Busted Bomag

[Grader4me]

I thought that I would bring this story back to life just to try and get this "safety competition" rolling (no pun intended) Here is the story again...

Here is a story that happened to one of my co-workers....

We were laying down asphalt and I was leveling it with the grader. We rented a double drum walk behind roller.
My co-worker was rolling on the edge of the mat that was about 6 inches thick. He lost control and the roller flipped over in the ditch. Of course we all had a good laugh (you would have to know this guy) then we lifted it out of the ditch with the backhoe. A few dents but otherwise okay.

Now you would think that this would be a learning experience for this guy right? Nope! fired her back up and rolled the exact same place and....you guessed it ..over she went again! The whole crew went down on all fours from laughing so hard with the exception of the Supervisor!

So...we picked it out of the ditch again and loaded it onto the Supervisors pickup as it never survived the second flip unscathed.
The Supervisor was in a hurry to get it back and get another one so that we could finish the job. He forgot to block the drums on each end...took off fast and the roller shot off the back, hit the road and into the ditch again!! The poor roller was tore all to pieces.

The things that I learned from this..

1. If you notice that a operator is very unskilled (completely hopeless) at what he/she is operating, please talk to him/her and tell them that maybe, just maybe they should seek another line of work, because they or someone around them could get hurt.

2. If an operator does something very stupid with a piece of machinery..don't ridicule him/her because no good will come of it. Just walk away..

3. When transporting any piece of equipment make sure that it is properly secured.

 

[Countryboy]

Was the ground flat or was he rolling on a slope? Did the edge give way or did he just over steer into the ditch?

Glad to hear no one was hurt. Might've turned out different if it was a "ride on" machine.

 

[Grader4me]

Was the ground flat or was he rolling on a slope? Did the edge give way or did he just over steer into the ditch?

Glad to hear no one was hurt. Might've turned out different if it was a "ride on" machine.

Thanks for the questions! The lay of the land was a slight down hill. The road had a good crown, and the edge of the road was in poor condition. This is why we had to lay the asphalt so thick.
If it had been a ride on, yes he could have been hurt. I have seen many of them upset as well over the years and just luckly no one has been hurt.

 

[BrianHay]

lol did he still have a job after that performance?

 

[Grader4me]

lol did he still have a job after that performance?

Yup, check out the backhoe story I posted in the "confession is good for the soul" thread. We could learn alot from this fellow.

 

[thejdman04]

some people

 

[LowBoy]

I thought that I would bring this story back to life just to try and get this "safety competition" rolling (no pun intended) Here is the story again...

Here is a story that happened to one of my co-workers....

We were laying down asphalt and I was leveling it with the grader. We rented a double drum walk behind roller.
My co-worker was rolling on the edge of the mat that was about 6 inches thick. He lost control and the roller flipped over in the ditch. Of course we all had a good laugh (you would have to know this guy) then we lifted it out of the ditch with the backhoe. A few dents but otherwise okay.

Now you would think that this would be a learning experience for this guy right? Nope! fired her back up and rolled the exact same place and....you guessed it ..over she went again! The whole crew went down on all fours from laughing so hard with the exception of the Supervisor!

So...we picked it out of the ditch again and loaded it onto the Supervisors pickup as it never survived the second flip unscathed.
The Supervisor was in a hurry to get it back and get another one so that we could finish the job. He forgot to block the drums on each end...took off fast and the roller shot off the back, hit the road and into the ditch again!! The poor roller was tore all to pieces.

The things that I learned from this..

1. If you notice that a operator is very unskilled (completely hopeless) at what he/she is operating, please talk to him/her and tell them that maybe, just maybe they should seek another line of work, because they or someone around them could get hurt.

2. If an operator does something very stupid with a piece of machinery..don't ridicule him/her because no good will come of it. Just walk away..

3. When transporting any piece of equipment make sure that it is properly secured.

I'm in....

Back in my humble beginnings when I was working as an asphalt relocation technician myself, I had a very unfortunate situation that involved a brand new Bomag double drum roller, a tag-a-long trailer, and a B-Model Mack.(The one that almost killed me twice in one year from not being able to stop...)

I worked for a very high-energy, top performing paving outfit in Ct. The foreman was a Portugese native, and several of his relatives were employed there also. Those were the hardest stinkin' working guys I have ever been around in my life. You talk about shoveling, raking, laboring...man, could those guys lay it down in a day, no matter how hot it was or anything.

The owner bought the first brand new piece of paving equipment ever, a Bomag "5 ton" as we called it. Still gear driven, manual clutch, before hydrostatic came to town, but it was new, shiny, smooth, and actually had BRAKES unlike the old Galion that everybody hated.The seat wasn't ripped yet either, so yer arse didn't get swamped first thing in the morning like the old Galion too. Something to be proud of.

I had the privilege or hauling it from the shop after it was lettered up, to the job about 20 miles away. We used it there, then I was instructed to load it up and without lollygagging, (Sammy the Portugese foreman used "lollygagging" as a substitute for screwing around,)and get it down to the next project to prep the lot we were paving next. The job was about 8 miles away, requiring me to get onto I-95 southbound for a short distance, then exit off into the residential area.

