Project management is paramount when operating in wind transportation today. In fact, it’s the only way to ensure the high quality that all wind companies demand, says CEO Hans Ove Dahl from GIVE GOODWIND – the Denmark based transporter that is busy expanding its business in neighbouring markets.
PES: Welcome to PES Magazine. Would you like to take this opportunity to explain a little about the company and how you serve the wind industry?
Hans Ove Dahl: Let me give an example that will probably explain better than many words: Right now our people and material are transporting towers, nacelles and blades for Siemens 3.0MW turbines in remote areas in the forests and mountains of Northern Sweden on narrow, slippery roads. At the same time we are doing the same transportations in Germany through densely populated areas with heavy traffic and tight restrictions on when and how to drive.
We have to be able to meet both conditions without any doubt on how to solve the task. Not to mention that of course we have to deliver in time and with all safety precautions met. This takes a lot of planning, experience and knowledge, and you could say, that this is the watermark of GIVE GOODWIND today.
PES: Compared to earlier: what are the demands today when taking part in a wind project as transporter?
HOD: The key word in serving our clients today is to deliver solutions – not just the task of transporting in itself – and that these solutions have to be watertight from one end to the other. Certainly, the demands we face in the transport sector have grown rapidly. When our company started out some 25-years ago everything was new, and we would invent the solutions along the way together with our clients, be they turbine companies or blade and tower producers, just as we would share our successes and failures together with them.
Today there is no room for failure in the wind business. Although challenging we welcome this development highly as the professionalization actually makes many things much easier.
PES: How do you meet these new demands?
HOD: We have used substantial amounts of time and energy in developing our Project Management model, because project management is taking up an increasing part of the total transportation operation – from the larger picture into the tiny details. Like in the example from Sweden you can tell, that it involves the whole chain from our specialists in the administrative and planning functions at the office to our experienced people on the site. How they work together, the communications systems and so on. There must be no weak links.
To further secure quality we are currently undertaking the process of being certified in accordance with the ISO 9001 standard that sets out the requirements of a quality management system.
PES: How do these efforts show their value in day-to-day operations?
HOD: To give an example, recently one our clients wondered if we actually drove faster than agreed upon in a specific transport. Now, to be quick could seem like a very positive thing, but not necessarily in today’s wind transport business, because it means a risk of jeopardising safety. But through our project management tools we could document precisely at what speed we drove and that it was within our agreement.
PES: How far does the need for and documentation of quality go in today’s transport business?
HOD: Today, not only our client but also our client’s client wants to have a closer look at the transport. They are often energy companies with a clear and visible profile and naturally have social responsibility-programmes that are imperative for them to meet. For them, we are part of this effort and they want to see our transport of their coming turbine park to be part of their good reputation. So recently a client’s client came to meet us on-site and was interested in how we handled safety on the specific job. We could not only answer but also document precisely how we keep safety uppermost and meet all regulations.
PES: Also QHSE-standards have taken its place in the industry – how does that affect you?
HOD: The standards of quality, health, safety and environment affect every part of our company and we have taken great effort in meeting the demands. The rating is of great importance if you want to be considered for the larger or more complicated transport contracts.
PES: How do you see it being used in your operations with clients?
HOD: QHSE means that the clients are looking closely into our performance on as wide an area as to how we handle our IT and logistics, if there is an executive person in charge of safety, how we secure that our staff is taken care of when it comes to health issues, etc. Again, we highly approve of this since it makes us more attentive to details and reduces the risk of incidents.
A Danish study showed that lorry drivers that take care of their nutrition had a 20 metres shorter breaking distance when going from 90 km/h to full stop. So to meet health and safety standards, one of our actions was to have a session with a nutrition expert together with our employees.
PES: It is a highly competitive business – what role does price play in your customers’ considerations when ordering from you?
HOD: Price is still a very sensible parameter, no doubt about that, and we have to be competitive here. But as recent years have shown, all parties involved in the transport process knows that delivery on time without any incident along the way tends to overrule many discussions about Euros and Cents. Delays or accidents where the products are damaged are extremely costly for all parties, so this is where we use far more of our time when discussing a transport with a client.
PES: You have a wide range of vehicles in your fleet. How do they differ in the benefits they offer to your clients?
HOD: We have recently invested in 12 new trucks and two trailers. Of course it is necessary to have top-material – also from an environmental view when it comes to fuel consumption. That said, vehicles, trailers and so on are not as much in focus as it used to be. The clients simply expect us to be on top here. But before we make the investment we always have to consider: does this raise the level of quality we offer our clients?
PES: Have you found that, as turbines have got bigger your market has declined?
HOD: Seen from our point of view, the market is good at the moment. We are doing well in all the countries we operate in and I see this as a synthesis of our offering of project management together with the actual hauling and also our work with the quality health, safety and environment-standards.
I might also add, that having our parent company in Denmark seems to have its advantages in many years to come since the production sites here are well managed, very innovative and in many cases still expanding their businesses. All in all we are very confident regarding the years ahead.
PES: Which markets are currently your main markets? Have you identified any potential areas for future growth elsewhere?
HOD: Although based in Denmark, we are well represented in Germany, Sweden and Norway through our own subsidiaries there. Our clients are often operating in the same markets and increasingly, our contracts involve handling of transportation issues in two or more of the countries at the same time. We are currently building our presence in those markets to better service our clients. Accordingly, we want to expand our operations in the Baltic countries where we perform a number of tasks currently.
PES: Where specifically do your clients profit from your direct presence in the market?
HOD: Just to mention one: rules of transportation can be very different from one country to another. If you are planning a transport of turbines from Denmark to Norway through Sweden it is much more cost efficient for our clients that we from the very beginning take all regulations in the three countries into consideration, so we won’t have to change anything when we cross a boarder, we have no unwanted waiting time and so on. Having our own subsidiaries in Norway, Sweden and Germany is a great asset in this matter.
A current example – which I’m sure many in the business can relate to – is the stop for transports north/south on the Kieler Kanal-bridge. This is a challenge since we are often transporting nacelles, blades and towers across the canal. But through our on-site representation and knowledge of German conditions we are able to find alternative routes, often via sea.
PES: Sea transportation is often – especially in Northern Europe – part of the task. How do you handle this challenge?
HOD: As part of our project management service, GIVE GOODWIND can offer a combined transport where we are the total contractor like one we did for Siemens from Denmark to Poland via the Baltic Sea. A 2.3 MW turbine where we had the three blades, four tower sections, nacelle and hub on board the same ship, was quite an impressive view with the huge structures side by side. In other cases we are very happy to join with our good long-term partners that are doing a terrific job with highly-skilled people when it comes to sea transport.
PES: With all your on-going expansion and plans for the future: What do you see as most important in achieving your goals?
HOD: I strongly believe that the wind turbine industry will expand even further in the coming years. The energy benefits are enormous and bring great environmental advantages to society. To be part of that the best thing we can do in GIVE GOODWIND is to keep a strong focus on quality through project management and the QHSE-standards. On top of that we must keep having the best specialists on board in the company when it comes to turbine transportation.
