Happy Saturday everyone, At my I've noticed some of the operators when it's end of the day they hop in the truck , and go. Leaving dozer tracks , excavator tracks filthy , hear talk that old timers never have a shovel in their hand , they don't have to do this or that so new guys figure that's the route to go. We have a brand new Cat 330 gc somewhat new guy running it parked it end of the day mud and tree branches all in the tracks machine doesn't even have 100 hrs which I find ridiculous. I know it's not my equipment but a 100 hr old machine should not be filthy. I suppose my point is operators new and old think they don't have to clean or they are too good to clean the machine that PAYS them. Pipe crew only guys who clean their machines so I give them credit. Anyone else have "those" guys at your job? Lol
A good overnight freeze would put them right eh ?
Maybe lol it don't get cold too often down here.
I don't think its right but that's how things are done today. I work with a guy that spends about as much time avoiding work as he does working. He asked me to take over one of his jobs. I know his wife I saw her the other day and she jokingly said there's hard hardworking Doug . She is a good person and I don't like to start stuff but I wondered what she met and what he has been telling her ?
So them greasing it is out as well ?
Do these seatwormers help with any shovel work on the job site if required or they to good for that too? Just as well I'm not the boss, they'd be goneski.
I'm an owner/operator, one man show, and take really good care of my equipment. Greased religiously, fluids, filters, etc all by the books, buy only OEM parts, completely clean the belly pans out every oil change, equipment washed every time its back at the shop, etc. With that said, I never clean out the tracks unless I'm hauling it, mud has built up to the point it's causing wear, or we are expecting freezing temperatures overnight. I just don't see the point of cleaning it out otherwise. Does that make me a lazy seat warmer? lol BTW, there are some very well used shovels and rakes on all of my trucks....
I'm the only mechanic 40+ pieces of equipment , pumps , fleet trucks , I grease it all. The most the grade crews do is pull their air filters out , when It comes to equipment "housekeeping".
The younger operators don't clean what they run. they do what grade foremens say , but grade foremens set the gps run the machines go home that's it.
I worry about the mud , logs , branches on the excavator undercarriages because the cat excavators we have mud , and dirt will screw that track tensioner up overtime seizes up. In my experience
Cleaning scratches the paint lol
Been a union operator 51 years this year. Long, long ago, on my very first job, was sent out to oil on a cable crawler hoe. We were putting in concrete pipe bout 4 foot deep down an old fence row. As my operator moved, I could see he was going to hit an old steel fence post with a track. I took the spade from the machine and popped the post out. And the laborers walked off the job. Bout an hour later the laborers BA, the Superintendant, and the Foreman showed up, and they all had a piece of my scrawny ***. When they wore themselves out chewing on me, I asked if I might say something. Told them just 6 weeks prior a piece of rebar caught in the track of a D6 my dad was running, caught him in the mouth as he turned his head. Told them all I wanted was for someone not to be hurt. It was my first day of my first job, all you had to do was say something, but no, you got to be a$$holes and take turns yelling at the kid. Then I looked the laborer steward in the eye and told him you better hope the ditch don't cave in, cause I won't pick up a shovel to save your ***** life! And all the rest of my days pulling levers, I never run a shovel again. Get one of those prik laborers...
Office guys , safety guys are garbage. They don't care that you cut your hand off , or got crushed to death they care that you costed them money and got them an ass chewing. No one cares about our safety out there the bottom line is worth more than your life in their eyes.
I don't think the newness of the machine even matters. If you don't own it, you don't make it a pigsty. I have seen my share of mud and debris on track frames. More than a few times I have had to deal with thrown tracks because of it. I am often shocked when a machine is hauled in on a trailer or lowboy and there is crap all over the frame. My actual gripe is actually garbage in the cab. Had to do a little HVAC work on a Deere LC 330 last month. Actually found enough drink bottles and trash to fill a 32 gallon trash bag. I am a little passive aggressive at first, so I just piled all the trash on the seat. Figuring that when they came to get it my point would be made. No, they pulled the garbage out and dumped it on the ground in my lay down yard. So now I am active aggressive... I want someone fired.
My thing is this they will run a machine in wet mud , sand , dirt when a hose breaks , or anything undercarriage related breaks its filthy makes the job 2 hours longer sometimes cleaning. But no one cares but when I do a job now when it's time to go home I'm going home. If you don't care about this equipment I don't care if you got bills to pay and your down for 2-3 should have taken care of what your assigned now you deal the consequences ME lol.
