NVVK Droomsessies

by Denise Harkema

The NVVK Jubilee Congress on Nov. 8 and 9 focused on the inspiration of the safety expert. Two days filled with inspired discussions, presentations and various sessions. Safety Delta Netherlands was also present and had the honor of hosting two dream sessions: learning together and innovating together. Curious what these dream sessions were about? In our blog we tell more.

Dream Session 1: Learning Together from Incidents (provided by Denise Harkema)

The dream session on the first congress day focused on learning from (near) incidents, both as an organization and by learning together with (and between) sectors and parties in the Dutch industry. Everyone wants to prevent incidents with personal injury and/or consequences for the living environment; we do this by learning from our own (near) incidents and those of others. Learning from (near) incidents is an ongoing topical subject that every safety professional has to deal with personally to a greater or lesser extent. It is also a tricky subject; continuing to learn from a (near) incident has not yet proved so easy.

Various knowledge was discussed during this dream session: the learning cycle for learning from incidents by L. Drupsteen (2018), Jop Groeneweg's (online) presentation on psychological safety (2021) and Stichting Veiligheid Voorop's handbook Better Learning from Incidents (2020). After the introductory presentation, the audience itself was on hand to exchange knowledge and insights. What does learning from incidents stand for today? What are bottlenecks the organization faces? What is still missing to make learning more successful? What stands in the way of better learning from incidents? What does good learning from incidents look like? This reflection was followed by a final look into the future: How will incident learning change?

The session led to great conversations and exchange of views. Among other things, the focus on effectiveness of measures taken.

Dream Session 2: Innovating Together (provided by Johan van Middelaar)

On the second conference day, the dream session addressed the future and innovation, the session had a clear message: everything is changing. Think of the climate, the labor shortage, the energy transition, digitalization or working together a robot or an AI. The industry is also changing: everything is becoming more dynamic and complex, which means, among other things, that tasks and expectations of leaders, designers and safety experts will change drastically.

With all the changes today, the question is no longer whether but when the safety expert will innovate. After all, the safety expert plays an important role in keeping everything running smoothly and safely. During this session, participants dreamed using the SDN's top six innovation center. The audience was challenged to think "differently" and suggest what might be a first step to making a dream or idea a reality.

The session ended with a letter in the time capsule, where participants wrote a letter to themselves that the participant will receive back in 10 years. The letter states the participants' biggest dream and what he/she will do today to make that dream a reality.