Machine familiarisation: controls, instruments, components and terminology
Know the machine family
Dumpers include forward-tipping (front-tip) site dumpers, where the skip discharges ahead of the operator; swivel or rotating-skip dumpers, which discharge through a wide arc; high-tip machines for discharging over barriers or into skips; and tracked models for soft ground. Learn the rated payload, the heaped and struck capacity of the skip, unladen weight, gross weight and the manufacturer's maximum gradient. These figures, not opinion, decide what the machine may safely do.
Controls and instruments
You should find, without looking: steering wheel, accelerator, footbrake, parking brake, forward/neutral/reverse selector, gear lever where fitted, differential lock, hydraulic tip control, horn and lighting/beacon switches, and the master or battery isolator. Instruments and warnings typically include the hour meter, fuel gauge, coolant temperature, engine oil pressure, battery charge, transmission oil temperature and air filter restriction. Red means stop and investigate; amber means report and monitor.
Key components and terms
ROPS/FOPS frame, seat and seat belt, seat-operated safety switch, articulation joint and pins, skip and tipping rams, hydraulic hoses, drawbar or towing point, tyres and wheel nuts.
Traps
- A swivel skip must be locked in the travel position before moving.
- The differential lock must be disengaged before turning on firm ground.
- The seat switch prevents drive when the operator is not correctly seated - never bypass it.
- "Payload" is the load you may carry; gross weight is machine plus load plus operator.
Rule of thumb
If you cannot name a control and say what it does, you are not ready to operate the machine.