Kontu is a Pirkanmaa company that offers 24-hour sheltered housing, communal sheltered housing, service guidance as well as lunch and catering services in Tampere and Nokia. The company has three 24-hour houses and one unit providing communal housing for older people, as well as two kitchens, which also serve as lunch restaurants. Kiwa Comply has been used in Kontukoti houses since November 2022.
“The background organisation of Kontu is kaksi.nolla Oy, which carries out socially important work in the care of older people. The aim is to develop the quality of care for older people and the work and well-being of the personnel working with them. In practice, everything we do is tied to quality. We chose Comply because we needed to build a quality system that improves the structure of our work and brings visibility to all work,” says Minna Hietanen (Quality Manager).
The purpose of the operations of Kontu is clear: supporting the functional capacity of its residents and allowing them to lead a life of their own as far as possible. Kontu does not only treat diseases. They are interested in their residents in a comprehensive manner: their life story, values and resources. Even though the four Kontukoti houses may reflect their residents, different laws, decrees and agreements that must be complied with provide the framework for the operations. That is why Kontu wanted Kiwa Comply to serve as a tool for preparing a quality manual.
“While our houses are the homes of our residents and do not need to be identical, there are certain things that we must do in the same way in all of our units. We must have instructions and processes to achieve this,” Hietanen explains. Another reason for selecting Comply was Kontukoti’s wish to be certified.
“Tendering for care services is carried out on a regular basis, and at some point, service agreement may require the company to be certified. This was a good time for us to launch this project,” says Hietanen.
Kiwa Comply™ combines everyday life in Kontu with standard requirements
After the introduction of Comply, Kontu has been building its quality system in accordance with ISO 9001. It has been easy to use the solution from the beginning, and Kontu has noticed how Comply integrates standard requirements into everyday work.
“It was easy to understand the use and logic of Comply. We can link many existing documents with Comply directly and meet standard requirements. We do not need to do everything separately. Instead, we can utilise the work we carry out routinely,” says Hietanen.
Although Kiwa Comply™ is designed to make it easier to understand the standards that are often considered hard to understand, Kontukoti faced some issues at the beginning, but they were soon overcome.
“We wanted to make sure that we had understood everything correctly, and that is why we spent some time on understanding terminology and what works for us because we provide services instead of products. We could always get help from Comply’s team if necessary and check that we were on the right track,” explains Hietanen.
Kontu also utilised Comply’s consultancy service. A consultation meeting was organised when the solution had been used for some time and Kontu had had ample opportunities to learn how to use it independently.
“A consultation meeting of a few hours was very useful at that point. We got a lot out of the meeting because we knew what it was about and we were able to ask about issues important to us,” says Hietanen.
The most important fruits of the consultation meeting for Kontu were improved trust in their expertise and confirmation that they had been on the right track since the introduction of Comply. The consultation meeting also clarified how to further utilise many of the features of the solution, such as the annual clock. Comply’s consultant was also praised.
“The consultant was incredibly encouraging and really wanted to help us in every way possible. It was great to notice at the consultation meeting that we had been doing the right things from the very beginning,” says Hietanen.
“We chose Comply because we needed to build a quality system that improves the structure of our work and brings visibility to all work.”
Minna Hietanen
Quality Manager
Kontu aims for ISO 9001 certification with Comply
Kontu strives to become certified in 2026. Prior to this, the company will continue to produce quality work and create a quality manual, refine and describe processes and conduct internal audits.
Building a quality system from scratch and the road to certification may sound laborious and complex, which burdens not only the administration but also other personnel. In Kontukoti, Comply has only three users who have been responsible for the progress of the project, and the work has not spread outside the administration.
“After conducting internal audits, we have visited our houses and agreed on the necessary measures with house managers,” says Hietanen.
Kontukoti has always held regular administrative meetings, but after the introduction of Comply, management reviews have improved as new processes have been created and old ones have been improved.
“Previously, the implementation of agreed upon matters was more reliant on house managers. After the introduction of Comply, more efficient processes have made monitoring the measures more regular and accurate,” explains Hietanen.
“We want to make things as easy as possible in our houses so that house managers can focus on the most important: being supervisors close to the resident, their families and our employees,” adds Hietanen.
The entire personnel of Kontu already have access to a quality manual on the company’s intranet, and ultimately the construction of the quality system will have a positive impact on the operations of the company as a whole.
“The use of Comply has helped us pay attention to the right things. We have been able to make our processes simpler, improve quality and make it more visible. The use of Comply has also made our operations more systematic and goal-oriented,” says Hietanen.
The construction of the quality system in Kontu has been an educational and useful project in which Kiwa Comply has played an essential role.
“In my opinion, it would have been impossible to build such a quality system without Comply,” Hietanen summarises.
It was easy to understand the use and logic of Comply. We can link many existing documents with Comply directly and meet standard requirements. In my opinion, it would have been impossible to build such a quality system without Comply.
Minna Hietanen
Quality Manager