Category: Blogs

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Water Services Days, organised by the Finnish Water Utilities Association, is a traditional event in the water industry. The two day event is a place for water supply operators to come together to discuss relevant matters and listen to expert lectures on current topics. This year the event was held in Botnia hall, Vaasa, May 11-12, 2022. During these two days, Mipro’s representatives met with customers and partners and attended the lectures on current topics such as crisis resilience, cyber security, water supply cooperation, asset management, carbon neutrality and circular economy. In this blog, we will highlight a few interesting speeches and talk about how Mipro’s solutions can address many of the issues that were raised at Water Services Days.

Promoting the circular and data economy has become a key priority for many private companies and for the public sector, in order to improve competitiveness and achieve sustainability. These two issues also play an increasingly important role in ensuring security of supply. In Southern Savonia, the creation of concrete solutions has been enthusiastically pursued.