Ensto introduced the certification concept at the Network 2015 Trade Fair for Electricity and Information Networks in January 2015. “It aroused lots of interest right away,” says Rantio. “Encouraged by feedback, we began to pilot certifications with the Finnish electricity network contractor, Enerke.” Enerke’s goal in the pilot was for 80 to 90 percent of its installers, at minimum, to receive certification. So far, almost 40 installers have passed the certification. As a result, there is at least one certified installer in each of the operating areas and each of the 10 places of business of the network company. Goal: improvement of reliability The new Electricity Market Act, adopted in 2013, obligates network companies to significantly improve the reliability of electricity distribution by 2019. According to the new law, the longest permitted delivery break is six hours in densely populated areas and 36 hours in areas that are sparsely-populated. Many network companies have tackled this issue by increasing the volume of their underground cabling. PKS Sähkönsiirto Oy is a conventional overhead line network company with a share of low voltage cabling in the network of about 12 to 13 percent, and approximately 2 to 3 percent in the medium voltage network. “By 2028, we shall invest 400 million euros in improvements of the network and underground cabling,” says Jukka Leppänen, Construction Manager responsible for building PKS Sähkönsiirto’s network. “When underground cabling becomes more common, the expertise of the installers and quality of the installations will be emphasized. This can only be maintained and controlled via regular trainings and certifications.” According to Janne Huotari, Enerke’s CEO, it is clear that high-quality operations reduce the number of electricity distribution failures and decrease costs for the service company. The company tries to prevent harm caused by failures by operating as best it can – following the control model of the Energy Authority. Quality is a matter of cost. “If electricity cannot be distributed due to low-quality installation, it will increase costs for all parties involved,” cautions Huotari. Repairs under warranty are also expensive. A trained installer is able to guarantee to the employer that the work will be performed correctly the first time. The installer doesn’t need to return to the work site, which prevents extra costs. Repairs under warranty also make a company’s reputation worse in next to no time. Of course, a company image is impaired by any quality deviations and faults due to the installation errors. “In some cases it’s easy to verify if the fault is due to installation or materials,” says Huotari. Added value to the product and service Ensto grants an extended guarantee for its underground cable products when installed by a certified installer. This way, Ensto takes responsibility for possible mistakes made by the installer. The guarantee is extended from the normal two years to five years. Huotari sums up: “The skills test confirms our installers’ installation expertise related to the cable accessories, and in exchange Ensto can grant the extended guarantee for its products.” For Enerke, certification is a large investment in man hours, but the company is happy to make this investment. “Employer well-being and training are important for us: our employees appreciate that the employer makes investments in their expertise, and the certification improves installers’ professional self-esteem and confidence.” To Enerke quality is a clear differentiating factor. “Enerke wants to be an operator that emphasizes the importance of high quality and not just low price,” says Huotari. “Our goal is to become the best service provider in Finland in terms of quality and price, and this kind of cooperation is the key to success.” Ensto's Product Manager Stefan Bärlund shows the candidates how the cold shrink is properly peeled. A Longed-for Extension of Ensto Pro Training Installer certification is an extension of traditional Ensto Pro trainings which Ensto continuously of-fers for its customers. Certification is a concepted skills test. “The installer receives feedback imme-diately. This way, mistakes can be corrected right away and it is easier to remember appropriate operating procedures later,” says Markku Rantio. Kimmo Jääskeläinen, one of Enerke’s installers, took part in the Ensto Pro trai-ning on elastic joints and terminations in November 2014. “Thanks to the training, one gains an idea of the new products immediately when they are intro-duced to the market.” Jääskeläinen says that certification is also useful: it adds reliability to one’s work. Jääskeläinen took part in the certification test together with another Enerke installer Petri Auvinen in June 2015. “The training helps us to make the cable terminations and joints and of course refreshing one’s skills is always useful,” Auvinen says. “I’m a little excited about passing the skills test, but it’s good to have somebody making sure that the installation is performed correctly.” Both Jääskeläinen and Auvinen pas-sed the skills test and are now certified cold shrink joint and termination installers.
EnstoToday 2016 No1 / ENG
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