A Family-oriented project manager

Lauri Bois works as a project manager for the Tampere-Seinäjoki railway control system project. The TASE project is a repeat of Riihimäki-Tampere or RITA project, which Bois wrapped up in 2018. The project to replace the railway control system requires a lot of consolidation and planning, as the work is done on a heavily trafficked main line. The estimated total cost of the project is 75 million euros. To balance out the work he does at Welado, Lauri frequents the Ilves Crossfit gym in his hometown of Hämeenlinna actively.

How did you develop your expertise?

Welado’s chairman of the board Jouni Vidqvist hired me straight out of university of applied sciences in 2009. Universities of applied sciences don’t really teach you the basics of the rail industry, so you have to get your skills and experience on the job. My job description and level of responsibility has grown as I’ve learned and embraced new things.

I want to emphasise that I’ve learned from both my successes and my failures. Welado has been encouraging about this as an employer, but also firm, in the right way. I’ve also taken the motto Jouni taught me about making mistakes to heart: “the first time is an accident, the second time is a conscious choice.”

All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes – Winston Churchill

From 2015 to 2017 I was the group leader for the 15-person electric railway and railway control group alongside my project work, but when the RITA project began in 2016, I wanted to concentrate on project work full-time. You can’t lead people with your left hand, so I thought it best to put supervising responsibilities to the side for the time being. It was a choice that felt slightly counterproductive to my own career development, but I felt it was the right thing for the people and the project.

Now my job is mostly project leadership, which is demanding enough on a large project. Leadership comes naturally to me on some level, but not self-importance. If no one else wants to take the wheel, I can’t help but take it myself. Through flexible, team-driven organisation, I now have a team of three, and I have enough time for supervisory responsibilities alongside my project work.

What does being an artisan mean to you, and how is it visible to the client in practice?

The word artisan means a craftsman or a true master, and this is comparable to the expertise and expert services that Welado offers its clients. It’s important that our teams and us have different skill sets which we can combine into functional project leadership or expert organisations with the right practices. I like the idea that the people and our skills are emphasised and valued.

What are the most important factors in the success of a project?

There should be a group trained for a common goal, who have the right abilities and professional skills, and who trust each other. Then the team can trust that everyone will do their part and what was promised, which naturally creates a collaborative atmosphere. The old saying that well planned is half done holds well in the project world. In addition to planning, you can go far with a realistic schedule and procurements done in good time.

Over the years I’ve spent at Welado I’ve learned so much about the field and I’ve learned to appreciate the experience that the older veterans have more than ever. There is a lot societal responsibility in the work we do.

What do you want focus on and do well?

I always want to do my best. Our whole team has the Welado service attitude towards the client, and also towards everyone else involved in the project. The clear division of labour, open communication, and responsible decision making are key.

Your biggest career successes?

The whole Riihimäki-Tampere or RITA project, especially the phase of introducing the new control system. It’s rewarding when years of planning and work are realised. We received good feedback, and the people around us were genuinely supportive when everything went to plan on this especially challenging project. There have been suggestions to use the same practices as for RITA on several other projects, so we must have done something right.

What guarantees the best quality at Welado?

Naturally, there are many elements to achieving the best quality. An element I would highlight is successful resourcing, because that allows us artisans the chance to succeed in our own positions. One of my jobs as project manager is to ensure that the experts have enough time to take care of their own responsibilities, and that skilful resources aren’t poached from the project.
On projects there are always people who have commitments to other projects as well. For some positions I’ve recommended reserving a day with no scheduled meetings each week to give time to react to surprises, as there will always be some. If your calendar is too full, you can end up in a spiral that is hard to get out of.

What does the Welado way mean to you? How is it visible in your day to day life?

I was still at university when my wife and I had our first of three children. Family is at the heart of everything I do. From the beginning I’ve wanted to be present in my children’s day-to-day lives, and make sure I didn’t miss out on the most memorable moments of raising a family. My employer has enabled the flexibility I needed according to my own wishes and my family’s needs. This flexible work life has allowed me to witness my children grow up, to be there on the first days of school and preschool, and to look after my family’s well-being. My family has also been flexible, and my wife has taken on more responsibility of the kids when I’ve had busier periods at work.

The core idea of the Welado way, is that work is done on time and with the best knowledge and ability. Flexible working hours and working from home, which became familiar to me well before the coronavirus, enable a high level of independence in my work, which also means a high level of self-discipline and self-leadership.

In what ways do you want to develop on your Welado path?

Before I always thought that career advancement meant rising through the ranks to supervisory and executive positions and heading a large team. Now I feel that it’s more important to build up your own set of skills and the related tools. The world around us is changing, and I try to develop myself and apply my skills accordingly.

What would you like to improve upon within our field?

We need to remember that, amid the countless meetings and copious bureaucracy, we are all people with our own strengths and weaknesses. Our humanity needs to be a stronger presence in our practices and how we relate to each other. You can measure the success of a project in many ways, but to me it’s important that the project is deemed a success even at the grassroots level. In the big picture, this reflects on society as a whole, and therefore the well-being of future generations. When the people working on the projects are happy, it has a multiplied positive effect.

Construction management is collaboration at its best!