Welado employees have voted Janne Siira as the Most Improved Employee of 2020. Janne, who has made impressive progress during his career at Welado, is a 28-year-old Master of Science in Technology from Oulu who graduated from the University of Oulu with a degree in Process Engineering. Before joining Welado, he worked at Nokia in a production supervisory role. Today, he works as a Project Manager in Project Management Services for railway maintenance areas 9–11.
“I originally joined Welado to work on the road side, on the Highway 4 project. Quite soon, I was asked to help the railway team with a few assignments, and I haven’t seen the road side since. Apparently, the same thing happens to many others: once you give the railway sector a little finger, it won’t let you go. I’m still working on the same railway projects where I started, but my responsibilities have grown considerably over the past few years. My Welado colleagues have enabled me to develop into an industry professional by being excellent mentors,” Janne says enthusiastically.
Taking a leap into the unknown has certainly paid off. Here are a few highlights from his colleagues’ comments explaining why Janne was chosen as the Most Improved Employee of the Year:
“Janne has taken on major responsibilities as the project has expanded and a colleague went on parental leave. He has handled his new, larger role extremely well.”
“He has done an excellent job of learning a field that was initially new to him and mastering its requirements. During the year, Janne has progressed from Project Engineer to Project Manager and taken responsibility for leading a pilot project.”
“Janne has done an absolutely fantastic job of taking charge of the project, and it’s been amazing to watch his development. He continuously improves both his own work and the way the project operates. At the same time, he lives Welado’s values 110%. He’s wonderfully helpful, patiently teaches new things to colleagues who are even newer to the field, and gets along with everyone.”
Major successes
Janne is a highly skilled expert in railway maintenance, particularly on low-traffic railway sections. He also handles a wide range of procurements, from railway track structures to vegetation removal and everything in between. He would also like to be involved in developing the use of different technologies in the industry.
“To me, being a pioneer means having the courage, both as a company and within our projects, to try new things. We aim to incorporate the latest technologies into our work, such as using drones and AI for supervision,” Janne explains.
Alongside the everyday work, there are also moments of major success.
“Some of the biggest successes have definitely been the successful tendering of major procurements and pilot maintenance contracts. We’ve carried out many pilot projects on low-traffic railway sections to improve the railway’s service life and safety. We’ve used a lot of recycled materials and new methods in these projects. In pilot projects, and in Project Management Services in general, good stakeholder cooperation and working together are extremely important factors for success. Unexpected problems can arise in pilot projects, so you also need to be able to make quick decisions.”
What do you always want to focus on and do well in your work?
“In Project Management Services, we handle assignments ourselves from start to finish, so everything needs to be done well. The Project Management Services provider is responsible for planning, tendering, procurement, coordination and supervision of assignments, as well as all the other project management tasks involved,” Janne explains, before continuing:
“The best quality comes from working together and having the best people involved. We cooperate extensively with other Welado projects, which gives us valuable advice and additional expertise whenever needed. And I just have to say it out loud again: Welado has the best colleagues! There’s a fantastic working atmosphere here and a real spirit of teamwork. Welado has so many helpful experts that there’s no problem you can’t solve simply by asking. On top of that, the projects are extremely interesting, and hardly any two working days have been the same.”
Development is a process with no endpoint. In which areas would you still like to develop during your career at Welado?
“There’s always room to improve in project management and leadership. I’m also still relatively new to the industry, so there’s plenty more for me to learn about railways,” Janne Siira says.
Could your project benefit from Janne’s expertise? Get in touch!
janne.siira@welado.fi, +358 40 760 6552