Mutikainen also has an ace up his sleeve: in addition to his forestry work, he is a trained electrotechnician. This helps with the modern harvester, which depends on elec- tronic systems and electrically guided hydraulics. The Ponsse Scorpion harvester that hums along under Mutikainen on eight massive wheels contains more than 2.6 km of electric wiring. UNIQUE NUMBERS BRING THE WOOD TO THE MILL Electronic systems also play a key role in the management of sustainable wood supply, says Rautiainen. She recorded the work instructions for the felling site being harvested by Mutikainen in the cloud service used by Metsä Group. Mutikainen and the other machine op- erators can see the instructions on the electronic map and its attachments, displayed on the screen of their machine. Part of the instructions is a unique contract number, generated for each felling site. This number is the key for tracing wood batches as far as the mill gate. It identifies the owner of the forest supplying the wood to the mill. “The number is visible to the forest machine operator and the timber lorry drivers. In the forest, the wood stacks are marked with confirmation slips showing the same number. This allows the timber lorry driver who picks
up the wood to make sure that the identification numbers in the information system and on the slip are the same,” says Rautiainen. Continuous information systems minimise human error. For instance, machine operators must mark each page of the digital work instructions as read before they can start felling. “This is to confirm that the operator has not missed any instructions,” says Mutikainen. He demonstrates on the computer screen how the exact location of the forest machine is charted on the digital map as the machine moves. The map shows the boundaries of the felling site, the machine tracks and even the locations of individual felled trees as small dots. In addition to the accurate digital map, the flagging tape tied around the boundary trees of the felling site ensure that the neighbour’s trees are not taken. THE WOOD BUYER KNOWS THE SELLER The forest specialist’s job is to help forest owners plan for- est management and sales of wood. For many local forest owners, Anu Rautiainen is the face of Metsä Group and the first point of customer service. In her customer register, Rautiainen has a group of forest owners with whom she is in contact at least annually. In
“I have an emotional relationship with the trees and terrain of my forest. I have hiked, gathered berries and hunted here since I was a child.” Antti Pätilä, forest owner
“In the winter I meet forest owners in their forests two or three days a week. Spring is the busiest season, when I spend all my work days in the forest.” Anu Rautiainen, Forest Specialist
The owner’s personal goals can be seen in how they handle their own forest. “Some people emphasise game management, for example, in their wish lists,” Anu Rautiainen says.
The harvester operator cuts the wood to correct lengths according to the mills’ requirements. This site supplies wood to five different mills.
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