Caterpillar is moving its CPM payload screen onto a smaller, 10-inch portrait display that operators read in quick glances mid-load. Our first prototype swapped views as the machine worked. After testing, we cut the switch as too jarring. The final design holds every payload number still, on one layout shared by the wheel loader and the excavator.
01problem
During active loading, payload numbers compete with secondary controls, settings, and system info on one screen. Operators interpret, do mental math, and dig through menus while running the machine. A smaller portrait display makes all of it worse.
02insight
Operators don’t read the CPM. They glance at it from the corner of their eye, mostly near the end of a load, to confirm the load weight.
The rule we designed to
We acted out loading scenarios, sketched 12 layouts, and tested a low-fidelity prototype before any polish.
03decisions
Progressive disclosure hides tools now, not payload.
The tile shows tonnes left to target, not inputs.
Same payload tile, plus one slot per machine.
Decision A · Progressive disclosure
After testing, we judged the swap too jarring mid-task. We kept progressive disclosure but moved it up a level. It now hides the tools, not the payload.
Round one: the bed and bucket views took turns, swapping with machine state.
Bucket, bed, and tonnes left sit still, together. The tools wait behind Advanced.
Decision B · Glanceable hierarchy
The old flow left operators subtracting in their heads, pass after pass. The tile now shows the answer, tonnes left to target, and color appears only when the state changes.
Pass count and state. A green crosshair means on target.
What this pass is carrying.
The math, done. Counts down to 0.0t and turns green.
The truck icon fills like a progress bar instead of sitting there as decoration.
Four glances from one load. Each one answers the same question.
01Target set. 14.0t to go.
02First bucket: 3.3t. 10.7t left.
03Pass 4 lands it. 0.0t, in green.
04Truck full. One tap resets.
Decision C · A shared design system
The wheel loader needs quick truck and material changes. The excavator needs swing position. We locked the tile to one layout and gave each machine a slot beside it. Operators described about two days of icon training, so we kept the tile consistent.
One screen for both machines, a static bucket picture, no room for excavator data.
Amber: the shared payload tile. White: the excavator’s space for swing position.
My contribution
I designed the bottom navigation and the shared design system, including its interactions. The same controls and target states carry across both machines, so operators have a consistent place to look and act.
One navigation bar, shared by the wheel loader and excavator.
The target payload is set before the first pass. The chip keeps that goal visible.
04outcome
05reflection
Every change on screen is one more look away from the bucket. The payload stays put now.
Hiding the numbers operators load to failed. Hiding the settings they rarely touch works.
The bed icon stopped being decoration and became the progress bar.