ROSEN Group vice president answers commonly asked questions about COVID-19

Erik Cornelissen is an Executive Vice President of the ROSEN Group and the spokesperson for the Global Business Continuity Management Team, a global task force dedicated to ensuring the safety and well-being of customers and company staff, and minimizing the negative impact on the company. Here he addresses the most commonly asked questions regarding safety, business operations, customers and employees.

“First of all, on a personal note, I just want to say that I understand that this pandemic has negatively affected so many around the world, and my heartfelt sympathy is with all those impacted. I think that amid this tragedy, however, we have an opportunity to do some self-reflection as well as collect some valuable learnings, such as how to improve the environment we live in and how to better serve the industry we work for. It is my hope that we seize this moment as an industry to collaborate and get through these challenging times together.”

How can a company best respond to a crisis like the coronavirus pandemic? In crisis situations, like what we are facing with the current pandemic, early identification and recognition of potential impacts is key. For this, we at ROSEN strictly abide to our own Company Crisis Management Concept, which clearly dictates responsibilities, defines communication and ensures fast decision-making. In the early stages of this pandemic, we also established a Business Continuation Team to define actions to ensure business operations. This preparation gave us good insight and a clear way forward through the uncertainty.

We believe that in the current situation, now more than ever, sharing knowledge, expertise and best practices with not only our customers, but also the entire industry, is very important to successfully enduring this difficult time together. As a service provider, it is important that we stay flexible so that we can best support the industry through this crisis and ensure its continuity afterwards as well.

How are you mitigating the risks for employees, customers and community? Safety is our first priority. We have extensive preventative safety measures in place to protect the health of our employees, our customers and the surrounding community. By collaborating closely with our customers, we will determine the appropriate solution for the specific circumstances and will only proceed with a service if we mutually determine it to be safe and in alignment with necessary guidelines. We also follow the guidance of various global, as well local, health organizations to ensure specific regional safety aspects are taken into consideration.

How is ROSEN prioritizing safety vs. business operations? We believe the question can not be asked as such, since we will not prioritize between safety and business opportunities. Safety will always be most important.

The bottom line is that we will not perform a service that we, or our customers, are not convinced is safe. That being said, we do have a lot of experience in operating during difficult situations and in harsh conditions all across the globe, and we know how to support our customers in ensuring the safety of all those involved.

How do your business operations vary between the different geographical locations? Of course, compliance requirements with local governmental and health authorities will vary depending on the location of the project, and this is where our vast global network comes in to play. Because we have trained and certified experts around the world, we are able to act in a uniform and scalable manner at all locations, while, at the same time, utilizing our global knowledge base. This enables us to remain flexible and ensure local compliance.

You have mentioned flexibility a few times, why does it have such an important role in the current crisis? To us, flexibility means collaborating to develop, adapt, or even create solutions based on the current and near future needs of the industry — regardless of the challenges present. For example, in the areas where physical presence has become a temporary challenge, we have implemented integrity service solutions that help the operator ensure the safety and compliance of their asset.

We work to provide flexible support to help operators through this time of crisis and aid in the progression of our industry. Our agile global network of professionals and experts are standing by to support our customers in dealing with any challenges that come their way.

What are the next steps for ROSEN? We will continue to closely monitor the situation and follow the guidance of the authorities; take care of the well-being of our employees, customers and their families; share our knowledge and experiences with the industry; and prepare for a phase of recuperation and catch-up after the pandemic has passed. Additionally, we are looking to learn from this current crisis and optimize our service quality and offerings by identifying areas of opportunities and improvements. Ultimately, our goal is to create even more value to our customers, post-crisis.

How can customers communicate with ROSEN during the COVID-19 pandemic? We are available through the usual channels of communication, with the temporary exception of visiting of our offices in person. We have also initiated an extended webinar series to support the exchange of knowledge between industry stakeholders and keep you up to date on our latest portfolio developments during these challenging times.

Can ROSEN still perform work that an operator needs to have executed? We understand the burden operators have to ensure the safe operation of their assets and to remain compliant with regulations. We accept our responsibility in supporting this effort and are committed to providing the industry with the necessary services on critical infrastructure. As I mentioned before, we will closely collaborate with our customers to help ensure the safe operation of their assets within the guidance of local governmental and health authorities. The bottom line is that when the need is there and safety can be ensured, we will provide our services.

What do operators need to do or change in order to facilitate a ROSEN inspection service at their premises? Our project managers are at the operator’s disposal to help prepare for each individual service and ensure that the necessary requirements are fulfilled. These preparations depend of course on local situations and therefore have to be discussed individually.

What do you think will happen to the industry after the crisis? Can operators still count on ROSEN services? It is very hard to give an exact prediction of how our industry will look or operate in the post-crisis time, when the pandemic is under control. It is our expectation that for a number of years, we will still see the impact this pandemic had on our industry, and we think that certain behaviors and routines may be forever changed.

However, we do expect that the demand for energy will remain high or even increase, and that the requirements for safe operation of our industry’s assets could increase as well. This means that we expect a growing global demand for our services, and we will be ready to fulfill this need and serve our customers.

So yes, the future in our opinion will be different and behaviors may have to be adapted, but our industry and our people are resilient. At ROSEN, we remain extremely positive and motivated to overcome the current challenges. Together with the good leaders, our industry has to offer, we will continue to help and support each other through this time.