At the age of 24, Rick Boelens stumbled into the world of emergency response (BHV). From his attic room, he launched 101BHV.nl, where external instructors delivered the training and Rick himself took care of planning, sales, and certification. Eight years later, 101BHV.nl has already been named the best training provider in the Netherlands, buses with their own instructors operate throughout the country, and they expect significant growth in the near future.
“We want to give the first responder the knowledge, skills, and confidence to provide immediate first aid,” says Rick. And that seems to be working. It started small. “I was good with websites and got in touch with BHV through word of mouth . From there, my passion arose to be able to offer people a safe environment. The fact that they can do that themselves is especially wonderful,” says Rick.
Over the years, we added an office with our own training center. The Planning & Relationship Management department handles initial contact with clients and schedules all training sessions. 101BHV.nl's certified instructors are spread throughout the country, giving us national coverage. The instructors drive their own vans, which travel to clients with all the necessary training materials, such as CPR manikins, fire extinguishers, and more.
Providing safety
When an employer decides to provide safety for their staff, 101BHV.nl can offer an Emergency Response (BHV) course on-site or at a training center. This covers emergency aid, fainting, CPR, what to do in the event of a cardiac arrest, and even the stable side position. But also fire. After all, what is the safe thing to do in which situation?
The courses combine theory and practice. For this reason, the company now also sells related products, such as fire blankets and AEDs, which are supplied from its own stock.
And since safety is paramount, fire extinguisher maintenance and service are also part of 101BHV.nl's service package. Finally, our advisory services are also becoming increasingly important. These services include preparing risk assessments (RI&E) and evacuation plans.
Relieve the employees
The instructors drive throughout the Netherlands in Fiat Doblos. Great vehicles with plenty of room for the necessary materials. And because Rick primarily wants to unburden his employees, a trip logging system was installed. “I don’t want the drivers to have to worry about keeping track of mileage and addresses. There are much more efficient solutions for that.” And for that reason, a GPS trip log has been included from day one . It is then fully taken care of if the Tax Authorities request mileage records, it is ideal to have in case of theft, and it provides more insight.
The future
Although 101BHV.nl has become a fantastic company, the journey to get there is perhaps even more rewarding than the destination, Rick shares. "In 2015, we won the 'Best Training Provider – Small' award in the Occupational Health & Safety category. That was a real sign that we were heading in the right direction." And for that reason, the company aims to grow another 20 percent by the end of the year.
In the future, every vehicle will certainly be equipped with TrackJack.”
Sometimes students still call us about resuscitation or a small fire. "Then we hear that they were able to handle the situation during a deployment, that they were confident and knew what to do. That's what we do it for every day!"
