Project management skills and expertise of the energy industry
The cooperation has been functional on both sides: "The cooperation is easy and succeeds even in difficult matters. Both parties have benefited from the cooperation and supported each other. It's easy to continue," says Hartikainen. The good project experiences have led to the fact that Solteq Utilities Consulting's experts have become a suitable partner who can be contacted when needed for Vantaan Energia Sähköverkot. "Solteq Utilities Consulting have provided us with professional project management skills and know-how. They have experts in this field and they also know our customs and ways of working very well. This makes it easier to collaborate and manage projects. They can jump straight into work and projects, and that has a great value", praises Hartikainen. Everyday cooperation also extends to things that have not necessarily been agreed upon: "We ask for news and do more than just the agreed jobs: we make sure that there is enough time and that there are enough tools and resources to do these things."
Long-term cooperation to develop operating methods
The successful cooperation consists of many different information system projects from an ERP to a customer information and a metering data system. During the cooperation, it has been possible to develop operating models in the long term, an example of which is the systematics of outlining changes that utilizes process descriptions, which is also used in the latest project. The AMR 2.0 project is currently underway, the goal of which is the transition to new generation measurement systems and meters. "The project has progressed on schedule. Of course, there have been enough surprises - as there should always be in a good project", says Hartikainen. Especially when there are many different entities in the project, everything doesn't always go as planned: "Sometimes you have to have plans B and C. Then it's good to have such resourceful and versatile experts available, who then find those alternative paths forward."
Despite the successful cooperation, it is not a given that the same partner will also be in the next project, says Hartikainen: "However, every project is individual and for each project a decision is made again, with whom the project will be implemented." It is in the interest of both the client and Utilities Consulting that the collaboration focuses on matters where external help is most useful.