The opening ceremony of Nordautomation’s new expansion of the Alajärvi engineering workshop was held on 17 October 2024. Around 1,000 square meters were added to the premises, which also enabled production reorganisation. This enhanced the workshop’s workflow efficiency significantly, which was a key benefit of the project.
“The installation of the flue gas removal system still needs to be done. Then we will have the final inspection in late November,” says managing director Timo Kuusisto, during the week after the opening ceremony.
“The opening ceremony was held for our personnel, our project partners and other representatives of the City of Alajärvi and local business services,” Kuusisto says. The managing director, together with the production director Antti Puumala, presented the project stages and the end results during the ceremony. Along with enjoying the catering, the guests toured the premises in small groups, learning about the new facilities and rearrangements.
The renewal was reported on the News section of this website on 17 June 2024. Having the different functions now all under one roof was one key change, which alone helps improve occupational safety and makes the work faster. As the company also invested in new overhead cranes and rearranged the workflows, this has given a significant boost to the production. The comfort of the premises has also improved, and the noise level has come down, for example in the assembly hall.
Fancy-sounding terms and methods, such as layout planning, value stream mapping and 5S method were applied to the facility planning. However, these all have a practical and clear meaning: It is all about how to place the different functionalities in the hall, how the goods move forward in an optimal way, where to fastest find the component or tool needed at any given moment and how to keep everything in order at all times. It is easy to understand how this all can result in both saving money and boosting production efficiency.
The employees have been involved in the planning as teams. This way, their participation and their handprint in the end result will also be reflected in work satisfaction and motivation.
Kuusisto is satisfied with the project’s progress and the end result. He also wishes to highlight the project partners and express his sincere thanks to them: Rakennusliike Jan Kujala, Peltisepänliike Turja, Pohjanmaan Mittaus ja Sähkö, Trutec, LVI Timo Rentola and City of Alajärvi.
