Engineers get new diggers
Volume 11, No. 49, August 10, 2006
By Michael Brooke

Moving experience: A new John Deere grader at the ceremony to mark the handing over of the fleet of 39 dozers and 40 graders at SME. Photos by Bill Cunneen.

ENGINEER plant operators will be working with much greater comfort and reliability following the purchase of a new fleet of graders and dozers.

Accustomed to working in the dust and heat in remote locations throughout Australia and on overseas deployments, the “planties” will soon be operating new bulldozers and graders that feature enhanced comfort and deliver greater productivity.

The new D05 class medium bulldozers and MG7/MG8 graders, procured at a cost of $32m, feature climate control in the cabins and up to 50 per cent more power that will serve to significantly enhance productivity.

The 39 John Deere 850J medium bulldozers and 40 John Deere 672D graders were handed over to the Army by DMO in a ceremony conducted at SME on July 21.

HQ Land Command Engineers Col Mike Kavanagh said the new medium dozers and medium graders would be in service with all Combat Engineer Regiments and Construction Squadrons by February 2007.

CA Lt-Gen Peter Leahy said the project arose because Army Engineers have been making do with old equipment for too long and the high operational tempo demanded that they be equipped with the best equipment available.

“The Army Engineers working in remote places throughout Australia and overseas deployments deserve the very best equipment and I’m thrilled that through this project we can now provide you will the best equipment which is what you deserve,” he said.

Lt-Gen Leahy said this type of equipment has been in high demand in recent times in support of operations in East Timor and the Solomon Islands, providing disaster relief in Banda Aceh following the tsunami and providing valuable assistance through development projects in remote Aboriginal communities across Australia.

The acquisition of the new earth moving equipment is a significant enhancement in the capability of Army’s Combat Engineer Units and Construction Squadrons. Army Engineers got their first hands on experience with the new dozers and graders at the train-the-trainer operator course conducted for a dozen ARA and GRes personnel at SME during July 23-28.

WO1 Michael Egan, WSM, Civil Sqn SME, told Army News that learning to operate the new equipment is relatively simple.

“The operators who currently have a bulldozer/grader license only require familiarisation training so there is nothing particularly complicated in making the transition from the TD15C or Cat 130G to the new equipment,” he said.

WO1 Egan said the new John Deere 850J medium dozers and John Deere 672D graders provide a quantum leap in capability and comfort over the 25-year-old International TD15C dozers and Caterpillar 130G graders they are replacing.