Diggers and Dozers
By Mark
Diggers and DozersFeb 07, 2020
JCB's pothole purge
To mark the recent National Pothole Day, the BBC Radio 4 show - You & Yours - decided to focus upon the emotive issue of potholes. As part of that feature, they chose to focus upon the newly-introduced PotholePro machine from British construction equipment giant, JCB.
To provide some industry credibility to the show, You & Yours went in search of an expert guest. When they couldn't find one of those, they called Diggers and Dozers instead.
JCB's purge on potholes
At 1pm on Monday the 11th of January 2021, JCB declared war on poorly maintained roads with the official launch of the new PotholePro machine.
Just a few hours later, Diggers and Dozers convened a meeting of the War Cabinet, gathering together industry influencers and representatives from JCB’s Battle Command to discuss how the scourge of potholes might be defeated.
The show you’re about to hear is the audio highlights of that meeting.
The full show was originally broadcast as a LIVE video show that includes footage of the new JCB PotholePro machine in action. You can see that video here: https://youtu.be/oPiVvQccq18
Cat takes its place among tech giants
At first glance, Caterpillar's decision to exhibit at next year's Consumer Electronics Show might seem at odds with the company's heavy iron and blue collar reputation.
But make no mistake - Caterpillar is an innovation giant; and it has thoroughly earned its place among the global technology elite.
Trumped up charges
According to report in The Construction Index, JCB stands accused of human rights breaches because some of its machines were used in the demolition of Palestinian homes.
Such accusations are misplaced and out of touch with the realities of global construction equipment sales. Furthermore, the pursuit of this case merely dilutes and distracts from the true cause facing Palestinian residents.
Smart Construction
The Komatsu stand at the recent ConExpo exhibition in Las Vegas was one of the big draws of the show.
In particular, visitors were queuing to have their photo taken in the bucket of the massive WA800 wheel loader – one of the biggest machines at the show.
But just behind that machine, Komatsu had dedicated a large part of its stand to a theatre area in which it was talking about Intelligent Machine Controls and – more importantly – a concept that the company calls Smart Construction.
I was lucky enough to catch up with Komatsu’s Smart Construction Business Manager Chris Faulhaber to find out more.
And I started by asking him what Smart Construction actually is.
The Hire Exchange
If we lived in a normal world, this episode would have been recorded at the swanky Quaglino's restaurant in London during a posh lunch.
Sadly, we find ourselves living in the COVID-19 world in which any sense of normality is but a distant memory; and in which posh lunches have given way to foraging for toilet paper. So instead, I caught up with Chris Harvey - one of the founders of The Hire Exchange - to find out more about this unusual start-up company and its mission to marry those looking to sell equipment rental companies with those looking to buy them.
The Tinder of Telehandlers
Imagine a matchmaking website that, instead of helping you find the partner of your dreams, paired telescopic handler customers with the most suitable and most local telehandler hirer.
Well imagine no longer.
Matchmaker-in-chief Lee Rigby has been in the rental industry for 30 years, working for small independent companies as well as the large nationals including A Plant, Speedy Hire & Nationwide Platforms.
He has recently started his own business called National Telehandlers
What's My Ride #6
The reason this podcast is called What’s My Ride is – simply – because we wanted to concentrate upon the men and women who sit behind the levers and drive the equipment. So our latest guest doesn’t strictly qualify.
Because Jeff Pinion is a freelance Brokk operator. And rather than being sat on or in a machine, Jeff is usually to be found standing beside his.
Ironically, given that this was recorded in the middle of the COVID-19 lockdown, Jeff is one of the few equipment operators that can work remotely. That is precisely what a demolition robot is designed to do.
The Guilt Trip, with Peter Haddock
This is the second show in a two-parter recorded at the Las Vegas Convention Center and features a discussion between myself and vlogger, podcaster and journalist Peter Haddock of Content with Media.
If you haven’t heard the first episode, I strongly urge you to go back and give it a listen.
I have known Peter for many years. So when we sat down to record this episode, I wanted to discuss a growing feeling of guilt that I was experiencing about my presence at the show.
There are hundreds of thousands of operators out there that are far more qualified to judge new machines. And yet here I was, strolling around Las Vegas, staying at a nice hotel, filling my suitcase with branded swag when others far more deserving might never get to enjoy that same level of privilege and access.
In addition, both Peter and I spend our every waking hour talking about the need to reduce emissions and make the construction industry cleaner. Yet, here we are, jetting halfway around the world and expanding our carbon footprint, just to report on a bunch of diggers.
So I started by asking Peter if he felt the same degree of guilt that I was experiencing.
ConExpo 2020 Highlights, with Peter Haddock
The show you’re about to hear is part one of a two-parter that was recorded during the ConExpo exhibition in Las Vegas.
Both parts are a discussion between myself and vlogger, podcaster and journalist Peter Haddock of Content with Media.
Peter had just come from the finals of Caterpillar’s global Operator Challenge finals where he had met both the operators and their families.
So when I asked him for his greatest highlight of the show, it s no great surprise that he started with his encounter with the children of the man crowned world champion.
This episode touches upon subjects including autonomous and remotely-controlled machines, the growing skills shortage, and the prohibitive cost of operator training.
