People in Lighting: Joost Boot

Joost Boot - FAE - Schréder b.v.
Joost Boot
FAE - Schréder

Companies are defined by the people who work for them: for over a century, Schréder has been at the forefront of lighting thanks to its employees worldwide. Throughout 2022 we are focusing on the people who make Schréder what it is, including their career path, landmark projects and their thoughts on where lighting is headed next.


Schréder has been helping some of the world’s biggest cities create attractive urban spaces for decades. Quality lighting has always been a sound investment, but now, in a connected world, internet of things (IoT) solutions mean cities can create systems that combine everything from EV charging to interactive speakers. Our smart cities business has been going from strength to strength, driven by a new generation of Schréder employees who think of lighting as a way to unlock cities’ full potential.

Joost Boot is a Field Application Engineer based in Rhenen, in The Netherlands. He joined the company in September 2020 after studying business communications. During an internship at Schréder in his final year, he found a way to combine his love of engineering and smart cities, and became a permanent member of the team. He now works with customers across the low countries on IoT, lighting and more.
 

I’ve always been interested in home automation…

At my parents' home, we built a whole specific home automation centre, way beyond typical systems. We built it from the base up, coding the hardware and connecting it together with open source platforms. Light, heating, blinds, security cameras, energy monitoring - everything. 


Now I bring that passion to whole cities…

I’ve always found smart city technologies interesting, and here in The Netherlands there’s a lot of investment into infrastructure generally, and since the 2000s, a lot into technological specifically. There are developments such as city WiFi, but being a smart city is broader than just the technology. For example, there’s solving the mobility issue. You can ban certain cars from certain areas of the city, but you need incentives too. If you get people to park but give them free public transport for a day, that changes things… you need a carrot as well as a stick.


Lighting can make a big difference in terms of safety…

I worked on a project with motorways that are being constantly monitored for roadworks, traffic jams, and so on. The data is used to send out police and ambulance crews as necessary, but smart lighting means you can reduce the risk for everyone. There’s an override solution where you can increase lighting levels in areas where there’s been an accident: the system we worked on in Noord-Holland paid for itself in two and a half years and made driving safer.


There’s no such thing as a typical day…

If I had a business card, it would be A4 size! Being a Field Application Engineer means doing a whole range of things - I’m the mannetje voor alles, as we say in Dutch. It means working with the customer, supporting them with their existing installations, also working with the developers on the other side of the cycle, to test the products, bring new ideas to market, share ideas internationally with colleagues, support the sale process, and I’m even still doing a bit of marketing communication!
 

I am exactly at the border between the customer and our products…

I go out to train clients on how to use Schréder EXEDRA, our smart city platform, which controls thousands of luminaires in systems across the country. Going on-site to install and service lighting installations usually takes place in the evenings, so my hours can be flexible to reflect that. One thing we’re very proud of at Schréder is how close we are to the customer, that really differentiates our approach.

Joost Boot, a Schréder FAE spends time on-site making sure that our smart lighting is working perfectly


And that means letting them choose what’s right for them…

In terms of Schréder EXEDRA, it’s truly interoperable, which means cities can choose the systems they want to integrate with it. I talk to a lot of people about how we believe open standards are the future, and that really resonates.


We have a great relationship with Groningen…

We like competition, we like to explore new things, and the city has been an amazing partner. They say ‘here’s an industrial area to try new things out and let us know what’s going on'. We ask them what they think of the system, what’s easy, what’s difficult… we can test and constantly improve a lot of our products there. We’re currently doing a pilot project with Owlet IV, so watch this space.
 

Smart cities need smart thinking… 

If you combine different systems and track them efficiently, that makes sense: in a city, that can mean combining traffic and lighting systems to highlight the best path to take, to nudge people in the right direction, or maybe lower light levels in a residential area for people’s comfort. There’s a lot of technology going on, but a lot of it is operating in silos. That is where I think smart cities need to think differently. Smart cities should be all about creating solutions by bringing their different areas of expertise together to improve the way we work and live.


Our goal is to bridge the gap between smart city solutions by taking them out of silos...

To create easy-to-use systems that benefit the city by improving the everyday life of its residents. A great example of a project that does this well is in Bois de la Cambre in Brussels. It's so simple; it reduces the carbon emissions of the lighting installation and maximises safety in an easy-to-use package, and that's what makes it great.

The street lights in Bois de la Cambre are dimmed to 50% when there is less traffic on the roads


I’m really proud of…

The mindset here. Internally, we get a lot of freedom to share our ideas and defend what you think is the right way forward. There’s a strong sense of corporate identity, possibly because it’s a family company. I joined during the pandemic and virtual onboarding was tough. But I soon met some great colleagues who encouraged me and mentored me, and there’s a real determination here - they don't throw the towel in the ring. I know it sounds really cheesy, but I’m proud to be here!

Connect with Joost on LinkedIn or send him an e-mail.