Got my grader ticket

[LandyAndy]

Hi guys
Just spent a couple of days with a trainer,got my grader ticket for maintenence grading.LEARNT HEAPS,was a great instructor.
Now Im officially a road plucker uppera:D:D:D:D:D
Hoping we can get him back for the next construction job so we can get the construction and final trim tickets.
Andrew

[DaveS3]

Congrats.
Just make sure you work that thing hard.

[p38arover]

Goodonya, Andrew.

The boss must be pleased having given you a go after the other bloke.

So, you'll be heading up to the Kimberley or Pilbara mining sites soon? :D

Ron

[DaveS3]

PS What machine are you in??

We are running with both Volvo's and Cats at the moment.

[harry]

bastard,
i always wanted to drive a grader.
still do.

[WildOne]

So you're on easy street now mate, no more hard work for you:wasntme:
Congrats mate

[Jamo]

Congratulations, Andrew! Well done!:D:D

[incisor]

well done dude!

:)

[Pedro_The_Swift]

you little ripper,,,:D






:twisted::twisted:

[tombraider]

Welcome to the club mate....

Got your digger ticket yet?

Nothing like a freakin huge leibherr to play with :cool: (or a hitachi)

Try doing a 65 degree ascent using the bucket to pull you up!
Its like being in a shuttle at launch and a most exhilarating feeling!

[HangOver]

well done mate, you can leave the local authority now and get paid $$$$$$ :D

I keep meaning too but never get around to it;)

So will you be able to borrow the grader weekends for when we get stuck you csn just make a new road :D

[RichardK]

Good on you Andrew, what's next?

[crump]

we just put 20 guys thru for various tickets last week due to the legislative changes that came in 1st of July making tickets a whole lot harder and more exxy to get, Only got excavator to get now.

[Ken]

Onya Cobba


Dont you go anywhere near Harvey with that thing will ya :D:D:D:D:D

[BradM]

Probably see you in the Pilbara next?

[Bigbjorn]

well done mate, you can leave the local authority now and get paid $$$$$$ :D

:D

But have to do a bit of work for it, not like the beat of the Government stroke.

Rule of thumb in the earthmoving equipment business was that govt./shire machines do an average of 16 hours per week, much of which is idling or roading to and from jobs. I saw private sector operators put 5000+ hours on a machine in a year. A coal mine once wore out an engine and did an in frame overhaul within the two year /10000 hour extended warranty period of a 60 ton dozer.

[crump]

But have to do a bit of work for it, not like the beat of the Government stroke.

Rule of thumb in the earthmoving equipment business was that govt./shire machines do an average of 16 hours per week, much of which is idling or roading to and from jobs. I saw private sector operators put 5000+ hours on a machine in a year. A coal mine once wore out an engine and did an in frame overhaul within the two year /10000 hour extended warranty period of a 60 ton dozer.

I think that even in Local government you would have a few questions to answer if you averaged four hours today.Rule of thumb for a grader in a 8.5 hour day is 5kms, thats across and back.You also have to factor in that in a lot of places its an hour and half drive from start up to starting the actual machine.

[isuzurover]

Well done Andy!!!

[Graz]

Onya Andrew.

You will miss those idle moments waiting for the water tank to fill though;)

[mcrover]

you little ripper,,,:D






:twisted::twisted:

I think you meant Grader, the rippers are on the back lol

Good on ya mate.

[Bigbjorn]

I think that even in Local government you would have a few questions to answer if you averaged four hours today.Rule of thumb for a grader in a 8.5 hour day is 5kms, thats across and back.You also have to factor in that in a lot of places its an hour and half drive from start up to starting the actual machine.

Machine hours and what the operator puts on his time sheet are two totally different things. I hold by my 16hrs/week statement. Most shire equipment seems to be traded in or sold around the 10-12 years and 10,000 hours. Some hold on to the gear for 20-30 years until it is completely worn out & r**ted but still except top trade-in price for obsolete and knackered equipment. One learns early in the job as an equipment rep to talk productivity to private sector buyers and not to Govt. Govt. and Shire people are commonly pushed to find something to put on the time sheet, and machine productivity is of little import.