So sit back and enjoy this episode; and be sure to check out Part 2 as soon as it lands.
What's My Ride #5
Regular listeners to the What’s My Ride series will know that – until now – we have focused upon operators with – and I say this with the greatest respect - quite a few hours on the clock.
This episode is different. This episode features Sean Walkley who – at just 19-years old – is just starting his journey in the industry; and he is doing so from behind the loaders of a new and fully-loaded Cat D6T dozer..
This interview was conducted for us by vlogger, podcaster and journalist Peter Haddock of Content with Media.
If you haven’t already listened to his show, you can do so here – His is some of the best content in the business and we’d strongly urge you to give it a listen.
The Titan of Free Fuel
ConExpo 2020 was the show at which electric-powered construction equipment came of age.
It was the show in which prototype machines we had seen in the past became real, living and fully-functional.
And it was the year in which a host of new prototype machines pointed to future developments in the field.
And yet, a nagging doubt remains. If the electricity required by these new machines is drawn from a power station or a generator, then that is self-defeating and largely undermines any claims of emissions-free operation.
So when I was invited to interview a man described as “The Titan of Free Fuel” who – it was claimed – had a solution to this issue, I was intrigued.
As it turns out, the interview you’re about to hear turned out to be one of the most fascinating and insightful of my trip to Las Vegas.
And while it was neither a digger nor a dozer, the Envision ARC that you’re about to hear about was – without question – the most exciting and potentially game-changing product I saw at the show.
So sit back and enjoy this interview with Desmond Wheatley – The Titan of Free Fuel.
Hitachi takes control
Anyone that is active on social media will know that Hitachi has recently been posting some cryptic messages that seem to hint at a new development in which machine control takes centre stage.
We can exclusively reveal that the new development is a new series of mid-range excavators and that machine operation is very much to the fore.
At the time of recording, we haven't even seen a photo of the new machines; and they're not being shown at ConExpo.
However, product specialist Wilbert Blom gave s the low-down on the new machines ahead of their introduction.
There's an app for that
Could apps be used to help operators improve their skills, reduce fuel consumption and increase production levels? Could they be used to help refresh the skills of experienced operators?
Volvo Construction Equipment's Carina McLane certainly thinks so; and she is using all her skills and insight to bring that concept to fruition.
Whats My Ride #4
Our latest guest on the What’s My Ride show is arguably the most famous machine operator in the UK. Which is ironic because these days he spends more time behind a computer keyboard than he does behind the leers of a digger.
Nick Drew is the name and the face behind the Digger Man Blog; and he has made a successful leap from digger driver to respected industry blogger and journalist.
Viva Las Vegas
This time next week, the eyes of the construction equipment world will turn towards Las Vegas and the latest ConExpo exhibition.
The exhibition will be the largest gathering of construction equipment in the world this year, and the organisers are expecting upwards of 140,000 visitors to the show.
However, to get you – and us – in the ConExpo spirit, we spoke exclusively to show director Dana Wuesthoff to get a flavour of what the show has in store.
What's My Ride #3
In this enlightened age, a woman working in construction is not exactly newsworthy. But when Pamela Evans climbed behind the levers of an excavator some 20 years ago, she was a pioneer.
In this latest episode of What’s My Ride, Pamela shares her experiences and her thoughts on why more young women should consider a career as a plant operator.
What's My Ride #2
Our guest on the latest episode of Wha's My Ride is Paul McHale. Pal's skills as a high reach demolition excavator operator have taken him - literally - around the world, taking in New Zealand, the Falkland Islands, Norway and Antarctica.
So sit back and enjoy some global travel in the company of Paul McHale on What's My Ride, exclusive to Diggers and Dozers.
What's My Ride #1
In the first-ever episode of What's My Ride, we speak to Nigel Williams, a CPCS blue card plant operator who is currently spending his working day behind the levers of a Kobelco SK180 excavator.
Nigel shares his journey into the construction sector, the machine he likes the best, the machine he liked the least, and why he loves his current ride.
So sit back and enjoy this conversation with a man at the sharp end of the construction sector.
Sunward Excavators
Set aside your preconceptions about Chinese-built equipment. Like the Japanese and Korean machines that have gone before them, the latest Chinese machines look markedly different from their first-generation predecessors.
Diggers and Dozers' editor Mark Anthony takes a closer look at the Sunward Excavator range, the first of a new breed of Chinese machines.
Mecalac TA3SH Site Dumper
In this, the pilot episode of the new Diggers and Dozers podcast, we put the spotlight on the new TA3SH power swivel site dumper from Mecalac.
The machine will not be unveiled until the American Renal Association (ARA) show next month (February 2020), so this is a sneak preview of a 3,000 kg capacity machine that features Mecalac's Capture telematics system for remote monitoring, together with microwave radar hazard detection for added safety.
You can read full details of the new machine at Diggersandzers.com.
Check back soon to hear more from the Diggers and Dozers podcast or - better still - hit the subscribe button on your preferred podcast platform.
Diggers & Dozers Podcast - Coming Soon
Welcome to the new sound of construction equipment; the Diggers and Dozers Podcast.
Designed to bring you the latest news, views and trends from the global construction equipment sector, this new podcast is now trundling towards you like a Cat D11 running at full speed.
So listen up and subscribe now.