Caterpillar Operator Challenge Finals 2008

We talked with them all to find out more. Our blog and video today concentrate on the teamwork and support necessary, like in any other skilled sport or work, to compete in the Operator Challenge while working with Caterpillar equipment.

We focus on Jimmy Anderson and Nigel Pritchard, more first-time competitors at the event, and the Barlien family from Norway. We say Barlien family because wherever Thomas, their Cat Operator Husband and Father goes, his family are there in support. Half of the Barlien family aren’t even old enough to see above the joystick controls, but you get the feeling these children are fast learning from Thomas what skills are required to operate a Cat.

Nigel and his cousin Stuart got into machine operation through their own Fathers, who were plant operators in their day. Nigel’s now a safety officer and trainer, but clearly the skills haven’t left him, as he’s pointing well in the competition near the end of the third day – somewhat to his surprise on some machines he was less familiar with. Talent shines. On the machines he knew, like the Mini Excavator, on which he’d spent 12 years as an Operator – he excelled.

Looking forward to next year and the competition, Nigel said, sounding like a man who’s relishing the challenge:

“I heard that the Americans and others might be coming out. That would make it a really international competition”. .

Stuart’s excuse for not being part of the competition was that he didn’t know about the competition this year, but he’s excited about it now:
“Next year I might just enter it and win, to show you lot how it’s done!”.

One of the interesting things about talking to Nigel and Stuart is the different words we all use for the same machines. Nigel talked about his challenges on the “traxcavator” test, and when he saw a blank look on my face, described the machine as a “drot”. Blank again. Not until he described what he’d done in the test was it clear that he was talking about what Caterpillar officially call a “track loader“. From then on it seemed easier to talk about model numbers…

Before the competition, Jimmy Anderson, from Edinburgh, Scotland, now living in Thailand, was looking forward to several machines he had never operated:

“Never used a GPS system (Accugrade), never even sat in one of these Graders, and I’ve never driven anything as big as that Giant Loader, which doesn’t even have a steering wheel. Although I’m dying to give it a try!

I’m not expecting to win the competition. Give me 7 weeks on a machine and I’ll beat anyone, but 7 minutes…”.

But, yet again, as we already have seen with Latvia, now the UK, and many other new competitors also – talent shines. Talking after his test on the Large Excavator with Accugrade (GPS Control System), Jimmy’s been happy with his performances on all the machines and has done far better than his own expectations.

As a parting comment he mentioned that he’d like to see more information about the competition on the web. So here it is! Let everyone know about the Caterpillar Operator Challenge!

As well as Jimmy and Nigel, we spoke today with Don Doherty, younger than either Jimmy or Nigel, but talented, and relatively experienced in the Cat Operator Challenge Finals, and Peter Doherty his Father, here supporting him and, unsurprisingly, a long-time Caterpillar Machine Operator.