The competitors from Australia and New Zealand filled the second to seventh placings in the Asia Pacific Finals of the Cat Global Operator Challenge in Japan, but it was local Norio Miyajima who took off the prestigious championship title. Shane Poole from Queensland took the first runner-up spot, and third on the podium was Tim Lamb from NSW.
Held at Caterpillar’s Chichibu D-Tech Center in Saitama Prefecture, the event featured 19 top operators, each having qualified through local Cat dealer heats across the region.
Gathered to compete across a series of machine-operation tests designed to measure precision, speed and safe equipment operation, they participated in gruelling challenges held over two days and used three separate machine challenges to determine the best overall operator in the Asia Pacific region.
The top three finishers have earned places in the global final at CONEXPO-CON/AGG in Las Vegas (scheduled for March 2026), where they will battle it out for the grand title with the six finalists from the other regions (Americas and EAME).
Event highlights
Norio was crowned the Asia Pacific GOC champion after finishing the three events with the best score, which is a combination of time and penalties.
Competitors were scored on a combination of task completion time and situation-specific penalties across three core events, with the scoring rewarding accuracy and safe technique as much as outright speed — reflecting the GOC’s emphasis on real-world operating skill and equipment care.
• The Big Dig Challenge tested competitors on their accuracy, control and speed at using a Cat 320 excavator to dig a trench using 3D Grade technology with a defined depth and length. This was followed by using the bucket to score soccer balls into a stacked tyre column.
The best performer in this challenge was Tim Lamb of Daracon Group, representing dealer WesTrac NSW.
• The Load & Go Challenge showcased the operators’ agility and adaptability as they navigated through a defined slalom course with a Cat 938 small wheel loader.
Operators filled the bucket with aggregate and traversed a difficult course to dump it into a Cat 725 articulated truck. They returned to the pile in reverse and filled the bucket again to achieve a total target load of 8000 kg. The final test continued where operators had to knock basketballs off safety cones to make the finish.
The winner of this round was Norio Miyajima of Tanaka Industry, representing dealer Nippon Caterpillar, Japan.
• The final challenge, Precision Tractor, tested the operators’ versatility and precision by operating a Cat D4 dozer to manoeuvre through a difficult course using the key features of the machine without touching any obstacles.
The operators started by moving a ball through a drum obstacle course, then sliding a pipe along a rope using the dozer’s blade. They finished by spreading a pile of dirt to grade before parking the machine safely. This challenge was a tribute commemorating a century of earthmoving excellence.
The top performer was Shane Poole of Diamond Excavators, representing dealer Hastings Deering, Australia.
Click here to view the championship announcement video.
A full wrap-up will be featured in the December issue of Earthmoving Equipment Magazine.
