Name: Jelle Bout
Age: 34
Job: CAD Application Administrator

How long have you been working for Damen?
I started here at Damen Naval in 2016 as a Functional Application Engineer for Cadmatic Hull which focusses on steel structures.

And what is your function now?
I am now a CAD Application Administrator but since 2018 mainly for 3DExperience working as part of the Engineering Support team. This means that I work on all of Damen Naval’s engineering projects.

What does your job entail?
I support the engineering teams with any software-related questions they have throughout a project; from the beginning right to the end. This starts with setting up the project configuration, and, for that, communication with the project managers and team leaders of the various disciplines is very important. I do the set up for the ship reference systems, hull shape, and structures. And then as a project progresses, Engineering Support makes sure that we keep delivering solutions to any problems and ensuring that the software is updated. Besides the problem-solving, we also provide any necessary structural improvements to the software and the processes.
We are currently introducing the 3DExperience platform, which represents a complete revamp of our toolset, and thus poses considerable challenges. Furthermore, besides project configurations, I work on keeping the configuration the same on multiple servers within Naval but also for use by other Damen divisions, as 3Dx has a OneDamen setup. Furthermore, I am closely involved with manufacturing engineering, 3DDashboards, and 3DViewer. I also occasionally get to sit at the controls in customer meetings for live demos of the 3D model which is great fun. At the moment, 3DX is being used for the German frigate project and ASW frigate project, but we are currently laying the groundwork to use it on more future projects as well.

"What makes this job so much fun is that it is in constant development and that it is impossible for someone to know everything." Jelle Bout

What do you enjoy most about your work?
My role can be very broad, yet also very specialistic, so I would say that the diversity of my job is what makes it so enjoyable. I also love the inexhaustible complexity of our ships. If I understood everything, then for me, the challenge has gone. What makes this job so much fun is that it is in constant development and that it is impossible for someone to know everything. This is why, with every new project and new developments, my work takes me out of my comfort zone. I experience this as a positive thing.

What can we wake you up for?
My children. I have two sons – a one-year old and a four year old. They can wake me up anytime (although I might respond grumpy at times). Besides that I like pulled pork – it doesn’t matter what time of day it is.

I’m not truly satisfied until…
The Engineering teams are fully satisfied. That is what we do this job for.

This or that?

Coffee/Tea
Coffee. Always coffee. I now have about three cups of coffee a day, but for the first few weeks of working in an office, where you can sort of drink coffee whenever you like, I drank so much coffee I became nauseous.
Morning person/Evening person
That’s not a difficult question. I am an evening person.
City trip/Beach holiday
Especially with my children, this would be a beach holiday. We have been to Greece quite a few times already. We really love Greece.
Book/Film
Film
Sea/Forest
Actually both. My dad was a fisherman – I like being on boats. But I find myself going for walks in the woods quite often too.

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