Juha Reinikainen, an operator for almost 40 years, still feels passionate about his work. He wants to remain fit for work until retirement, so he takes care of himself in many different ways. Juha has noticed that the ergonomics of the 1270H are so good that he still has energy after a day’s work.
“The 1270H is the world’s best place to work. Among other things, it’s number one in terms of reliability and functionality,” says Juha Reinikainen, a forest machine operator with Koneteko Pitkänen Oy.
“The machine has become like a good friend. I greet it every morning and again in the evening. At the end of the workday, I might say out loud that we had a good day today,” he says.
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That’s a remarkable amount of work hours for a single machine, the Norcar 600 owned by Erkki Rinne is taken well care of, it even has the original Diesel engine.
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Kieran Anders is a forestry contractor working in the lake district. His work involves hand cutting and extracting timber using a skidder and tractor-trailer forwarder.
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It is not possible to eliminate chain shot, but there are simple steps that can be taken to reduce the risk.
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Arwel takes great pride in the fact that the mill has no waste whatsoever, “the peelings are used for children’s playgrounds, gardens and for farm animals in barns in the winter and the sawdust has multiple uses in gardens and farms as well.
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Timber hauliers need to encourage young blood in, and also look after the hauliers we have, we need make the sector a safe and positive place to work.
FIND US ON
Juha has been doing forestry work for 50 years: he first started unloading with a Lokomo 928 in 1976. When he started as a harvester operator for Koneteko Pitkänen in 1993, he was using a different brand of forest machine. The time for change came just over 10 years ago, when he began to suffer from such severe back and neck problems that they interfered with his work.
“Back then I got a John Deere 1270E IT4 to test drive and initially worked with it for 300 hours. I found that my problems disappeared, so the company kept the machine. Since then, I haven’t replaced John Deere with anything else,” says Juha.
“My back and neck problems disappeared, so the company kept the machine”
– JUHA REINIKAINEN –
Forest machine operator
Koneteko Pitkänen Oy
“The wear and tear on my back and neck developed over the years. Now that I have a rotating and leveling cabin, I always sit in the correct position and there is less vibration. Now that my aches and pains have eased, I can continue working until retirement age,” he says happily.
Changes support the operator’s work
Juha’s work machine changed from the 1270G to the 1270H last year. In addition to improved ergonomics, the H Series has several other innovations that support the operator’s work. When Juha compares the 1270G and the 1270H, he finds the operating system of the new harvester to be much more user friendly and versatile. Compared to previous machines, visibility from the cabin, the air conditioning, and the boom control, among other things, have also been improved.
“The improved IBC makes the boom much easier and more precise to use, and the new frame lock makes it possible to drive even with the boom sideways. In addition, fuel consumption has been reduced by 0.5-1 deciliter per cubic meter. You can calculate the impact this has during a single working day,” says Juha.
“All the changes made to the machine have greatly improved the overall performance. It’s hard to imagine further improvements to the harvester!”
Listening to the opinions of an experienced employee
Kalle Pitkänen, Managing Director of Koneteko Pitkänen Oy, is a second-generation forest machine contractor. He says that the decision to purchase the 1270H was an easy one.
“When a long-term, trustworthy and heavy caliber worker like Juha says he wants to drive one more machine for us, I respect that decision and arrange the tools accordingly. Satisfied and healthy employees are vital to the entire business. Since operators spend all day in the cabin, we also take ergonomics into account when choosing machines,” the contractor notes.
Koneteko Pitkänen operates in eastern Finland in the North Savo and North Karelia regions, where there is a lot of uneven terrain and obstacles to visibility, such as undergrowth.
“Machines need features that make the operator’s job easier. That’s why the rotating cabin, for instance, is important to us. The new frame lock is also very good because it provides even more stability than before,” says Kalle.
“In my opinion, one of the best things about John Deere machines is that they are extremely durable. We have only had to make minor repairs, and maintenance has worked really well.”
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Written by loggers for loggers and dedicated solely to the equipment used in forestry operations.