Article
We make the world safer: Continuous reinvention for safety and quality
Jani Räisänen works as a Data & AI Manager at Nokian Tyres
Jani Räisänen works as a Data & AI Manager at Nokian Tyres. Having joined the company in 2004 to do his thesis, he’s since then worked as a structural development engineer and manager in product development, taking over his current role at the beginning of 2024. Data and AI both play big roles in today’s industries across the board. What kinds of insights does Jani have?
“In product development we put a big emphasis on data. Some of the things we’ve been working on include data pipelines, data architecture design, and data modification and migration. It’s important to get data to the cloud to be usable by various tools.
“Sustainability also plays a crucial role in product development. The usage of recycled and renewable raw materials is important, and we work on them heavily. We’re constantly working to ensure that tire properties do not decline as they are developed to be better for the environment.”
Innovations and reinventions
“The classic position in our product development has been that we always strive to make the safest tires. Safety is created for road users – drivers, passengers, and the ones crossing roads – and those around benefit as well. Thanks to continuous reinvention, we are always able to provide safe, high-quality tires. Getting to regularly update my expertise along the way is one of the reasons why I’ve been at Nokian Tyres for this long.
“Nokian Tyres’ values have always been close to my own. Our central qualities, like safety and innovation, have remained the same for a long time. They keep steering everyone's work in a shared direction.”
Essential developments in AI
“Following AI technology development is essential. Back in 2018, there was hardly anything on the subject for the general public. 2021 marked the arrival of image processing AIs, which made a breakthrough in 2022. But only in 2023 different pieces of AI technology were combined with large language models, and generative AI broke through in the form most people understand it now. That was a major change.
“When working with generative AI, it’s good to remember that a human is needed, and AI is not perfect. Jobs will change in the future, and starting from junior-level positions, everyone needs to be able to check what AI does. It’s up to all of us to make AI use safe.”
