According to the facts of the case, it seems as though the supervisor cut down the training time partially because he believed the worker had adequate prior experience. However, it should be pointed out that the excavators that are rented out are typically much larger than those that are rented out for personal use. If the operator did not get a chance to familiarize himself with the difference in size and weight of the machine, he may not have had a good grasp on controlling it. According to my experience with construction supervision, half a day of training is nowhere near enough training to operate a new piece of heavy machinery. To begin with, the supervisor should not have assigned him to operate the excavator immediately since the worker was hired without a recognized degree, certificate, or extensive experience related to operating the machinery. Many construction workers train as apprentices and enroll in three year programs, spending thousands of hours learning how to safely maintain and operate machinery. Even without such extensive education, specific on-the-job training should have been completed following OSHA’s construction training requirements complying with the Act. Also, the facts specify that the worker had experience using a wheel excavator, while construction sites generally use machines with rubber tracks. This is an extremely relevant point since, while tracks are superior in pull, optimization, and power delivery efficiency, machines with four wheel drive are far easier to steer. Also, there are some inherent differences in the steering styles: when a tire excavator is steered, the tires turn and point in the desired direction, but when a rubber belt excavator is steered, the track on the outside of the turn speeds up and the track on the inside of the turn slows down. Due to the nature of the machinery, while carrying a heavy scoop of rocks and dirt, a rubber belt excavator may not turn, while rubber tire machines would turn while moving sideways. With rubber belt tracks, the draft load must be reduced before significant steering can occur. Also, as tracked machines turn, the tracks slip sideways, disturbing the soil and producing ridges and depressions. Steering a rubber track system requires more power than steering a rubber tire to overcome the sideways slipping and to speed up the outside track. This compensation may cause stalling or overload problems when the machine is being operated with a heavy load. In my experience, this difference in behavior is the root of many accidents where the operator is not sufficiently trained to use a new track excavator. Having only dealt with wheeled excavators, the operator may not have been able to react to a dangerous situation if the heavy load prevented the machine from turning, or if the power behind the machine was unexpectedly strong.