Treat it as you own it is dying. I got my tits twisted this week by my boss not greasing everyday(zerks are dirty) these machines don't squeak. Grease the pin not the paint around it,zerks get replaced as needed depending on the day I'll give em a quick hit at lunch not just in the morning-some people just don't realize
Not that are invited back the next day!
Cleaning your own tracks goes a long ways on learning how NOT to pack them full of crap in the first place. If you bucket turn and pick the tops rather than the wallers, they stay cleaner. When I see a guy who is clueless and turns and burns and trashes the site, I am tempted to have a word or two. I con't care how fast you load a truck, quit making a mess out of everything.
It sure is a good motivation! The hardest place to get clean is behind the sprocket. I've had a difficult time getting my machine to move even after cleaning everything out as much as possible. Sometimes the mud just gets in places that tools can't.
I'm still digging trash out of my excavator I bought last year, I swear jostle enough and something else is falling out in the cab. so far assortment of gloves, "dumb" water bottle, cigarettes. Need to replace the seat and fix the HVAC, namely the duct work for some heat.
It always makes me happy when I roll up to a machine to move it and I get to be the one to shovel the tracks and I've got a full day already. Usually not a problem when the machine has a regular operator, but when it's a machine that anyone runs, usually young guys, all bets are off. Years ago I worked with dozer operators that would shovel their D3,4G and 450H tracks in the middle of the day to keep the machine moving at peak performance. Then they shoveled them out again to get on their ramp trucks to go back to the shop.
Taking the time to clean tracks, grease and do a walk around before shutting down is a good practice in my eyes. Be responsible.
Some operators will make an attempt to clean off a machine, but some could care less about it. Meet me half way, guys. If I’ve got to work on or grease ”your” machine, at least TRY to park it in a somewhat dry spot where I can get the service truck near to it. Crap in the cab is a catch 22. If he clears it out, only to strew waterbottles, spit cups, paper and trash all over the worksite, it looks bad to the customer; but often there’s no handy dumpster, and I can’t really blame the operator for not wanting to haul it home or back to the shop in his own vehicle. Cleaning the undercarriage out is a no brainer to me but often with small crews, they are jumping from one machine to another, and are not given time to do all the cleanup. Just don’t call back to have someone else do it. And greasing? Lucky if they pull the dipstick to check the oil.... OK, rant over. If the boss or the foreman doesn’t do it, how can they expect the operators to?
It starts at the top. Lead by example. The one job I’m on, gc,d by a major national firm, is serious about cleanliness and safety. It’s enforced down the chain to the bottom from what I can tell. Every machine has burlap garbage bags hanging from them. Labors clean the tracks for me before they load on my trailer. Most of the time they will escort me even with non oversized loads. Overall it’s nice to see. Spend some money on keeping things clean, safe and a good image with the public off site. When I’m running my equipment, it’s easier to work smarter not harder. If I can keep ahead of it makes my job easier, day to day and in the off-season. Catching or identifying a problem is generally quicker on a cleaner piece. My steam jenny is my best freind. These days I’m probably more the exception than the rule. I was lucky to work with some really good people coming up- be professional and take pride in your work. Earn, don’t expect a paycheck. Sadly I realize this isn’t the way it’s done anymore.
I am a Nazi about clean equipment and a clean work site. Everyone that’s knows me, knows they better not throw a DD coffee cup in the trench or on the ground because I will chew you out the first time and throw your ass off the site a second time. All machines and site is cleaned at end of day and greased. I’m kinda a mean prick as a supervisor.
I don't get quite so anal about dust in the cab, but absolutely no trash, and sweep out the excess dirt/mud on the floor. Tracks are shoveled every day at the end of the shift year round and we all grease and fuel then as well. They packed the trash in, they can pack it out. We have a 5 gallon bucked in each pickup for garbage. No litter of any kind on the ground. I learned 40 years ago that if you buried a grease tube 20' in the ground in the morning, by evening that thing magically appears on the surface.
I thought a trench was the place to put all the empty water bottles?
Love ya brother Oxbow. Working on utilities and you come up with a piece of pipe 4' from locate and start panicking, only to reaize it was #$#@Y%&UU*& tossing scrap in the ditches. To heck with that. Garbage goes in landfills, concrete and asphalt to the recyclers.
