Hastings Deering’s Smart Iron Training Event has helped Cat® operators to hone their skills at operating the machines and understand the new technologies available.
Cat machines are renowned for their innovation and efficiency which constantly keep them ahead of competitors. But with technological improvements advancing at a furious rate, sometimes keeping up with the latest developments can be difficult.
A recent training event was designed to help operators of Cat machines to enhance their skills and make the most of the advanced features available on the equipment, ensuring that operators are well-equipped to utilise the full potential of Cat machinery, leading to improved efficiency, productivity, and safety on job sites.
The three-day Smart Iron Training Program, organised by Hastings Deering and hosted by Diamond Excavators at its property in Townsville, drew participants and visitors from both Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Hastings Deering is one of the leading Cat dealers globally, with exclusive distribution rights for the sale of Cat equipment, technology solutions, parts and service in Queensland, the Northern Territory, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. In 2022, Hastings Deering celebrated 90 years since it was founded by Harold Hastings Deering, a pioneer in the mechanisation of Australia.
The sessions focused on educating customers on the most advanced equipment in the industry, and tailoring education around theory, demonstration-based training, and machine- based training.
It also included sessions in which participants could demo the machines, test their skills and compete in an operator challenge.
• Day 1: Attendees were allocated to a group where they were rotated across six areas each with information surrounding a different machine group. They were trained by Hastings Deering product specialists, accompanied by a Caterpillar subject matter expert.
• Day 2: Attendees rotated in groups again and were required to complete tasks with the machines using the technology they were shown in Day 1.
• Day 3: This optional day consisted of an operator challenge, where attendees tested their skills on the course.
The product categories and machine models in the training and demonstrations included:
• Hydraulic excavators: Cat 315 and Cat 340
• Dozers: Cat D5
• Motor graders: Cat 140 and Cat 150
• Wheel loaders: Cat 980
• Articulated trucks: Cat 745
• Rollers: Cat CS19 andCatCS79
• Compact Track Loader: Cat 255
At the completion of the training, participants received copies of all training materials, as well as exclusive access to Caterpillar and Hastings Deering product experts.
Smart Iron in action
Earthmoving Equipment Magazine caught up with several of the key personnel involved with the event.
Seb Banks, Executive General Manager, Construction Industries, Hastings Deering, was delighted with the success of the Smart Iron Training Program.
“This three-day event was conceived when I was talking with Shane Poole from Diamond Excavators and his wife Kylie last year,” he said.
“Shane lives and breathes Caterpillar, and knows we have some of the best technology on the Cat machines.
“And he said it was important to understand and learn about the technology as soon as customers bought the machines.
“But he also said that after a while, operators can lose some of that knowledge, so it would be really useful if we could run a sort of regular training seminar: get all the operators from the local regions coming in, learn how to use the machines, learn the technology again.”
Diamond Excavators operates in Far North Queensland and is involved with plenty of mining and civil projects.
“We’re predominantly an excavator company, but we have excavators, dozers, Moxys, water carts, a bit of every sort of plant we can to carry out the different contracts going on,” Shane said.
“What we’ve been trying to do here in the last 18 months is bring the technology that Caterpillar has available to all our operators, and train them up a bit more.
“So I’d been travelling around a little bit and having a look at what Caterpillar can provide, I talked to Hastings Deering, offered my premises, and finally here we are in Townsville: it’s an opportunity to bring everybody around the whole of Queensland to come and have a look at a lot of different plant and equipment.
“The technology coming forward is something we’ve got to catch up with. We’re paying a lot of money for the technology and we’re only probably using 20 to 30 per cent of what’s available out there at the moment.
“To update and keep above the progress, the main focus on everything is a lot more training, so hopefully this event can showcase what is available in each one of these machines.
“In that way of moving forward with Caterpillar technology and our companies, we can start training our operators to be a lot more adaptable in different environments and in the construction industry.”
From the conversations with Seb, the concept grew quickly. Shane lent Hastings Deering his huge facility and property in Townsville to host the event.
“We brought the crew in. We brought all of our machines in, each one operating on the latest technology that we have with Caterpillar and Hastings Deering,” Seb said.
“And then we invited all our customers. We flew customers in from Brisbane, from Cairns, and locals from Townsville, giving them an opportunity to try each one of our machines and learn how to use them properly.
“In the end, although the technology is fantastic, without the people operating machines correctly, running them and making sure they are at full operational capability, the technology is not worth it, right?
“It’s not just about the onboard technology, it’s about making sure that our customers understand what goes behind this and the support that goes with this technology.
“These machines always need to be looked after. It’s making sure that customers understand it end to end.
