Ponsse is planning significant investments in the development of its digital business. The company will open vacancies for 10 positions in digital development as part of its extensive development of digital services. Source: Timberbiz
The significance of data-based services is increasing and Ponsee forest machines continuously collect volumes of data on machine operations and condition, as well as the state of the forest environment.
“Right now, technological development is very fast and enables the secure and reliable collection of data. It offers massive opportunities for using harvesting data to make harvesting operations more efficient and friendlier to the environment. Digitalisation means an improved operational efficiency and the innovation of new business models, also in forest ma-chine manufacturing and harvesting,” Miika Soininen, director of IT and digital services at Ponsse said.
When machine performance is monitored, it is possible to foresee any machine malfunctions and pinpoint any faults quickly. Monitoring and analytics improve the mechanical reliability of machines and reduce downtime due to maintenance.
The development of machines and components has steered heavily to withstand long-term stress in extreme conditions. By being able to analyse machine operations more closely during their lifecycle, machine reliability can be developed even further.
However, data is not only used to ensure the mechanical operations of machines. Data also helps to make the work of the operator easier and to build services, which allow both operators and contractors to control harvesting operations even better.
Mr Soininen, director of IT and digital services, was appointed to the group’s management team at the beginning of December. At the same time, the company announced significant investments in the development of digital services.
Now Ponsse will be looking for 10 new professionals in digital service development. The aim of these recruitments is to strengthen Ponsse’s ability to respond to the opportunities offered by technological development and to accelerate the launch of databased solutions for customers and Ponsse’s network.
“We are engaged in a chain that optimises the efficient flow of wood from forests to mills, while saving raw materials, trees, and the terrain remaining in forests. Cooperation between effectively used data and different parties plays a significant part in this chain,” Mr Soininen said.
Data is already being used extensively in monitoring machine operations at present. A good example is the recently introduced Connectivity Unit for telematics, which is available for all Ponsse forest machines starting from the beginning of 2021.
The module was developed by Epec Oy, a technology company owned by Ponsse, and it is compatible with Azure IoT Edge transmitting data from Ponsse machines autonomously without any separate actions needed.
The Connectivity Unit collects data on machine movements, operations and performance, enabling the development of a broad new service range. It helps maintenance providers to remotely access necessary data about machine operations to solve any problems.
