Many twists and turns in automation engineer’s career

Niemi has had no need to move away from his home province – not event as a student, as after the senior secondary school he continued his studies at Satakunta University of Applied Sciences in Pori. His major subject was electrical and automation engineering and thus supported his future career.

– Technology has always been my thing. Ever since I was a little boy, I have liked to disassemble and re-assemble equipment, he recalls the reasons for his choice of studies.

After graduating he worked for an I&C company for five years before Olkiluoto. A job advert for automation experts caught his eye. He already had some experience in the energy industry having worked summers at Fortum’s coal-fired power plant in Tahkoluoto during his studies – although not yet in an expert role at that time.

– I had seen Olkiluoto as a potential work place for quite some time and when I saw the advert for an opening, decided to apply at once, he explains.

Central Europe called quickly

Niemi did not spend much time in Olkiluoto at the start of his employment. After just a couple of months in his new job, the work took him and his family to Erlangen, Germany, where factory acceptance tests on I&C cabinets for OL3 were underway.

– The posting abroad was an opportunity I had actually hoped to experience. It was naturally also extremely interesting and useful in professional sense, giving me the chance to see the equipment in practice already at the testing stage, he says.

These cabinets, which are highly critical to the safety automation of the plant, were the focal point of his work also after returning to Finland.

– The cabinets stayed in Erlangen and I came here to do some office work. At that point my duties primarily comprised the technical review of documentation working in close cooperation with the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority of Finland (STUK), he goes on.

The next milestone in his career path was the commissioning stage of OL3 where Niemi was in charge of overseeing the commissioning activities. He recalls also that period fondly.

– We really did feel like we were creating history. Particularly as the finishing line approached and we got to carry out the actual functional tests. Being part of that stage was a great experience.

A man of four blocks

Despite all the years Niemi has worked in Olkiluoto with all things related to automation, he has never once been bored.

– My work has changed constantly and I have worked in many positions over these 18 years, and liked them all, he says.

He likes to divide his years at TVO into four blocks:

– The posting abroad, the paper pushing phase, commissioning, and at present maintenance, he lists them.

Today, Niemi is in charge of the maintenance of safety I&C. But OL3 has only been in operation for a couple of years, why is such scrutiny required in its maintenance?

– Maintenance does not cover just servicing and repairs, but also tests which are conducted at the plant all year round. Besides, since the plant is quite new, we are still looking for the best methods and practices, Niemi says.

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Wanna become my coworker?

Automation is a sector where the need for new experts is almost chronic in Olkiluoto – including right now. Niemi, at least, willingly recommends Olkiluoto as a workplace for colleagues in the same field.

– I can promise that there are interesting and challenging positions here for automation engineers. And one cannot deny how unique this is as a location. We have three plants here, including the newest operating plant unit in the whole of Europe, and Posiva’s final disposal business on top of that. There is no other place like this in Finland, he summarises.

And as a bonus, he promises a good team as well.

– We have always had a top team in I&C, be they fitters, maintenance engineers or technical experts, he concludes.

Sports enthusiast

In his free time, Juho Niemi says he is quite an active sportsman. He has even been in the habit of cycling to and from work. The distance from Rauma is not at all too long in his opinion.

In addition to physical activities, his favourite pastimes sound very Finnish indeed, covering boating, spending time at the summer cottage, and fishing. These, too, he can engage in near the workplace, as the family has for the past three years had a summer cottage in one of the nearby islands just a couple of kilometres from Olkiluoto.

Text: Ville Kulmala
Photos and video: Tapani Karjanlahti