Dirty Cabs on Equipment

monster76 · Oct 7, 2013

don't ask me why but a clean machine tends to break alot less

kshansen · Oct 8, 2013

monster76 said:
don't ask me why but a clean machine tends to break alot less

For the simple reason like I was saying to bigshow, while you are cleaning it you are looking at it.

If the parts are covered with dirt and grease three inches thick how are you going to spot that loose bracket holding the hyd. line in place. You won't know there is a problem till oil is spraying all over the machine! Then all that dirt is soaked with oil and even harder to clean off so it doesn't get cleaned and the process continues. And when a mechanic is trying to repair that hyd. line that failed it's going to be impossible to not get trash in the system so next thing you know pumps are giving problems.........:Banghead

bigshow · Oct 8, 2013

I think a guy that is going to clean a machine is less likely to ignorantly run a machine. He is aware of everything about the machine and has a very high attention to detail. It used to be that operators were a professional bunch, they took pride in what they did, and what they did it in. Now it's just a bunch of cowboys all hopped up on mountain dew that couldn't dig their way out of a paper bag......

DPete · Oct 8, 2013

bigshow said:
Thanks guys, it's a respect thing I guess, and your reputation/image revolves around all of that. If the company I work for trusts me with a half million dollar machine, the least I can do is keep it in a nice presentable form. I try to lead by example, but it doesn't always work, most guys anymore don't care the least bit about the presentation of their machine, and those same guys don't care one bit about the presentation of the work they do. It all goes hand in hand, an operator that cares about his machine, cares about his work, and he cares about his reputation. Don't lower your standards because someone else refuses to raise theirs.

Good post, I take pride in my equipment and it really pisses me off to have to clean up after operators, they can take their trash home just as easy as the brought it. Sunflower seed eaters are the worst.

HATCHEQUIP · Oct 8, 2013

Had a late model kobelco excavater back a few years ago that kept having electrical issues with the ecm they said over a period of months. opened the door to the cab and started throwing all the coke cans and lunch bags and other crap out from behind the seat, removed the covers and found the ecm covered in all these little **** ants. unhooked the batteries and started cleaning and spraying and blowing the ecm and the rest of cab, 2 years later it was still working fine after I told management what I had done.

xrlentau6 · Oct 8, 2013

Had been starting to think I was the only operator with this issue. As I used to be a onwer operator I got used to keeping my stuff clean, and also understand what it worth. So when given fairly new equipment to use I took pride in it, doesnt seem others I work with do the same. We swap machines a lot where i am and bottles rolling around under your feet in the dirt and mud is just normal. The one that took the cake was the morning I opened up the door of a back hoe to be greated with the smell of garlic sause.

Dont have an issue with people eating and drinking in plant and trucks etc, however at the end of the day at least take your rubish with you and sweep the floor out, should be less than 5 mins?

heavylift · Oct 8, 2013

tobacco spit and cigarettes in general, nothing like setting in an ash tray all day. Then going home smelling like you smoked a carton of cigarettes that day.

kshansen · Oct 9, 2013

heavylift said:
tobacco spit and cigarettes in general, nothing like setting in an ash tray all day. Then going home smelling like you smoked a carton of cigarettes that day.

That reminded me of one of our smaller plants I go to once in a while to fix something the boss/loader operater had a 1 lb coffee can for the spit in the cab of his loader I was careful not to spill that!

hargrove · Oct 9, 2013

They want to run equipment with the cab full of trash and the doors open then whine because the AC don't cool good

DoosanFan · Oct 9, 2013

It astounds me the way people live in filth, its pure and simple laziness. What is so difficult about keeping a small shopping bag in the cab for your rubbish? Most operators down here take their home cooked meal with them in a tupperware, and a two litre coke bottle with water as their sustenance for the day. but the example they follow is the one set by the boss; if he has an "I don't give a damn, make the thing work so I can get money" attitude, the operator will not give a damn about the machine just so he can get his pay at the end of the month. I have seen a contractor who makes sure his harvesters and forwarders are washed at least every second week (every week is better for them, but not always easy on the remoter sites) and greased every day at refuelling with the mechanic present, and every machine always has a can of cockpit shine with a rag. When they had to bring in another harvester from a different contractor the mechanic swore himself blind for the sad state that machine was in.

DPete · Oct 9, 2013

I thought once about cleaning out the cab and throwing it in their car to see how they like it, chickened out though

kshansen · Oct 9, 2013

DPete said:
I thought once about cleaning out the cab and throwing it in their car to see how they like it, chickened out though

If their car is anything like the machine they probably wouldn't notice!

bigshow · Oct 9, 2013

I got to say, I am pretty fortunate where I work, not everyone is as nutts as I am about the sparkle factor. However, my fellow employees are not usually hogs either, I have yet to find any bottles, sandwich bags, or any junk like that. Most operators get a half hour headstart on the crews to do the greasing, cleaning, checking things out type of stuff, so that helps. We take coffee and lunch religiously so no one sits in the cab to chow down and we are all in the "if you bring it with you, take it home with you" mentality. Some of my other pet peeves are scratched counterweights, or anything else, filthy grease guns, equipment not lined up/parked at night with the fuel caps easily accessible and guys that don't clean their tracks, brought up old school I guess, but hey, to each their own.

bigshow · Oct 9, 2013

Here are a couple pictures of the hoe I run, I ran out of tire shine today, so the floor is not real shiny, but it is clean.

kshansen · Oct 9, 2013

Bigshow you are slipping, in the picture with the wisk broom the steering column has a scuff mark on it on the lower lest side!

bigshow · Oct 9, 2013

It's tack coat, I had it on my boot a long time ago and haven't gotten it off. If you look real close by the toe kick for the column adjuster there's a little chunk of blacktop goop stuck to the floor mat, how'd you miss that one?

CM1995 · Oct 9, 2013

bigshow said:
Here are a couple pictures of the hoe I run, I ran out of tire shine today, so the floor is not real shiny, but it is clean.

Damn! Now you are making us all look bad, even the ones who take the time to clean!

I just finished a small parking lot job - clearing, a little storm and light grading. It has been dusty as the 1930's with no rain and my loader and skid steer are filthy. Both went back to the shop for a thorough cleaning.:cool2

kshansen · Oct 9, 2013

This is a sample of what I have cleaned out of one cab. This was in a Cat 769 C haul truck, a very small cab so this pill made it even tighter. This was a several years ago I have to give our current drivers credit they are nowhere this bad.

I should have taken a picture of a Komatsu WA500 that was on loan to our plant this spring, would have made this one look clean.

mitch504 · Oct 9, 2013

Hey, at least you got a couple of "entertaining" magazines out of the deal, (If the pages weren't stuck together)

JimBruce42 · Oct 9, 2013

I don't know why bigshow, but I wasn't expecting a 318, haha. I agree about the counterweights, it's lazy and a little unsafe to just start swinging into stuff. I wrap my grease gun in an old shirt to keep it clean and if it gets hot and leaks a bit, keep wherever it's sitting clean too. I do my best to keep my cab clean on ... whatever I'm running that time, I really hate cleaning the windows till they are spotless, and then after weeks of no rain, coming in one morning after it rained and having to start all over :Banghead

Dirty Cabs on Equipment

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