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Johannes Gautier - HSE Manager
Johannes Gautier went on a career journey to becoming a passionate HSE Manager. He tells us all about his career journey so far and what safety means to him…
Johannes, could you start by telling us a bit about yourself.
I am married, we have three daughters and live in a village close to the town of Leer. I like cycling, reading, try to improve my skills at the BBQ, and I am passionate about football. Our seven-year old daughter plays in the kid’s football team, which I am supporting as a coach. I studied industrial engineering at the Maritime University in Leer and worked for a cargo shipping company before joining Seaway7.
What is your role, and what does it involve?
I am working in the company for ten years now, have started as HSE Engineer and today am HSE Manager for our Europe & US projects. The role involves continuously developing the team, sharing my own experience and providing guidance about our systems and processes. Making sure to be consistent and aligned in how we manage health and safety in our team, but also with other business units and disciplines, in projects and on worksites. Also important is to stay informed about developments in health and safety, not only with regards to legislation but also industry standards and client expectations.
What does safety mean to you?
It means that all people come home from work in the same shape than they arrived, mentally and physically. This is what our mantra “Work Safe Home Safe” means to me.
There are so many more aspects to safety than just “nobody got hurt”. It is the small things that often make a difference and also require preparation and drive. For example: clear roles and responsibilities, work organisation, good onboarding, job familiarisation – these things need time to plan and efforts to follow up. It increases the chances of better outcomes.
From the perspective of engineering in an offshore construction company, safety means that we plan and prepare to have the best possible conditions offshore and a work environment that enables the frontline workers to do their job safely. That is why design reviews are so important. The design review process is our opportunity to make the work offshore easier, safer and achieve predictable outcomes.
What is the greatest challenge you have faced in your career and how did you overcome it?
When I joined Seaway7 I moved into health and safety and this included getting new qualifications whilst working. It was a big learning curve. I was reading, doing research, but most importantly talking to colleagues, joining the vessel and seeing how it’s done offshore. We are all together in this and the norm is that people are willing to help you. And as you grow, you will start to notice that people come to you for support.
What makes working at Seaway7 special for you?
We are pioneers. We make the energy transition happen. At the same time we have high expectations around health and safety performance in the company, and generally a good understanding of how we want to achieve that. This results in a proactive collaboration – to give an example: in previous projects I enjoyed the design reviews with engineering and then seeing the changes we made applied offshore. Some time ago, I had a discussion with one of the offshore tower team leads onboard, and he mentioned positively about how the design improved the work on the structure. It made me smile knowing we as a project had significantly influenced the tower access, addressed ergonomic issues and insisted on collective fall protection.
If there’s one piece of advice you could give someone to enhance their career here, what would it be?
Take the time to reflect regularly and prepare for your career conversations with your line manager. This is your chance to drive the direction of your own career.
What has surprised you about your own career journey here?
Seaway7 offers many different opportunities – it is like doors that go open here and there. I worked in Taiwan for a short-term assignment in 2021 which was a great experience and a big step in my personal development.
How have your experiences at Seaway7 shaped your future?
I have learned a lot from the people in Seaway7, which I am grateful for. The diversity of our people is a big plus in this respect as you realise that a topic can be seen from very different angles. I’d also say spending time onboard vessels during project execution has been an invaluable experience that has shifted my view towards “how can we solve this issue?” and “how can we make it reasonably practicable for the worksite?”.
TOMBROK