Work productivity has increased sevenfold during my lifetime. This increase has been enabled by investments in human capital, investments in machines and equipment, and technological development. A good company is in fact recognized by the fact that it takes good care of its capital – both human and physical.
Human capital is invested in people. This capital develops and grows through experience and training, in other words, through improved expertise. We take care of human capital by investing in people’s welfare, training, and safety.
In industrialized countries, the role of the individual employee is now much more important than earlier. Production has been automated to a great extent, there are fewer employees to oversee it, and systems have become more complicated. Therefore looking after human capital is even more crucial than ever.
Besides people, we also need production equipment: machines and the automation to control them. The more efficient the production equipment, the more profitable the company’s business and the higher the return on capital employed. Production equipment plays a key role on the corporate balance sheet. Investments are significant, profit expectations are high, and they should have a long lifetime. We take care of the productivity of the equipment through continuous maintenance and regular updates, which take into account changes in production. The necessary support agreements are made to ensure continuity of production.
Whatever the type of property, it needs taking care of. The measures mentioned above should largely be seen as the care of property. In order to implement them, a comprehensive plan covering the entire life span is required, which is followed systematically. Neglecting the plan creates a “liability” and thus a risk that the production equipment and its users will not function optimally.
Cooperation and continuous development play a key role in maintaining and growing productivity – there is more on this in the articles in this issue. Efficient production chain is the union of skilled personnel and effective technology, so let’s take care of both!
Ilpo Nummelin, Business Unit Director, Customer Support
