Soooooooo I have a question for you guys. The crew I am on had a nice D7R series 2 dozer, not a bad unit and she has 5000hrs on her. Yesterday our operator is cleaning up and all of the sudden the caution lights, and buzzer start going off in the cab. No drivetrain faults but the dozer has been de-rated and no longer gets out of 1st gear. I looked at it, jumped in and if you put it in gear it almost creeps ahead at an idle, as soon as you get about 1100rpm it starts shaking violently and stops all of the sudden. So we shut the machine down and pulled the dipstick. The operator said the oil was fine in the morning. I opened the littler service door and the dipstick has so much dirt on it you can tell it hasn't been touched in months. Checked the oil.... it was about 2" below the operating or cold start ranges. As soon as I pulled the dipstick I got this horrendous burnt smell from the tube. The oil is still almost clear, but burnt to all he......heck. The float came today and we winched it on a trailer which is when they brought us out the other 7R we have. Now I know the operator doesn't check the oil.... EVER in the machine and whatever happens probably could have been caught earlier. I watched the operator and it is a she operator today for a bit from my hoe. So I have some questions for you experienced dozer hands. I have heard all the old wives tales about running a dozer but I am wondering what it true and isnt. I was always told... 3rd gear is a no no. I will admit I use 3rd sometimes if going cross country, but almost never over 1500 rpm, you get a little bit better speed than 2nd, and you don't have to listen to the engine screaming. Our operator on the other hand is in 3rd the most, screams across site all the time, has gone into piles in 3rd and well.... yea. Another thing I noticed today... the forward to reverse issue she has. I was told forward to reverse you throttle down, she pushes the throttle button and it stays at WOT all the time. Forward to reverse 2nd gear all the time, and 1st gear direction changes.... I don't know how she can stay in the seat. I watched the tracks snap like crazy today and I couldn't believe what I saw. And lastly... her grading, its frickin pathetic. I am watching the guy in the buggy go over everything she does because our rock trucks can't even drive on it. I know it sounds like I am picking on her because she is a woman, but thats not the issue. I know a few female dozer operators and I am man enough to admit.... they can all blade me under the table. This new job is one I love, and I am the most experience operator on site other than our foreman. He is my friend and he has kind of appointed me his right hand man and he has asked me to watch out for him and tell him when I am seeing things I don't like. Is this the kind of thing I should be bringing up with him?
A Bad operator is a bad operator. If you worked for me and you did not bring that to my attention I would be pizzed the he!! off. Machines are not cheap. Abuse is abuse there is no grey area.
I cant read anymore of this thread, it hurts! He or she dosent matter, but thats just pure abuse! Im sure once the company gets the repair bill, the "machine driver" will be looking for another job! My advice: just let things work thier way out, and if asked any questions about the issue, just tell the truth! let us know what happens,to the d7 and the dumb7 hack
I would bring up everything that could result in machine abuse. Abusing the dozer by not decelerating between gear changes and snapping tracks back and forth should not be tolerated. I'm no dozer expert by no means but have spent my fair share of hours on dozers ranging from 450 JD's to and old cat D6 and a old dresser the size of a D6. I was always tought to decelerate between F and R. I don't bring it all the way down to an idle, but enough so the machine will not snatch and put unnessasary strain on the U/C As far as grading, I rarely use 3rd gear. I run mostly finish dozers, D5 size and smaller. I do most of my grading in the gears 1.6- 2.2 in my komatsu D39. If I'm doing real fine grading + or - 1/2 a tenth, I'll slow her down to first or slower. pushing dirt in any gear higher than that and you can hear the machine start begging for you slow down. I just listen to the machine and can determine from that as to which speed I need to run in. A heavy wet dense material will be pushed in a lower gear than say a nice loose pile of fill from a dump truck.
Yeah you guys are just re-enforcing what I already knew. I have noticed other things that she does that I can't stand. I will admit I am easy on equipment most of the time. When I do my forward to reverse I usually drop the pedal right to idle, change gears, give it a short shot to get the shift pressure up and then idle down again and accelerate into gear. I don't know what it is, but I am an anal guy when it comes to equipment. When I show up everyday I check my engine oil, hydraulic oil, anti freeze and swing drives. This weekend I bought 4 cans of Hitachi orange paint because the previous operator scratched up the counterweight. I have been asking for paint but got tired of waiting. Today the other operators in the lunch shack were making fun of me for spending my money on a machine that I don't own a bolt on. But which guy gets a new machine first? The one who utters that famous line every 5 minutes, or the guy spending his own money making a machine with 10 000hrs look better?
sheesh, if it beats the tractor it beats the operator, too. work smarter and smoother, not harder.
What happens when a bad operator injures or worse still kill's someone regardless a BAD operator is an accident waiting to happen through neglect in their operation or failure to maintain the equipment to a heigh standard ,as the lead operator "he has appointed me as his righthand man " you are his eye and ears ,you dont have to relay everything verbatim to him just what you would want to know if you were in his position ,margins are to tight be wasting money that way Stock
Yep, margins are definately tight. I don't know the exact price of a new 7R, but I can't see it being under a half mil. these days. And whats a transmission worth in a dozer? The funny thing is.... most of the operators on this crew are also refugees from Sureway. I have talked to my friends at Sureway about some of the people and I have heard the same things I am seeing. I'm starting to realize why a company like sureway that makes 400 million a year still runs more N series dozers than R's or T's.
not good to hear alex, does this mean i should be booking a ticket then and putting my dozer boots on?
This is kind of interesting. I just started a new job 2 days ago, the job is great, crew is great, I'm happy. The funny thing is, again, I'm the oldest hand on the scene. I never abuse anything (just learned it early on,) and the foreman I'm working with has been running a D5G the same way...it's in the highest possible speed (Hi-Stat) both forward and reverse. I can't say anything...because one of the owners came on site Friday and jumped on it, and he runs that thing full bore the same way. The interesting part is, he does a fantastic job fine grading at whatever speed he's moving! No deacceleration from forward to reverse, just moves the stick front to back. Now I have a complex because I get on it to work and slow it down to my normal, comfortable non-abusive speed, and they think I'm too slow obviously. No way to explain the long term abuse to the bottom to these guys, they seem to have all the answers, so more power to them. Tough to watch after all these years of thinking I learned how to do things in a non abusive way though.
The way of operating can be discussed but not checking the oil levels not.:nono :my2c
Find another job, Ma'am If she wants to not check the oil EVER, or change direction with no de-celerator, or try to push in third gear, then in my book she has two choices.... Buy her OWN D7 to do that stuff to or get another job.....See which she chooses.
Burnout. Its hell being born with a conscience. If you saw an employee pulling cash out of the company safe I don't think you'd hesitate. Your operator is doing exactly that...taking huge wads of cash straight out of the company coffers.
If it were your machine............. Hi, Burnout. I'll put one question to you. If it were your machine and somebody saw an operator treating it like that and didn't tell you, how would you feel about it? Gender doesn't come into it. A BAD operator is a bad operator regardless of whether their lumps are in their shorts or their shirts. A machine is just as damaged whether the damage was done by a male or a female and still costs the same to repair and still costs the same in downtime and lost production. If she is so full of knowledge and wisdom that she can't be told, then she needs to be told to be all-knowing and wise elsewhere. She sure would be if it were my bank account doing the suffering. The person who owns the machines and/or signs the checks has every right to say, "My way or the highway." Just my 0.02.
Good for you, more power to ya, let them other guys laugh, but it will pay off in the end like you said! Make sure they are nice and jelous when they see you rollin in a brand new deere! Your spent money will pay off in the long run! As for all the hack operators up there, what going on? We got guys down here that are some of the best around, sitting on pages of waiting lists, out of work. economy i guess ointhead
Thats a good one Deas!:lmao:lmao
Well, i've come into a age of thinking about why people do the things they do. I've come to a rather simple conclution: People do the things they have learned, experienced and believe in. I'm just saying that the operator has been growing up in an environment where it has been "normal" to NOT check oils and be nice to equipment. Then u get into bad happits. And they continue as long as nobody points them out for u. I am willing to bet that nobody has edjumucated that dozer operator about the results of the abuse before. And u know, when changing machine/job often, u never see the long effect of your abuse.... Burnout, i bet your foreman would be realy impressed if you talked to this operator and explained the facts about the driving. And state that its a warning and that it will be passed on if things don't change.:cool2 I am also shure that all the rest will know who told the foreman if this operator gets fired. And fiering somebody means u just export the problem to another company. Of course that can be the right to do, but who do u get in after this one? Maybee a much worse operator?? A working environment, where the good edjumucate the not so good, is very positive for the firm and everybody. And thats the way to go when its hard to find good operators. And by the way, this case says alot about the firm you work for Burnout. Are the rest any bether? Aparently not after what u have posted here.(and the comments when u painted the exc) Maybee its time to do something about it? A firm here around had problems with nobody checking engine oil level. Solution: A bigger keyring to the ignition keys, and hanging it around the pipe for the dipstick. Operators then had to take out the dipstick to get the keys of the pipe...
Operating Negligence Well, it seems to me that , it's always the younger generation, or the inexperienced that abuse equipment. Knowingly or unknowingly. Knowingly by trying to impress coworkers or the boss by being faster. Thinking they are more productive. Unknowingly, just because they just don't know ! It's all back to OJT or On The Job Training. The older or more senior Operators just have to stop and school the younger , or inexperienced people. Even nowadays supervision ? people are not those brought up through the ranks of the trades. So even they are unaware of poor operating habits or abuse. The best place to mention this , is one on one, or at safety meetings. Ignorance , is another topic. Just to mention it, roller or compactor operators , rolling along oblivious to the rest of the world. Rolling or compacting my sliver cuts on road job or airport jobs, running over my hubs ! Always gets my goat, just have to stop and hold school for these people. Seen how an inexperienced paving roller hand had just destroyed a good lay down. Created bird baths, rolled down the crown, destroyed or moved the flow lines. Just made a guy sick, to see all that work destroyed because the Foreman wasn't there watching. Always wondered why the others on the crew didn't stop him.
I've worked with several women operators. Some were happy to learn proper operating methods and listened to advice quite well. A couple of others were out to prove they could do anything a man could do -- only better. A few were quite competent and were my equal if not better. It sounds as though the gal in question here has a chip on her shoulder, but she may just be ignorant too, not that I haven't run into more than a few men in these regards. Old school again. No matter if the machine I'm assigned to has an oiler and a mechanic check all the fluids and perform pre-shift checks, I still do my own. I learned the hard way that you can not trust others to do these vital functions for you. It's largely called C.Y.A. There are certain places one can shift at full thottle from forward to reverse. It takes time to learn and it can not always be done. It's a major reason that when dozers went to powershift transmissions, the manufacturers also installed a de-accelerator pedal. Great idea! Most Cat machines allowed it to a great extent, If you did it with some of the newer AC or Terex dozers, you ran a risk of popping your head off your shoulders. I found that it wasn't bad from a D8 on up, smaller machines tended to beat you up more. In a Cat transmission, the speed clutch changes first, than the directional clutch. That allows some time for motion to cease and for the one directional clutch to release completely and the other to engage. They both will not be engaged at the same time due to valving in the control stack In the newer AC transmissions, any movement thorough neutral caused one directional clutch to open, a brake to engage, then the brake released before the other directional clutch engaged. The brake was very positive and unless you let off the thottle first before changing direction, you were thrown back and forth as the case may be. Very uncomfortable and most operators I knew didn't like that setup, myself included. It could be mitigated somewhat if you learned to hesitate in moving the shifter from one direction to the other a moment, even at full thottle. Still pretty jerky however. AC also had an open shift quadrant where you could just bat the lever back and forth. It didn't have to go around the bend like a Cat's. Komatsu's being much like Cat's design were about the same as was International, though I always disliked the shift quadrant on TD 25's. It was a little too open and sloppy for my liking. The newer electronic Cat's seem to shift well, hardly any difference that I can see from the older manual models. D7, 8, 9, and 10 tractors that I've run were virtually identical in that respect with their older counterparts. Old school again with opinion on 3rd gear operation in either forward or reverse. If you didn't have to, you never ran in 3rd in conventional tractors. It was and is hard on the sprocket segments and track bushings, not to mention the final drives. With the newer SALT tracks, it became less of a problem, and even more so with high sprocket models as the finals were no longer the load bearing member for the rear tractor weight. But, if you listen to a high sprocket tractor running flat out in 3rd, hear that slapping noise? That's the sound of metal being hammered and it isn't a good sound. There are places where you are required to run in 3rd, for example in AG field work or in punching scrapers on a high production job. But if I don't have to do it, I won't, and I won't 3rd reverse in tight quarters where there are other machines or people around, or in rough or rocky cuts. I'm too old to take the beating these days, but there is no good reason for a younger person to beat the machine, and make him or herself older by taking a pounding either. Undercarriage's are incredibly expensive and high speed operation does shorten their productive lives thus increasing cost to the owner. Might even make the difference between a job awarding you a bonus or not cost wise. Course, on the other hand, a little more speed can also lead to a bonus, so you have to walk a fine line. You should maybe mention to your pal that the gal is being kinda hard on herself and her machine, and that he just might want to watch her a little longer and more closely. If he is the foreman, than he should also be able to recognize someone who needs some operator skill polishing. I'm supposing that Canada is much like the states in affirmative action regulations and all that, so extreme caution must be used in handling the lady. It could quickly turn into a major brewha otherwise. Been there and done that as they say. Not fun! As we all know, Cat skinners are made, not born. It takes time to learn the tricks of the trade and it's not as easy as it looks. Best o' luck!
