KONE – Intelligent lifts require a systematic but creative programmer
Implementing solutions in cities and buildings, both now and in the future, requires extensive programming, data and expertise. Since 2012, KONE and Rakettitiede have been collaborating to meet these demands.
KONE, originally a small engineering workshop, has grown to become one of Finland’s most interesting companies and a leading industry player in over 60 countries. In addition to producing lifts and escalators, KONE creates intelligent solutions for some of the world’s largest structures. Rakettitiede’s programmers engage in demanding product development work, supporting KONE’s efforts.
Currently, various KONE teams employ a total of five Rakettitiede software developers with excellence in C/C++, IoT, cloud technologies and build systems, such as Yocto. Rakettitiede’s consultants contribute to a variety of projects, including those related to lift control logic and specialised lifts.
A professional programmer takes pride in their work
Robert Taylor, Product Owner of Linux Platform at KONE is thrilled with the collaboration with Rakettitiede. His team employees two Rakettitiede developers, one of whom has been working with the team for years and another who started only recently.
Taylor’s team produces tools that are used in various KONE products although often invisible to ordinary lift users. Although hidden, they play a pivotal role in ensuring smooth transport, a high-quality user experience and energy efficiency. An example of such an intelligent tool is the People Flow solution, which features a lobby gate that uses authentication technology to call a lift for a person and knows which floor they are going to.
“Being sure that things run smoothly is extremely important for building owners who rent their premises to companies, for example,” Taylor says.
The development of modern solutions is a time-consuming and arduous process.
“Developer Hemmo Nieminen from Rakettitiede has been one of the key players in our team. He has introduced lots of ideas related to both the product and our working methods, in addition to which he has taken on the role of scrum master. The team seems to enjoy the calm way he runs the projects,” Taylor says.
“From a leader’s perspective, he is self-motivated and has a clear understanding of shared objectives without explicit guidance.”
According to Robert Taylor, Product Owner of Linux Platform at KONE, what sets the best experts apart is that they think beyond individual tasks and know how to bring different elements together. “With the right attitude and desire to improve, the sky’s the limit,” he says.
Taylor says that what matters to him the most is having skilled individuals on his team, regardless of the organisation they come from. This reflects the Rakettitiede mindset as well. We are proud of our talents – essentially, they are what makes a good company.
Robert Taylor mentions Rakettitiede’s practice of regularly seeking feedback to ensure smooth operations.
“Rakettitiede obviously has great internal processes and salary transparency, which help with employee retention. From the viewpoint of the client, the fact that the consultants are happy and committed is really important,” he says.
Taylor reveals that what he looks for in a software developer is the right attitude and dedication to both the quality of their work and streamlined processes.
“There’s a big difference between people who really care about what they do and those who only do the bare minimum. With the right attitude and desire to improve, the sky’s the limit, but having those qualities is pretty rare. Obviously, reliability and creativity are important too. What sets the best experts apart is that they think beyond individual tasks and know how to bring different elements together,” Taylor says.
Sometimes programmers must show restraint
The intelligence of KONE’s products becomes evident in the challenging tasks that find they way to the programmer’s desk.
Juhana Leiwo, a developer at Rakettitiede, is responsible for enabling communication between lifts. His cooperation with KONE started in the late summer of 2020 and is one of his longest client relationships to date.
“As well as one of the best,” Leiwo says. “The things I work on are fairly complex. Yet, KONE has one of the most sensibly managed code bases I’ve ever seen. They’ve clearly done something right.”
Leiwo appreciates the clarity of the assignments and the fact that their number is limited at any given time. Thanks to good work management, programmers can focus on the tasks they are given.
“I would describe my work as slow exploration. I carefully go through other people’s code step by step before writing any code myself,” Leiwo says.
The comment encapsulates Leiwo’s coding principles in general. He believes that high-quality product development work requires the programmer to have both patience and the ability to keep track of numerous things at once.
“You have to understand the system before you make changes to it. And if everything doesn’t go right on the first try, any bugs are much easier to catch if you’ve done the groundwork and figured out how everything works beforehand,” Leiwo explains.
Juhana Leiwo, Rocket Scientist #24, believes that high-quality product development work requires the programmer to have both patience and the ability to keep track of numerous things at once. “Sometimes programmers must show restraint when writing code”, he says.
“Patience also comes into play when a programmer must learn to delve into code written by someone else, even if it initially doesn’t align with their preferred approach. Usually there’s a reason why things are done the way they are.”
This is why long-term client relationships are so valuable: the longer a programmer works with the same client, the better he understands the big picture and learns to solve and anticipate challenges – even in highly specific fields.
According to Juhana Leiwo, the most demanding thing is to try not to create more complexity in the system.
“Sometimes programmers must show restraint when writing code. My development philosophy is: first understand what others have done and what has been asked of you. Keep all that in mind and accurately carry out the implementation according to the specifications given. Finally, in the implementation, make as few complex structures as possible,” Leiwo says.
A holistic approach and communication guarantee quality
KONE’s projects challenge programmers due to the architecture of different buildings and strict industry regulations for safety of movement.
Leiwo points out that he is not an expert in lifts but in coding. When reading the code, he make no assumptions and doesn’t hesitate to ask for advice.
Robert Taylor values this type of good communication and a holistic approach to work. Still, he does not subscribe to the belief that a person should be prepared to ‘go the extra mile’.
“A person’s approach to work needs to be sufficiently professional and long-term to make any extra miles unnecessary. This kind of development work just isn’t for everyone. However, if you don’t correct your mistakes along the way, they’ll always come back to bite you later on,” Taylor says.
“A person’s professionalism becomes apparent in how they ensure that everything is in order and well thought-out throughout the process. That’s when you know you can trust the quality of the outcome as well,” Taylor says.
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