Van de Kar - Enhanced Efficiency and Depth with Customised Training

Van de Kar Elektrotechniek has had a relationship with itsme since early 2003 for the supply of materials and Siemens training sessions. This spring was the premiere of in-house customised training. “That is much more efficient. Our guys already have a certain background, so they can skip basic stuff and actually dive deeper into specific parts.”

Van de Kar Elektrotechniek, based in Roosendaal, was started by Jan van de Kar in 2003. His associate, Werner Zandbergen, one of the first employees, became a co-owner two years ago to ensure the continuity of the business. Both fulfil the role of technical project leader in addition to their management tasks. Van de Kar Elektrotechniek now employs 35 people and focuses on industrial automation for special machine construction and the process industry. “We provide electrical engineering, control, software development, installation and commissioning - complete projects from start to finish.”

Siemens training

Besides new installations, many projects also revolve around upgrading old installations. “The mechanics remain, but the machine or installation has to comply with the latest requirements, standards and the latest technology. This concerns all aspects, from cybersecurity, machine safety and traceability to old control components that need to be updated because of a decline in availability.” In most cases, this concerns Siemens control systems. “Provided it suits the application, we usually opt for Siemens in new projects as well. Occasionally a different control system is introduced. We have five programmers and every single one of them is familiar with every control system, but some have more knowledge of a particular brand or application than others. So they all help each other and there is a lot of cross-pollination.”

“Our five programmers help each other and there is a lot of cross-pollination.”

With Siemens specialist itsme as supplier, the relationship has run like “the central thread” through the company from the very beginning, says Van de Kar. “To our satisfaction, from day one; our first purchase from Ehrbecker Schiefelbusch (itsme's predecessor, ed.) was a Siemens PG (Programmiergerät, ed.).” Special arrangements were made for the supply of components. When Van de Kar Elektrotechniek moved to its current premises in 2012, itsme set up a kanban 2BIN system there, in a separate space in the warehouse. “Every week, an itsme employee checks in with us to scan the grab stock and place the previously ordered parts”, he says. For training courses, Van de Kar Elektrotechniek also regularly turns to itsme. “That is for Siemens training sessions, which have also been up-and-running since the beginning.”

State-of-the-art technology

This spring saw the premiere of a customised training course, organised on site in Roosendaal. It concerned the TIAP-UNIFIED training: HMI Unified Comfort Panels with TIA Portal. “The training covered the new HMI panels launched by Siemens. If a new product is launched, we want to get in as soon as possible because we always build according to the latest state-of-the-art technology”, explains Zandbergen. “We have now completed our first projects using Unified screens. They offer a lot of extra features to make screens more readable and understandable for the operator. In terms of graphics, they are also much stronger than the previous generation.”

“With in-house customisation, you can move through the introduction much faster and dig into it in more detail.”

To achieve this, four programmers took an in-house course. “In-house is much more efficient,” adds Van de Kar. “Our guys already have a certain background, so they can skip basic stuff and actually dive deeper into specific parts. If they were to attend a multi-day course externally, they would spend the first day wondering: “What am I even doing here?” With in-house customisation, you can move through those parts much faster and dig into it in more detail.” Discussing real-life cases from their own work experiences during the course, he believes is another advantage. The training was rated positively by the participants. “They were very satisfied with the content and with the interaction and pleasant cooperation with the instructor, Kevin Valkestijn.”

If there is an in-house training course, is there never the temptation to quickly pull a colleague out of the course in case of an urgent question or an emergency? Van de Kar: “No, we're very strict about that. The moment they're attending the training, even though it’s at our premises, as far as our organisation is concerned, they’re away. There are always other people around to deal with the problem.”

Keeping up to date

There are no specific plans for the next training course yet, says Zandbergen. “That's up to the software programmers themselves. If they feel they are lacking in something and need refresher training, they’ll let us know. At that point, we’ll start looking for the right training.” Van de Kar: “We don't set an annual budget for this. If it's needed, we just do it. Throughout the year, this means quite a few courses, for software and hardware engineers and for operational technicians. If we can add knowledge, we'll do it. In the same spirit, our people also take a range of training courses to keep up to date on standards and regulations.”

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