ive done that in the 8 wonce and it sounded like the think was crying in pain. going from forward to back is on painfull thing on not just the dozer but the operator two. who cares if shes a women, doing dumb things like that care going to cost alot of money over time
Burnout, If you are buddies with the foreman/boss who got you the job, I would definitely tell him about it. Shows not only that you care about the equipment, but appreciate getting the job. As for 3rd gear... I agree with surfer-joe, there may be situations where you need to use it, but any time you don't have to is a good time in my opinion.:thumbsup When I was in VA last winter we had two d8's on the job, one from PA with an operator who took care of his series one R and who never used third gear. The other from VA in a newer 8t who felt that if you push in 3rd gear you'll get more done faster (sure you push 1/3 the amount in twice the time, but who knows:beatsme). The machine doesn't have 5000 hours on it and it was already almost ready for another set of tracks, you could see the cresent shape wearing on the track chains:Banghead
with all the cameras around take a video post it here adn show your buddy whats going on then give it to him and have a sit down with her and see what she has to say if she says shes not then show her the part where you see all the tension come out of the tracks and snap tight after that fire them and then you have the proof and they try to come back on you a video. if she sorry train her and get her right on it
Alex 3rd gear itself isn't a big deal. 3rd gear on hardpan etc where the machine is rattling around and trying to shake itself to death is well. Bad. The poor grading, well she could still be learning. Maybe no one ever showed her how to do it properly. Same thing with not decelerating when shifting and changing gears. If she's been told (and not just YOU HAVE TO DECELERATE STUPID, but actually explained how and why) and still doesn't then she should be punted for machine abuse. Not checking your oil = bye bye don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. Again playing devils advocate judging from the WOT and poor grading maybe she doesn't even know how to do it cause no one ever showed her. Lying about it is pretty bad though but who likes admitting they screwed up? Either way I'd talk to your friend and bring up those observations. He's probably running himself ragged trying to say on top of things and hasn't noticed her operating habits.
Well today the foreman never showed up, he was taking care of another job so guess who got left to lead our group...... I sat down and talked with her for a minute about what I was seeing. It all started with our compaction tester coming over and telling her that none of the compaction tests passed because even with an 815F and double drums on a farm tractor we can't get better than 95%. I mentioned to her that when you lay the dirt out you have to get it flat with no voids in the lift because when you have a void the packer can't pack a hole. And that in turn brought up the direction changes, going too fast, poor grading and some other things I noticed this morning. I told her it's not me just being arrogant, I simply told her that spending more time caring and doing the job right and less time reading the comics will make the job go faster. She basically told me to stick my bucket in my undercarriage. She also told me if I thought I was so hot... then maybe I should try it out for a bit and see what she's workin with. So I jumped in the dozer. I turned on the auto shift and locked er in 2nd and went to town on her pad. She had spent about 90 minutes blading off the rock truck loads and had gaps everywhere. I had my trucks dump some loads at the end of the pad and I pushed em from one end to the other. I did it nice and slow, 2nd gear about 1800rpm and got the pad nice and flat in about 40 minutes. I didn't need to beat on the dozer, took my time and did a nice job. The packers jumped on it, made a couple quick passes over flat ground and it was re tested.... 99% compaction. Our grade master came over, looked at the pad and was amazed seeing as its the first flat pad she has seen in months. I drove the dozer over to where the operator was sitting, jumped off, she shot me the finger and called me a show off. I decided to give her a day and if nothing changes then I will kindly mention it to the foreman that maybe he should pay some attention to the situation before we have a D7R thats junk. I do agree in some respects about the younger generation.... a lot of the young operators don't take proper care of their equipment.... where I do disgree with it though is the fact I am the youngest operator on this crew by about 5 years. I am still a kid, but I am a kid that grew up with big equipment and was taught the consequences of beating on it too hard.
