In the future, Metsä Fibre’s sawn timber customers can be even more certain of the uniform quality of the products and the high delivery reliability of the sawmill. Company’s sawmill operators will now get to practise their maintenance skills with simulation training supplemented by jigs.
Jigs are training devices that simulate real-life working situations. They are used to learn various professional skills. They offer users a safe environment to practise skills before working in real life.
Basic maintenance skills for all operators
Simulation training is a part of a wider production model that has been implemented in Metsä Fibre’s sawmill business. One aim of the operating model is to make sure production operators have basic maintenance skills so that they can play a bigger role in the repair and maintenance of production machinery than before.
“We came to the conclusion that classroom teaching is not enough. However, the mechanic does not have the time to train others and the student cannot practise in peace when there’s a real-life situation. The simulation training provides a safe way to offer basic maintenance training to all our operators,” says Jari Juutilainen, Reliability Manager at Metsä Fibre sawmills.
Simulation training consists of a training package that each operator completes under the supervision of an experienced.
In addition to machinery maintenance, operators will learn about how to make a device safe before starting work, as well as how different systems are utilised in maintenance management and documentation.
“The systems are an essential part of the training as not all operators are familiar with them from before,” explains Juutilainen.
Metsä Fibre is willing to offer more training to operators who are curious to learn more about maintenance after the mandatory simulation training.
Simulation training provides a safe way to offer basic maintenance training to all our operators.
Jari Juutilainen, Reliability Manager at Metsä Fibre sawmills
A rewarding way to practise maintenance
At the Renko sawmill, operators use the jigs to practise how to maintain the driving and folding heads of conveyors and how to install cylinders. Toni Luototie, who works as an operator at the sticking plant, sees simulation training as a rewarding way to gain maintenance skills.
“The training situation begins by receiving a service request and ends when the job is signed off. It’s easy to see the big picture, which is particularly important if the operator has no previous maintenance experience.”
Luototie believes that simulation training reduces the time it takes to understand process deviations and adds some versatility to the work.
“If it isn’t a major disruption, it’s faster for the operators to maintenance the machine themselves than to try to contact maintenance, who might be occupied elsewhere. User maintenance also adds some new content to our working days.”