I dust my gauges about every 4 hours so I can see them again out here. I like babysitting the temperature gauge the most.
I love this thread. Come on, folks. Don’t hold it it. Tell us how you really feel.
I think we need to hear more of this story.......
I've never been able to preach this enough. All it takes is just a tiny bit of give a fcuk and a site can stay decent. When guys complement me on the look of a finished job, I always say if you keep it nice from the beginning, it'll be nice at the end.
My policy as well. It gets old late in the fall when it's wet, cold, muddy, generally just miserable. I'm not making my guys clean tracks in the summer when they're going to be filthy in the first 3 minutes in the morning.
A few things I guess. Sounds like a management problem. Summer time, most guys will keep their top rollers clean, or clean the machine if it is to be moved out. Our float guys will let them have it if they are not cleaned off. High production jobs, mostly want you loading or leveling till dark, and most guys won't stay and shovel in the dark. In the fall, as the temps drop, a notice is sent out with the pay stubs reminding operators to clean off at night, even if that means shutting down early to do so. I like to grease. That's when you find loose or broken stuff. I've often suggested hiring an oiler to grease machines at lunch, or break time. Most guys here are pretty good. Another problem is that operators are hard to come by. If you have an *** that won't grease or shovel, but does the job really well, it's hard to send him packing and try to find a replacement. I'm talking larger companies, not a small operation. There are some guys here that don't mind grabbing a rake or shovel. 90% of the time I'm in charge of a 3 man crew (including me) I'm the operator, I have a labourer, and a truck driver. My truck driver has no issues, grabbing a shovel when he is not trucking. But sometimes if he is sick, or off, and they send me another driver...... some of those guys have no issue sitting in the truck for 16 hours, and watching. I've informed management when they say they are sending me one of those guys, but again good drivers are hard to come by, they just send me another labourer. I've actually been told by other operators, that I should not be shoveling. I'm guessing they are more worried about me making them look bad than me working too hard.
Here in the PNW cleaning you tracks daily is about the same as wiping your *** half way through a good poo. Unless its freezing or going on a trailer or across concrete/gravel then I have better things to do than wipe the tracks *** all the time. Also, for all you owners, do you want to pay a guy $50 an hour to shovel tracks a dozen times week?
Yes, but it's only five times a week per operator.
I could never have employees. Dad and uncle drive me nuts enough let alone having to pay for it
I stopped by the 52 on my way home from getting that bandsaw. Diesel was 3.69 so I topped off. There was some doings there and a couple of machines. I don't want to go out and see this. Hard to see but the old girl is growing grass on the little bit of dirt that would take a minute to sweep off with a glove. The new iron was not growing any grass.
The reason is that it packs in so hard, especially when you work in an out of water like we do, that it is a real chore if we don't do it every day.
Teach me your ways. I need to be more of a prick at work.
We don't shovel tracks daily either. The rainy season is pretty much year around so in order to keep the tracks clean one would need to operate for an hour then clean tracks for 20 mins. Our winters never really get cold enough to freeze much but we'll shovel out around the idler, top roller(s) and sprocket. I will shovel the 953 out at our dump if it's pushing sticky clay and concrete as it sets up and can be really abrasive. Maintenance intervals, timely repairs and grease are a religion in our operation. Now if someone really wants to send me on a rant leave a bunch of trash in a cab. Take your garbage with you. There is always an empty water bottle or two around that I'll throw in a ditch and cover up but there better not be anything more than that. Used to have problems with guys that wanted to run with the doors open and A/C on in the spring and fall, too damn hot hear in the summer so they kept the doors closed. Brought them all together one day and asked for a vote - cabs with A/C or open cabs, which one do all of you choose? Of course the answer was A/C. OK then the machines will either be ran with the doors and windows closed or we'll take all the glass out and cut the A/C belt. For the last 5 years we've eliminated smoking in the cab and that also helps keep things clean.
And thankfully nobody is addicted to sunflower seeds in our crew.