K I changed my mind. With an attitude like that she's certainly not gonna change her ways so get your friend to show her the door. It's one thing if the person is wanting/willing to learn how to run a piece properly but when they get hard headed it's game over. The day you stop learning is the day you stop getting better. Even if you are the best at something there is ALWAYS something you can improve on. I had a different choice of words I would probably use but since this site is "family friendly" I'll go with the above statement Edit: Anytime I'm pushing I'm in 1st. Easier to compensate for that one surprise bump in the middle of a flat area that starts the "wave effect" that you get locked in (hit the bump dig a hole, drive in the hole, dig a second hole). I make up the time by being able to bulk and finish at the same time. I can push more with the lower gearing and I put it to grade the first push. If I'm touching up a long area I'll pop it in second and then use about half throttle. I guess that's just my operating style and it works. If something else works for you more power to you (as long as the machine doesn't suffer and you get the job done in a reasonable amount of time).
So you don't want me to send you her resume? C'mon she is a real good air blader. On another note.... you better not be a better dozer operator than me, I don't think I could take it knowing your a better hoe and dozer operator than I am. All that leaves me is track loader..... hopefully :drinkup
Man that all you can do and with an attitude like that, I'd show her the door.
Should I mention the fact I'm pretty handy on a scraper and a grader too? Don't hate me cause I'm awesome hate me cause I'm beautiful
somebody'd better pass me a bucket :notworthy what the heck do i know bout dozers? zilch but what i do know is when its time to say bye bye. stop wasting your time, burnout, recommend her to be replaced asap as she's niether competent nor interested in being competent. ingorance you can deal with and improve upon, stupidity and apathy are far more dangerous beasts.
Hey Burnout...do ya think she drives like she stole it because she is a little insecure and thinks she has a point to prove to the boys???...all male environment type thing? and nobody ever helped her out because she pretended like she knew it all. Just thinkin out a loud. The reason why I say this is because years ago an old operator was walkin me around the daily checks he expected on a machine. He explained this routine because he had once had an operator that didn't check the oil on a machine because he was too embarrassed to admit that he didn't know where the dipstick for the tranny was.
Well Burnout as you can see changing jobs and company doesn't change what happens around us.It's hard to find good operater an it takes time to train young operators. The lady operator is already off to a bad start.Too bad if she really cared tho!Man in charge of woman doesn't always work the best,as woman in charge of man doesn't at times.:beatsme My ex wife(note ex wife) use to help me run equipment.She did good,and was good at what i had her doing.I would tell her when she was messing up.One day she said why are you always finding fault. I told here she was doing find that if you did it this way or that,that it would be easier on her and the machine.That i wasn't picking,and that if she every needed to get a job that she know how to do it the correct way .Yes she could check and change oil.Probably why she is EX I think it would probably have been better leaving it up to the forman,tho i know he is busy guy,but really that is his job ,unless he told her,that you was in charge. Firing isn't always that easy when it comes to woman.She may have been hired for minority,and training wasn't a issue to start with. Good luck and hopefully things smooth out.:usa
I think this could turn into a case of doing the right thing and getting burnt for it. Your friend is managment,you are an operator whose buddy is the boss if this woman sues for sexual harrassment You could end up suffering- So I would suggest taking a step back , continue to do your work as well as you can and let managment deal with her.
Is she worth a transmission,an engine,or a life??? remember an incident where a section foreman told an engineer to go into the office and read the news paper because in there he knew what he was costing him a lot less than the mistakes he was making on the ground
Might be:beatsme read above post!!!!:usa
Well... if thats a reason to hate you.... it's as good as any. I should also point out that I can kick some serious butt in a tractor backhoe, and a grader.... just not used to these new fancy graders with articulated steering and all those gizmo's. Actually.... there are quite a few females on our site. Our lead buggy operator is a woman, all 3 of my rockstars are women, and the grademaster is a woman. We're actually about 50/50 on site. Yes I was told I was in charge, and everyone knew it. Today he said something to her about her operating without me even saying anything to him. The owner of the company also came out to have a chat with us about people being hard on equipment and proper maintenance. I was pulled aside later and the boss' mentioned to me that because I have been taking such good care of my hoe that I am first in line for the 850D LC they might buy next year, and if they don't go that big I will be sitting in a brand new 650D.
well lets hope so then we will all get to see that awsome excuvator in action. ive seen the hitachi 850in action but that green paint thiers just something about it
Yep.... it makes it better.... I'm a big believer in Deere hoes. Out here the cat store has had their domination for too long. All you need to do is talk VantageTes into heading his 385 up my way next year, we'll meet in Red Deer and arm wrestle.... 385CL vs. 850D LC And if I lose.... we'll just pretend it never happened.
