Ilkka Riikonen has worked in engineering, research and development for Konecranes for 30 years. He has also contributed vast amounts of time and energy to the development of European and international standards. He was chairman of the ISO technical committee for bridge and gantry cranes -TC96/SC9 – from 1983 to 2003.

Riikonen was also president the European Material Handling Federation (FEM) heavy lifting equipment section in from 1994 to 1996 and is currently convener of European Committee for Standardisation committee CEN TC 147 Work Group 4 Cranes: Safety: Bridge and gantry cranes.

In 2004 the ISO awarded him its Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of his contributions to the profession. The award prompted his colleague Harry Ollila to respond: “Ilkka Riikonen can be considered an international master in structural crane analysis whose work has been widely recognised and has significantly increased the harmonisation of standards in the crane industry.”