Heavy Equipment: Why Provide A Luxury Cab?

The modern heavy equipment cab is almost luxury compared to those of ten and twenty years ago. One question I heard was why? Why have they made modern cabs so comfortable?

Older heavy equipment was heavy in all aspects. Even the steering was heavy. It often took a lot of strength to turn the steering wheel, pull on the levers and push down on the pedals. Add to that the heat and dust and the poor supply of fresh air and the role of a heavy equipment operator was quite taxing. Most operators finished the day mentally and physically exhausted.

It was a known fact that most accidents occurred in the later part of a working shift. This was because workers were tired, less vigilant and their reflexes much slower. Some reports put heavy equipment operators on the same level of those who were intoxicated.

Over time, different areas of the operators cab were refined. One of the first was the introduction powered steering. This took a lot of strain of the operator particularly when hydraulics where also improved to make the movement of levers and pedals much easier. The physical strain on the body was immediately reduced.

Add to this the inclusion of comfortable seats, climate (and dust) control and wide wrap around windows and suddenly the heavy equipment operator’s life became easier. We call them luxury cabs, those who operated the old machinery call them safety cabs.

Learn to operate heavy equipment yourself through ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools.