Any Groundworkers Or Machine Operators?

[rory1]

i know the feeling badger bear. This is today's little job. This one came apart on top of a sand pile!

 

[Badger1bear]

And of course everyone does their daily checks and greasing of the machines and notes any wear or unusual noises
Damage just happens right out of the blue and it's always the same excuse.......well it was fine when I used it

 

[Badger1bear]

Even new machines are not exempt from this...... Excuse was, the door must of come open. The first picture is the finished repair, I saw no point in painting it because it will be chewed up again in no time

 

[Badger1bear]

This machine has had its pins sheared a total of 3 times. 3 lots of tipping links and 6 dog bones. The screener IS suited to the machine, the operator thinks he has a pecker or a ditching bucket on occasions but will they listen ?????

 

[normspanners]

This little one would have broken up the drive I was modding the QR bucket coupling to fit the machine last summer I think the breaker weighed about 5-6 ton

 

[cumbriasteve]

Even new machines are not exempt from this...... Excuse was, the door must of come open. The first picture is the finished repair, I saw no point in painting it because it will be chewed up again in no time

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Nice bit of tin bashing there, you got it back well.

 

[Badger1bear]

I bought two pulling clamps on eBay, I attached one of them to a short length of chain to a 40yd roll on and attached the other one to a skip Lorry with extending arms in the horizontal position and just pulled it out.

Nice bit of tin bashing there, you got it back well.

 

[Badger1bear]

I use the skip Lorry for pulling out problems quite a bit lol

 

[colnerov]

...... Excuse was, the door must of come open.

Ahh the schoolboy defence, 'it came off in me hand'

 

[Badger1bear]

They bend em I mend em

 

[dobbslc]

It woz like vat when I got ear gov!
I think the driver of this one went back to Poland pretty quick.....

 

[Badger1bear]

I would see this as an ideal time to inspect the belly plates without oil dripping on you. Look for the positive lol

 

[knighty]

phone in hand to record although inadmissable as evidence unless you state you are recording conversation

slightly off topic, but you're free to record a conversation you're part of without telling anyone - you can record in person or on the phone

important bit is that you're there, and to some extent part of the conversation

essentially, you can record anything you can hear and were expected to hear


law pretty mush says you can record it, because there's no difference between recording it and writing down what happened or repeating it from memory (ok, it's longer and more complicated, but that's the simple version)


researched it, and checked with a solicitor after I had trouble with the waterboard - I recorded every conversation in person and on the phone after that (small free app on mobile phone) and it got me out of a sticky situation where they'd say one thing in person and then another thing on the phone

 

[MrFluffy]

To be fair those machines are out there to make money not to be babied, and if it involves wrecking something but making a profit thats what happens. Ditto if its cheaper to hire someone cheap who doesnt care for things properly and someone has to clean up after their carnage occasionally but the breakages they cause dont outweigh the difference in wages. I know of a incident where a firm needed to get a backhoe inside a narrow doorway and use its front bucket inside and were under penalty clause if they didn't finish that day, so they gas axe'd the entire H frame off the back, dipper, king pin post, frame the lot, destroying the machine in the process without serious repair works. But the value of the machine < penalty fee so it was pure economics. I have to fix what I break myself and its so old spares are a sod to get hold of so I'm not an animal like this personally. It did belong to a irish contractor though and is suitably knackered everywhere.
I think I'd tamp hardcore down onto a drive with the back of my bucket if I didn't have a wacker to hand but thats a far cry from smashing it against something immobile trying to free it off by impact. I've broke my ditching bucket but its more to do with it being rotten and already welded together like patchwork than abuse. Besides its so large the machine is lary on slopes and you have to be careful how you have the arm when moving, scarey so it can stay broke and I'll get one more suited the size of my machine as a repair!

Counterweight damage and dented doors on a 360, don't they come from the factory like that now to save the operator some time at the start of the first job?

 

[MrFluffy]

And of course everyone does their daily checks and greasing of the machines and notes any wear or unusual noises
Damage just happens right out of the blue and it's always the same excuse.......well it was fine when I used it

Its the blue that I feel most guilty about! One day I'll find a 4.98 and stick a rebuild kit in it so I can just swap it in. Every time I've gone to do it, I need the machine for some job or other and it just gets slapped back together as is. For now its like a diagnostic, you can see which cylinder is firing properly on the shape and reliability of its smoke ring. Thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it, one day I'll paint it, and find some cab glass and and and...
At no point do I use this machine for paid jobs for other people, but I still wouldnt want to be without it myself...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=vxo5gJE4QQ4

 

[arther dailey]

Thats interesting Knighty, I was led to believe that unless the "opposition" were aware you were recording that was inadmissable in court.
Re back hoes, I have a old mf 40, yes I use it for tamping rubble,but dont thoroughly abuse it as its worth its weight in gold, never will I physically dig a hole again after using one .shame tho it was abused before it got to me.Arther

 

[Brad93]

Is the digger a hire machie. Call the hire company and complain. Theyll soon be round

 

[slim_boy_fat]

It takes a special skill to inflict that sort of damage.

 

[WorkshopChris]

Is the digger a hire machie. Call the hire company and complain. Theyll soon be round

They were hear for a while earlier today but now, a different bunch attempting paving.

 

[bigegg]

Thats interesting Knighty, I was led to believe that unless the "opposition" were aware you were recording that was inadmissable in court.

Basically, you can, as a private person (is, not as a business) record your conversations.
You can admit a transcript of the conversation as evidence.
If the opposition denies that the transcript is correct, you can then ask the judges permission to play the recording.
It's not really any different to using a CCTV recording to prosecute someone.