Working out. Hi, Burnout. Good stuff. It starts to look as if her behavior has not gone un-noticed. Mind you, it'd take some kind of blindness to miss a blown engine as a result of low oil level - from your first post. Stock asked earlier if she was worth an engine, a transmission or a life. I'd look at that question thisaway. An engine or transmission can be repaired or replaced - a life, once gone, is usually gone for keeps. Operators(?) who won't be told are a serious health hazard to people as well as to the machines that they operate. Gender bias, affirmative action and anything else notwithstanding, any company is better off without such people on its payroll, especially when heavy plant is involved. For her sake as well as for the benefit of everybody else in your workplace, I hope the penny does drop with her and she starts to listen to sweet reason.
Is she good looking?
When working on a blown engine we always looked to see if oil was significantly low, and if somebody had topped off with new oil after the fact
Good looking??????????????? Hello, Dozer 575. Just what, may I ask, does that have to with anything that has been discussed so far on this thread? How good looking would she have to be to offset the cost of repairing or replacing a blown D7R engine? I've seen a few women who were definite 10's but I have yet to see one who was a 30,000 to 40,000.
But is she????????
Put 'er down the road. I would have done it long before all of this mess.
See I told you burnout, I cant wait to see this new hoe, Nothing RUNS LIKE A DEERE! Make sure you get a good laugh at the guys that laughed at you for painting the cw.
guys i known we are excited but he did say maybe but also burn out soun ds excited hahahaha
I almost had the results already, but when I ran our 850D on saturday it was very very sick. Something wrong with the hydraulics it was pretty slow. A mechanic came to fix it but we couldnt afford the estimated 1 hour downtime as we had to finish covering the liner in the pond (we were there to 7pm as it was). My 385 short stick would win power wise for sure, but the 850's have a bit (ok so alot) more reach so they come in handy when you dont want to wade into the middle of a swamp to load it out. I'll tell you one thing, maaaaaaan was that thing tippy with that long boom and a 9 yard bucket. The cab had way more storage space in the Deere, but if you have to shovel tracks every day and put window guards on I'll stick with my Cat. Those stupid sheilds Deere makes are like a puzzle. We should stick new hires on that thing. If you can manage to get them on in the right order before sunrise the next day, you pass the tryout.
I just took the window shields out of my Hitachi and stuck em in our tool shack. My baby sits behind the gate anyways. Yeah that 850 you showed had some serious reach compared to your 85. I do like the cab on the 850's I peered in the one they have at Brandt on the weekend, but I also like the cab in the 385C's. I looooooove the joysticks in the 385's as well, very comfortable. Dozer 575... her being good looking has nothing to do with it.... but then again maybe thats because she's not so attractive. I'm 6'4" and 240lbs, she is a few inches shorter than me... but not so much lighter. I also got the final story on the dozer.... it's down for the count. Their looking for a new transmission for it.
O jeez shes a biggin, you should tie er on the back of your 450 for more counterwieght! As for the transmission, umm I think she will see the door after the company sees the repair bill.
Is it just me or have we gotten off the original subject here?
Generally, when the original topic has been done to death some mild hijackery often leads to topics which might otherwise not make the grade...so to speak.
Nope....but they generally get a lot more interesting. As for putting her on the counterweight.... I just frickin told you I got done prettying it up, I stick her on there I might as well slap a Komatsu sticker on there and bash my head against a wall.....:bash Ok but seriously she got a little awakening today. They had no digging for me so they shipped out another D7 for me to use. I saw it roll in on the float and its a 7N, I said thats not too bad. Then I saw it was a 7H. I graciously fueld it up, greased it.... and then had the foreman kick her off that nice R and let me run it.