[disco_thrasher]

Good on ya well done:twobeers::beer:

[Frenchie]

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

[LandyAndy]

Hi Dave
Im on a CAT 12H,we also have a new Volvo G900 grader,only done a couple of days on that,auto and cruise control,I KID YOU NOT!!!!
Had fun today!!!!!,spent the day up the pit with 2 other workmates,playing with our BRAND NEW Volvo 21 tonne excavator(just delivered tuesday).Wow what a machine to wreak havoc with,I didnt have a go with the tree mulcher attachement,it just destroys anything close by!!!! We swaped to the 1.5 cubic metre bucket and played digging holes and filling the side tipper.
Looking forward to more plays on that beast!!!!
Andrew

[p38arover]

http://members.iinet.net.au/~lisajs68/other_pics/grader_really.jpg

I've always loved these signs - I think it's to tell people what a grader looks like -= although they are a little like the "Police - Radar" warning signs that appear AFTER the event!

Ron

[crump]

Machine hours and what the operator puts on his time sheet are two totally different things. I hold by my 16hrs/week statement. Most shire equipment seems to be traded in or sold around the 10-12 years and 10,000 hours. Some hold on to the gear for 20-30 years until it is completely worn out & r**ted but still except top trade-in price for obsolete and knackered equipment. One learns early in the job as an equipment rep to talk productivity to private sector buyers and not to Govt. Govt. and Shire people are commonly pushed to find something to put on the time sheet, and machine productivity is of little import.

so we must be the only shire that upgrades graders, loaders, excavators, backhoes and trucks every 3 years and we do that based on time sheets not machine hours?:eek:

[LandyAndy]

Hi Crump
We were on the "replace it when the waranty expires" system.We were doing Main Roads work and returning a killing to the shire in profits.
They wouldnt pay any bonus on big jobs,the Works Supervisor was awsome,he wanted a little more,they said no.THE PLACE HAS GONE TO POO SINCE HE WENT TOO MUCH GREENER PASTURES.My mate,FAT BAZ,works for him,and he keeps on at me to come and join them.Closest you will get to mining $$$ without the strict way a mine is run,but it involves heaps of time away that Im not too keen on.
No more $600000 Main Roads contracts returning 50% profits(2 contracts audited).
Trucks now are being pushed to 5 years with little maintence,after 3 years they go down hill real quick,they dont handle the hard work once the waranty finishes!!!!
All our gear is above average for Shires,thanks to Marks efforts(former boss) but I wonder about the future!!!!
Andrew

[George130]

Congrats

[Pedro_The_Swift]

I wonder about Brians comments,,

its only the bigger shires that can afford to turn heavy stuff over, and then its purely finance. Most smaller shires simply cant afford to buy a new 12/14G every 4-5 years. and dont forget there are only 2920 working hours in a (non mine) year.

All Shires now have there total road maintenance program mapped out 12 months in advance,, dirt, bitumen, whatever. maybe in the smaller shires a road or two may get squeezed in,, but unless its repairing an act of god----
every minute of every plant day is accounted for 12 months in advance.




at least in the two I worked for.

[LandyAndy]

Pedro and Crump
You are both correct,no Shire in there right mind would hold equipment for much more than 5000 hours,the secondhand value of earthmoving equipment is HUGE at the moment.
Brian,why run equipment that is prone to breakdown/higher maintence costs than run new????
Dont know where you get your shire work hours from,machines dont normally lean on shovels:D:D:D:D:D
ALL OUR EQUIPMENT GETS ITS HOURS UP PRETTY QUICKLY!!!!!
Andrew

[crump]

I wonder about Brians comments,,

its only the bigger shires that can afford to turn heavy stuff over, and then its purely finance. Most smaller shires simply cant afford to buy a new 12/14G every 4-5 years. and dont forget there are only 2920 working hours in a (non mine) year.

