Alholmens Kraft
- take advantage of the ongoing HSEQ expert service
Alholmens Kraft is the largest biofuel power plant in the world, located in Pietarsaari, Finland, and started commercial production in 2002. The plant produces electricity and district heat for consumers and industry. It also produces process steam, which is used in a local factory.
An HSEQ partner to spar and help find sensible solutions for the customer
The cooperation with Protect dates back to 2010. In recent years, Alholmens Kraft has systematically developed the systematic management of HSEQ issues. During this period, the company has implemented desktops and tools in the PRO24 system, which enables it to manage the assessment and monitoring of quality and safety-related activities on an up-to-date basis. In practice, this means stakeholder engagement, management of safety data sheets in the chemical system and legal requirements and guidelines relating to occupational health and safety. All HSEQ documents are also collected in PRO24. The handling of safety notifications will be implemented shortly.
-Updating and entering documents into the new system is a big project. Our contact at Protect has done a really thorough job on this. We are updating the system one entity at a time, and then we are ready for a wider roll-out to all staff and stakeholders. The documents relating to our environmental certification are already available in PRO24 and we were able to use the system, for example, during the last audit," says Rune Forsbacka, who is the maintenance manager at Alholmens Kraft. 
Stakeholder on-boarding completed on schedule despite the interest rate
The shutdown of the power plant was planned for spring 2020. During the shutdown, a large number of different contractors and hundreds of different workers will be working on the power plant site. In the past, the familiarisation was done in a joint training session. Alholmens Kraft migrated the contractors' induction to PRO24, which allowed all newcomers to be briefed remotely and in advance.
- PRO24 has built in safety training that all contractors can access via a dedicated link. The training also includes an exam tool that allows trainees to take the exam, and with a pass result, gain permission to work. PRO24 allows us to train and monitor effectively that the safety regulations are known by the different contractors working on the power plant site.
In addition to time savings, training on PRO24 also brings other benefits. The company now has important data on which areas of the induction require further training or in-depth knowledge. The system also allows the company to easily verify that the induction has been carried out properly.
The HSEQ holistic partnership
As Alholmens Kraft's HSEQ expert partner, Protect appointed a dedicated expert. Protect's expert is "assisted" by Rune Forsbacka, Maintenance Manager at Alholmens Kraft. However, the cooperation is not limited to one person, but the expert has a broad scope of work. The Protect expert has worked with various stakeholders and the management team, among others. He also provides expert advice to the Safety Manager. Mr Forsbacka, who is also the Health and Safety Manager, can lighten his own workload by delegating certain tasks directly to Protect's expert.
-I do a lot of background work and find out things for the client. There are a lot of things going on in the HSEQ field that need to be taken into account in the company's operations, and finding out about them is not always straightforward. I take the tasks assigned to me one by one until they are completed and help my clients to find the most appropriate solutions for their environment," says the Protect expert.
The partnership with Protect is not limited to a single area of expertise, but allows the client to benefit from the entire company's know-how. At Protect, experts are happy to consult each other.
-"Compared to working alone as an expert, I have the advantage of the support of a large team of experts at Protect. You don't need to know everything on your own, but we can quickly get clarification from each other on things that might otherwise take a long time to find," says the Protect expert.
The HSEQ expert internalises the client's corporate culture
Protect's expert is responsible for keeping the agreed work on schedule. Clients appreciate that a partner has the courage to push the envelope from time to time - which is why they often hire an expert. Self-reliance is also appreciated. Part of partnership is that the expert gets to know and understand the client's wishes without having to ask each individual question.
-I greatly appreciate our partnership with Rune Forsbacka. There is a trust between us that has been built through close cooperation and a similar mindset. This partnership is not just about getting the job done, but also about mutual learning and sparring. Working in this way has enabled us to achieve great results," says the Protect expert. Forsbacka agrees with the partnership, to say the least.
- Protect understands our industry and the challenges of a small organisation. They make sure that our operations are up to date with new safety laws. They also provide us with practical ideas that can be adapted to our resources. It's great to have one point of contact who knows our business inside out and can give us just the right kind of help.