Pathetic operator

[Nick Drew]

This is starting to sound a bit scary!!!!

You must have some crazy bosses out there in the US of A

Please tell me these guys are in the minority!!??:Banghead ointhead

Look after that equipment you all :notworthy

Nick

 

[murray83]

I sat with a truck driver once as a labourer teased us for being anal about the condition of my backhoe and his dump and we laughed and I told him since I spend more time in that hoe than my own bed why shouldn't it be clean?,to this day the labourer still doesn't get it.

 

[Truckie]

I think a lot of you are jumping the gun on some operators. I have had 2 machines I have completely destroyed not because I'm a "lever puller" because that is what I was given to do the job I was told to do. I work to get paid I'm sure most of you wouldn't do this for free, free don't put food on the table. I do take pride in my work and I'm probably my worse critic, but I do what I have to do. I don't believe that there is hardly one of you with more then a few years in the seat that have push a machine hard then you should of or put it in a position where damaged could of occurred.



I agree, but when the boss wants it done on my time.

Dozer Boy I agree with you 100 % on this with the boss. The guy I use to pull for I now operate for.
I can under stand machines like our Link Belts being dented and scratched because of the environment they live in, but I don’t under stand how a machine that digs dirt all its life winds up like the firs picture.
The bottom line is I do with the machine what the owner tells me to when he is there and I do what is right when he is not. When he is there and wants something moved or loaded and you have to run scrap over and you tell him it might damage the machine he yells I told you to do it so I do it and say OK.

 

[d4c24a]

self drive

heres a machine delivered to me on self drive hire its a 2005 model ,the cab was so bent the front window would not fit ,apparently it was hit by another machine glad i was not sat in it ,the 4 foot bucket had teeth missing the 18 " was so bent it could not be used. it constantly broke down due to crap in the fuel tank . im with dozerboy and tylermckee i keep them greased and check fluids and brush them out when needed the jcb 3cx i have at the moment has not seen a pressure washer since new in 2003 its never been back to the yard

 

[PSDF350]

I think a lot of you are jumping the gun on some operators. I have had 2 machines I have completely destroyed not because I'm a "lever puller" because that is what I was given to do the job I was told to do. I work to get paid I'm sure most of you wouldn't do this for free, free don't put food on the table. I do take pride in my work and I'm probably my worse critic, but I do what I have to do. I don't believe that there is hardly one of you with more then a few years in the seat that have push a machine hard then you should of or put it in a position where damaged could of occurred.



I agree, but when the boss wants it done on my time.

Thats what I was saying earlier. Not all bosses want things done right. Ever heard the ol saying theres a right way and a wrong way and there is my way to do things. Do them my way or hit the hiway. So if you want to get paid which way you going to do it. Because no matter how much you try and convince some that there is a better more efficent. less destructive way to do things it is still there way or the hiway. Now smoe my take the high road but most cant afford to.

 

[CM1995]

:iagree :exactly

I sat with a truck driver once as a labourer teased us for being anal about the condition of my backhoe and his dump and we laughed and I told him since I spend more time in that hoe than my own bed why shouldn't it be clean?,to this day the labourer still doesn't get it.

That is exactly my point.

 

[Dozerboy]

When the boss tells you to take that machine put it on that truck and get it to &#@)_ delivered over there, or taken there, even if you know its not good, you know its not right, you have to do what the boss says if you want to keep your job. We have loaded machines on trucks and broken frames. You know its over loaded you know its not right but if its the biggest/only truck you got and the boss says to do it what sdo you do if youw ant to keep your job. You do your best and try to stay safe.

Here is the next problem, so let say you do the "right thing" and stand up to the boss. You get fired, now does the boss care on why you stood up to him or do anything to rectify the situation? NO, but he will make damn sure that the next guy is ignorant or more with the program. Now you have a guy that don't know or care about the damage and doesn't take precautions that you might of. IMO that could be a lot more hazardous situation.

Please tell me these guys are in the minority!!??:Banghead ointhead

For the most part yes.

I sat with a truck driver once as a labourer teased us for being anal about the condition of my backhoe and his dump and we laughed and I told him since I spend more time in that hoe than my own bed why shouldn't it be clean?,to this day the labourer still doesn't get it.

I have had the same thing happened to me several times. In fact I now work for a company that doesn't mind me taking the time to take care of there equipment.

