Excavator Mistakes Start Here

There are a lot of ways an excavator operator can get into trouble and make mistakes. Some of them are dangerous, like undercutting your machine when digging a trench, or working on a slope the wrong way. Others are really kind of funny, like Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. In this classic children’s book, the challenge to do the work in a day leads to forgetting they’d need a ramp to get out of the construction pit they just dug.

It Starts With A Plan

Part of the reason Mike Mulligan is a sympathetic character is because we all forget to plan sometimes. In Mike’s case, he was in a hurry to get the job done so he missed a step because he was looking at the goal. Who hasn’t done this? It’s very easy to be so focused on digging the trench or the pit that you realize you are stuck only when it happens.

An experienced excavator will look over the job and visualize all the potential hangups before beginning to dig. Mike was experienced, but he was in a hurry so he ignored his experience. In real life, Mike probably would have been able to figure out how to get his steam shovel Mary Anne out of the predicament he’d put her in. Real life experience learns how to deal with mistakes.

Training Prevents Mistakes

Before planning a particular job it’s a good idea to get the best heavy equipment operator training so you learn from your instructors’ mistakes. Carefully collecting the training and certifications you need to be a professional excavator prepares you for any job. It may not be as amusing as Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne in their predicament, but it will be a lot more rewarding to avoid as many mistakes as possible.