You are looking out over a hilly forest. When maneuvering the harvester up hill, you feel every roughness and every slope.
When placing the harvester, closing the feed rollers and choosing tree type, the most modern control system - MaxiXplorer
- calculates where to cut the tree to achieve the highest value.

Together with Komatsu Forest we have developed the Valmet harvester simulator. The simulator is available for Valmet 911 and
Valmet Feller buncher. It is also possible to combine the harvester simulator with the forwarder simulator. Read more about why you should use a simulator in training here.  

In the training program the operator will face rough terrain, difficult precision exercises and full harvesting scenarios. The training program starts with basic exercises such as handling the harvester head. Step-by-step the severity increases, to prepare the operator for training in real-life. The training program is developed in cooperation with Komatsu Forest and Swedish forestry schools. The simulator is available for two Valmet harvesters: The Valmet 911.4 and Feller buncher. 

Exercises
The training program takes the operator through basic training to full harvesting. Different gripping and sorting exercises create skills in crane and head precision, before facing operation in a forest. When the basic training is accomplished, the operator will face exercises in felling, felling precision and thinning. The simulator software also includes many different forests with mixed tree types and rough terrain.

If you also have a Valmet forwarder simulator, it is possible to import a saved forest from the harvester simulator into the forwarder. In other words, you can forward the very same timber you harvested, which gives you an opportunity to get an overview over the collaboration in the forest. 

Administration and evaluation 
The simulation software also includes a user manager. In the user manager new operators can be added with a personal username and password. 
When the operator is training, certain data is collected for evaluation. The instructor can follow the operator's progress and evaluate the performance based on key factors presented by the software, for example:

- Processing. Number of trees felled, trees per hour, volume of felled trees.
- Collisions (head, machine)
- Stump height
- Function used simultaneous
- Time of operation and head

The best simulation software is not enough to get the best training. A simulator built on real Valmet components ensures that the training has the highest value. Sitting down in the real operator seat, holding the Valmet original joysticks from the actual machine takes the training to the next level. When adding the integrated MaxiXplorer control system, the operators are fully prepared to meet the reality.

As an option, the simulator can be delivered with a motion platform. It enables the training to get even more immersive. Feel the machine movements when driving over logs, feel the heavy weight
of a tree being felled and most important: feel the machines behavior when working in rough terrain.  

The advanced 3D-graphics is visualized in high definition on a 47” big LED-screen, making the 
training even more realistic. The screen is also very bright, meaning that it is not that sensitive to 
day-light and are space-saving comparing to a projector and screen.