Kouvola Parish Union

Introduction

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The Kouvola Parish Union entered a new era in 2025 when Falcony’s HSEQ solution was implemented across all its parishes. HR Manager Nina Häkkinen has had a front-row seat to how modern technology has revitalized the work culture throughout the entire organization. When routines and reporting flow effortlessly, employees gain valuable time for what matters most—genuine and unhurried encounters with people.

“The previous solution was largely built on the requirements of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (STM), but its rigidity didn’t allow for sufficiently detailed analysis or comparison of inspections. Information had to be collected manually, and analysis took multiple workdays. Falcony’s ease of use across different areas of HSEQ is a great enabler,” Häkkinen explains.

In the Parish Union, risk assessments and inspections are carried out on mobile devices by all supervisors. In the future, observations will be collected even more extensively from all employees to further develop operations.

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The Parish Union as a regional operator

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The Kouvola Parish Union is a collective of five parishes where daily life is built around human connection. The Union organizes activities for everyone from infants to seniors across many municipalities, in many different environments and locations. The Union employs over 200 people, approximately 30 of whom are supervisors.

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Challenges before the partnership

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Before moving into the modern digital age, HSEQ management relied on tools and methods that were beginning to fall behind the demands of contemporary risk management. Those in charge had to toil through stacks of paper and Excel spreadsheets, which made it difficult to visualize the big picture or gain actionable insights.

There was a constant concern about whether information regarding potential deficiencies or risks reached the right people quickly enough. Mere trust that things were "in order" was no longer sufficient for an organization that wanted to uphold its responsibilities as transparently as possible.

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Implementation

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The journey toward more systematic occupational safety management began in 2025 when the Kouvola Parish Union decided to adopt Falcony’s HSEQ solution. This was not merely a software subscription, but a strategic choice to integrate statutory risk assessment and continuous monitoring into the daily lives of key employees.

The easy-to-use mobile tool travels with staff everywhere—from beneath the church vaults to outdoor areas—making the recording of observations and reacting to deviations immediate and effortless.

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Results & Benefits

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The digital leap was executed with a "people-first" approach. The Parish Union has noted how Falcony’s ease of use has transformed the fulfillment of statutory obligations from a heavy administrative burden into a seamless part of daily life. The new system not only ensures compliance with regulatory requirements but has also made continuous operational development and corrective actions genuinely possible.

Risk management has reached an entirely new level. The real-time situational awareness provided by Falcony shows exactly where the organization stands and where attention is needed right now. By eliminating delays in observation reporting and ensuring transparent progress on corrective actions, the Union has moved from reactive fixes to true proactivity and development.

However, the greatest benefit is human: employees feel heard, and parish members can trust that their shared environments are covered by systematically managed safety.

"As word of our new system has spread, I have received numerous inquiries from other parishes across Finland. We have been extremely satisfied with Falcony and I have been able to recommend the system without reservation," Häkkinen concludes.