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  The investment will be made through the acquisition of shares from existing shareholders and a rights issue of NOK 22m. After the transaction, Summa will own 69% of the shares while Viking Venture retains 23%. The remaining 8% is owned by management and employees. Partner in Summa Equity, Christian Melby, has already managed to become familiar with EcoOnline and its customers’ challenges. “Nearly all sectors use chemicals and are thereby required to comply with universal legislation and ensure health and safety for employees. Many companies are not adequately and safely managing their chemicals today and we believe EcoOnline’s purpose-built software helps solve this problem. EcoOnline is the best software solution on the Nordic market and we are impressed with the management team and their ability to develop and grow this business. We will continue to expand in the Nordics as well as selected other geographical markets,” says Melby.   Unique platform Since inception, EcoOnline has developed into a state of the art SaaS provider with high recurring revenues from a large and diverse customer base comprising more than 4,000 customers in all relevant industries and public sectors in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. EcoOnline’s platform ensures compliance against European legislation across the safety data sheet chain, from producers to end-users, offering strong benefits for customers in both ends of the spectrum. EcoOnline’s software solution also provides companies with chemical risk assessments and documents to conduct preventative measures.   A global tailwind EcoOnline is expected to benefit from global tailwinds such as increasing regulatory requirements for chemical management and rise in environmentally focused companies. Øyvind Robert Thorsen, CEO of EcoOnline, believes the time has come to expand to the European market. “Thanks to Summa Equity’s and Viking Venture´s funding and commitment to EcoOnline, we can continue with our growth strategy and bring our services to a market which holds large potential for software adoption. Our goal is to become the European health, safety and environment thought leader, and help companies understand their chemical exposure and how to reduce harmful substances”, says Thorsen. EcoOnline has 85 employees and is headquartered in Tønsberg, Norway, with offices in Sweden, Denmark and Finland. EcoOnline is in an expansive growth phase and saw revenues grow 30% to NOK 88m in 2016.   About Summa Equity Summa Equity was formed in 2016 by partners with a shared vision of building a leading specialised private equity firm in the Nordic lower mid-market, positioned to capture the investment opportunity provided by the thematic megatrends expected to drive growth over the long term. The firm focuses on sectors related to four megatrend-driven themes: resource scarcity, energy efficiency, changing demographics and tech-enabled businesses. Summa Equity closed its first fund in February 2017 with commitments of SEK 4.5 billion   About Viking Venture Viking Venture is a leading Nordic venture fund focused on B2B software companies with a recurring revenue business model. Viking Venture has invested in more than 40 companies and has more than 1.7 billion NOK under management. The company is located in Trondheim, Norway and London. More information on www.vikingventure.com.

The food and beverage industry is recognized as the largest manufacturing industry in both the UK and Ireland with an estimated turnover of over £95 billion and employs approximately 400,000 people.

EcoOnline extends service offering by acquiring HSEQ software and consulting company, 3T Results Ltd.   EcoOnline, a specialist in chemical documentation management software and services, has acquired Finnish based occupational safety and Health software and consulting company 3T Results Ltd.   With this acquisition, EcoOnline will be able to provide customers service and software solutions covering chemical safety management, as well as occupational health, quality and environmental management. “For our Finnish customers the acquisition enables a wide range of HSEQ services as a complete solution, including the software solutions, expert services and training. By combining the forces of two leading industry players, we will serve Finnish chemical users, manufacturers and suppliers more effectively”, says CEO of EcoOnline Group Øyvind Thorsen. “Our HSEQ Online cloud service users have been interested in better management of Safety Data Sheets and overall management of chemical safety. In our discussions with EcoOnline we realized quickly that joining forces would bring customers of both parties the most value. Together we can also serve better our international customers and speed up our expansion into new markets”, says CEO of 3T Results Ltd Marko Vuorinen.   More information: Øyvind Robert Thorsen, CEO, EcoOnline Group, Mob: +47 90824055, Email:[email protected]   Marko Vuorinen, CEO, 3T Ratkaisut Oy, Mob: +358 40 517 7675 Email: [email protected]   3T Results Ltd helps you to work effectively in managing your workplace safety, working conditions and productivity. 3T’s solutions combine the validated methods and procedures with modern technology. HSEQ Online Cloud Service can ensure compliance with statutory obligations and management systems. In addition, the company provides training for employees by more than 100 digital educational material libraries, supervisor training and company specific expert services. In 2016, turnover was €1.2 m with 14 employees.   EcoOnline is the leading Nordic IT firm dedicated to developing software to make management and documentation of chemicals as user-friendly and cost-efficient as possible. Producers, resellers and distributors of chemicals are linked up with those who manage chemicals in a single common database. The database enables the sharing of legally required data on hazardous properties, and the recommended precautionary measures to be adopted when using chemicals and chemical products. In 2016, turnover of EcoOnline Group was €9.1 m with almost 100 employees.

