Jyri Seppänen (Engineer) , from Kainuu, started working as Head of Quality at Varte in the spring 2020. Over time, his job description has continued to expand, and now he is also the company’s Head of Occupational Safety and Head of Development. The duties of Head of Development also include the reforms and changes that are being made to the company’s applications architecture. Earlier in his career, Jyri worked for Skanska for almost seven years, after which he took up the position of Area Manager for the Pasila railway station section of YIT’s Tripla project. From Tripla, Jyri moved to Bonava, where he worked as Supervision Manager for over two years, leading a team of 11 experts and being responsible for supervising all of Bonava’s housing production operations in Finland.
Digitalisation of the construction industry
Jyri Seppänen feels that digital tools are being used increasingly in the construction industry and businesses have become aware of the opportunities offered by digitalisation, especially in these exceptional circumstances, and have started to adopt new operating models at sites and offices.
“Businesses have realised that they are no longer able to operate using traditional methods, or that the efficiency of these methods is no longer sufficient for the work they do. The situation is constantly developing, but, on the other hand, digitalisation also needs to be supported by expertise and support work, as the overall management of these issues often falls short. I also think that pitting traditional and modern construction methods against each other is unnecessary, as these things are not mutually exclusive – quite the contrary, they complement and support each other”, Jyri says.
However, digitalisation and deploying new operating models are not without challenges in the construction industry. For example, it continues to be a problem that new software cannot be introduced quickly and easily enough so that its use becomes a standard for the entire construction industry.
Jyri explains that he is called several times a day by software suppliers offering him various kinds of ERP systems. The problem, however, is that suppliers often just don’t understand their customers’ needs well enough and are not prepared to tailor their systems in a customer-oriented way that would help businesses improve their solutions and develop efficiently enough.
Another problem hindering the field’s development is the lack of development cooperation within the construction industry – instead, individual organisations are forging ahead with their own development work. “However, there are also examples of things that are going well, and Congrid, which has gained a firm foothold in the industry and is doing great despite being a young company, is one of the best examples of a supplier that can offer quick implementation. The reason for this, without a doubt, is the ease of use and user-friendliness Congrid offers”, says Jyri.
Building trust
“People often forget that there is also plenty of good, high-quality construction these days.”
In Jyri’s view, documentation and the construction industry’s operations and expertise should be made more transparent so that people would have a more positive impression of the industry, and also know more about it. Nowadays, discussion about the construction industry tends to focus on defects and problems. “If you were to ask a random person on the street for the first thought that comes to their mind about construction, you’d very likely hear something about moisture and mould damage.People often forget that there is also plenty of good, high-quality construction these days. Compared with past years or decades, we have high-quality documentation that is done using good tools and very good solutions,” Jyri says.
Jyri hopes that construction industry actors are able to work together to improve its image through transparency and high-quality tools and communications. Once trust has been rebuilt, there can be constructive discussions about any topic and things can proceed as desired.
Deploying the integration of Derigo Pro3 and Congrid at Varte
“The key benefits include transparency, more efficient safety management and the resulting savings.”
Varte Group has chosen Derigo and Congrid as its quality and safety management partners. All key information and indicators for Varte’s projects are now available in a single reporting and monitoring tool.
Construction projects usually include hundreds of smaller and bigger tasks that require good planning skills and tools to complete.
Using the open interfaces of Derigo Pro3 project management software and the Congrid system, a reporting view was created for Varte. Thanks to this, data can be transferred in real time from sites all the way to senior management. The key benefits include transparency, more efficient safety management and the resulting savings.
One of Varte’s goals related to the integration was that Pro3 users without user credentials or non-users of Congrid could use the software to view basic safety levels and information as well as the latest observations. Varte also hoped that those who need them could receive user credentials and view the content in more detail also via the Congrid system.
Varte’s idea was that information could flow easily between the systems. The fact that both systems use the same nomenclature makes things clearer. Regardless of which system is used, the information can be found under the same headings and purchasing packages.
“The division we use is that documents that are created in the form of minutes or in Excel, i.e. at the site office, are in Pro3. In Congrid, you can find the site inspections that are done on site and involve quality management and site photos,” Jyri says.
Cooperation with Derigo and Congrid
In Jyri’s opinion, cooperation has been very smooth from the start with both companies. He was already familiar with Congrid from his time working at YIT, so the choice was easy.
As for Derigo and the Pro3 product, Jyri confirms that he is also very satisfied with them, and working with them has been smooth and easy, no matter what was being worked on. “Another piece of positive feedback I would like to give is that they delivered what was agreed upon, and they stayed on schedule. The basic functions of the product have been sufficiently complete, and starting to use them has been almost as easy as simply pressing a button. Getting going with the requested tailored solutions was smooth, and there were no schedule-related surprises when it came to deployment or the content,” Jyri says.
Jyri has been satisfied with how such big issues were handled in such a short time. Pro3’s deployment at Varte is nearing completion considerably faster than what was originally planned. The final site training sessions will be held in early January, after which Pro3 will be in full production use at Varte.
The user experience feedback given by Varte has been very positive, and Pro3 works well and is clear. “For users, the greatest fear has definitely been that the system would be too complex or that it would take over, but the positive feedback we have received shows that this is not the case. Once you start using the software, you’ll understand how it works and what you need to do. This is also positive feedback for us,” Jyri concludes.
Jyri hopes that both Congrid and Derigo will maintain the same attitude and customer-oriented way of working that help their customer companies move forward thanks to their solutions.
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