“Van der Ende Straal- en Schilderwerken” pushes boundaries with super rush job
Van der Ende Straal- en Schilderwerken is putting the finishing touches on a project that has been characterized as the rush job par excellence. “What we are doing now in terms of metal preservation at the Maarssen bridge is really a real feat,” believes project manager Harry Boogert.
“At first it said one year. When the contract was signed, client Rijkswaterstaat talked about 161 days. That was already on the very tight side. Now we have to finish within 121 days…” Together with Ballast Nedam, they tendered for major maintenance on the Maarssen bridge. “We actually needed each other. Only together with Ballast Nedam could we meet the stringent conditions for the award criteria,” said the project manager. “When tendering, Rijkswaterstaat looked mainly at price and speed. But I think it also worked to our advantage that we had worked successfully for Rijkswaterstaat before. We already knew that there was no longer a year for the work, but 161 days. It took a couple of weeks of solid puzzling before we could come up with our price. Now we are always fast, but this deadline really took the crown.”
Pressure
Project Maarssenbrug only really took on the character of a hussle job once the deal was already done. Ballast Nedam and Van der Ende Straal- en Schilderwerken managed to win the order on lead time, combined with the favorable price. “A few days later we received a request from the Department of Public Works to knock another forty days off the completion date. I honestly don’t know if the term ‘request’ is appropriate,” Boogert lets slip as he reflects. “You have to know that an enormous amount of traffic will pass over that bridge. Not only from local residents, but also business traffic for the adjacent business park. That’s where the pressure on the Department of Public Works came from. We allowed ourselves a week to outline the acceleration costs and then just said ‘yes.’”
Fines
Fines hung over the company’s head if both lanes of the bridge were not open by Sept. 1 and the work was not completed by Oct. 25. “Coordination with the 10 or so other companies was crucial from the start,” said the project manager. “Right from the beginning when the bridge was raised about a meter on May 5, 6 and 7. With the work structure suspended under the bridge, shipping could maintain the same navigational height while we ourselves began blasting and preservation. Deadline September 1 we met. That was a minor miracle, though. We worked from seven in the morning until ten at night. Seven days a week. But the enormous downpours after the heat wave caused a lot of inconvenience. That cost us two extra weeks. Deadline October 25, by the way, we do look forward with confidence.”