Göran Lindö has been hired as the new CEO of EcoOnline. Lindö, who comes from the position of VP SMB & B2C at Dustin Group, succeeds Øyvind Robert Thorsen, whom has led the company into becoming the Nordic region’s largest software company for chemical documentation.

ISO 45001 The final draft international standard (FDIS) ISO 45001 was made available in November 2017, and the current best prediction is that the finished version will be published in February 2018.  Most of the changes from the draft published in April 2017 (DIS2) were fairly minor, to align with other management standards such as those for quality, environment, and information security.  Although the existing OHSAS 18001 will be withdrawn at the same time, organizations already using it will have a 3-year transition period to migrate to ISO 45001.  However, although some organizations might find contracts that require ISO 45001 since there is no legal requirement to have either standard, organizations that have invested time and effort in OHSAS 18001 can choose not to migrate.  The transition period refers only to a time during which BSI and others will certify organizations to the old standard.  Some organizations might feel “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and continue to operate to the old standard.  We will watch during 2018 to see the uptake of the new standard.

EcoOnline enters UK & Ireland by acquiring chemical management software and services provider DCM Compliance EcoOnline, the leading Nordic provider of chemical safety management software, acquires DCM Compliance of Ireland. With this acquisition, EcoOnline will enter one of the largest markets in Europe with potential to expand the footprint further by following customers’ global operations.

Building a Business Contingency Plan (BCP) often becomes an overwhelming task combined with a touch of stress an uncertainty. Where to start? What is the end state? How do you move forward? Here you have a simple and straight-forward way of how to start and get the BCP done!

Susanna Halonen-Manner, Senior Vice President Emergency Response of Norwegian, says that the most important thing is the cooperation of airlines and the introduction of best practices in companies. “This is one area where airlines do not compete, but we learn from each other. To a great extent, we standardize security methods together. We are a learning organization, we learn from each other’s best practices, but also about mistakes, “says Halonen-Manner. Halonen-Manner started as Norway’s Senior Vice President at the end of last year. Her job is to standardize the management and communication processes in the company. She also has a dialogue with other airlines. It is not a new phenomenon, as already in 1944 the States decided on the so-called Chicago Agreement on harmonization of air traffic. Last year, Halonen-Manner was elected to Washington’s Aviation Emergency Response as the only European airline representative. Previously, she served as chairman of the Star Alliance Emergency Response Group, which includes 28 airlines. The strong safety culture of airlines means strengthening the “safety first” thinking of both flying personnel, ground personnel and technicians. “We standardize management models, and when we build such models, we will rather build systemic capital, rather than individual performance. For example, anyone in the leadership role will lead in the same way, “Halonen-Manner says. The more standardized the organization of exceptional situations, the less uncertain. “Each party in the group knows what to expect. The process is so seamless that it does not have any surprises. Thinking can be used for the event itself. “ In standardizing management and communication, the introduction of new technology is important for airlines. Norwegian uses the EcoOnline Crisis Management application, which includes teamwork and standardized communication models. When a person sees the message, she knows immediately what the question is. You can also open a conference call through the  EcoOnline application. Norwegian, like other airlines, has regular exercises for exceptional situations. “We have small exercises monthly, and three times a year a bigger exercise involving about 700 people. Here we evaluate the results of the exercises and improve the organization all the time. “ The organization of emergency situations includes people-centred support personnel, communications personnel, unit management and a department that manages partnerships, such as contacts with insurance companies. The number of passengers in air traffic has doubled to nearly five billion annually in ten years. In addition, they are projected to increase to more than seven billion annual passengers by the year 2035. 2017 was the safest year in commercial air traffic history. Last year, only ten death-fatal aviation accidents occurred, killing 44 people. Also in her previous job at SAS Halonen-Manner led to exceptional circumstances. During her long career, she has also served as a leader in disaster situations, but she can not speak more about it because of privacy. What is Susanna Halonen-Manner’s Guide to flying to the fearful one? “It is worthwhile to seek information. There is a lot of literature nowadays. The other thing is that she tells her fear of the crew before he leaves, so she gets support. “ Source: Interview of Susanna Halonen-Manner, VP Emergency Response in Norwegian Airlines with the Finnish business newspaper Kauppalehti.

A small plane crash in Poland killing 3 people will create headlines in Spain. The same day 5 people die in a car crash in Madrid without any attention from the news.

27% of Norwegian organizations experienced undesirable security incidents in 2016. 4 out of 10 cyber incidents led to a loss in production, but most of the participants were unable to give accurate numbers regarding the costs of the attacks.