Hit 2 million yards moved last season and it got me thinking about speed vs quality

I crossed 2 million cubic yards of material moved last year on my dredge, which is a milestone I never really aimed for. My supervisor was all about pushing the pump to max GPH every shift, trying to beat our previous records. But I started wondering if that extra speed was costing us in terms of settling pond efficiency and mat thickness. Half the time we'd rush through a cut and end up with thin spots we had to go back over. On the other hand, when I slowed down and focused on even coverage, the numbers still came in strong but the work felt cleaner. So which side do you guys lean on? Do you chase the yardage record or try to balance it with doing the job right the first time? I'd love to hear what your targets are and how you handle the push from management.

3 comments

3 Comments

the_nathan1mo ago

It's like how everyone wants to rush through dinner just to get to dessert, but then you miss all the good flavor in the main course. Management always looking at the big number on the screen, not the actual mess you gotta clean up later.

wesley38523d ago

Bro that "missing the good flavor in the main course" line is dead on lol. I remember working on a job where the boss was pushing us to finish a concrete pour way faster than we should've. We ended up with a slab that looked fine from above but had these air pockets everywhere underneath. Took us an extra two days to grind and patch it all up, which totally ate any time we "saved." Management just saw the numbers matching up on paper and called it a win, but the guys on site knew it was a disaster waiting to crack.

wells.karen1mo ago

My foreman used to say the same thing until we spent a weekend re-dredging a pond because the mat was thinner than a cheap fast-food burger.