Equiptment...Who do you let operate it?

GBS

GBS

Location
Honey Harbour
Hey guys,

Im curious how other owner/operators decide who they let operate the machinery.
Im a small company and just purchased a spider lift and Mini skid steer with BMG.
I don't plan on letting any one else operate the spider lift as of right now, but know my jobs could be more efficient if I allow one of my guys to use the mini.
Obviously I'm hesitant, or I wouldn't have started this thread, but also I can't operate two machines at once. Like some owners, I'm an expert at micro managing and instinctively want my guys to have the same respect for the machinery as I do (and my pocketbook).
I don't plan on letting my guys take the mini if i am not around, (i.e i will always be on site with it) but want to know how you decide who should be operating it and who shouldn't. Iv invested a lot in this and want to see it treated with respect.

Thanks
 
Hopefully you have a dependable guy that can run your machines. My climber is easier in equipment than I am, slower but that's a trade-off. I trust him with anything but as far as mini loaders- short of tipping them over you can't hardly hurt them. I did have a guy a few years years ago that would check the oil in the equipment in the mornings and enjoyed it. Now I have to remind the crew so 1 guy to the next is a coin toss
 
I am guessing that you don't have any guys there that you would call responsible then. I understand the concern but if properly trained by you or the vendor rep anyone with a decent brain should be safe to use and learn on the equipment. The harder part will be on you to let go and put faith in that said employee. If you don't have that employee then that might be the first question that needs to be answered. Trust me I know your concerns, I have to let guys loose on million dollar equipment all the time after I train them, or even the first time I use it. It's scary as hell but you just have to have faith in your coworkers, or just get rid of them and find better ones.
 
I try and train all my guys to run all the equipment. As the owner I understand that accidents are going to happen. I have flipped the dingo four times. I hold the record. Hard to yell at a guy for doing it now that I have done it so much. But, I try my hardest to kind to equipment. But things happen and will happen to your equipment when your running it or your guys are running it.
 
ROYCE said:
I try and train all my guys to run all the equipment. As the owner I understand that accidents are going to happen. I have flipped the dingo four times. I hold the record. Hard to yell at a guy for doing it now that I have done it so much. But, I try my hardest to kind to equipment. But things happen and will happen to your equipment when your running it or your guys are running it.
Click to expand...
Ha ha, I put my new 650 on its side in soft mud the first hour we had it! I let someone else drive the 725 when we first got it in Feb! Sorry for the side track Andrew! Yes it's hard at first if they are driving the lift make sure outriggers out all the time unless your driving thru gates, first time I left someone else but me run the lift but me was on a small simple tree, let them build up confidence and like you saw first hand when we worked together make sure everything goes away from the lift on rope or no rope ! Same with the mini skid, don't let them run it past half throttle, especially turning ! My 725 seems to be faster then my 650, new tracks are aggressive also! Use a mat for turning on customers grass because after a few runs back and fourth they'll chew up a lawn or ground faster then a pack of grubs ! Most of my guys pick up running the mini skid pretty quickly as well, they are all pretty trust worthy and I trust all them to run all the equipment without me there, if I get a crane that may change !
 
I'm an expert of micro managing. My crew has learned not to take offense and think of it as continuous improvement. I think of it as expressing my concerns and feelings, like any women would.
As a supervisor I know I am at fault for anything that happens with me there or not. The crew takes no offense when I kick them of a machine or out of the drivers seat when backing up, after the fifth try to get it where I want it. Yea, I also hold the record for flipping the mini skid over. Although... the last time it happened, was not me and it actually caught on fire. It was so funny for me to harass him as he freaked out for the fire extinguisher.

Bottom line...some folks are just smooth operators and some are not, no matter how much training. As a boss, we must know how to deal with it.
 
Good advice from most, nothing i didn't expect to hear. Planning on teaching my right hand guy to use the mini, I will have some time to mess about it on my own before hand. He is certainly trustworthy and has the respect. Likely me just not wanting to scratch that new paint LOL. Good advice Devon, appreciate it. Def got some good tips first hand from you in the fall. Picked up a few altuna mats this week that will serve well on multiple purposes also, including saving the turf.
Looking forward to spending some time messing about with the BMG this weekend!
Thanks for the input
 
I let my guys get some experience in my yard on the mini first. If they can turn the machine around on the turf without tearing up grass and then on the asphalt without tearing up the tires and then through my narrow gate, they are ready to use it on a customers site under supervision. Then they get to use it in the field and eventually while I am not even on the job. I don't have nearly the amount of money in my equipment as most of the rest of the folks on the forum. For me the key is to let them know what is at stake using the equipment, let them know to stop rather than push through a problem, and take several days of increased responsibility and risk. If you have a hunch they are destructive or always solve problems with brute force, don't move them forward.

The hardest thing for me is to have them pick up a machine, transport it to a site and do some work while I am on a different site. They never tend to communicate how things are going and I stress out about it.
 
I understand the want to keep it looking new...for so many reasons. But then again it's equipment for the tree industry. It's gonna loose some paint. Or you'll have to quote all jobs to consider babying the mini...personally I would prefer that option but it's not always possible...

It also may say to your team members that you don't trust them so why should they trust you? Or stick around? You want them to work hard, yet you bought machines to help them and keep their bodies in check.

That being said, everyone new to our machine (past expierence or not) goes through the same process and training at the shop before operations manager or crew leader signs off on them.

