Helen
Use of IMS and ARC software as part of data-driven management and process development.
Using IMS and ARC software as part of data-driven management and process development
Helen
Process development and risk management
Helen is Finland’s second-largest energy company, employing over 950 people across the group. The municipal electricity utility of the City of Helsinki has been providing energy to residents since 1909. Overall, Helen’s energy services reach up to 1.7 million Finns.
Helen offers its customers smart and clean energy solutions for the future.
Customer case in brief:
INITIAL SITUATION:
The goal was to establish unified business processes and data flows as part of the organization’s enterprise architecture.
SELECTED TOOLS:
IMS and ARC software enabled data-driven management and harmonized processes across the entire organization.
RESULTS:
- Unified process descriptions used across the organization and supporting development work
- A structured operating model for risk management
- Improved use of data in decision-making
At the end of 2018, Helen launched the project “Unified business processes and data flows as part of Helen’s enterprise architecture”, where data-driven management and processes play a key role.
The project was divided into three areas:
- Processes – How do we operate?
- Data flows – How does information related to actions move?
- Systems – Where does information move and where is it stored?
Process development at Helen
Process development includes:
- Process map (main and sub-processes)
- Measuring process performance
- Lean thinking – improving efficiency and flow
- Risk management in processes
- Unified process descriptions in IMS
Initial situation
The project aimed to:
- Achieve controlled use of data
- Understand operational wholes
- Enable systematic data-driven management
- Develop cross-organizational process thinking
According to Development Manager Sonja Kynnös, achieving these goals required:
- A shift in ways of working toward process and data flow thinking
- Understanding how individual work impacts other functions
- A solution for modeling enterprise architecture across processes, data flows, and systems
Selected tools and project launch
Helen selected both ARC and IMS software to support the project.
IMS was already familiar from Helen Electricity Network Ltd., where it had been used for process and risk documentation.
Project phases:
- Project initiation
- Planning
- Defining roles, responsibilities, and modeling rules
- High-level modeling of main processes (process map)
- Intensive workshops for modeling processes in IMS
- Communication and training
- Linking data flows to processes (IMS–ARC integration)
The first six phases were completed within a year, but development and implementation continue.
Standardized process modeling
Helen defined organization-wide modeling rules before starting process documentation.
These included:
- Symbols and color schemes
- Use of symbols
- Swimlane diagram style
- Arrow usage and adding new lanes/text
- Purpose of summary and description tabs
“Our goal was to model all processes using the same logic so that anyone can interpret them,” Sonja explains.
Each process has an owner responsible for its development across organizational boundaries. Four main processes also have designated executive owners.
The three-page technique is used in IMS:
- Visual process diagram
- Detailed step descriptions
- Process summary
Results and next steps
Process descriptions are available to all employees and are used in:
- Onboarding
- Process development
- Communicating shared practices
They have also been used in remote workshops:
“We exported process diagrams from IMS to Microsoft Whiteboard, marked issues with red notes, and solutions with green notes,” Sonja explains.
Next steps:
- Continue adding and refining process data in IMS
- Improve detailed process descriptions
- Increase integration between intranet and IMS
- Align process maps with strategy
- Model customer journeys
- Restart development of data flow management
- Explore deeper integration between IMS and ARC
Risk management as part of the project
Due to regulatory requirements, Helen uses two IMS systems (Helen Ltd. and Helen Electricity Network Ltd.), with similar structures.
Risk management development accelerated after corporatization in 2015.
IMS was expanded to support risk management across the organization in 2019–2020.
Key considerations:
- Required features of a risk management tool
- Necessary functionalities
- How to utilize risk data
Risk management approach
Helen approaches risks from a business perspective.
Three ways to identify risks:
- New risk entry in IMS – threats and opportunities affecting objectives
- Risk idea report – when unsure if a risk already exists
- Significant risk event report – documenting major incidents
Employees can report risks via IMS, after which they are reviewed and processed by the Risk Management unit.
Advancing risk management
In 2020:
- Internal development work was conducted
- Workshops were organized for experts
- Management teams documented risks directly in IMS
“We trained experts to input risks into IMS and answered their questions during workshops,” Jani explains.
Future development
“IMS helps us identify threats and opportunities around objectives and recognize grey areas where understanding needs to grow,” Jani summarizes.
Future focus includes:
- Risk chaining (linking related risks into broader themes)
- Quarterly monitoring using IMS reporting
- Improving the quality of risk content
“From 2021 onward, IMS reporting will be systematically used in business management,” Jani concludes.