 

[mtb345]

around here we call them hackers

 

[Xcopterdoc]

Looks like one of our rental Kobelcos! So far this year I have replaced numerous windshields, many side moldings, battery boxes. I have done 2 complete cabs and rewelded 3 fixed thumbs that were ripped from the boom. Cab steps and railings, mirrors and boom lights pretty much round out the list. I have to muck out the cabs, everything from spilled over spit cups, clothes, old food ect. We deal with a few good, professional operators. I treat em like gold when I go to service their machines! Part of the cost of a rental goes into the upkeep from abuse. And of course its the jack leg SOB that abuses the machine that gripes about the rental cost and when it breaks down. Go figure!

 

[atgreene]

I worked for a company for 5 years that were hacks. I needed the money, so I stuck it out. They would scoff at me for washing the truck I drove, complaining that they wouldn't pay me for the added time at the end of the day.

They refused to buy paper towels and windex for cleaning the glass. Armour All, windex, wax, car wash all came out of my pocket. They'd even go get MY paper towels out of the cab when they ran out in the garage.

Unfortunately, it took me a while to break myself of some of their bad habits. I still tend to work too fast trying to push to get done ahead of schedule, that's a habit that's hard to break.

 

[EZ TRBO]

Our 1996 CAT 312 had 6600 hours on it when we sold it and although it was scratched on the counter weight(not a whole lot but still), it was still in very nice shape. We have used it for all types of excavation, building demoliton, making rip rap, and many other things and even when you used the tracks to help get a rock or large tree stump in the bucket we never once let it go into the cab or any other part of the machine. Was cleaning up after a barn fire a few years back and brought a steel beam up around the tracks and it bashed the window in and dented the corner of the cab a bit, it was my own machine and boy was I P!$$ed. But I look around and see some of the other machines in our area and think, you know the few little mishaps with ours aint too bad compared to what some guys put theirs through daily.

 

[LDK]

We deal with a few good, professional operators. I treat em like gold when I go to service their machines!

Hi Xcopterdoc, I know what you are talking about, because I have had that extra treatment a lot when using rental equipment. I think mostly because the mechanic knows that you are knowledgable about the machine. I do keep the windows clean beacuse I can't bare to look out of dirty ones and I do sweep the cab out. I don't abuse a machine but on the other hand I will not nurse a machine either!

I have worked with guys that do abuse things or don't care, likewise I have worked with operators that spend more time cleaning and fussing round a machine than they do putting it to work. I would not want to employ either type given the option, they both make me burr up.

I mentioned in a previous post that I ran a brand new HD7 Fiat Allis about 15 or 16 years ago on a job in Italy. For a lot of the work I needed a bigger dozer,mainly due to the type of material I was working in. I made this fact known but they would not get me one. I worked that dozer and did not abuse it, other than the fact it was having to work in material that in my opinion it was not really designed for and that I am normaly under pressure to get a job done as soon as posible. That machine was breaking up inside of a year. In my opinion that was not my fault
A) They should have got me a bigger machine.

B) If it had been doing top soil respread or some other light duty work it would have held together better for sure.

I admit, I didn't nurse it , I couldn't I needed to get the job done. I have had other situations like this one, it is not an isolated case.

Where I have really seen the wheels fall of is when their is production bonus invloved. I think I would get to much flack from a lot of you guys if I was to give details of some of the things I have seen done and at times been a part of, so I won't go there!

 

[alco]

I agree that pushing to meet production deadlines can put equipment into situations where it gets dinged up, but that looks to me like operator negligence.

Sometimes I wonder why some people are allowed to be operators.

I had an operator working for me running our 375 excavator. He was cutting the corner joint where two 60' 2:1 slopes came together. In doing so he had pulled an 8-9' boulder out of the slope. When he got down towards the bottom of the slope, he had the rock up close/against his tracks. He somehow lost track of the rock, and spun the machine around and slammed the rock into the side of the counterweight.

This enlightened operating engineer couldn't figure out why the machine stopped spinning so he started ramming the rock until the back end of the machine lifted up over it and caved in the belly pans, the counterweight hoists broke, etc. At this point he was pointed in the direction he wanted to go and tried to start walking the machine forward but only spun the tracks.

The genius then decided to put his bucket out in front of him (which pushed his back end down a little farther) and try to pull himself forward.

It worked but the additional downward pressure on the back end of the machine broke a hydraulic pump and oil started spraying everywhere.

At that point he noticed what he'd done and saw some other operators yelling, waving and pointing at him, so he shut down.

I'll try to get pictures next time I'm on that side of the project where the machine is and post them. The machine got put back together but looks like it's been through hell.

Hey! I think I used to work with him. If it wasn't him, I'm pretty sure he and this guy were related...lol.

