Flemish client. A very beautiful, complex and challenging project. At the moment, the structural work is in its final phase, after which the construction of the installations inside the factory will start. The interesting thing about the project is that it is broad and varied: construction, utilities, permits, machines and automation all come into play.’
What are important qualities for Squadron members?
‘Technical eagerness to learn, being result-oriented and a good portion of common sense!” replies Michiel immediately. ‘At SQUADRON, we join our clients into the factory and make sure that the solution is fully implemented and embedded, and that it’s also practical. Only then is our job fully done.’ Furthermore, as a SQUADRON member you also have to be flexible, adapt to the wishes and needs of the customer.
Michiel also says that he would like to follow a training course in order to be able to go more deeply into automation. In his spare time, he trains to be a residential electrician and plans to build or renovate a house himself later on. There is certainly no lack of initiative!
Why did you choose Squadron?
‘I come from an independent family, so it was always in the cards for me that one day I would also take the plunge and become self-employed. For me this was a big reason to join Squadron’, Michiel testifies. The fact that he can help build a scale-up that wants to make an impact in the Flemish manufacturing industry is a nice goal to support.
‘You end up with a great team that has a lot of expertise and complements each other well. You will always find the right knowledge there. Squadron is also very agile and manoeuvrable, they can play close to the ball and that appeals to me. There is also no shortage of challenges, at Squadron you always get technical and complex projects that form a worthy challenge for the entire team. With us it is never boring!’
Are you interested to become a member of Squadron?
Have a look at our open vacancies or contact Stephanie, our People Expert, to see what the possibilities are. We are always looking for new members!
