“Today, our task is usually characterised as facilitating processes. However you choose to put it, we are responsible for providing assistance to other divisions of the Finnish Transport Agency in managing their financial and HR administration, and providing legal services,” says Mr Tapio.
Previously, the division led by Raimo Tapio was responsible for planning as well, but no actual technical tasks remain with the division today. Nevertheless, it is useful that the employees understand the technology required in the construction and maintenance of transport systems.
“This is crucial, for instance, in managing procurements, and we are responsible for coordinating the development of purchasing. We must ensure that this competence remains in-house in the current situation, as the agency must prepare for a reduction in the number of employees from more than 650 to approximately 600.”
According to Mr Tapio, the staff cuts can be managed through standard pension arrangements. In this respect, as in all other numerical objectives, the Finnish Transport Agency aims at the year 2020. It is to be expected that, by then, the annual budget funding by the Ministry of Finance has decreased from the current EUR 84 million to some 72 million.
More competence in Digitalisation
In the next four years, Raimo Tapio's Operations Management Division will precisely analyse the issues for which the Finnish Transport Agency's in-house expertise is sufficient, and in which respects services should be outsourced.
“Anyway, it is fairly certain that in days to come the Finnish Transport Agency will require expertise in the fields of digitalisation, automation and new electronic services in transport.”
Having worked in transport system administration throughout his career, he hopes that funding would be allocated to basic network management and new construction projects.
“I am fully aware of the current fairly difficult economic situation in this country. I do not think that comparison with Sweden is relevant, because the Swedish government is considerably more well off than the Finnish.”
In order to utilise the expertise of Finnish Transport Agency employees to the maximum, a team led by Mr Tapio will undertake a competence survey covering the entire staff in the first half of 2016. Mr Tapio is confident that this will help the agency to utilise the scarce resources more efficiently in future.
“In the long term, the share of administrative personnel will diminish. On the other hand, new skills will be necessary in-house, while the share of outsourced services will increase in our line of business,” comments Mr Tapio.
Text: Vesa Tompuri