What’s funny is, I grew up a passive kid. Then I worked in construction in my 20’s for a guy that would call you dumb as a rock over the 2 way for everyone to hear. Every Friday was fight night at the yard and getting paid and having a few beers. I was young and dumb but could weld and operate a loader backhoe because I grew up on old ****** ones. Those new ones were like a dream. Then I got the WHITE helmet and had my own crew. I’m an anal personality, everything has its place. We had slob crews and mine was so clean, owner used to notice. He also knew I was a prick, so one day he threw a DD coffee cup in a ditch I was digging with a 325 and looked up at me in the cab. I dropped half a hoe of sand on his head, maybe a little over a quarter. He looked at me, got all Irish red in the face, got in his truck and left. Then I started getting bigger jobs. Sometimes, if you let your Alpha out, it stays out. I always told my employers, I will crawl over broken glass for you an make your wife disappear, if need be. As long as you have my back. If not, I’m gone.
Did he have the red hair and Jim Beam complexion, those type are always fun. Allot of farmers around with that. They just look like they have goatheads sticking their nuts 24 hours a day. As far as keeping things clean---that's just part of the job no matter what kind of job it is. Cleaning tracks--I wasn't a operator-but if I was loading a piece with tracks--yes the under- carriage would get cleaned--otherwise it's a great way to get introduced to your local DOT.
That's where I'm at now, just standing my ground and not taking crap.
It’s a good feeling. It also feels good, if you so good at what you do or confident, that you can have another job by the end of the day. I used to tell my boss, that’s what the wheels on my welder and toolbox are for.
Careful, not saying you're not everything you claim, but this is a pretty bold statement.
Nope not bold, just confident on what I can do. It’s that or either I just don’t care to compete anymore. Let’s face it, the older you get, you look at things and think, how many times have we done this before. It is different in today’s world. A lot of places want sheeple that get along with the masses. I gave up on that a while ago. They really dislike people that stand out with excellence, not sure what happened.
Shimmy, I don't think you appreciate how much busier New Hampshire is than North Dakota. Almost twice the people with only 1/8 the land area. ND has an edge in GDP per capita, but most of that is oil money, and it doesn't tend to stick around.
Clay dirt or excavation/demolition spoil, Did Not take that long to clear track UC or to sharpshooter bucket inner corners while still SOFT and some moist, let it dry and needed a jackhammer so made a point to keep things Tidier. No reason on God's Green Earth NOT to clean, just part of the days work.
If the dirt is nice and dry and dusty, I never want to clean it out, because the next time I hit the wet crap, it all comes off real easy. Always have a layer of dry loose type dirt on that track frame.
And if it was my machine thats a good reason I'd not use a metal shovel. This whole cleaning deal is why I always just wanted my own machine. Then no one could complain about it, or how I choose to run it or what ever.
That could be a good invention. A heavy duty plastic undercarriage clean out tool. Could maybe be double ended or have a bend in it for getting into hard to reach area's. Even the narrow track shovels can be too big or awkward to get into tight places like around the sprockets.
Some materials just require a Steel Blade.
Oil money has long since went to ****.
For undercarriage clean out, I always preferred a planting shovel. I think that’s what it’s called, it’s like a long spade shovel, gets in good and being its long, you can pry a bit with it. I also liked to spray some diesel on the tracks and sliders if it was going to be greasy, EPA be damned. Lol
Whatever works! Had a Sharpshooter trenching spade and a Round Point General Purpose shovel on the machines supplied by company, truck I ran had a good D handle square shovel worked well so long as was loose or not so sticky or tight to corners.
May have been fella on here noted to Slap the bucket on a large rock or block at end of day, a reasonable amount would loosen up make life a little easier, did not always have that option.
That's one of those engineers don't care what happens after it leaves the drawing board. A hoe is not so bad, but I just love all the bolts and parts that you can beat your spade off when trying to clean your tracks off on a dozer.
They rarely let me in machines for any length of time because there’s math and shovelling to do. So everyone knows if there’s garbage in a machine it’s not mine. Every time I get in I take ALL garbage and throw it on the ground not in a garbage bag then I get the Forman and I try to calmly point at it in an extremely calm way. Windows and mirrors if they still exist get cleaned. Tracks are cleaned at least at the end of the day but if the day is slow will clean them up to five times or more Greasing Daily however once you learn the odd quirks of certain pieces of equipment you use more or less grease as needed. Skid-steer/ CTL buckets maybe get grease 3 times a day but some other pins get skipped to next day cuz over greasing is bad too. How many people do you know that have died or been maimed or worse? If I have to do something that is potentially fatal to myself or others if something goes wrong I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure everyone is going home. Had an excavator cylinder explode this week would have killed anything below or in-front of machine. Remember it’s heavy equipment it will do more damage then a gun keep it clean!