pushloading scrapers

:drinkup

Kman9090 said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_Fqo-hhTsg&feature=fvsr
That is another video from the same guy that seems more realistic. Also in work days you figure a total of 9 hours that the machine is actually spent working. Between grease and fuel in the morning, tractor going to the cut and setting up, hopefully the scrapers are waiting on him, then giving machine time to get back to the boneyard at night, and time to cool down. This is also not including the operators well being either. As I'm sure hes gonna have to stop and have a bathroom break, as well as get something to drink as well. From the video of him pushing those scrapers above I calculated his load count to be about 500-600 a day. Which is still very good and he is a talented operator, but I again will state 1000 loads a day from one machine is not possible. at least in a 10 hour day.

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Watching that video, if he says as consistant as he does in the 4 minutes (I counted 6 loads) that ends up being 900 loads in a ten hour run. Also I wouldn't be surprised if there is a second dozer floatin around that cut, grading and ripping, he could probably cover for the pushcat, when he needs a time out. I don't run in scraper spreads so I don't know how these things really work, but I do know that anything is possible if you have the right equipment (type and number of) for the job. I also know that everyone has their bad days and truely banner days, I for one see it as possible to get 1000 loads in 10 hours working, and also possible that some days they only will get 100.

In my opinion if it takes longer than 30 minutes to track to the work area from the staging area, maybe the project team should look at the possiblilty of building a new staging area, so you aren't tracking the equipment so far at the begining and end of the shift, at least for the slow equipment. The company I work for, the Fuel guy is suppose to come after the shift is over, so no lost time there.

But hey, I'm just a lowly operator, what do I know:drinkupopcorn

Im just saying I have never seen a 1000 load day with 1 tractor (being a single D10) pushing 631's. As far as 30 minutes, if every operator is like yourself and was sitting on their tractor at 7am no one would have this problem. As well if every operator looked over their machine on their own time. By the time you check your oil levels, walk around your machine, as well as grease it its gonna be 30mins before you can get in the cut. Guess there are the guys that just start it up and take off, but if thats the case its gonne be longer then 30mins because they are gonna be sent stright home. Never seen an operator wait til exactly 12 to take lunch either. Also he got 6 laods in the 4 minutes. So thats about 1.2 laods a minute. 1.2x60=72 72x9=648 Even if you do count a 10 hour day its not 1000. I used the 1.2 as I did not see another scraper behind him. What company's that work 10 hour days charge the whole 10 hours to the machine? We typically charge 9 to the machine. I would go as far as saying it's possible to see 700-800 loads. Just would someone please give me some real experience as to what load counts they or their operators turn in. Not a youtube video that you watch 4mins and figure out his load count. I told you what ours typically run which is around 500. Another push cat operator stated his best day was 520. I'm nobody important either just trying to get a handle on 1000 loads a day.:drinkup

http://socalearthmovers.com/forum/index.php?topic=606.0 Theres some pictures of are scraper spread, me and KMAN9090 are brothers and work for the same company, one of the Largest in the united states. And no one has seen 1000 loads in a 10 hour period out of 1 pushcat.

It's typical on a big spread in Socal if the cut is a long way from the parking area, that the push cats & ripper cats will just be left parked in the cut at the end of the shift & the foreman will ride the operators back to the vehicles. The service truck will come to the cut & fuel and lube. Same goes for lunch, the machines are left in the cut & the foreman gives the operators a ride to the parking area. Only on weekends are the push cats walked back to the main parking area. As to warming up the machines, the mechanics arrive about 1 hour before the shift & check the machines & start them. Then at 7am when the shift starts, the machines are warmed up & ready to work.

JimBruce42 said:

:drinkup



In my opinion if it takes longer than 30 minutes to track to the work area from the staging area, maybe the project team should look at the possiblilty of building a new staging area, so you aren't tracking the equipment so far at the begining and end of the shift, at least for the slow equipment. The company I work for, the Fuel guy is suppose to come after the shift is over, so no lost time there.

But hey, I'm just a lowly operator, what do I know:drinkupopcorn

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If you look at the situation, there apears to be 4 scrapers on a real short haul, looks like a recompact. You will notice the same equipment numbers apear again. Another dead giveway to the same machines is the one 651b is a converted 657B and you can see it still has the rear planatery axles, come back to the push cat real quickly. This guy is a good push cat operator, he has good control of the cut, I noticed in one of the videos, if the scraper bogs down after being loaded, he leaves the scraper to get going on his own & gets back to the next scraper arriving in the cut.

385C said:

MESA is the company in the video shown pushing out 2 scrapers in a minute. I have visited California several times and seen MESA working on dirt spreads just like this. And weather you believe it or not Gavin84W's numbers are highly likely correct. YES it is possible to get 100 loads an hour if you have a guy that knows what he is doing. I have seen pushcat guy's in worse material than he was working in getting out 2 scrapers in just over a minute, and with butter material like I see this there is no reason for him no to be pushing out 2 a minute. There is a reason this guy runs pushcat for them while 90% of the other operators are sitting at home unemployed (maybe like yourself?). Did you forget production is key? The jobs of today are not like the jobs of the past. Maybe some should get there head unstuck and take some notes,actually learn from this fellow...

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And as for being unemployed! LOL! Past 3 years have been my best years, and looks like this next 4 million yard job we got coming up is goin to be my best few years yet! But we will have 20 631's and 3 D10's so if were movin 3000 loads a day, we should be done in 3 months! But we will also have 20 john deeres pulling 2 pans, and 10 740's and 6 740's with 60 yard eject beds on them so will proably have this job knocked out in 4 weeks tops. Should have it finished in 5 days to since are D6 operator can finish 100 acres a day and the job is only 470!

Dug overburden,

Where I work, we're expected to be there "boots on" 15 minutes before whatever the start time is. Most operators (myself included) are there a good 30 minutes early to check out the machine and fire it up. Most cases, if start time is 7am, we're done our morning huddle and usually in the machines going to work. If we work a ten hour shifts, it may not be ten full hours, but it better not be 9, super's get a little cranky if you're taking an hour lunch all the time.

Side note, if you guys are using the E-ject 7460 wagons, I sure as hell hope for your sake you aren't claiming 60 yards on them. Heaped they are rated at 46.9 cubic yards.

The company i used to work for (early retirement) would require we get there 15 min early to inspect machine and warm her up. Also we didnt take lunches, i hear most accidents happen after lunch because the operators head isnt in the game. Mathamatically it is possible to get 2-3 loads per minute with a pushcat if the operators are good enough. I was always taught that i had to get loaded in 12-15 seconds when being pushed. If the spread has good hands, it is possible. My record with push-pulls is 313 loads in a 10 hour day, x2 is 626 with 2 machines. My partner and i have gotten 1min, 30 sec ROUNDTRIP times in front of the cat rep, which was our faster time. They were talking about sending us to the proving grounds but that never materialized. These are great machines that were engineered superbly, anything is possible with them. BTW we (Blount Contracting) just got a 3 million yard job in phoenix that i might have to come out of retirement for

I get to my job everyday 30 mins early, but as for greasing your machine, and checking the fluids we dont do until start time, are you saying that you get there and grease your machine and check the oil on your time? And that you are not getting paid???

And take a look at the other picture i put up of are eject trailers and check out the massive side boards we put on ares, its not no 46 yards.

The next time you are around a scraper spread i strongly recommend you ask your boss or the dozer operator what his load count is.

Most of our foreman will pay us the extra 15 at the beginning and end of the day for fluid checks and or greasing. I'm not a foreman so I don't know the specifics on claiming the equipment. I personally only grease in the morning during the summer (ie warm days), winter time I try to either grease at the end of the shift or any time during it that I can. Gives the pins time to warm up as well as the grease gun.

How well do those wagons work? with or without the sideboards...

This will be are first job working with them, but have heard they will move ALOT of dirt as long as the ground is relativley flat, and hard. If its hilly or soft the 740 just doesnt have the guts to pull it, and a 740 with a regular bed will lap them. You also have to have a pretty open site, since it takes half a football field to get them turned around, and if you have to backup you mite as fell forget about it!

Yes, i would get there early and check my machine for FREE, grease too. I enjoy being around the machines, so i have no problem with it.


Pans suck, they haul struck yardage, not COMPACTED heaps

Vapor, do you go by the name Vapor300 on youtube as well?

yes i do!

Yes pans do suck, i prefer running push pull type scrapers, but when the ground gets soft you cant beat the pan scrapers.

As for getting there early and greasing your machine off the clock thats awesome, just wish everybody had that attitude, but rarley do you see that. Most of the times its the guys that start a 7:05, take lunch at 11:55 go back to work at 12:35 and quit at 5:25

True, but they do good sand if you can get morons to start at the end of the cut and work back cutting downhill. Do you know how many people start at the front of the cut, cut down a couple feet only to have a uphill slope? It drives me insane!!

Why are ya'll arguing about this? Ya'll are being to literal. Maybe they only got out 980 loads in a day I think thats close enough. Or they probably they don't get 1000 every day since no one is calming that. Vapor and Kman have you every worked a big spread in socal? I have as well as many other areas and there is not many other place in the US where dirt is move like it is there. The vid clearly shows he is knocking scraper out in a rate that would achieve ~ 1000 loads a day. I'm sure at some point in your lifes you have told someone something can't be done just to be eating crow later.

I am by no way shape or form claiming it can't be done but I am saying 'I have never seen it or heard of it". I will say there are other places dirt is moved in bulk, being from the texas area you have to of heard of the SH130 job?

There are many, many videos of dozers pushing scrapers on U Tube, check it out.

There is no other place in the country that moves dirt like SoCAL!

http://www.tjlambrecht.com/austin_sh130.asp moved 2.2 million yards a month, also mcaninch moved around 15 million yards at branson airport in around a 9 month period!

The video shows 1 minute of a 10 hour work period. How can you base a load count of that??? Does your boss ask you to only count your loads for the first hour, then calculate your load count for the day off of that one hour???