The owner's son, then about 14 years old and on the job during summer school vacation, was there as an all around "gofer". I load the roller onto the trailer, and start to tighten the ratchet binders on the front chain. The "kid" wants to assist, against my wishes, but it's the owner's kid, so you know how that goes.

I tighten my rear chain down to my satisfaction, and the kid does the front one, as far as I could see, it was tight. I went over to it and hit it with my hand, and it seemed to have a very special "ring" to it, as in one of the skinnier guitar strings would have.I'm thinking it was about a "B" cord, if that means HIGH... My conscience was telling me to go loosen it a little, but the kid was adiment about it being OK, so it was one of those awkward deals....

I head out for the next job, in a little bit of a pucker, because of the timing of things as usual. I make my way down the secondary road, approaching the get-on ramp to I-95 south, and make an abrupt left turn onto the ramp. As I straighten the rig out, I hear some funny noises behind me. I look in the passenger mirror just at the perfect, oportune moment, to see the roller seat flying in midair, the roller itself doing a cartwheel, a summersalt, and finally...a bellyflop down over the right side ditch. WoooBoy...Not too good....

I stop, get out and assess the situation, and at 17 yrs. old or so, it's all a tragedy...I'm wondering if I should just go back to the shop and get in my car and disappear, or face it like a man. I chose the manly version, but when the boss got there...the disappearing thing probably woulda worked out better...

I dropped the tag-a-long on the side of the ramp, drove back and got Sammy the foreman. Wasn't impressed AT ALL. Me and several guys got the roller flipped back up on it's haunches with a chain to the B-Model , but she was pretty wounded. Loaded it onto the trailer, and brought it back to the shop. They straightened it up the best they could, but the bull gear on the rear drum that drove the roller had a tooth knocked off during the flight, so she went...BOOMP....BOOMP....every time it came to that spot on the gear. The seat was torn now, so yer arse was back to getting swamped again, just like the old Galion. As a matter of fact, after that deal, everybody started liking the Galion again, 'cause at least it didn't chatter as you ran it, and the drums were round, unlike the new Bomag now.

The Portugese crew was mad at me for 6 months after that, because I wrecked the only new thing they ever got in their lives. They would look at me and point, and mumble something to themselves that sounded like "Gringo", but I don't think that's what they were saying, 'cause they come from the wrong side of the pond to say that I think.

Now for the lesson part:

#1) NEVER let the boss' son secure anything that you will be transporting, no matter HOW COCKY, beligerent, immature or errogant he may be; you are ultimately responsible for his (and your,) stupidity.

#2) Never tighten 3/8" chain with ratchet binders so tight that you could substitute the chain for a Mexican acoustic guitar.

#3) Always take corners with a roller on a flat deck trailer slower than you would with any other type of machinery. They are like an ice skate on steroids, no matter the ambient temperature, no matter the season.

Last, but certainly not LEAST) Never blame your stupidity on the boss' son, regardless if it is his fault, or not...:badidea

I hope this was enlightening.

 

[Grader4me]

I'm in....

#1) NEVER let the boss' son secure anything that you will be transporting, no matter HOW COCKY, beligerent, immature or errogant he may be; you are ultimately responsible for his (and your,) stupidity.

#2) Never tighten 3/8" chain with ratchet binders so tight that you could substitute the chain for a Mexican acoustic guitar.

#3) Always take corners with a roller on a flat deck trailer slower than you would with any other type of machinery. They are like an ice skate on steroids, no matter the ambient temperature, no matter the season.

Last, but certainly not LEAST) Never blame your stupidity on the boss' son, regardless if it is his fault, or not...:badidea

I hope this was enlightening.

Yes, it was very enlightening! As a kid you learned some good lessons here. I call it "learning from the school of hard knocks" :yup

 

[LowBoy]

Yes, it was very enlightening! As a kid you learned some good lessons here. I call it "learning from the school of hard knocks" :yup

I agree, Grader4...where I grew up it was a heavy Italian population, so I could safely say that I got my formal education of hard knocks from "Whatsamatta U"...

 

[Grader4me]

Was the ground flat or was he rolling on a slope? Did the edge give way or did he just over steer into the ditch?

Glad to hear no one was hurt. Might've turned out different if it was a "ride on" machine.

I've got to learn to read things a little closer..I really never answered all of your question.

The edge of the asphalt was quite thick and he had the roller on vibrate. He rolled along the edge and he just lost control due to the fact that the asphalt was thick and very hot. After we retrieved the roller out of the ditch, we thought that he would have learned these points.

1. Roll from the center(thinnest) to the edge...keep in mind that we are skim patching, not paving. (he did do this properly)

2. Do not use the vibratory option on the edge (thickest) until the asphalt cools somewhat. (big mistake on his part)

3. Stay in a couple of inches from the outer edge until it sets up. (he didn't)

So he goes down the second time, has it on vibrate and has about 1/4 of the drum over the outside edge. Apon reaching his favorite place away he goes again. Did he learn a lession? Nope. He would do the same thing again today.

 

[Countryboy]

Thanks for clarifying. :thumbsup