Tag Archives: user manual

How to drive/operate an excavator

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Driving your car is completely different from driving heavy equipment. You do not have many things in heavy equipment that you have in a car and therefore it does not make any sense to equate both the stuffs into one. we go to driving schools to learn driving and only when we become good at it and the driving officer confirms that we are learnt it well and will not cause any disaster on roads that we are given a license. There are many who do not get a license at the first stance. They give multiple tests and of course fail many times as well. Same is the case for a heavy equipment operator. It should never be construed that driving heavy equipment is a cake walk as you do not have to deal with multiple functions at the same time. On the contrary when you actually try to learn to drive/operate heavy equipment it is then you realize the exact difference and may have a different opinion.

We definitely require driving skills when it comes to driving heavy equipment but that is pertinent to probably everything that we can drive and is not just limited to heavy equipment. Now when we talk about heavy equipment there are few machines that operators find them easy to operate and for some they just can’t handle them. As we know that not all heavy equipment are same and therefore for some heavy equipment we need operators with extra ordinary driving skills to drive/operate the machine. An excavator is one such heavy equipment. The operators do not have to attend any special driving schools to drive/operate an excavator. They all go to the same institution. It is just that some have that in-built talent which if shaped in the right way can deliver excellent results.

User manual can’t teach you to drive/operate excavators:-

Excavating earth is a difficult job and in many instances dangerous too. If not done in the right way, it can lead to severe damage. There have been numerous examples where people have lost their lives while excavating. Moreover, the terrain where the excavation is taking place plays an important role. If the terrain is difficult it indeed tests the skills of the operator. A person who does not have much experience in operating excavators should not get into it or else he will jeopardize the lives of himself and many others along with him. One can’t even check the user manual at that time to know how to get come out safely from a given situation. User manuals do not teach you how to drive. They provide some very basic instructions which one can adopt while driving but there are schools for that matter where one should take their basic training and then let the mentors decide if they are ready for heavy equipment like excavators.

Learn the various functions and have better control over them:-

The operator who can efficiently work on an excavator certainly knows all the functions in the machine and has better control over them. This is quite important because as long as you do not know everything of a machine you will not be able to operate it at 100%.

Utility of user manual towards fixing heavy equipment

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Heavy equipment owners perceive calling a mechanic equal to a nightmare especially when they do not have any collaboration with a specific mechanic to fix their heavy equipment. Machines are bound to have issues and it is the onus of the owners to get it fixed. Not having enough knowledge to repair the heavy equipment can have a backlash on their work. Finding a good mechanic has already been a big problem and on top of that they can’t sit with the unrepaired machine for days as it is clearly affecting the productivity of the company. In this situation if something that can really come to their rescue is the user guide which is also known as user manual. The user manual has everything that a person needs to know about his heavy equipment. It talks in detail about the machine and what one needs to do to keep the machine in good health. So the first thing that the owner of a heavy equipment needs to do is go through the user manual and try to understand what is written in it.

Initially he might find it difficult to understand what is written in the manual. He may see a lot of jargons in it but after going through it carefully he may get a hang on it and will gradually understand the language. Other than that if a person who is familiar to heavy equipment will not find understanding the user manual a mammoth task and will be able to comprehend the stuff written in it quite easily. The responsibility of repairing a machine falls more on the operator as he is the person who stays connected with the machine for most of the time. So if anything goes wrong with it, the onus straightaway falls on him. The user manual in such an instance proves to be quite helpful. He only needs to know the problem and can look for the solution in the book.

In situations where the heavy equipment has a major repair problem, the user manual may not be so helpful. At that time you have to get hold of a mechanic to fix the problem. Though the repair process will be mentioned in the user guide but it also requires experience of a person to fix a problem. One can’t just refer a book to find solution to the entire problem and have to depend upon a person’s experience as well. The user manual is quite helpful when it comes to solving minor issues and it also talks about the way one should be handling the machine. For instance, how frequent should one change the engine oil and how often one should clean the machine is all mentioned in the guide. It is just that one needs to follow the stuffs written on it religiously to ensure that their machine is productive and efficient.

In a nutshell one can take help of the user manual to fix any minor issues related to the heavy equipment and not have to depend on a mechanic for every small needs.

Instill the habit of referring to user manual

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You buy an item from a shop and you get a free guide book along with it. The reason they provide you with the guide book is so that it can help you understand the product in a broader way and also guide you to how to use it. It has been witnessed that people learn things by trying and testing the item and any sort of reference given about the item can only prove to be very helpful. Therefore it makes ample sense to refer to a guide book time and again you put yourself in a difficult situation and do not the way out. Off-late, it has also been seen that people are increasingly making use of videos to work things out. This is of course a nicer and simpler way to know your product but at times can prove to be risky and you may spoil the entire thing.

The guide book which is also known as user manual in the world of heavy equipment play a crucial role in upgrading the knowledge of beginners who are using the machine for the first time. This is why heavy equipment makers try their level best to make the user manual as simple as they can for the readers to comprehend the complexities involved in the machine. As a matter of fact, heavy equipment as a subject is quite complex and it requires months of dedication and hard work to understand and ultimately work on one. Therefore, it is bigger challenge for the heavy equipment makers to frame the diagrams and sketches in such a way that the end user does not find it complex to grasp. Also the language they used in the manual should be simple and easy to understand which means fewer jargons to be used.

Training videos not a substitute to user manual:-

A very dangerous trend has come to notice where people are using training videos as a substitute for user manual. Well, a training video has its own importance but it can’t ever be used as a substitute for anything. It helps people to get a better understanding of the subject they are dealing with and can teach them many important stuffs but just in case if the machine breaks down and the person tries to fix it by checking the training videos, he may land up in a bigger mess. In situations like these, reference of the user manual is most advisable. Even many training videos suggest of using user manuals in case they get stuck on something and are not able to find a way out.

It saves money on calling mechanic:-

You end up paying lot of money to the mechanic every time you experience a problem with your machine. The most viable solution is to try and fix things by reading the user manual. In most cases, the issues pertaining to the machine can be fixed if one follows the user manual properly. You do not need to call the mechanic to help you and in turn pay him your hard earned money.

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Protect your heavy equipment during winter

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Winter has often caused enormous problems for heavy equipment owners. Construction companies have at times suffered huge losses as they were unable to get the machine to operate. This is therefore very crucial to protect your heavy equipment during this time of the year when there is heavy snow on the road and the weather out is absolutely chilled. One of the prime reasons why heavy equipment fail to work during winters is lack of maintenance. You have to make it a point to service the heavy equipment regularly or else it is bound to give problems at some point or the other and winters can be really vulnerable.

Heavy equipment like graders that are used to get snow off the road should be really well maintained. Right from the engine to its blades every part of the heavy equipment plays an important role in removing snow. Just before winter arrives, you should do some tests with the machine and check if everything is in order. If it gives slightest of indication of any issues, you should get it resolved from a mechanic. If at all you have the skill to fix heavy equipment reading the user manual you can try that out as well.

Read user manual to protect heavy equipment during winter:-

The user manual of particular heavy equipment is quite a crucial book and one should always keep it handy. It speaks in volumes about the way and methods that one can adopt to keep the machine active and running during any weather of the year. So just before the onset of winter the heavy equipment owner should check the manual and see what care has been advised by the book. Try to follow the user guide as much as you can. It will really help you to lengthen the overall life of the machine and also protect it during winter.

Keep your heavy equipment parts well lubricated:-

Start with the engine oil and end to the various crucial parts of the heavy equipment which require oil to stay lubricated. The oil that you use for the engine should match the outside temperature and try to use low viscosity oil that flows faster. Changing engine oil is most crucial and probably the most neglected part in this business. People have to compensate it with changing the engine or other vital parts which are damn expensive. Coolant is another thing that you must apply on the machine. Try to keep a mixture of 70% coolant and 30% water during the winters and in other seasons, it should be 50:50. Also you must ensure that the radiator is filled to the cap. This should be done before the start of the winter.

Apply tire chains so that it does not skid:-

While the heavy equipment is busy removing snow, there is a high possibility that it skids off from the road and hit the other lane. This could be dangerous and therefore applying tire chains is of utter importance. It will protect the tires from skidding and will ensure the safety of the operator and the machine.

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