Fastems HQ, Finland
FinlandIntelligent lighting solutions with cloud services helps Fastems attract talent in their refurbished head office
Founded in 1901, Fastems delivers intelligent factory automation solutions that help metalworking manufacturers to increase their productivity. Its industry-leading control software and the capability to integrate any industrial machine tools into one entity, combined with its broad service selection and decades of experience is what makes Fastems unique.
In Autumn 2019, Fastems began a renovation project to modernise and refurbish their office areas. Their purpose was to change the way they operate towards more activity-based working. Fastems wanted an intelligent lighting control solution that provides different settings for different usage. They also wanted to collect data about how their building is being used. Lighting played a key role in the renovation project. “Employees need good lighting conditions to support their work and the lighting should have a positive effect on how productive they are. Different lighting scenes provide different atmospheres that help employees to be more efficient and support their wellbeing, for example, being able to adjust lighting easily in meeting rooms” says Sami Pohjolainen, Product Manager, Fastems.
Attracting new talent 
With manufacturing facilities in Finland and Germany as well as a global sales and service organisation, the company currently employs approximately 450 people. One of the aims behind the renovation project is to attract and encourage new talent to join the company.
“We are confident that our lighting solutions can aid in supporting the renovated office areas. Lighting is more than just control; it helps to create a feeling. Working in comfortable offices should help to retain talent” says Ilkka Mäkelä, Global Service Sales Director, Helvar.
Towards a future-proof, intelligent building
The entire building is installed with Helvar lighting controls. Helvar’s Imagine router system enables easy integration with building management systems and cloud services. The flexibility of the Imagine system allows Fastems to adapt their building if their needs change in the future. Presence and detection sensors, along with time-controlled settings, have enabled energy savings.
The building also benefits from Helvar Insights, Helvar’s cloud-based suite of digital services, allowing Fastems to review and adapt the usage of their space by analysing data from the Helvar sensor network. “Understanding the occupancy of our office helps us not only increase productivity, but also ensure our office is a safe place for employees. Now in the COVID climate, it’s especially helfpul in making sure the office is not too crowded. If areas are not being used for their intended purpose, we can use this information to change the function and layout of that area. For example, if we know a meeting room isn’t being used then we could change it to be open-plan to make better use of the space so that it doesn’t go to waste” says Pohjolainen.
“Helvar lighting control provides us with the possibility to control individual lights if needed and the control is super easy. Having access to occupancy data will help us change how we do things at Fastems. With the heatmap functionality we can visualise on a 3D floorplan how working areas are being occupied,” continues Pohjolainen.
Photography: Fastems
