IIDA VARTIAINEN, MACHINERY OPERATOR

Iida Vartiainen started working in Mantsinen Group’s Logistics Services for the first time in 2018, when having a summer job in Uimaharju’s Stora Enso Enocell pulp mill area as railcar cleaner. In autumn, she started studying at Karelia University of Applied Sciences in Joensuu to become an engineer in forestry. After one year of studying, in the summer of 2019, she returned to work at Mantsinen for two months. This time her objective was to learn how to use material handling machines.

After studying the second year, in summer 2020 Iida came to do an internship as a foreman, where she had the opportunity to perform supervisory tasks and use the SERA risk management program. Since the internship, Iida has been continuously employed at Mantsinen up to this day. “I first heard about Mantsinen from my father, who has worked here for a long time. I was therefore familiar with the company, and when they advertised a summer job opportunity as a railcar cleaner in 2018, I applied.” tells Iida.

INSTEAD OF MILKING COWS, MACHINERY OPERATOR MILKS RAILCARS

At the Uimaharju pulp mill area, there are bulk terminal services, where the main task is to feed roundwood into the pulp mill line. The material handling machine serves as a feeder, and the logs are unloaded from either trucks, train cars, or the nearby storage.

*In the wood terminal, feeding the line is an everyday task for Iida. In the photo, she is handling wood using a Mantsinen 90 material handling machine.*

In addition to operating at the wood terminal, Mantsinen also performs tasks at the sawmill area, where it takes care of the log yard tasks with a wheel loader, and manages warehouse operations with forklifts. The work done with the wheel loader on the sawmill side includes cleaning the field and feeding bark into a silo. The mill uses the bark to produce energy. “The wheel loader is used to grab the bark from the field, which is used to give energy to the pulp mill”, says Iida.

*The bark provides energy for the pulp mill. The photo shows Iida piling bark using a wheel loader.*

Occasionally, Iida’s workday deviates from the normal one, when she performs tasks at the wood yard. There, the basic chores include loading cages and transporting wood with a terminal tractor. Interestingly, one of the tasks in the wood yard involves “milking”. However, this does not involve milking cows but rather bleeding the railcars’ brakes.

*“Milking” the railcars takes place on the edge of the wood yard. The automatic wood-carrying locomotive is operated remotely from the Mantsinen 90 material handling machine.*

The content of the workday is greatly influenced by whether it is a weekday or the weekend. As there is less traffic on weekends, it is a good opportunity to move the wood closer to the material handling machine and the feeding line.

The terminal tractor is particularly active during weekends, as it is extensively used for wood transportation.

USING VERSATILE EQUIPMENT IN TWO DIFFERENT SHIFTS

Iida’s usual workday starts by asking the debarking line, what type of wood they need. The mill has different ‘recipes’ for pulp; some recipes call for more spruce than pine, for example. After finding out what type of wood is going to be debarked, the process of feeding the line with wood using the Mantsinen material handler begins. “Morning routines also include checking the machines’ oil and calibrating their scales.” Iida describes the course of her workday.

“The equipment used on a daily basis is quite versatile. We have two Mantsinen 90 electric material handlers here in the wood terminal. We also have a Mantsinen 60 material handler, two Caterpillars, a terminal tractor, couple of load wheelers, and also trucks.” Iida lists.

Iida’s work shifts can be divided into two different systems: 2/7 and 3/7. In the former, there are morning and evening shifts, and the latter format includes morning, evening, and night shifts. According to Iida, in addition to operating the machines, the best part of her job are the long day offs, which allow for plenty of time for leisure activities.

There are about 50 employees in total at the Uimaharju branch of Mantsinen’s Logistics Services. There are at at least four people working constantly at the wood yard, one at the mill services and one in the locomotive.

We have a good and experienced team at Uimaharju.
Iida Vartiainen, Machinery Operator, Mantsinen Group

Although Iida’s educational background is in forestry engineering, she says she learned the most by doing practical work. According to Iida, the closest education that corresponds to her job is a forest machine driver training. That is where one learns the basics and wood handling skills.

At the end of the interview, Iida sends greetings to all everyone interested in the field. “Welcome to work here, we gladly welcome new members to the team, when there are open job positions available.”