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Excavator, over 6 tonnes

Your first-day checklist

Print it and keep it with the machine.

Your manufacturer's manual prevails. This sheet gives the order of the steps; every figure must be read in your own manual, as it changes from one model to the next.

  1. On delivery

    • Walk around it BEFORE you sign
    • Cab structure and glazing
    • Ask for the machine’s logbook and documents
    • ENGINE manual (separate document)

  2. Unloading

    • NOBODY in the area — move people away, don’t just wave them back
    • Firm, level, clear ground
    • Ramps rated for the weight, secured to the bed
    • Slew lock on, attachment tucked in and low
    • If lifting: only the marked lifting points

  3. Before the first start

    • All fluid levels, machine on level ground
    • Safety lever, emergency exit, extinguisher
    • Grease points on the slew ring
    • Track tension

  4. First start

    • Short bursts
    • About 5 min at idle — larger oil volumes
    • Dry run, nobody around
    • ISO or SAE pattern checked

  5. Break-in

    • First 50 hours taken gently
    • First oil change well before the normal interval

  6. What kills

    • The counterweight sweeps at head height
    • Cordon off the working area, don’t just signpost it
    • Buried services: the machine will not feel a thing

Never do this

  • Never use ether or a starting aid spray
  • Never correct your line while on the ramps
  • Never jack the machine up on its boom to load it
  • Never slew without having looked behind you