Contributed by Vermeer
A/C may be the secret to landing the best HDD operators
Creature comforts.
It’s a term with a specific meaning. But it also speaks to the various challenges the HDD market is facing.
Creature comforts are the features on a horizontal directional drill that help make operators more comfortable.
It’s an issue of rising importance in the HDD market, and the reason goes back to the challenges contractors are dealing with.
First and foremost is the shortage of skilled HDD operators. They are in high demand, and it can be hard to find them and, once hired, to retain them. So contractors want to keep them happy, and part of that is keeping them comfortable.
Also, a comfortable operator is a more productive operator. Productivity is more important than ever as deadlines and margins get tighter on HDD jobs.
“On some of the bigger bores, those guys are in the cabs for hours. They don’t come out of there,” says Mark Sonnenberg, operations manager for the Vermeer Great Plains dealership. “I think owners have figured out that if they can keep that operator on task, and if the operator likes to sit inside an air-conditioned cab, everyone is better served.”
Cabs have been at the forefront of the increased emphasis on creature comforts. Just a few years ago, Sonnenberg saw very few drills with climate-controlled cabs being sold. Now, about half of his dealership’s drill sales include them.
Another point of emphasis at Vermeer has been common control systems across different drills. That helps to reduce the learning curve for operators and allows them to be proficient on multiple machines, which touches on those labor and productivity concerns.
The controls also have become simpler to use and more ergonomic. Today an HDD operator can run a drill pretty much without taking his hands off the joysticks, which makes controlling the drill easier and also decreases repetitive motions.
Other creature comforts include improved displays, enhanced sightlines from the operator’s seat and quieter machines, which also benefit the general public. Creature comforts will continue to evolve, and Vermeer balances those features with designs that meet the space and power needs of contractors.
“We’re never satisfied,” says Jon Kuyers, Underground global product manager at Vermeer. “Comfort could always get better, and we try to meet those needs while maintaining the specifications that our customers care about.”
For more articles like this, visit: Vermeer Navigator Nation blog, an educational site for HDD operators.