Pushing your weight around a little I see...nice! You remind me of the journeymen I worked with. I somehow end up in the dash 7 hoe but the journeymen weren't going to have any of that. So I got booted out into the dash 6 without A/C. Oh well.
nice work alex hahahaha
Its not pushing his weight around if she is trashing the equipment since we all know that a tranny is not that cheap. Might be time maybe shes put on a roller and follow behind you seeing how it SHOULD look and why its easier for her if you do a decent job,not a mess like she was creating before making it hard for everyone behind her...roller,grader,trucks,grademan etc. I've read the entire thread and you've done nothing wrong shes become stubborn and set in her ways and grading may not be the job for her maybe try her on another machine say an excavator bailing material into trucks or stockpiling as simple a job as you can create for her and if she still can't be willing to learn and show progress maybe the trade isn't for her.
Change of pace. Hi, Murray83. I agree totally with everything you have said. What came to mind as I was reading your post was AtlasRob's line, "If they're no good in the seat, put them on their feet." I think this lady needs to go back to basics - like a roller - and show that she CAN learn to do a good job and operate in a responsible manner. Only when she demonstrates sufficient capability in a lesser position should she be considered for a more responsible position again. If she doesn't achieve such capability, I'd say it would be time for her to consider some other line of work. Ditto if she rebels against any 'demotion'. Just my 0.02. Hey Squizzy, is this enough back on track for you? LOL - with tongue in cheek.
I don't throw my weight around on site.... because even in that battle she wins.... if you know what I mean. I just figured that since we had a dozer with tons of hours and a newer model..... the person that knows how to run it should be in the newer model. I watched her today for a bit, she was working on a building pad, she did a full throttle F/R shift in the old H and she did it into 1st....it was interesting to watch to say the least. I spent some of today fixing her screw ups, and ended up back in my hoe for a few hours.
Updates?
Interesting thread. I am a mechanic not an operator, so I won't pretend I know how to operate... That said, I do get to see the results of operator abuse (neglect) and the costs associated with them. How many chances do you give someone that beats your machines to death?
Yeah I went back to a professional company last year. I tried Waiward but there was just too much that I didn't agree with while I was there. And they had some management changes that were forced upon them by the company I work for now. As for her, she runs a rock truck now. Saw that D7R the other day, turbo took a dump on it. D7 YouTube - Caterpillar D7R Walkaround
what about having a word with the person in question about the operation of the machine it might be that they have not been pointed in the right direction in the first place is it not better to try and help the operator rather than bad mouth the performance. i have been on hire to some right wankers who cant operate a machine but can talk a good job
Read some of the older posts.... it was done. She was just too hard headed and I was in too good with the boss so whatever I said was dismissed as being an azz kisser. Which is fine, im back at home with a better company, meanwhile the other company in question has been threatening to close up the earthworks division.
I agree. I have found it's always better not to badmouth anyone publicly. Co-worker, boss, whatever, it can be turned around on you.
talk to the other operator in private first, then if they dont listen, the foreman should tell her to stop abusing the rig. At that point it is out of your hands, your conscience is clear and if the OWNER doesnt care about the seven and the same woman is still on it, leave it up to your imagination. It isnt right but it is reality. ointhead
Sometimes if they dont listen to good advise, its time to let them learn the hard way. have them build the pad their way and then let them run the packer. While their on the packer level out another area of the pad and then let them run the packer over that. If they cant see the difference after a few times its time for them to grab the lunch box and start walkin
Sorry Burnout! Haha, I didn't intend for everybody to give you a toungelashing so I now feel the need to come to your defense. Guys, read this post:
Burnout, youre my buddy, but what the hell is wrong with this picture ? As far as the girl on the 7 , read between the lines my man, between the lines
Lol we're buddies? Yay I have a friend lol.:drinkup Trust me there is no reading between the lines on this one. She's got a good 50lbs on me, and I'm not a small guy. It's just a company that has some serious issues, and they are all going to be solved soon enough one way or another whether it be prosperity or a ritchie sale.
Don't get used to it, you know it's not gonna last...lol. I'm voting for the Ritchie sale by the way.....
Shut up you big meanie head. By the way when are you gonna revive the walkaround thread at DHS? I wanna make fun of sal on his home turf. If it's the ritchie sale we should attend. They have an amazing pancake breakfast.
Know when the next sale is? Never mind, found it....and I'm working nights. Of course, I could always try and get the time off.......