Brian

 

[bigblueox]

some people don't care that it's your money they are destroying. i had a highschool kid tell me he had run a three wheeled terra-gator many a day on his home farm. then he put mine on it's side. I'm still paying my insurance deductible down! health and comercial! stupid SOB wasn't wearing a seatbelt the proceeded to get out of the cab and walk through 15 tons of granular statrer fertilizer in flipflops! EERG shankes fist and this was only a few weeks after he's done with OSHA courses i paid for him to take !! erg shakes fist:Banghead :guns :cussing

 

[RKO]

some people don't care that it's your money they are destroying. i had a highschool kid tell me he had run a three wheeled terra-gator many a day on his home farm. then he put mine on it's side. I'm still paying my insurance deductible down! health and comercial! stupid SOB wasn't wearing a seatbelt the proceeded to get out of the cab and walk through 15 tons of granular statrer fertilizer in flipflops! EERG shankes fist and this was only a few weeks after he's done with OSHA courses i paid for him to take !! erg shakes fist:Banghead :guns :cussing

I know were you are coming from.
I was on a job a few weeks ago and the union hall sent two young guys out to the job. I asked if they could run a skid loader and they said yes. I had one grade an area, and told him to stay 3 or 4 ft. away from a fiber optic cable. (marked it and showed him) Few minutes later he cut it. That got fixed and I had the other one running my 953C Loader and he had the bucket as high as it would go running on a 2.5 to 1 slope I told him to keep the bucket low, Next thing I know the loader is on it's side. A couple more things happened like that and I sent them both back to the hall. They did not care and did not figure out anything. One told me he would be on a job tomorrow so he did not care to do things right.
I have owned a company and worked as a operator. So I have seen both sides. I guess the best thing to do, is do the best you can and try to please your boss. I know that some bosses are impossible to please.

 

[artherd]

Hrm, takes pride in his machine, enough to actually go out and buy cleaning supplies?! (I can't belive they didn't comp you all that and then some.) works fast almost too fast and has to slow down a few percent to care for the equipment?

Wanna move to CA and work for me? I give raises not punishment for that kind of behavior

I worked for a company for 5 years that were hacks. I needed the money, so I stuck it out. They would scoff at me for washing the truck I drove, complaining that they wouldn't pay me for the added time at the end of the day.

They refused to buy paper towels and windex for cleaning the glass. Armour All, windex, wax, car wash all came out of my pocket. They'd even go get MY paper towels out of the cab when they ran out in the garage.

Unfortunately, it took me a while to break myself of some of their bad habits. I still tend to work too fast trying to push to get done ahead of schedule, that's a habit that's hard to break.

 

[CM1995]

Hrm, takes pride in his machine, enough to actually go out and buy cleaning supplies?! (I can't belive they didn't comp you all that and then some.) works fast almost too fast and has to slow down a few percent to care for the equipment?
I give raises not punishment for that kind of behavior

Absolutely!:iagree If you ever move to Alabama, I will hire you. BTW - 30 mins on the clock at the end of the day to clean and grease your piece of equipment and the cleaning supplies are provided.

 

[atgreene]

Hrm, takes pride in his machine, enough to actually go out and buy cleaning supplies?! (I can't belive they didn't comp you all that and then some.) works fast almost too fast and has to slow down a few percent to care for the equipment?

Wanna move to CA and work for me? I give raises not punishment for that kind of behavior

The pushing to get things done isn't always a good thing. When all you were taught was production, taking the time to fine tune stuff has to be re-learned.

I used to get so mad when they would use "my" truck on the weekend, I'd come back on Monday and the truck would be filthy, all my supplies had been raided, they'd alwats leave the windows open and it would rain, seat all wet, my personal tool stash missing. Man, that would PMO! :Banghead

 

[ol' Grump]

After having sold my business in '94 and moved to eastern Oregon, I decided to go back to work, when I felt like it to earn some extra cash. I drove dump truck for several outfits, only one of which gave time to do greasing/ cleaning/ adjustments. The rest of 'em wanted ya ta highball, never mind what was wrong with the truck, then gripe about having to have a mechanic fix something when you broke down on road. Never could understand that mentality:Banghead . I worked at a local mine a few years ago. .the owner was VERY particular about machines being kept in good shape. .really enjoyed working there.

I take care of what I drive. .can't STAND a filthy cab! Same thing with a Cat or an excavator! And having something get "grease burnt" from lack of lubrication REALLY irritates me. It only takes a few minutes to get the grease gun out and lube whatever needs lube at the start of the shift ( I don't care if the night shift supposedly greased it) and wipe the mirrors and windows off. Then at the end of the day, do the same things and leave a clean rig for the next guy.

 

[Ross]

Well ive seen worse. Least the business end and the running gear looks ok. Cosmetic damage is minor and maybe its been vandalised?