Abstract: A sheeting machine is formulated for laying pipes in earth. In order to ensure that the laying can be automated to a greater degree and that the sheeting machine is at the same time operated in such a way that damage to the machine is avoided, the feed forces or the hydraulic pressures, necessary for advancement, of the working cylinders disposed on a cutting shoe and inside the sheeting are measured and are recorded in relation to a installation position of each working cylinder. The pressures between the left-hand and the right-hand sheeting side are compared, and that, in the event of asymmetry outside a predeterminable tolerance, either the advance movement of the sheeting machine is automatically stopped or correction control is automatically initiated.