The day of the Operator Challenge UK Final took place on Tuesday 23rd September and started in great anticipation over coffee and a bacon sandwich. With the top operators from each of the regional heats gathered together at the Caterpillar Leicester plant, the prospect of an entertaining and nail-biting day was a certainty.
The UK Final comprised four challenges, all varying in machine size and complexity. All four challenges had been designed and constructed by experienced Caterpillar machine demonstrators, ensuring that there wouldn’t be any coasting by the participants and that they were pushed to their limits.
The tasks included:
- 302.5C Mini Hydraulic Excavator. Operators had to load a bucket attached to a TH220B telehandler in the fastest time possible without spillage, touching the telehandler bucket, touching the sides of the trench or moving the machine itself. Once the telehandler bucket was full and the excavator back to its starting position, the clock was stopped.
- 725 Articulated Dump Truck (ADT). Operators we asked to negotiate the ADT around a custom-built course including cones, a wheel loader, an excavator and to dump a load before returning to the start/finish line.
- 908H Compact Wheel Loader. This task involved manoeuvring the wheel loader around a tight track with a pallet on the machine forks. On the pallet were a couple of cones with a ball on top of each one.
- 305C CR Mini Hydraulic Excavator. The 305C CR was fitted with a hydraulic kerb grab. Operators were challenged with using the grab to pick up the kerb stones and to place them into a neat line. For every 1cm the stones were out of line, operators would pick up a 10 second penalty.
Through consistently performing accurately and efficiently, the top 3 operators were not necessarily the fastest competitors, but the ones who operated safely and consistently made the least amount of mistakes, resulting in a time penalty.
The following operators where crowned the best operators in the UK:
- 1st – Don Doherty
- 2nd – Gary Lambert
- 3rd – Jimmy Anderson
The top operators by challenge category were:
- 302.5C Mini Hydraulic Excavator – Mike Gibbons
- 725 ADT – Nigel Pritchard
- 908H – Lee Graham
- 305C CR – Gary Lambert
Many congratulations go out to the winners of each event, and the top three overall winners who will be going to Malaga in the first week of November to represent Team GB in the European final.
Look out for more details about the 11th Caterpillar European Operator Final where operators will be tested over a whole week on over 8 machines against the best operators the continent can throw at them.