A glimpse of another world

Sara Svärd usually works in value assurance and the management team at Implenia’s Swedish branch in Liljeholmen. To enhance her understanding of infrastructure construction and our tunnel operations, she spent three days as an intern on the Johannelund project, part of the E4 Stockholm bypass.

“The visit was a lot of fun. I enjoyed a warm welcome and everyone took excellent care of me,” says Sara happily. “Over the three days, I saw with my own eyes what working in the tunnel is really like. The colleagues answered all my questions very patiently and it became very obvious how little I know about things that they take for granted.”

What work does a tunnel internship entail?

The part Sara found most exciting was the opportunity to get her hands dirty. “The team made a real effort to show me and explain their work processes, and to get me actively involved – needless to say, only as far as the safety regulations allowed. I also tried to understand why which methods are used – and whether there might be alternatives.”

Sara was able to try out various types of work on her visit to the tunnel:

• Injecting concrete into the rock before blasting in order to seal cracks

• Loading and detonating blasting powder

• Scraping loose rock from the tunnel walls by hand

• Tours of inspection using the checklist

• Test bench and service machinery

Who benefits from the exchange programme?

Sara is certain that her three days in Johannelund were a good investment. “I now understand better what we do in tunnel construction – what works well in practice and where we still face challenges,” she explains. “It became very clear how important communication is at every level. Communication is the only way to ensure that staff are happy and that we can work profitably.”

Sara’s visit also opened up new perspectives for the team at Johannelund. Talking to her taught the colleagues, led by Anders Hyttsten, Stefan Persson and Daniel Johansson, more about what happens at the company, how the organisation is structured, which central services are there to support them, and what these do – and they now understand the needs of their office-based colleagues a little better.