Hit 10,000 cubic yards of material moved last month and it hit me different

I been running a small dredge operation on the Mississippi near Baton Rouge for about 5 years now. Last month I hit 10,000 cubic yards of material moved in a single month for the first time. That number surprised me because I usually average around 7,000 to 8,000. It happened because we had a long stretch of good weather and the pump kept running smooth without breakdowns. Made me realize how much small things like a clean cutterhead and proper swing speed add up over time. Anyone else ever track their monthly yardage and get caught off guard by the numbers?

2 comments

2 Comments

thomas_johnson3513d ago

Man, that's a good feeling when the numbers finally back up all the little improvements. I've been there where you tweak swing speed and cutterhead maintenance and suddenly you're moving way more than you thought you could. The thing that always gets me is how much a clean cutterhead matters, people think it's just a wash but it really does add up over a month. Once I started tracking hours versus yardage it made me realize my average was way lower than I thought before I got serious about keeping everything sharp and adjusted. Keep an eye on your pump discharge pressure too, that's the other thing that'll sneak up on you if you're not watching it.

green.mason13d ago

Right? Nobody ever talks about how much cutterhead wash pressure actually eats into your pump efficiency.