All Shires now have there total road maintenance program mapped out 12 months in advance,, dirt, bitumen, whatever. maybe in the smaller shires a road or two may get squeezed in,, but unless its repairing an act of god----
every minute of every plant day is accounted for 12 months in advance.




at least in the two I worked for.
yep, our population of 1100 really helps, geez I'm sick of the Gold Coast city council trying to convince us to amalgamate with them.:D

[Pedro_The_Swift]

can see you in a Bikini
filling parking meters!!


:D:D:D

[LandyAndy]

Im in Pedro,man boobs and all:D:D:D:D:D
BUT THEY WANT TO BE PAYING SUBSTANTIALLY MORE THAN WHAT I GET NOW:D:D:D:D:D
Andrew

[DirtyDawg]

Hi guys
Just spent a couple of days with a trainer,got my grader ticket for maintenence grading.LEARNT HEAPS,was a great instructor.
Now Im officially a road plucker uppera:D:D:D:D:D
Hoping we can get him back for the next construction job so we can get the construction and final trim tickets.
Andrew


YOU NEED A TONKA STICKER NOW:D:D:D:D
So Andrew I can safely assume your on the Level with us...
Next will be Uni as your assured good grades.:D:D

[LandyAndy]

Going to hassle like pluck to get acredited for the new Excavator!!!!!.That and the grader ticket makes you pretty employable anywhere in the country.My ex boss who Fat Baz works with is hasseling me bigtime to come and operate their new semi side-tipper and low loader.
As of July 1 you need to be acredited for any machine you operate.
Staff swaps happening next week,there is a leading hand and OHS Safety rep position up for grabs,hoping to get the safety rep,too much grief involved with the leading hand position.
Andrew

[BMKal]

Well done Andy. Hope you've got an "AULRO" sticker on the grader.

We got a new Volvo digger (well new second-hand) on the job yesterday. It managed to walk up onto the heap, loaded two lizards and then died an electrical death. Took the sparkies nearly all day to sort it out. But that sort of thing can happen to anyone. I'm negotiating to buy a new IT in the next month or so as the company we were hiring the Cat from has gone broke. My preference is for a Volvo - I have previously bought L90 and L120 new and they were both brilliant machines (didn't have automatic and cruise control though).

[crump]

Going to hassle like pluck to get acredited for the new Excavator!!!!!.That and the grader ticket makes you pretty employable anywhere in the country.My ex boss who Fat Baz works with is hasseling me bigtime to come and operate their new semi side-tipper and low loader.
As of July 1 you need to be acredited for any machine you operate.
Staff swaps happening next week,there is a leading hand and OHS Safety rep position up for grabs,hoping to get the safety rep,too much grief involved with the leading hand position.
Andrew
:eek::eek: what, you guys actually seek out reps positions??? We dont even have a comittee due to total lack of interest.

[disco_thrasher]

once our reps have been appointed by the workers we usually have to beg the guy to take the position :o

[LandyAndy]

Hi Crump
Under the new rules there has to be one.In the past the others have got a level increase to cover doing it,that would give me level 6.We also get paid 15% above the award,so doing should work out in the$$$ department,plus there are quite a few safety issues around Im not happy with that need sorting out before there is an accident.
BMKal,saw a nice loader on a float heading thru town yesterday,probably on its way to Ravensthorpe.It had its cab bucket and wheels removed to transport it,AND 2 PRIME MOVERS LINKED TOGETHER TO DRAG IT,it was a brand new Cat 994F,what a monster!!!!
Andrew

[BMKal]

That would've been a sight Andy. Didn't think they'd have anything that big at Ravensthorpe - I don't even know of any around Kal. Last time I was on one of them was about 6 years ago with Henry Walker Eltin up at Yandi. We had 5 of them on site - one was an "E" which still had steering wheel - the rest were "F"s with joystick only.

The biggest we've had where I am now are 988 F's and Komatsu WA600's - both the same size. I always get in trouble with the female operators calling the Komatsu a "lady's loader" - it has both joystick and steering wheel in case you can't make up your mind.