PONSSE News 1/2011 ENG In English

THe foresT worldhaNNu'S lONG PilEJämsänkoski resident Hannu Jokiperä has forwarded timber forthe better part of 36 years. When combined with the fact thathis employer has stayed the same as well throughout the years,that spells the correct career choice and satisfaction toward theemployer, Metsäkonepalvelu.Hannu's career choice was strongly influencedby his forest-institute educated olderbrother. He was the one responsible forluring the man working in three shifts at aParkano plant to the forest. The forwarderhas been Hannu's workplace from the verybeginning. When harvesters first enteredthe forest scenery, Hannu decided never toget involved with these machines sufferingfrom continuous failures."I do remember the first harvester operatorsbeing under quite a bit of pressure. Iwatched the cycle of repairs and trials anderrors from the sidelines and decided tostick to the forwarders," says Hannu Jokiperä,adding that modern harvesters are in aleague of their own with regard to functionalityand reliability.Hannu is happy with the fact that thecompany has forwarders driving in one shiftonly. A designated machine stays in mintcondition when always operated by the sameperson. Hannu is able to pile a nice amountof timber during the roughly ten-hour workday,since downtime has remained at a minimum.According to Hannu, he has operatedhis current Elk for 10,000 hours without anysort of overhaul whatsoever, including tirework.The machine's durability and accomplishmenthave a lot to gain from composedprofessional skills. Every now and then,Hannu has come across a young and enthusiasticoperator under whose operation evena forwarder seems to fly. Apparently the guysare looking to break records of some sort.But a work pace that is too fast is easily wastedin additional remedial manoeuvres andservice. The daily goals that Hannu Jokiperäsets for himself do not comprise a certainamount of cubic metres or hours. Rather,his goal is to keep his machine intact and inconstant motion."Once you manage to strip your performanceto the bare minimum, your resultswill speak for themselves. Or maybe I'mjust lazy enough not to be bothered with toomuch manoeuvring, felling, dipping – notto mention service overhauls," says HannuJokiperä.Solitude is the only downside Hannu canthink of in relation to a machine operator'swork. The programming offered by radiostations has become quite familiar throughoutthe years. Indeed, Hannu has at timestoyed with the idea of becoming a critic, becauseit could be done quite easily with thehelp of a handsfree phone while toiling away.When asked for advice for younger operators,Hannu says that having some patienceis valuable, even if the work does notseem that rewarding in the beginning. Thatis because the forest machine industry doesnot reveal itself at a glance. Even if one possessedgood professional skills, the mentalside requires its own period of growth. Ittook Hannu many years to decide whetherto continue or move on to other work beforethe forest industry took root. Conclusionsthat are drawn hastily seldom lead to afavourable outcome.When considering the more than80,000 hours Hannu has put in during his36 years of forwarding, it is easy to agreewith his opinion. He has put together quitea pile of wood as well. The average volume ofcubic metres stacked at the side of the roadamounts to roughly 200. When factoring inthat his annual working days average 250,one comes up with 1.8 million cubic metresof forwarded timber.34Ponsse News 1 • 2011