ZORG.tech remains ambitious despite corona

We talked about this with chairman Erik Van De Wauwer, secretary Marc Jackmaert and treasurer Jeroen Vidts.

"2020 was a year to quickly and never forget," states Van De Wauwer. "It was a great challenge to still organize activities for our members during the pandemic. During the fall we went digital, with webinars around the updated technical regulations on electrical installations, smart buildings in healthcare and climate. There were also the digital New Year's reception and the IFHE congress in Rome, also digital, of course. ZORG.tech will continue to follow this digital path as long as physical meetings are not an option. We fervently hope that we can organize live activities again in the second half of the year."

"The past has been very instructive and will be taken into account in our further expansion," assures Van De Wauwer. "Letting things disappear is not on the agenda. The expanded networking, the annual congress, the circle work and the social activities remain strongholds. In addition, there are, among other things, the website with its busy forum and the quarterly newsletter."

A networking event invariably takes place during the eve of the annual congress. "The congress itself includes a morning with a number of speakers and an ongoing trade fair with about 180 exhibitors," Jackmaert explains. "During each congress, a social prize is awarded to a number of institutions that have set up a special initiative within their walls. The congress is alternately organized by one of the three provincial circles, East and West Flanders, Antwerp and Limburg-Vlaams-Brabant. Most exhibitors are familiar names, but the provincial organizing committees also alternately attract smaller local players, for whom a purely national event makes less sense, but who do have an interest in extra visibility in their own area. When potential suppliers knock on the door of a healthcare institution, they are told that through a booth at the congress they can reach nearly four hundred member institutions in one fell swoop."

"The annual conference is an important major source of revenue," Vidts emphasizes. "How the association can remain financially healthy through ethically sound revenues in addition to democratic membership dues is important."

The social award does not include huge sums of money, but ZORG.tech carries objectivity as high as possible. "Candidates can be nominated, but may also apply themselves. Judges may not be part of the organizing committee. The number of spontaneous candidacies is limited, perhaps there is still too little awareness within healthcare institutions that very small-scale initiatives are also eligible for this award," says Jackmaert.

"By June, some working groups will make some recommendations about our future operation," the president explains. "Themes that will be addressed therein include knowledge sharing and training. In terms of training, we are betting on webinars and we are further looking at how we can approach activities in a uniform way so that it is smooth for the people who organize it. Don't forget that everyone in our organization is a volunteer."

Unlike its Dutch sister organization NVTG, ZORG.tech involves only technical managers from the healthcare sector. "This is why it is important to keep our membership activities attractive and to further improve them wherever possible. We try to involve as many of our members as possible in every activity."

"In the coming years, many of our members also face tough technical challenges. After all, Flanders is seriously committed to a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions," Vidts notes. "This will mainly have to be achieved by insulating buildings and installing energy-efficient installations. In the healthcare sector, a lot of this infrastructure is outdated, while only limited subsidies exist to give it the necessary upgrade."