Trust me Windrush, you didn’t meet the previous shovel driver (Altitude did). He’d go out of his way to make life awkward like piling the load up on wagons with the old style pull over sheets.
My hours are 7-5 but I work 6.40-4.40 so I can start loading at 7; I can get 2 or 3 wagons on their way before the other shovels have even moved.
I get strange looks at breaktine if I stay out for a few minutes to get a backlog shifted…
I’d like to have a go in one of them massive CATs. What sort of license do you need to drive one■■?
Muckaway:
Trust me Windrush, you didn’t meet the previous shovel driver (Altitude did). He’d go out of his way to make life awkward like piling the load up on wagons with the old style pull over sheets.
My hours are 7-5 but I work 6.40-4.40 so I can start loading at 7; I can get 2 or 3 wagons on their way before the other shovels have even moved.
I get strange looks at breaktine if I stay out for a few minutes to get a backlog shifted…
The bloke was a prat end of. I think he left for health reasons…his…he was in danger of being pulled out and given a good slap. 
small, family run suits me best.
somewhere that thinks experience, honesty and abit of hard graft are an asset.
always helps if the boss who is giving you the work, has actually been out there and done it themself, and if required would still go out there and do it.
Muckaway:
Trust me Windrush, you didn’t meet the previous shovel driver (Altitude did). He’d go out of his way to make life awkward like piling the load up on wagons with the old style pull over sheets.
Oh well I can understand that as every load of stone I had on both of my six wheeler’s had to be either levelled by hand or I tipped the body to level it otherwise the sheet was impossible to pull across. Sand was a definate no go, but I did very little carting of that. The problem with getting 17 tonnes into a body designed for 15 I guess! No excuse though if other operator’s at your place could load correctly but he couldn’t be bothered to.
We had a couple of very good machine men, they could load you pretty accurately even before their machines had weigher’s (the trucks didn’t have them fitted in my time) but other loaders hid behind stockheaps so you couldnt find them! They still drew the same quarry bonus though. 
Pete.
We’ve got one shovel driver that can pile up type 1 on a grain trailer…
Still, keeps me in a job
windrush:
hammer:
Muckaway:
Spoke to the retiring boss this afternoon after I loaded him. His son wants someone who’ll basically keep the truck working and find work for it ie ringing various quarries for backloads etc.
Opinions?Alarm bells ringing!!! He wanted a steady driver before, now he also wants an office bod to sort out work for the wagon too? That can be quite a job if you’re already busy driving.
Whats he paying you? More than you get now as a driver plus a bit extra for the admin side?
I missed that post of Nathan’s, I used to find my own backloads, outside work etc and was paid a percentage of them BUT I only did it when I had no work planned. I can see you ending up office bound eventually and someone else driving ‘your’ truck, what do you think Hammer?
Pete.
Pete, from what he’s told us I think Muckaway will end up driving with one hand and flicking through the phone book with the other. Works poor, rates are poor - its a thankless task IMO. I’m not sure he’ll end up in the office, if they’ve only got 3 wagons and a bit of plant I wouldn’t have thought it would warrant a full-time office bod. I can see him ending up on a JCB fulltime though.
I’ve made my opinion clear, Smiths is a good job to have. The grass isn’t always greener, although he hasn’t told us the difference in pay rates. I’d bet that its less than he gets now and requires a car. A no brainer for me, especially in the current economic climate - stay put!! 
I think I will stay put where I am Hammer, partly due to advice on here, but I’m thinking it’ll be just my luck (as has been on Smiths this year ) that if I go someone on Smiths will jack.
After talking to Mrs Muckaway, she wonders if I could adjust not working for Smiths at all, considering I’ve been around the firm pretty much all my life. A plus point is my family have always spoken their mind on there and still got on with top brass (it’s those below we have the problems with )
Right I’ll shock everyone now, and treat the disastrous shovel job as a positive; From a drivers’ point of view it’s been a bad year;
Crap summer meant doing lime in wet weather (sticking loads etc)
Our main stone pit resembles the Somme and drivers hate the place…We’ve had some real rubbish jobs this year that’s meant lots of shovelling and filthy lorries…
And I’ve been given credit for improving things in the gravel pit…
Still want to drive tippers again though.
I think much the same Hammer, I changed jobs because it saved me a 12 mile each way trip to the quarry and I could walk to the yard if neccessary. I certainly wasn’t worse off, about equal I suppose, but we didn’t have any kids so we managed fine plus I saved on fuel for the car. However there was also plenty of work available back then, Smiths are fortunate in that they both produce and sell the material as well as doing haulage so I imagine that work is fairly constant for them, a bit like Slinter Mining who are local to me. When they are slack they just lay the subbies off but keep their own fleet rolling where possible as I assume they have to pay their drivers anyway and Nathan is in an enviable position in that he can operate quarry plant as well so is possibly more likely to retain employment if they ever need to lay a truck and driver off. As someone mentioned, Smiths are not like Tarmac etc and presumably are still family run (just guessing) so they are not THAT far removed from a ‘small company’ and from what I have seen of their vehicles (I drove an ex Smiths truck myself) they are well looked after which is worth a lot these days. If he does decide to leave then at least do so with the backup plan that you can go back instead of telling them to stuff their job! 
Pete.
For those who didn’t know, the “well looked after” ex Smiths motor Windrush drove was Dads’ old ‘un.
…And he gets the companys’ first ever Scania on Monday.
SwedishSteel:
I’d like to have a go in one of them massive CATs. What sort of license do you need to drive one■■?
None at all unless driving on the public road. Mine’s a tad wide to drive through Witney though!
You’d be surprised how once you get a quarry job, how quick you’re trained to drive stuff. You do have to be put through the EPIC thing just like tipper drivers but it’s more practical than classroom like hauliers do.
Stone quarries are better where the material’s blended by the crushing plant. Gravel pits wash, sort the material then you pick it up and blend it in ratios like cake baking. Gravel pits tend to have bagging hoppers to load too; We’ve got two plus a precast concrete plant. I have to do 4x blends of concreting ballast 2xblends of shingle and any “special” blends for one off jobs.