NEWS

I am sitting at my home next to my computer in a small room on the first floor. The company I work for, Pori Offshore Constructions Oy, is located 20 kilometers to the west. My Colleagues, working for the same employer, are spread around the Pori city area, each working from their own home. Nevertheless, I am still able to discuss and work together with my colleagues in real time as we all would be in the same room. Welcome to the world of pandemic!

It is difficult to understand, that we are living the same year as we were eleven months ago. The world has taken a big step, but the direction is unknown. We are living in a nightmare and in a time of possibilities, simultaneously. The future will be made now.

Compared to the beginning of 2020 everything has changed. In work-life, the major change has been a wide implementation of teleworking. Since March 2020, Pori Offshore Constructions has used a so called hybrid model, where persons are working mainly at their home office and visiting the company office only when it is mandatory for completing the tasks. The model has significantly reduced the risk of exposure to the Covid-19 virus and has improved personnel possibilities to harmonize work- and family life. The model also takes into account the basic need for social contacts and no-one is forced to work from home, as long as visits to the company office are coordinated in advance together with the employer.

However, teleworking is not the only tool in fight against the virus. Updated hygiene instructions , changes in visitor- and meeting protocols, time slots for use of lunch rooms and social rooms as well as the use of Koronavilkku (Finnish smartphone app to help break infection chain) … are all familiar topics to Pori Offshore Constructions Oy personnel.

So far Pori Offshore Constructions Oy has been successful in the battle against the virus. Not a single company employee has been infected. The main reason for the success has not been the employer instructions, but the personnel doing their best to avoid the infections, during work time as well as free time. The company safety culture, developed during the past decades, has helped the employer as employees are asking questions, proposing improvements, and working together with the employer to find the safest way to conduct business. I am very pleased to be a part of this fine group of professionals and would like to thank all company representatives face to face. Unfortunately, that is not possible now, but I am sure, that a suitable time to express my gratitude will come. Meanwhile, let us settle with this safe thank you expressed through the keyboard.

With gratitude,
Jussi Ylinaatu
QHSES Director, Pori Offshore Constructions Oy