Geomachine boosts productivity through outsourced technical product information

Geomachine provides equipment for geotechnical and geological soil investigation, as well as for geothermal drilling. Geomachine specializes in manufacturing versatile research instruments designed to operate in the most challenging research conditions, specifically in glacially formed multi-layered terrains. Geomachine holds a strong market position in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Eastern Europe, and the Baltic region and has delivered equipment to over ten countries to date. Geomachine is part of the Tampereen Konepajat Oy group.

Etteplan and Geomachine embarked on their collaboration in 2022, sparked by Geomachine’s need to improve their product information. They sought to enhance user manuals, maintenance guides, spare parts catalogs, and language translations. Etteplan was able to offer a wide range of services to meet Geomachine's needs, along with ready-made tools for creating modular documentation. This combination made Etteplan an ideal partner for Geomachine.

The collaboration kicked off with a guidance package for one product. Once the model was validated, the documentation of other products began to be updated as well. Now, after a few years, nearly all machines have been documented. Currently, the focus is on maintaining documentation and ensuring that new products are documented when they are launched. Etteplan’s flexibility in adjusting resources has proven to be a significant advantage for Geomachine.

"By outsourcing the documentation update to Etteplan, we could allocate our resources towards product development and other core activities. As a result, we achieved product documentation that is second to none in quality."

Vesa-Matti Salminen

CTO at Geomachine

The power of modular documentation

The advantages of modular documentation include reusability, efficiency, consistency, and decreased update expenses. This structure allows content to be easily customized for different audiences and objectives, accelerating time-to-market for products.

Reusability has fostered continuous improvement within Geomachine’s technical communication. Common components are utilized across various Geomachine equipment. For instance, safety guidelines are shared among all machines. Whenever new machines are launched, these guidelines are reviewed, improving quality over time. “Often, reusability is seen as a one-time effort, when it is done once and then reused. But it is more impactful when also refined”, says Terhi Salmisto, Area Manager of Etteplan's TCS East Finland Management Unit.

Collaborating with Forward focus

Etteplan and Geomachine are now investigating opportunities to integrate instruction materials directly into the machines. The machines feature user interfaces with various data and analytics being collected. The aim is to provide easy access to repair instructions and spare part replacement guides for users.

"I would say the project perfectly reflects our Forward focus value. We began with fundamental elements, but this foundation empowers Geomachine to utilize digital distribution channels in the future. It also ensures that the materials are in a format that allows for more versatile use down the line," Terhi Salmisto, Etteplan’s Area Manager, concludes.