Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am a 33-year-old engineer from Lappeenranta. I started working as HSE Manager in Lappeenranta Biorefinery in March. I studied mechanical engineering in Kuopio and moved to Lappeenranta in 2014 to work. I have previously worked in the chemical industry in different positions, but biorefinery is new to me.
What do you do, and with whom?
My responsibilities include managing health, safety, and environment operational activities, and I lead the HSE team. In addition to the HSE team, I work closely with the operations, maintenance, and development departments in the plant. I also work with the UPM occupational health and safety team and sustainability team.
What’s the most exciting part of your job?
I believe that safety is the basis of all work, and I am looking forward to being part of developing safer refinery operations with my team and co-workers. We also have a major maintenance shutdown ongoing, which includes lots of activities in the field, and I enjoy that.
Our purpose is to create a future beyond fossils. What does that mean to you?
Creating a future beyond fossils means a lot. I am proud to say that I work for a company that is helping customers fight climate change.
How do you develop your professional skills, and what is the most recent thing you learned? How did you learn it?
I enjoy learning new things and expanding my skill set. To achieve this, I take on various tasks and delve deep into interesting topics. Working alongside the highly professional individuals at UPM has been instrumental in my learning journey.
Having worked at UPM for a couple of weeks, I have already acquired new knowledge and skills. The most significant learning experiences have been related to safety topics, specifically in the planning of a major maintenance shutdown, where I collaborated with operations, maintenance, and development departments. During the maintenance shutdown, I worked closely with my colleagues, contractors, and supervisors, further expanding my knowledge and expertise.