Jussi Aho: The essence of renewal must be clear, although the final direction will only become clear on the way

Where did your journey as a construction developer begin?

I've been on this trip since 1994. I studied at the University of Oulu and I remember how I had a film in the course on improving the flow of construction. The spark for improving the industry's operating model was already lit then. In 2002 I co-founded Fira Group and during the financial crisis of 2009 I became its CEO. There were no customers and the order backlog was zero. From that point of view, we set out to develop Fira. Fira's turnover last year exceeded 300 million and there are construction sites in about 30 metropolitan areas.

In 2022, the construction company Fira was divided into two parts. Fira continued as a construction company and Flow Technologies as a global technology company. Where did Flow Technologies start and what has been done?

In addition to traditional construction, at Fira we wanted to develop a scalable market solution that would benefit the entire industry globally, regardless of contractor and customer. Construction as an industry has no unified processes, and existing processes are not digital. This has led to a situation where many stages of work are waiting at the construction site, and the workstations do not have a factor. In the words of the industry, the utilization rate of the meta is low, only 10-20%, which means that a single workplace can be without the next step factor for a long time. The challenge is globally shared. Flow Technologies offers a global solution for this.

What is Flow Technologies' solution?

With Flow Technologies, the entire process is taken to a digital platform, where tasks can be precisely planned and construction can be managed. The solution allows people to work closer together, as well as to improve the flow of construction. In practice, construction becomes more efficient, management and monitoring are systematized, the process becomes transparent and of high quality. Thanks to this, it has been possible to reduce the lead time of an apartment building from half a year to just over seven months.

The efficiency is also reflected in construction costs. In Finland, money is spent on construction between 30 and 40 billion euros per year. By industrialising construction, time can be reduced and costs saved by double-digit percentages. The change is impressive.

What motivated Fira to make the change and set in motion the need for change?

The construction industry does not enjoy high prestige, but if you can develop technology to help build, the value will be greater. We wanted to challenge the conventions of our own industry with systemic change. It has gained a good competitive advantage in the Finnish construction market, but there are great opportunities for commercialization in the global market. Therefore, it was also important to detach Flow Technologies from Fira. The business model is different. I believe that this same pattern can also be used in other industries.

Was Flow Technologies' business idea and solution ready as is, or how was the method of renewal tested?

In 2016, Ilmarinen became the owner of Fira with a 10% shareholding. Ilmarinen saw that Fira has opportunities to create new value for the construction sector. We decided to involve different people in the renewal process and set up small start-ups. Each team had a year to test the business idea and a maximum budget of 300,000 euros.

My own insight was that startups were able to get the regeneration very moving. That's where Flow Technologies' core goal, which is to reduce lead time, was also found.

Reflecting on Flow Technologies' journey in retrospect, did you know what was in store?

I didn't know, and good thing. Regeneration requires perseverance and endless faith in one's own cause. There may be pressure from outside that one should know the exact direction. But nothing significant new will arise if you try to lock the content too carefully in advance. Renewal is a learning journey that requires ambitious people from different areas of expertise to succeed. It is a question of combining different abilities.

I have also learned in the last ten years that if there is no conflict, nothing really happens. In general, change management is the constant maintenance of interactions and relationships. The builder does not know how to build devata or devaja, but they must be brought to the same tables to talk about change.

What do you feel most proud of in the journey of change and its achievements?

In the construction sector, you can succeed and make growth even through construction alone. However, the industrialisation of construction offers significantly greater business opportunities. Talented people have a desire to make the handprint bigger and that's what I want to encourage. We can develop and thrive at the top of the world. At times of weakness, I have asked my wife at home what I really want. The answer I've had is that you want to do something with teams that no one else has done yet.

The main thing for me has always been to make the construction significantly better. I know there won't be another opportunity in my life where I can equally make a difference to the built environment, which in turn affects all the people in the world. It's a staggering possibility, after all. We are at the heart of it now, and that is something I am so proud of.