Master builder Kai Österlund has been chosen as the "2021 Champion of the Year" of the Southwest Finland district of the building industry. Kai is not only an iron professional as Hartela's responsible foreman, but also a helpful team player who leads by example.
Photo: Maria Grönroos / Studio Liikkuva
Having worked at Hartela for more than 30 years Probably Österlund's the selection as "Champion of the Year 2021" does not surprise his colleagues, who praise the experienced champion with pride.
"Kai is an iron professional who leads by example and is always ready to help and share his expertise, no matter how busy he is. He makes overcoming even difficult challenges look easy. I am very proud that we have an expert like Kai", says Hartela's regional director Lauri Piitari.
In the selection criteria for the champion of the year, in addition to excellent interaction skills, meritorious organizational skills were emphasized. Kai Österlund's strength is good advance planning, which enables work to run smoothly even on challenging sites. Kai also devotes himself fully to what he does and does not spare himself.
Chosen as champion of the year, Kai is well respected among his colleagues. It is an honor to work with Kai and at the same time learn from an experienced master. Over the years, his targets have been more challenging construction sites, including nuclear plant construction. Kai's latest project was the Turku T3 hospital, which was completed at the end of last year.
"The T3 hospital, or "Majakkasairaala", was a very large and demanding construction site. The daily strength of the construction site was 350–400 people. The hospital had eight floors with a gross area of 55 m² and a volume of 702 m³. The construction period was more than three years, and the challenging nature is indicated, for example, by the fact that the project management contract included several dozen side contracts procured by the customer", describes Piitari.
"Working as a responsible foreman in a large project management contract is something completely different than in a basic contract," says Lauri Piitari. "The days are filled with meetings and the skills of delegating work are put to the test. At Kai, these skills are top-notch."
"Hartela had about 20 employees at the hospital site. The spirit of doing things remained, even though everyone had their hands full with work, because everyone's roles had been carefully thought out, taking people as individuals into account," says Piitari.
Kai Österlund graduated as a construction foreman in 1988 and started his career at Hartela in 1989. In addition to the position of responsible foreman, Kai has worked at Hartela as site foreman and project manager, among other things.
Master of the Year awards have been awarded since 1982. The annual reward is based on significant construction-related merits. The effort is to emphasize the importance of the work management of building construction sites.
More information
Lauri Piitari
Regional director, Hartela Länsi-Suomi Oy
050 465 5454
lauri.piitari@hartela.fi
Katja Suovo
Regional manager, Talonrakennusteollisuus ry, Southwest Finland district
041 536 1300
katja.suovo@rakennusteollisuus.fi