If you want to step deeper into the gender issue, by not mentioning her lack professionalism and skill you're insulting every female worker out there trying to do it as well or better than the next guy. Any operator, male or female, who's worth their salt would run this greenhorn off the site.
I'm glad I found this topic. It always sticks in my craw when I see an operator, new or old, beating around in 3rd gear. The company just put a complete undercarriage on the 6R that I've been running for 4yrs. Right now we're on a job that occasionally runs a night shift, so the other morning I get on the job and see the night guy ramming around in 3rd reverse. I was GOING to be tactfull about it and try to mention it wasn't a good idea to him in private but after he parked and got out to talk to his buddies I walked over to the machine and saw piles of dirt thrown up on the platforms from the new grousers throwing it in reverse I kind of lost it. Once in awhile it happens. I'm sure he thinks I'm an old grouch that should be out to pasture but this is one of the few decent machines this company has left and I'd like to do my part to keep it that way.
Hey Alex at least you told her, it doesn't matter if your male or female equipment abuse is equipment abuse. I hope this wasn't at your new company undercarriages, engines, and power trains are very expensive to repair or replace if I had been the foreman I would of told her to take a hike, there's no reason for b.s. like that. Hey on a different note I'll be in Edmonton in about six or seven weeks bud.
WOW alex that 270 operator at your current company moving more dirt with his counter weight then the bucket must be driving you wild LOL.
I have no comment Devon.... I watched a guy moved a couple yds of dirt the other day with the back of a 973. Sadly I watched him do it from in the cab.
I run a Dresser TD-20G and I never put it in 3rd reverse. 3rd reverse sounds like a good way to ruin an undercarriage. I use 3rd forward sometimes to level windrows, but I rarely get the speed up very high, I pretty much just let it cruise a little above idle. The only time I've had it wide open in 3rd forward, was when we were quitting for the day, and my dad and I were in the same machine trotting back to the road, and we cut threw some tall grass. It turned out to be mud, and my dad told me open it up. I didn't want to, but I did it anyway cause I knew we couldn't turn around. Other than that day, I haven't come close to wide open in 3rd forward.
When CAT moved the D7R from the medium product group to the large product group they decided to slow down the D7R series II. A D7R will have faster cycle times than a D7RII. On a long push like 300' and within 5 passes the D6R and T would almost match production with the D7RII. 2ND GEAR = D7R 4.0 MPH D7R SERIES II 3.78 MPH D7R SERIES II FTC 4.0 MPH D7H 3.5 MPH D6T 4.1 MPH
I am almost at a loss for words.... Are you forgetting about something there champ?
I know a excavating contractor that believes in working his equipment as fast and hard as he they will run all the time..... i asked him about it one time his thoughts were....time is money.....buy new equipment....run it to the extreme....then trade it in for a new ones before the warrentys expired....if it breaks the dealer gives him one to use while they do repairs....but he does do scheduled maintenece etc........wanted to put out a different philosophy than most have
Haha im only young and learning myself, but one time they gave me a roller driver who was just shocking, always in the way, going ridiculous places and getting stuck etc mainly lack of confidence i think. so i got sick of trying to help and one day had him go round with a notepad, tape measure and pen and measure any odd shaped stones both length ways and width ways. kept him out of everyone's way and he looked happy haha. would have let boss know he hopless exept it was his cousin!
Very nice burnout!!! thats what I like to do
Iwould not be too concerned . I've seen the know it all's ,Pro's 'and everything in between . When you assume you know it all , you soon find out you don't .Ilearn something new everyday . This situation will run it's course , and she will be gone . I try to take care of my own job .
I seen lots of guys go all out, and they make pass after pass, they think theyre working efficantly, (with all types of equipment, hoe, grader, skidsteer, dozer). When people go as fast as they can thats when things break, stuff gets hit, people get hurt, etc. Go slow and do it right the first time with fewer passes. I push in first, backup in 2nd.
Too bad about the women not taking your help. Its just ignorant of her. I wouldnt worry about it tho, things will take its course. People like that always get sorted out eventually.
This "operator" would be gone. I fired an operator for back dragging in 3rd reverse. Now I have blocked all but 1st & 2nd on the older cats and cut the travel speed back on the newer ones.
Sorry to hear that,the good operator is so important,dissussing with her,solve the issue soon.
Who do you work for in Missouri with this way of thinking? I know of one contractor off the top of my head.