Themes driven by sustainable change

Systemic sustainable development requires the engagement of industrial operations through assets, processes, products, and human perspectives. From these, we’ve chosen three centric themes for SEEDForest to advance the development of sustainability:

1. Production chain optimisation
2. Adaptive asset management
3. Future operations and work

Each theme evolves dynamically in close partner cooperation led by KeKe Nyrkki, SEEDForest Sustainability Think Tank.

Themes

Production chain optimisation

We want to create capability to meet the holistic sustainability requirements of the markets, legislations, and finance sector – and go beyond – by optimising operations of the whole value chain online and offline and changing cultures and business models. This creates totally new value for the production chain players.

Adaptive asset management

We want to develop sustainable lifecycle asset management. A key is to build capability for a new kind of a collaboration between actors across the whole asset lifecycle: to be able to share data between actors, operate optimally with the data and utilise it in a new way – for the best of the assets and all actors. This requires new business and operational models. This requires new channels to build trust between partners, and consequently new tools, business and operational models to gain all the benefits to achieve all sustainability targets of the production organisation.

Future operations and work

Industrial work is changing, also with the progress of production models, which, in turn, influences on work roles and processes. At the same time, steps are taken in the path of digitalization. However, the new digital tools should exhibit good user-experience, in providing feeling of control and avoiding frustrations. The new tools should be suitable in view of the aims and challenges involved in the workers’ tasks. Some of the job assignments might totally change due to the new tools. These issues have a huge impact on the willingness to use digital tools, which is the reason why user experience aspects should be integrated into technology development. It is our mission to support the industry in developing new work assignments, tools and processes.

Ongoing projects

With a firm focus on a future of sustainable business, here are some SEEDForest projects that have already begun in 2022.

 
COACH Human-tech co-agency

COACH creates steps towards human-focused, technologically enabled intelligent industrial work of the future.

Theme
• Future Operations & Work

Target areas
• Future operational concepts, design processes, methods, and training approaches, tech prototypes and demos, anticipated future problems and solutions

Funding and project model
• BF co-research

Participants
• Metsä Board, Valmet Automation, Kemira, Siili Solutions, Lingsoft, VTT, JYU, Turku UAS

Contact for organisations
• Hanna Koskinen, Project Manager, VTT (hanna.koskinen@vtt.fi)

 
OPTIMI pre-study

The OPTIMI pre-study project identifies and analyses the maturity level and development needs of the production value chain towards sustainable operations to meet the requirements of future markets.

Theme
• Production chain optimisation

Target areas
• Forest and Chemical industries

Funding and project model
• Funded by Sitra & VTT

Participants
• VTT, Sitra, several company representatives

Contact for organisations
• Päivi Kivikytö-Reponen, Project Manager, VTT (paivi.kivikyto-reponen@vtt.fi)

 
REFOLUTION Biorefinery of the future

 
KILPAILUKYKYÄ DATASTA

Kilpailukykyä datasta (Competitiveness through data) is a project led by Sitra that works in close cooperation with SEEDForest. The project aims to identify data-based operating models as a competitive advantage for Finnish companies.

Theme
• Production chain optimisation
• Adaptive asset lifecycle management
• Future Operations & Work

Target areas
• Finnish industry

Funding and project model
• Sitra

Participants
• Finnish industry ecosystems

Contact for organisations
• Jutta Nyblom / VTT, jutta.nyblom@vtt.fi
More information: https://www.sitra.fi/aiheet/kilpailukykya-datasta/

Projects in preparation

Successful implementation of sustainable business models always requires careful planning. Here are ambitious SEEDForest projects currently in preparation.

COLIFE

COLIFE offers collaborative business and operational models for exploring solid and fair cooperation between asset owners, operators, and required service providers.

Theme
• Adaptive asset lifecycle management

Target areas
• Sawmill environment

Funding and project model
• Co-research, funded by BF

Preliminary participants
• SAP, Metsä, VTT, LUT

Contact for organisations
• Pasi Valkokari, VTT (pasi.valkokari@vtt.fi)

 
OPTIMI Optimisation for extended sustainability requirements

OPTIMI tackles a huge challenge to create common parametrisation for sustainability KPIs in the food packaging industry production chain, integrate sustainabity KPIs with business, production and other operation KPIs – and build capabilities to start optimize the chain online.

Theme
• Production chain optimisation

Target areas
• Food packaging industry and related value chain

Funding and project model
• Co-research or co-innovation, funded by BF

Preliminary participants
• Metsä, Ponsse, Valmet, Paptic, Solita

Contact for organisations
• Jutta Nyblom / VTT, jutta.nyblom@vtt.fi