We would like to wish our customers and partners a peaceful holiday season and express our warmest thank you for the past year!

The application of different verification methods is a prominent part of the development process for safety related systems. Some methods are suitable for the early lifecycle phases, while others are best used later.

Mipro is committed to corporate responsibility in accordance with the United Nations Global Compact program (UNGC).

TRAKO 2023 is one of the biggest railway industry exhibitions and conferences in eastern Europe, taking place in Gdansk, Poland, from September 19th to 22nd. This biennial event brings together key players in the railway sector, including manufacturers, suppliers, operators, authorities, and industry experts, to showcase the latest advancements, innovations, and trends in the railway industry.

National railway signalling systems have gradually grown over time to include different solutions from several technology providers. There is no common standard for these systems’ external interfaces and interoperability has therefore always been a challenge. Typically, the integration between different interlockings, trackside elements and traffic management systems has been achieved by means of the tailor-made adaptation of proprietary interfaces. These adaptations are continuously maintained in order to address any lifecycle modifications in the installed base equipment.

Operating in accordance with good quality management principles is part of being a mipron. Continuous improvement is an essential part of our work culture, and the insights and ideas for improvement gained from internal and external audits guide and assist us. Mipro’s management system is certified according to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015, and the improvement proposals and tips given by external auditors have contributed to raising the quality of our operations.

Janne Leinonen has joined Mipro’s Board of Directors as of January 1, 2023. Leinonen completes Mipro’s board again to five members. The other board members, Stiina Snäll, Inga Laine, Matti Laine and Osmo Wilska, will continue in their duties as usual until the next annual general meeting.

Mipro’s core, railway safety and control systems, and water and energy supply systems, support and develop society’s critical infrastructure. We are deeply involved in developing a safe and environmentally friendly society. The past year has made the green transition, preparedness and continuity management significant themes of social discussion. What is crucial about the matter is that the questions that are familiar in the industries as such have gained air under their wings and issues are examined intersocially without the boundaries of silos. As mere knowledge and expertise have not moved development forward at a pace sufficient enough for the environment and society, now that emotions in these issues are involved, we are clearly seeing development progressing faster.

The interlocking system in Helsinki metro and its western extension (2017) has been implemented using a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) platform. The SIL4 HIMax based Mipro TCS-O interlocking has been controlling and supervising hundreds of trackside signalling elements and auxiliary safety-critical components, such as rolling fire doors, for five years now with excellent availability and safety. New functions and elements have been added to the system over the years. The system structure enabled a straightforward development and expansion of the existing system.

The automation systems for water supply processes are often scattered from different service providers. Someone supplies the automation, another the control room, and a third is responsible for the telecommunication connections. The entity, implemented by different suppliers, can be unnecessarily complicated for the end user, and in the event of a failure, you don’t really know who to contact. Making quick changes and troubleshooting slows down if the work requires the input of all different operators. If the cooperation between different actors does not go smoothly, it appears to the end users that “the system does not work” – perhaps making all parties look at fault at the same time. One fix or change results in invoices from many different directions, making it difficult to assess the customer’s total costs.

In the beginning of next year, an internationally unique training program that aims to develop circular economy design capabilities, is starting in Finland. The Circular Design – a path towards circular economy -training program is the first program aimed at companies, which delves into the designing principles and practical solutions of circular economy. Design Forum Finland, under the Ministry of Environment, and circular economy specialist Ethica Oy and their partners, are responsible for implementing the program.

After COVID-19 hit, many companies switched from meeting partners and customers in-person to having endless virtual meetings. Teams and Zoom meetings filled up the days as we fumbled our ways through working remotely. The same happened to tradeshows; travel restrictions and social distancing made it impossible for people to gather in large groups and companies started a new trend of virtual tradeshows instead. Now that the world is slowly shifting back to the life before the pandemic, are the virtual tradeshows here to stay or are we yearning to meet our peers face-to-face again?

Level crossing accidents and the safety of level crossings in Finland has been discussed in the media from time to time – especially in the aftermath of major accidents. According to a study commissioned by Traficom, there were 81 significant level crossing accidents in Finland during 2007-2016, and the majority of these at unguarded level crossings. A significant level crossing accident is an accident that causes either personal injury or material damage of more than EUR 150 000 or causes an interruption of traffic on the main line for more than 6 hours (Karhu & Voutilainen: Traficom, 2019). Compared to the number of railway kilometres in the other Nordic countries, Sweden and Norway, level crossings in Finland are statistically more dangerous than in our western neighbours.

In 2019, a modernisation project was started on the Tampere-Seinäjoki railway section, which is considered one of Finland’s main railways. The interlocking of this track section is managed from the Western Finland centralised train control system (TAKO) supplied by Mipro.

There is currently no higher education institution specialising in railway technology in Finland, from which ready-made rail experts will graduate. Therefore, one good way to acquire the skills needed is to utilise recruiting training programmes. Over the years, we have found that the best professionals for the industry come from polishing the diamonds ourselves, in cooperation with a competent training partner.