EURO FOCUS

CHALLENGING TASKS

Peter Haddock reports from Spain on the welcome return of the Caterpillar global operator challenge

urope’s best operators,

Eincluding Bryan Williamson from the UK and Tommy Murphy from Ireland, gathered at the Caterpillar Demonstration and Learning Centre in Malaga on 5 and 6 October. They were competing for a chance to win one of three places at the Cat Global Operator Challenge fi nal, to be held at the ConExpo show at Las Vegas in March 2023.

For some operators, it was their fi rst time at a European fi nal, but for Tommy Murphy, it represented a return to the competition he so nearly won at ConExpo 2020, eventually coming second to Jaus Neigum of Canada.

Caterpillar kicked off the event with a choreographed machine display, including a show stopping fi reworks display. The next day it was down to business, when the four very different trials were revealed to the operators.

MAKE THE GRADE

The fi rst challenge was entitled ‘Make the Grade’ and involved using the integrated 2D guidance system in a Cat 326 to accurately excavate a 6m-long bench in soft sand. To add a bit more to this timed challenge, the operator fi rst had to navigate the tracked excavator to the work area round a steel drum, just using the excavator’s joystick steering system.

On arrival at the digging area, the left corner of the bucket had to be benched on a designated spot to set-up the 2D guidance system, before grading commenced. Once complete, they tracked back to the starting point, and the timed run fi nished when the bucket was on the ground. The judges then measured the accuracy of the work, and points were deducted for every deviation over 10mm.

PERFECT PAYLOAD

For the ‘Perfect Payload’ challenge, operators fi lled the skip of a quarry hauler with a Cat 982XE wheel loader, navigating tight turns and slopes in the carry part of the cycle. The aim of the challenge to was to load a specifi c weight of aggregate over two passes using the 982XE’s integrated payload management system.

All the contestants opted for a big fi rst bucketful, although some failed to keep all the contents in the bucket during the challenging carry from stockpile to hauler. The contest came down to how quickly and accurately the operators could tip off the desired weight of material in the partial second bucketful to meet the target payload in the back of the truck.

TIME TO MOVE

The ‘Time to Move’ challenge used a Cat MH3022 wheeled materials handler equipped with a grab. Contestants, sitting in the hydraulically-raised cab, needed to take full advantage of the machine’s reach of 10.2m to pick up tyres from the bottom of an open-top container. Slewing 180 degrees, the tyres then had to be placed on the branches of a steel tree-like structure.

This part of the competition was largely decided by the operators’ ability to keep the tyre in the grab at an orientation to allow

Left, and below: The rounds at the European fi nals of the Cat Operator challenge involved making best use of an excavator, a wheel loader, a materials handler and a backhoe loader.

THE WINNERS

In fi rst place was Pontus Eriksson from Sweden.

easy placement on the steel frame. Time penalties were awarded if the tyre had to be repositioned, or fell from the grab and had to be retrieved.

CHAIN GANG

The challenge that looked easy, but proved to be the downfall of the most experienced continental European operators, was the ‘Chain Gang, which involved using a Cat 432 backhoe loader.

The challenge was devised by Cat trainer/demonstrator Simon Hill, who said, “When we devised the challenge, we wanted it to refl ect the diverse capabilities of the backhoe and also challenge the skills of the operators, some of whom had never operated a Cat backhoe before.

“The fi rst section was all about speed and control, in which two tennis balls placed on cones had to be knocked over in order by the front loader bucket teeth. We then wanted the operators to do a quick change-over to the backhoe for more precision work. This also required the operators to gauge where to set up the machine, in order to be able to reach the next part of the challenge. Get this wrong and it becomes more diffi cult.

“We devised the next section to challenge both accuracy and control, with a pink hook mounted on to the backhoe bucket. The hook is required to hook a ring connected to a chain that lifts a weight. Once hooked, the weight has to be moved to connect into a specially fabricated container. It requires delicate control to slot the weight into the container, lift it and move it to a dedicated touch plate. Once this has touched the plate, the container then needs to be moved back to its original spot, the weight lifted out and replaced to its original position.

“If this is completed without any of the items touching the sand around the plate, then the operator will move on penaltyfree. Once this task is completed, it’s a race to reverse the machine back into its designated tight parking spot.”

In second place was Sebastian Behr from Germany.

In third place was Lukasz Mokrzynski from Poland.

Competing in excavator, wheel loader, materials handler and backhoe loader trials, there was plenty to challenge even the most experienced operators. In fi rst place was Pontus Eriksson, a general construction operator with 12 years of experience from Sweden. In second place was Sebastian Behr, a road and general construction operator with 25 years of experience from Germany. And in third place was Lukasz Mokrzynski from Poland, a water and sewage services specialist with 15 years of experience under his belt. We wish them well, as they represent Europe in the toughest competition on earth.