I too have a very hard time watching others run certain pieces of equipment... They get to use it you have to pay for it.
 
It still blows my mind that my crew watches me over and over run the mini and the first time some one gets on it they tear the shit out of grass and nose wheelie the thing with the grapple up and out trying to drag a piece they have no chance with. Sena head sets rock, the crew might disagree.

I still have to tell my three year guy low and tight on the grapple, and try to pick up the logs forward.
 
It's comes down to what you want your business to be, you or your whole team? When a client hires you is it just you or is it your team that shows up to do what you represented? Tools, no matter how big or small, are just that, tools or in other words a means to improve job performance.
And for the record, your employees are your tools. They are their to improve your job performance. If you've put the same effort into selecting them as you do the mechanical tools you're going to be miles ahead. Like the mechanical tools you need to learn their nuances and adapt to them. The good thing is that they have an autonomous feature that enables them to learn and develop efficiency and productivity. Your job is to take advantage of that.

There is an adage in hiring that goes, "hire for fit, train for skill". Successful companies emulate this by putting together training programs that help develop their human resources then hire people who fit their culture.

So, if you want to know who to train? It's the person you've hired and trained to do the job that a given tool will enhance their productivity then in the end it will improve the company's (that's you) productivity.
 
treehumper said:
It's comes down to what you want your business to be, you or your whole team? When a client hires you is it just you or is it your team that shows up to do what you represented? Tools, no matter how big or small, are just that, tools or in other words a means to improve job performance.
And for the record, your employees are your tools. They are their to improve your job performance. If you've put the same effort into selecting them as you do the mechanical tools you're going to be miles ahead. Like the mechanical tools you need to learn their nuances and adapt to them. The good thing is that they have an autonomous feature that enables them to learn and develop efficiency and productivity. Your job is to take advantage of that.

There is an adage in hiring that goes, "hire for fit, train for skill". Successful companies emulate this by putting together training programs that help develop their human resources then hire people who fit their culture.

So, if you want to know who to train? It's the person you've hired and trained to do the job that a given tool will enhance their productivity then in the end it will improve the company's (that's you) productivity.
Click to expand...

That is really well put. Nice job! I got a lot out of that post at a time when I really needed that advice, even though it wasn't directed to me.
I try and look at the big picture and the LONG term. Meaning. If I have a guy stay with me for 5 years and all I train him to do is drag brush, in 5 years all he can do is drag brush. However, if I take those 5 years and train him on a new skill every 6 months imagine the employee I have at the end of the 5 years. I have a person who can accomplish a lot for the company and takes a huge burden off me.
I have trained employes when I worked at other companies. When you have a very motivated employee and you train them on a new skill, and watch them practice it to become perfect at it. It makes them feel really good about themselves and you build a great relationship with them. It's great to see people advance in skills and watch them enjoy their work.
 
We buy equipment to be used, help us be more efficient, and save our backs.....while we expect full respect for the equipment, everyone should at least be able to move most everything safely. Being a productive operator takes time and once your crew becomes fluent with it you will see your production soar and your crews less fatigued. Also, if your say in the tree and something's parked in the drive, if someone needs to leave do you want to come down and move it???
 
ROYCE said:
When you have a very motivated employee and you train them on a new skill, and watch them practice it to become perfect at it
Click to expand...
You could turn this statement around, "When you train them on a new skill and watch them practice it to become perfect at it, you have a very motivated employee."
Amazing how well that works. Even if they leave to work elsewhere you've now extended your influence to the industry as a whole. We all benefit from it and become more motivated as arborists.
 
Training, training, training. Start them on easy stuff, micro manage their awareness of hazards, then leave them be after a couple weeks. I don't mind accidents hurting the equipment (insurance) - I'm more concerned about whacking the side of the house, taking out a fence post, or breaking the priceless pot with the geraniums in it. Those little mistakes cost me more in downtime, labor, and nervous fretting customers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
As for operator, I train the ground guy who breaks the least amount of stuff and doesn't leave equipment on the job. Shows they are thinking about the big picture and responsible.

Speed comes with experience and repetition - we all start off low and slow, then things become second nature.

If you like micro managing - time their average setup. Then challenge them to make it x minutes faster. Let them come up with the process. Then buy them lunch when they consistently beat it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
A note on micro-managing (MM). Train yourself on letting go and delegating. Stop fooling yourself that only you can do it right and all others need your constant and overbearing supervision. Like you, they'll make mistakes but, as long as they're falling forward they're making progress.
MM is a morale killer. What you'll do is disincentivize learning. People will be put off from learning for fear of making the slightest misstep that isn't the way you would do it.
While the arc of any process is important it's not as vital as getting from the beginning to the end and meeting the objectives in the projected amount of time.

Define for them what the objectives of any given task is and the tools available to perform it. Train them on what the deliverables are or better yet how to identify the deliverables (spotless clean up, no damage to the lawn or other targets, etc..) Give them the client's objectives for the scope of the work. Knowing this then enables the employee to make better judgement calls.

Recently I was on a job where I was left with a quandary as to how to best take down a tree given it's surroundings. Fortunately, the client was home and explained why the tree was being removed. This led me to ask further questions and determine the best approach to do the removal. The outcome was the job was completed in the estimated time. The other options were going to take much more time and mean a loss on the job.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom