Process optimization and battling climate change motivate me

11th August 2022
Articles General

I am Erja Ivanova, and I have been Adven’s Production Manager in Southern Finland for over two years now. I’m beginning to feel that I can really sink my teeth in developing our production processes.

That is what I was interested in even in my former career in a Nordic paint company – how to optimize processes, how to minimize waste, and how to make the processes as lean as possible.

The same motivates me at Adven, improving our energy production processes continuously to make sure we provide our customers with the energy, steam, and cooling they need under any circumstances as efficiently as possible.

One of the things we are going to have a good look at is the fuels we use. Using recycled wood, or any other material that is of no use elsewhere, as fuel is of course a good thing that we aspire to.

Only when we know the real costs of our operations and root causes for deviations from the acceptable level, we can find the right solutions to be both a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly provider for our customers.

Making difference

In my former job, I worked a 13-year period in Russia and brought back from there my husband and three kids.

Thinking of the future generations, like mine, I find it really important that at Adven I can be involved in cutting the carbon dioxide emissions from our customers energy processes and helping battle climate change. Even though I can do very little individually, little streams make big rivers.

We need to stop using fossil fuels and start using renewable energy sources. This is just one of the elements of the huge energy transition the world is now facing. Right now, even more imminent than before.

I am happy that Adven has several ongoing projects to find and implement new solutions to phase out fossil fuels, so that we can produce energy for our customers as environmentally friendly and as cost efficiently as possible.

Independent and resourceful

My work requires a capacity to analyse cause and effect relationships, ability to see the big picture, and good communication skills.

My team consists of about 20 engineers and operators, working in over 20 energy plants – both very experienced veterans and younger people just starting their career. They work very independently overseeing their own plant and make decisions without the need of me being daily involved. And that is the kind of people we need.

In my team, I want to have people who are broad-minded and always ready to consider things from a new perspective.

When I worked abroad, I admired people’s ability to find really imaginative solutions to problems that seem almost impossible to solve. The same kind of resourceful approach to problem-solving is something we can see in our operations and maintenance too.

I am very proud of my crew.

 

 

 

 

Adven’s Production Manager, Erja Ivanova