“It’s the people at Hastings that train them. It’s how our customers and our people work together in partnership to make them the most productive that they can be.”
Shane said the event owed much to both Hastings Deering and the Caterpillar team.
“Ryan and Alana from Hastings Deering really went above and beyond with helping to get this developed and put it all together. It takes a lot of work to get this up, especially in the regional areas of Townsville, so it’s much appreciated.
“And of course, thanks to Caterpillar. We love the machines, the way they’re bringing the technology out and everything, and we look forward to the future.”
Ryan Canal, Construction Industries Product Manager, Hastings Deering, was busy taking Smart Iron Training Program attendees through the updated/latest technology.
“There has been a lot of interest in the latest technology included in excavators, dozers, compactors and graders,” he said.
“In particular, we went through the Infield design capabilities of the Next Gen excavators. We’re using the latest Cat grade firmware, showing our customers how to build the Infield design, attaching it to an existing design and where they can use it in their everyday process.”
The Next Gen latest generation of excavators have been designed to offer improved performance, efficiency and ease of operation, equipped with cutting-edge technology and enhanced features to cater to the evolving needs of the construction and earthmoving industries.
Ryan was impressed with the turnout at the event.
“It’s such a community effort from everyone here in Townsville. it’s awesome to see the way we’ve managed to pull this together in collaboration with customers,” he said.
“We should all be pretty proud of what we’ve done here.”
Also delighted with the day was Steed Sheppard, Geospatial Solutions Manager, Trimble.
Trimble and Hastings Deering have a 25- year partnership, and Steed was on hand to view some of the Cat grade technology on the machines.
“We’re looking at the Infield designs and how people can get the best out of these machines. We can now create designs in the cab, which enables jobs to get done quicker,” he said.
“The enthusiasm from everyone at the event has been awesome, but the amount of machines that we’ve got here and the participation from everyone in the local area is just really spectacular.
“It’s a great event to be involved in.”
Greg Vaughan, General Construction Industries Business Manager, Hastings Deering, handles large equipment: excavators and larger machines from 13 tonnes to around 95 tonnes and everything in between.
And he was excited at the opportunity to show visitors the many features that come installed with the equipment right from the factory.
“I have a Cat Next Gen excavator on site and most of the features I talk about extend from the 313 all the way to the 395,” he said.
“When we go through the ease-of-use features, we generally talk about those technology and productivity programs such as Payload, E-Fence, Lift Assist, Grade with Assist, etc.
“All of these are designed and they’re factory options. They’re installed. They’re available as the machine arrives here in country and they just allow us to work in a way more productive, way safer environment.
“So with things like E-Fence, where you set up a virtual wall in front of above or below the machine, you can set up slew restrictions. All of this is done from inside the cab.
“Lift Assist can allow you to pick up objects such as pipes, concrete barriers, and the like, and the machine will provide a lifting style chart … much like you would see inside of a crane, it not only shows you how much the machine is lifting, but it also shows you how much the machine can still lift in that position.
“The load chart is dynamic, so as you move around with the machine, it will show you that you’re working either in or outside a safer operating space.
“Payload is another great feature that’s factory installed. When operators load material, they need to know three things: what got loaded where, how much went on each truck or in the hopper, and where it went from there.
“Payload technology not only delivers that information and keeps track of it over time, it also helps loader operators get the right load on board, the first time, every time.
“With the click of a button, the target payload is set and then you can work to that. So what we’re doing with that is stopping overloading, and protecting the owner and operator from overloading trucks as they hit the road, avoiding fines and liability issues. “
Greg said the best thing about the event was the opportunity not only to have Hastings Deering staff meet customers, but also for clients to come through and see the equipment working in action.
“They’re taking on all of the technology that we have available to us and really going to the in-depth parts of it.
“We’re giving the opportunity for customers to get on machines to actually try this technology out. And a lot of our customers actually already own this equipment, but this serves as a great refresher for them, who may not always get an opportunity to come out to see these things in action.
“It really was smart iron in action.”
Dick Mars, Product Application Specialist, Caterpillar, said the day allowed him to show off the myriad of features that will be part of Cat’s newly released Next Gen 980 medium wheel loader, a versatile and powerful machine designed for heavy-duty lifting and loading tasks.
“For example, one of the new features is a new tyre pressure monitoring system option. We put a sensor on the valve and then we build into the monitor the actual display showing the individual pressures between the two front tyres and the two back,” he said.
“Tyres are a huge cost item and we don’t always give it consideration we should. If we monitor tight pressures and as long as we have the appropriate pressures, we can extend the life of those tyres.
“And you don’t have to sit there and watch these things.
