Connect gives Veth Propulsion greater control and smoother access to its site

The custom-made propulsion solutions for ships manufactured by Veth Propulsion by Twin Disc are expensive. Good site security is therefore very important. That is why Veth wanted more control over the status of its gates and access to its site.

Thanks to Connect, Veth Propulsion by Twin Disc can now monitor the status of access gates 24/7. And it also makes it possible to proactively deal with malfunctions. In addition, the company can provide easy and remote access to visitors and employees.

The challenge

  • Multiple manual checks of the status of sliding gates
  • Inefficient way of providing site access to visitors
  • A lot of extra administrative work to grant access

Veth Propulsion by Twin Disc from Papendrecht has been a household name in the maritime sector for decades. Its custom-made propulsion solutions are literally the driving force behind many ships in the inland shipping, dredging and offshore sectors, but also luxury superyachts. “Among other things, we make rudder propellers, bow thrusters, engines and complete control systems,” says Dick de Jong, Facility Coordinator at Veth Propulsion. “All our products are custom-made. We invest a lot of time and energy in them. That makes them expensive products made of very expensive materials. Which is why we prefer to keep strangers out and why we like to know exactly who is on our site. We’ve been relying on Heras sliding gates and fencing to secure our site since 2016.”

“Connect gives us more control over our gates and has really improved the accessibility of our site.”

— Dick de Jong, Facility Coordinator, Veth Propulsion by Twin Disc

In 2019, Veth Propulsion by Twin Disc had a new requirement. “We always gave skippers waiting for repairs on our site a tag to open the gates,” explains De Jong. “But they often forgot to return the tag when they left. And that was always a worry. We also wanted a clearer overview of the status of our gates so that we didn’t necessarily need to manually check whether the gates were open or closed. In consultation with Heras, we soon concluded that their Connect smart service was exactly what we needed.”

The approach

  • Joint consultation on the most suitable solution
  • Installation of Connect
  • Training the primary user to use Connect

Connect monitors all the important components of security systems every hour of the day and issues a notification if there is a malfunction, for example. “The installation of Connect and the required training went very smoothly,” says De Jong. “It took very little effort, and the system is simple and easy to use. I wouldn’t have expected anything else: everything that Heras supplies is top quality. And they’re always reliable. At Veth, we like to get things done properly and move on to the next challenge. I believe that Heras has the same approach.”

“We also signed a maintenance contract,” continues De Jong. “That means that Heras also receives notifications from our system. We like that, because it means that Heras can deal with malfunctions proactively. That gives us more operational reliability.” Connect includes a component called Access, which makes it possible to open gates remotely. “We now have Access on one of our gates and it works very well. We give people who are allowed access to our site a phone number. When they call the number, the gate opens and closes automatically. It’s ideal.”

The solution

  • Connect monitors the status of gates 24/7
  • Veth Propulsion gives visitors remote access
  • Connect registers who has access to the site

As soon as Connect was installed, De Jong noticed the benefits straight away. “We have a much better overview of the status of our gates. If I want, I can see which gates are open and closed at any time. I don’t check Connect every day, but I obviously do if I receive an error message. That way, I can more accurately assess whether I can resolve a malfunction myself or whether I need help from Heras. It just generally gives you a greater sense of control.”

“Connect also means less hassle and it helps us to work more efficiently. We’ve said goodbye for good to the tags for visitors on our site. That saves a lot of administrative work. Our service employees are also experiencing the benefits. They travel all over the country to carry out repairs and maintenance. That means that they sometimes also need to be on our site at night. Thanks to Access from Connect, this is now easier and more user-friendly for them.”

In short, Connect and Veth Propulsion by Twin Disc are the perfect match. De Jong: “Connect gives us more control over our gates and has really improved the accessibility of our site.”

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