When Västra Mälardalens Energi & Miljö AB built a new boiler at their Arboga heating plant, it became clear that the current operations organisation needed to be evaluated and adapted to meet the new requirements.
Need for New Operations Organisation
On behalf of VME, Sigholm conducted an investigation to develop proposals and recommendations regarding staffing arrangements and how operations technicians' schedules can be adapted to handle the new conditions that a new boiler entails. To understand the current situation, interviews were conducted with operations staff and an economic analysis of historical data clarified patterns for overtime and labour costs. The results from the current state analysis provided insights into how seasonal variations have historically affected operations technicians' workload related to on-call duty and overtime. The current state analysis was combined with a benchmark where knowledge about how similar district heating companies have chosen to organise their operations staff based on their conditions and facilities. By combining the understanding of several aspects such as the people in the organisation, an economic perspective, and a benchmark where knowledge about both general and specific challenges and needs were identified, a desired state in the form of recommendations for a new operations organisation could be developed. The proposals were developed in accordance with the collective agreement to ensure compliance with all workforce regulations.
Benchmark Provided Valuable Insights
The companies that were part of the benchmark had similar conditions to VME, with certain similarities and differences in how they chose to organise their operations staff:
- All were smaller district heating companies with a workforce of between 7 and 14 people.
- Approximately half of the companies operated three shifts.
- Other companies had daytime work with a rolling on-call schedule.
- Some companies had adapted summer and winter schedules and varying lengths of consecutive days of on-call duty.
- Almost all companies with daytime work with a rolling on-call schedule had the possibility of extra on-call support when needed, which required local agreements with the trade union.
Establishing Support for the New Operations Organisation
After combining insights from both the current state and the benchmark, VME received several staffing arrangements recommendations. They selected two proposals for further development. Sigholm then helped create seasonal schedules that accommodated the new boiler's operational requirements. To secure support for these schedules, Sigholm assisted VME in analysing the opportunities and risks of the new staffing structure, which was then presented to the operations staff's trade union.
The changes will be Implemented in phases
VME has selected one of Sigholm's proposals for implementation. The changes will be introduced in phases to ensure long-term sustainability. Minor adjustments to the current staffing structure will take effect immediately, while more significant changes will be implemented gradually over time. This step-by-step approach allows for continuous testing, monitoring and adjustment of each element. The gradual implementation enables a cycle of planning, action and refinement based on ongoing feedback. Through this iterative process, we aim to create sustainable changes that balance the needs of staff, technology and business operations.