“We have a low pressure alert and we have a high pressure alert. So even if they haven’t got the tyre pressure monitor on physically enabled in the display, it’ll throw up an alert and then they’ll know if the wheels are low or high in pressure, and then do something about that.”
Dick was also keen to highlight the new pedal set-up for the machine.
“We’ve long had the integrated braking system, but customers had been telling us that it’s a little bit too aggressive,” he said.
“So what we’ve done is we’ve changed the disengagement strategy. In simple terms, that means as you depress the pedal when we are changing gears, it’s less aggressive.
“We’ve changed nothing in the software between level moderate and aggressive modes in the integrated braking system, and it just gives a better feeling.”
On the safety side, the loader uses a new collision warning system.
“With the current platform, we’ve got a camera and we’ve got the 360° motion detect and so forth. But literally it can’t differentiate between a person and an object,” Dick said.
“With the new system that’s going to be available later this year, that system will include a smart camera.
“It won’t have active braking to stop the machine, but it uses motion-inhibit. It means basically that if the operator is in the cab and he puts it in reverse and the smart camera detects a person approaching at the rear, the machine will not go into reverse: hence inhibiting motion.
“The way to override that is the driver has to go back to neutral and then he can re-engage. In short, it provides enhanced safety.”
Dick said that all in all, there were probably about 18 to 20 new features for the Next Gen 980, which has just landed in Australia.
“It’s going to be a cracker of a platform. Most of those features are focused on improving the operator’s performance and productivity,” he said.
Dean Alley, Territory Manager for Paving Products, Caterpillar, spent the Smart Iron Training Program days showcasing Cat’s technology offering in the compaction field.
Cat’s Compact technologies provide advanced measurement options and reliable reporting capabilities to help operators consistently meet compaction targets with more speed and less rework.
“We’ve got what we call intelligent compaction as an offering here in Australia, and essentially what that does is it allows us three things,” Dean said.
“First of all, it gives us capacity to measure our level of soil stiffness. Secondly, it enables us to have a mapping system to show exactly where we’ve been and how stiff the soil is.
“And lastly we have the Cat Connect offering which enables the machines to communicate to each other so they know who’s done what area and what area still needs to be done.”
The system connect six types of technologies that can be mixed and matched to suit the unique needs of businesses.
“Through the use of Wi-Fi, we can also send the signal up into the cloud into someone’s office so that they can see for themselves just how the soil lift has been compacted,” Dean said.
Chris Barrett, Technology Specialist, Caterpillar, was on hand to explain more about Cat’s new D5 Next Gen dozer, with one of the first 3D-ready units on display at the site.
The 3D grade system uses machine integrated sensors, enabling the blade to move automatically to help keep your grade at the required level. Infield designs can be applied to the machine while working on a country road, without the need for surveyors coming out.
“At the factory, we fit all the 3D ready hardware on. The dealership sets it up ready to go, and if the customer wants to take the machine and maybe try or demo 3D, they can, or if they want to activate it in the future, they have all the hardware on the machine set to go,” he said.
“We’ve also introduced a feature called Steer Assist. You can either have this from a design that comes in the office, or create a design, select that and the machines automatically control the blade and also the steering. It’s a really nice feature for operators.
“Also if you’re doing more production dozing, we’ve got tilt steer. So what that will do is, if you’re on the slot pushing out material rather than sort of fighting the dozer, trying to keep it straight in the slot, it’s going to automate the tilt to basically keep you in a straight nice line as you go through.
“Another feature we’ve got on the Next Gen dozers is an option to get a grade radio and grade cellular modem. They come with Cat components covered under the Cat warranty.
“You can use the Product Link modem for sending design files through our Vision Link productivity platform, getting production data back, checking on performance and how much volume you’ve moved for the day.”
Chris said the Next Gen models were the culmination of a building block of technology, which had been based on a simple function called Stable Blade, designed to work seamlessly with operator inputs to help produce a smoother surface when operating manually.
“Stable Blade complements the operator’s blade control inputs to help reduce small imperfections and control blade aggressiveness. It helps the operator take out jolts and bumps that might sort of come in during dozing,” he said.
“Then we sort of moved on to Slope Assist, which allows the operator to basically put in slope and mainfall data, hit the auto button, and the machine will maintain that information for the slots.
“All these features work in with Cat’s AutoCarry, which provides automatic blade height control, making sure operators carry and keep as much material as needed.
“So if you’re doing that heavier dozing and a full blade load, AutoCarry will kick in, automatically managing that blade load, keeping having nice full loads, and this can be monitored.
“And now we have 3D, where we get auto steer going. All those sorts of innovations help the operators stay productive and do really good quality work regardless of the skill level.”
