My first 2 weeks at Railnova: seeing railway from a different perspective
Test, test… Here we go again! After having spent three months at home with my little one, I was completely ready for a new challenge. But it needed to be something different, something new, something exciting… something blue. I also wanted this new challenge to fit my life and enrich it. For me this means both interesting and challenging, but also very flexible working hours.
I’m already working in the railway sector for almost 10 years — and once infected, it’s hard to change. Therefore, it’s not a surprise that after having worked for a locomotive manufacturer, a leasing company and a maintainer I now found my new position at Railnova, a company developing railway IoT and fleet management tools to help railway organisations access data, perform fleet diagnostics and dispatch maintenance work orders. So a lot of things that I already touched in the past — but from a totally different perspective.
Already after a few days I had to admit that the world at Railnova is a little different… Not only because I’m working remotely now instead of in the Railnova office, but also because I’ve had to change my point of view from an operational railway view to a more strategic view. This makes everyday feel like an adventure… an adventure I’m looking forward to experience.
And to be able to start the adventure I first of all needed to set up my home office. As Railnova is based in Brussels (and I live in Germany) working remotely simplifies my life enormously. However, working so far away from my colleagues can also have its impact on work relations and projects.
Luckily Railnova uses some great tools to overcome this challenge: chat tools for day-to-day communication (Slack), project management tools to keep track of projects big and small (Basecamp) and of course (video) calls to discuss important subjects in a more personal way. This way of working also fits the digital DNA of the company perfectly.
What am I looking forward the most?
Railnova, being a startup in rail, is a young, modern and visionary company and I already enjoy being part of it after only 2 weeks. I’m confident that I will learn a lot diving into the business of Railway IoT, but I especially look to further develop my personal skills.
Based on my own experience in railway, I’m convinced that our internet platform Railfleet can ameliorate life of a lot of fleet managers and ultimately improve the availability and safety of their fleet. It will bring innovation to a more traditional industry and lead to a sustainable change. I’m looking forward to accompanying our customers on this exciting innovation journey!
What am I bringing to the team?
My above-mentioned experience in the railway industry enables me to really understand the needs of customers, independently of whether it is an operator, a lessor or maintainer. I believe that this experience will help keep our team on the right track to deliver real value to our clients. Beyond this I will be able to assist our (future) clients, in most of the cases, in their mother tongue.. speaking 6 languages!
As a person I try to be…
Open minded… I’m a huge fan of open and honest communication and I enjoy discussing different points of view to end up with the best solution and outcome. A very good solution for one company might not work in another surrounding. Being aware of this, I’m focussed on finding a solution that works, taking into consideration every specific situation.
What are my secret skills?
During my studies I spent several summers on the island of Mallorca as an animator… so be prepared, I make you dance! Just kidding, but my animator skills do help me with enabling our customers to move smoothly through the process of innovation (which is not always easy!)… so that in the end we all dance together!
Want to have a chat about innovation in railway, railway IoT or Railnova? Drop me an email, or meet me in real life at Transport Logistic in Munich! I’m looking forward to meeting you and sharing my experiences!
