SSM: State inspection full of wind
Van der Meijden wants to train young people to become inspectors
News release | 26-05-2016 | 16:45
"Where we currently recruit above 50, I want to move towards an apprentice journeyman-master situation. Where we recruit young people who get 'certified' training with us"
Inspector General Harry van der Meijden said this during a lecture at the Royal Institute of Engineers in The Hague. "People will soon come in when they are 22, 23 years old and after 5, 6 years have really learned a trade, both theoretically and in practice. And then when they are 30, they can also go into farming if they want to, then they have a choice to do something else. Stay with the government or go into industry, for example.
The summary of the lecture can be found at the link below.
Description
The Oil and Gas Technology Department of the Royal Institute of Engineers (KIVI) cordially invites you to the evening lecture:
Staatstoezicht op de Mijnen, rijksinspectie vol in de wind
by Harry van der Meijden, Inspector-General SSM.
More than 200 years ago, Napoleon ruled that it would be wise to have an inspection for the mines operating in the Netherlands at that time. At the time, Napoleon could not possibly have imagined that over 200 years later, the mines had given way to the Groningen gas field, among other things, and the associated threat and risks of earthquakes and subsidence. For years, SSM (State Supervision of Mines) actually supervised mines. From the discovery of "Slochteren", inspection activities shifted to minerals other than coal. It became oil, gas and salt; much later also geothermal energy and underground storage of substances such as oil and gas but perhaps other substances in the future. Meanwhile, SSM also "watches" wind turbines at sea and "keeps an inspection eye" on gas distribution for the meter."
For decades, it supervised drilling rigs, pipelines and platforms. It involved technicians, working drawings, processes and technical risks. Attention from and to society was limited, including media attention. Anno 2016, it is now also about another type of risk: the feeling of citizens that it is no longer safe on the streets and in their homes because the earth trembles as a result of gas production. But SSM files are also about land subsidence and fear of environmental pollution from the use of chemicals.
It is self-evident that SSM has a task in the mineral chain, but the issues it has to answer as advisory supervisor to the minister are different from what Napoleon probably had in mind. It could well be that society has different expectations of the regulator. The regulator's usual view of tasks, culture and capacity may not have kept pace with those expectations.
This calls for a rethinking of roles and responsibilities; for new competences of staff and organisation; for expansion of capacity; this requires not only deep, technically scientific knowledge of the minerals sector, but also environmental sensitivity, political-administrative antennae and communication skills. But access to authoritative and independent research capacity is also a prerequisite. SSM must be able to deal with uncertainties and risks and must be able to share them effectively with society, in whose interest SSM oversees safety and environment of mineral operations.
SSM, State Inspectorate full of wind; a story about dilemmas, social relevance and a very challenging working environment
Speaker(s)
Harry van der Meijden, Inspector general SSM
Location
Prinsessegracht 23, 2514 AP The Hague
Organiser
Oil and Gas Technology
Name and contact details for information
Lydia Boktor