Best Cat operators to go head-to-head at CONEXPO

As world leading construction trade show CONEXPO draws closer, nine machinery operators from around the world are getting ready to take on Caterpillar’s Global Operator Challenge for the right to be named the best of the best.

Caterpillar launched the challenge last year to celebrate operators who build the world, advocate and drive awareness for the trades, and elevate solutions that address jobsite challenges. All in all, over 10,000 operators from 30 countries took part from which nine were shortlisted to represent a different region of the world.

On the local level, participants’ operating skills were put to the test through a range of machines and tasks.  Operators were scored on speed, accuracy and operating best practice with penalties imposed for errors. The operator with the lowest overall time for all tasks was acknowledged as the local champion and moved on to the regional championships.

The best local operators then competed at one of three Caterpillar sites for the regional championships. North and South America regional finals were held in Clayton, North Carolina; European finals in Málaga, Spain; and Asia Pacific finals in Chichibu, Japan.

On the regional level, operators had their skills tested not only on machines they use every day but also on equipment which they may not be as familiar with. Operators had to exhibit a broad range of talents on multiple machines, including demonstrating their skills with advanced machine technologies.

After a few hot months of competition, the below nine operators were crowned champions of their own region:

The nine finalists will compete in Las Vegas inside the Cat Operator Stadium at the new outdoor Caterpillar exhibit in Festival Grounds on Tuesday morning, March 10, 2020, immediately following the grand opening of CONEXPO-CON/AGG. A live broadcast of the competition will also be shown on cat.com for people not attending the show.

There will be three final machine challenges: operating a medium hydraulic excavator using GRADE 2D, a medium wheel loader with Production Management, and a Next Generation Mini-Excavator.

Following completion of the skills challenges, awards will be presented for the lowest time for each individual challenge and best team performance. From there, one winner will be crowned the Global Operator Challenge Champion based on overall performance.