CUSTOMER CASE | ENERGY SECTOR
Promoting digitalization through robotics since 2016
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Sisua Digital has been Elenia’s digitization partner since 2016. The goal of the continuous cooperation has been to develop and digitize Elenia’s services and electricity market processes. During the cooperation, more than 150 sub-processes have been automated and internal RPA resources have been trained for Elenia.
The cooperation between Sisua Digital and Elenia started at the beginning of 2016 with a pilot automation project. The automation was implemented in two key systems, where data was transferred from the old SAP-based system to the new systems. During the in-depth feasibility study, the benefits of RPA were quickly identified and the project was extended to cover 3 pilot processes to improve productivity, process quality and lead time. The automation was implemented with the UiPath tool among the first ones in Finland. The pilot project demonstrated that software robotics can be used to get visible results quickly.
After the succesful pilot project, one of the processes was taken to controlled production. Sisua Digital (then Eera) provided Elenia with an RPA developer resource for further work and production maintenance. This led to the robotization of eight new processes, all of which were successfully put into production.
Watch the video above to see how Elenia has been using has been using automation since 2016.
Elenia wanted to keep scaling the automation and together we started to develop Elenia's internal robotics expertise
Elenia wanted to start scaling the RPA production after the successful automation projects. After the first scalings in 2018, Elenia decided to invest in internal RPA operations by training threir own RPA developer with the support of Sisua. The extensively scaled software robotics program had brought up the need to train an internal resource for the RPA production maintenance and new automations. At this stage, 3 more automation cases were identified and wanted to be developed. Sisua Digital and Elenia agreed to train a new team member, and the cooperation with Elenia’s application specialist Suvi Laitinen, began.
As a result of the project, three processes were automated, an internal RPA developer was trained, and an internal database solution for storing robotics log data was also built for Elenia. The current production environment still revolves around this solution. During 2019, Elenia’s internal developer continued to scale their RPA, doubling the number of processes running in production to cover 30 different automations. The robotizations carried out so far have affected several of Elenia’s distinct business functions – including customer service, construction and project services, sales and energy services, invoicing and receivables management, innovation projects, IT and finance departments, have benefited from the process automations.
In addition to maintaining ongoing processes, the development pipeline includes building a test automation using RobotFramework technology. The main tool in their RPA operations is still UiPath.
To scale automation further, Elenia provides Citizen Development training for employees in different business units
In 2020, Elenia wanted to scale its automation expertise even further by organising a Citizen Developer training programme with Sisua Digital, where representatives from Elenia’s different business units receive automation training. The purpose of the better known “Robotics Farm team” in Elenia is to promote the digitalization of services and processes and to develop internal operations.
The reason for the trainings was that Elenia found that the scalability of current development would be improved if employees from different departments were trained to automate small processes within their teams and increase RPA awareness within the organisation. Sisua Digital provided the first training for Elenia staff in autumn 2020, when 20 participants were selected for the programme from different business units. In 2023, Elenia organised the second Citizen Development training, which also had 20 participants.
Watch the video above to see how Elenia is using Citizen Development to scale automation. We have already delivered two training programmes for Elenia since 2020.
Elenia’s goal is to involve employees from as many different business units as possible, to ensure that the knowledge is vastly spread out. This has been a success, as the trainings have had participants from nearly ten different teams.
The participants are divided into two groups: agents and builders. Agents are trained to understand robotics, its applications and process documentation and specification. Builders, on the other hand, are taught how to use technology, build a robot and develop best practices. Sisua is responsible for training the builders.
The purpose of this division is to provide more diverse training services. Not everyone has the technical skills or desire to learn the technology, but they still want to contribute to their team’s development. With this division, the agents and the builders complement each other. When the agents spread awareness and have the skills in process documentation and definition, builders can focus solely on development. This way, they support each other’s work, and everyone has the opportunity to learn and make an impact.
The cooperation that has lasted for several years has gone well and expanded over time
Sisua has supported Elenia in different stages of the automation journey: at the beginning in finding and building automation sites, after which the cooperation has been shaped and expanded. During the long cooperation, more than 150 sub-processes have been automated.
“Cooperation with Sisua Digital has been smooth and we have received support from Sisua to streamline our processes and reduce manual work throughout our organization. Sisua Digital has also helped to increase Elenia's own in-house software robotics expertise,” Suvi Laitinen sums up.
Authors:
Paiju Koivula & Aleksi Hentunen
What was achieved
Automation benefits
- Manual routine work has been removed from Elenia’s employees
- Employees have more time for meaningful work
- Several days of routine work is being eliminated per month
- Practices and data have been harmonized and unified
About the company
Elenia
Elenia Group consists of Elenia Oy, which provides diverse services in the energy sector, and Elenia Verkko Oyj, which provides electricity network services. Elenia is Finland’s second largest electricity network company, serving 430,000 customers. Through its customer companies, Elenia serves more than a million energy customers in Finland. The company is also a pioneer in reforming the electricity market by enabling new technology and service solutions as part of the energy revolution.
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