One of the most versatile machines on any work site is the backhoe. If you look at it, it resembles a huge metal spider. But I’ve never met anyone who knew how to operate a backhoe who didn’t also enjoy operating one. Here are five ways you can use a backhoe to get the job done.

1. Dig a Trench – Backhoes have a bucket on one end that is perfect for digging. You stick the teeth into the ground and dig up the dirt. You can maneuver your backhoe down a line to build a trench for piping.
2. Uproot a Tree – If you’ve never seen anyone pull up a tree before with a backhoe, you’re missing a sweet treat for your eyes. It’s even more fun to be the one operating the backhoe.
3. Grade a Road – There is a plow on the opposite end from the bucket. Just by pushing that plow along an even plane on a road, you can grade it, make it smooth, and put a smile on a lot of auto drivers’ faces.
4. Push Dirt – Just about every worksite has a need for dirt to be pushed out of the way. After digging, the dirt usually piles up. Then you have to push it aside to carry on with the rest of the job. You can use your plow to push the dirt.
5. Plow Snow – Backhoes are also good for plowing snow. Just take that plow and clear the roads.

What can you think of to do with a backhoe?

I recently wrote on how to Become An Excavator Operator And Learn To Control A Real Monster – today I could almost eat my words. Over the last ten days or so I have watched with interest an excavator, admittedly one of the smaller variety, working away each day on a new pipeline. Although we have been in the industry for decades, I can still watch them at work with a certain amount of awe.

What caught my attention with this job? The excavator operator’s ‘fine’ skills. The excavator wasn’t being used as a ‘monster’, at least not all the time. Let me give you a run down on the job.

Day one – the excavator operator used the bucket like a butter knife to gently peel away the turf from the surface. This was neatly piled to one side of the job.

Day two and three – the excavator became the monster and dug a fairly deep and fairly wide trench ready for the pipes to be laid.

Day four – each pipe was rigged to the excavator bucket and gently lowered into the trench. One by one they all went in.

Day five – the trench was back-filled. I thought that was it – job done and I won’t see them again. Wrong.

Day six – back again – this time, as gentle as a baby, the excavator operator carefully scraped and combed the sides of the filled-in trench pulling in all the loose debris. Behind him his fellow workers were relaying the turf that had been pulled up on day one.

Now they are gone. I couldn’t resist it; I had to go and look at the worksite. You can see where the turf has been put down. However, that is all you can see. You would never know there had been a deep trench there a couple of days earlier. That excavator operator had cleaned the area to perfection – that takes skills – skills that are acquired first through quality excavator operator training, and secondly through years of practice.

I know his face looked familiar. I may have seen him on another work site – but then again, I wonder if he was one of ours and had undertaken his training through ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools. I should have asked.