Benchcut

A 21-tonne tracked excavator, a clay hillside, and drawings that say exactly where the ground has to end up. Cut benches, trim batters to 1:1.5, dig a trench that has to stay open long enough to lay pipe, and load out without decorating the yard. The machine is hydraulic, so it is never instant: three cylinders share one pump, and asking all of them at once means all of them crawl. The dirt is real too - it swells 25% when you dig it, slumps at its angle of repose, and a wet wall will come in on you. Fourteen tasks, two sites, graded on tolerance, volume, cycles and fuel.