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Ponsse wins iF DESIGN AWARD

Ponsse has won the iF DESIGN AWARD 2024 for its Opti 5G Information System. Source: Timberbiz

Since 1954, the iF DESIGN AWARD has been an internationally recognised indication of excellent design and one of the world’s most prestigious design awards.

The jury paid particular attention to the functionality and usability of the PONSSE Opti 5G information system. The user interface makes the forest machine operator’s work easier and produces other harvesting information, including operator working hours, production, machine operation and fuel consumption.

“The Opti 5G system is designed to be easy to use to reduce the cognitive load of the forest machine operator and improve productivity. The user interface was completely rethought in our project to meet the users’ needs in the forest industry of today and the future. Design based on a user study and the large-scale testing of results are key factors behind the development of Opti 5G,” Juha Inberg, Chief Technology and R&D Officer at Ponsse said.

“This award is for everyone who has participated in the software development of the 5G system.  Software development is almost always the result of the efforts of a large group of people. Software is at the core of modern forest machines to facilitate the use of the machine and make their operation more efficient. The user experience also plays an important role in improving efficiency, coping and comfort. Development at Ponsse focuses on understanding user needs.”

A total of 10,800 products and projects from 72 different countries were sent to the 2024 competition for evaluation. This year’s iF jury consisted of 132 high-profile design specialists from 23 countries.

“During the project, we addressed the needs of forest machine operators, machine owners, maintenance services and sawmills,” said UX Manager Panu Johansson.

The award winners were celebrated at the iF DESIGN AWARD NIGHT 2024 event at Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin in Germany on Monday 29 April 2024.