Monthly Archives: February 2017

Want to hop in the construction arena – read the essentials

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Having a business of own is every man’s dream and if one gets to set his foot in the construction industry then there is no looking back for him. But the truth is that firstly it is not so simple to get into the construction industry if you do not know much about it and secondly if at all you make your way in the sector, you may find it pretty hard to sustain. People with good financial backing find it extremely difficult to survive in the construction arena. The reasons are plenty. Right from severe competition to ever changing mood of the industry, a businessman has to battle it all in order to keep his place secure. But it has been seen that many are unable to strive the tide and they get drown. Therefore, once needs to be mentally prepared for the tough life and also with the harsh realities that they may encounter after they have made their way inside the industry.

We would be speaking in depth about the essentials that a person should have before they decide to start a construction business.

Technical know-how is a must:-

For people who do not relate to the construction industry nor knows anyone who belongs to this domain should take few lessons on how to run the business and then decide if they want to make their way in. Not knowing the technical know-how can cost him dearly and he may become the part of the larger lot who has left the business. Technical know-how does not mean that you should be well versed with all the jargons or should know how to drive or repair heavy equipment; but it certainly means that should know a bit of everything. For instance, if the heavy equipment develops a problem, you should know where to get it fixed rather than being clueless what to do next. Similarly, if you experience a strange problem in your business and are unable to know the way out, you should at least know of somebody who can get this fixed.

Know your finances well:-

People ideally become very eager with the idea of starting a new business forgetting the fact that the business need investments and if they are unable to arrange the finances then things can go awry and they may fall flat on their face. Therefore when they are struck with the idea of opening a new business, they should first check their finances. See if they have any opportunity to get any loans and estimate the time by when they can repay it off. They also need to decide if they have to buy heavy equipment or take it on rent and whether they have sufficient funds in doing either of the two options.

Hunting for projects:-

Getting work is the primary goal after you have set up the business. You should work hard to form a sales and marketing team and check who is good in selling. If you have the skill to sell, you become the head of the sales department and lead the team. However, at the end of the day, you should have few projects in hand.

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How to train the newcomers in the construction industry

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Recruiting new people in your company is a sign that your company is growing. But apart from that, it becomes the responsibility of the tenured men/women to see that the newcomers feel at ease. They do not have to struggle for petty things. Since they are new to the company they will not know the rules and regulations formed by the company for its employees and therefore they might do something that is kind of forbidden in the rulebook of that particular company.

The veterans should therefore lead the way and informed the new guys of the rules. Things that they should do and stuffs that they should refrain from doing should be explicitly communicated to them. Other than that, they should be guided with other facilities like restrooms, pantry, cafeteria etc. Most importantly, they should be guided on doing their work the right way.

Day in and day out, new people join the construction industry. Some are absolutely new to the industry and some have worked in other construction companies and have switched jobs. There is a variance among these 2 sections. For the ones who are absolutely new to the industry should be taken care quite delicately. They do not know anything about the business and hence they should be first given some training so that they understand the etiquettes of the business. Simultaneously they should also be trained on their work so that they can learn both the things at the same time. Being new to the industry, they might take some time to understand how things work here but if they are sharp, they will catch things up real soon.

For people who already have some experience in the construction industry, they only need to be updated about the etiquettes one should follow while they are a part of the company. Rest is expected to be already known to them.

One should be patient while training newbie:-

The trainer or veteran who has been assigned the responsibility to train the newbie has to be a guy with ample patience. He just can’t manage to lose his cool. The new guys will throw questions at him. Some will make sense to him and some will not. But he should not disregard any question or grumble when he gets a question that is according to him an incorrect one or make no sense. The newcomers are bound to make all sorts of question and the trainer needs to answer them patiently and by giving examples.

Practical approach is a must:-

Training on any construction related subject can’t be taught only in a classroom. They guys need to learn things on the jobsite. They need to see things happening and how others are working. They should be allowed to try while they have someone around them who will monitor their work and if correct them if they go wrong. This is perhaps the only way by which they can learn things sooner.

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Construction Market in USA in 2017

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The construction market of 2016 in the USA has seen a mixed response. There was an upheaval of opportunities in the first half of the previous year. However, the momentum that the construction industry experienced and encountered in the first half of the year 2016 gradually receded into a slow momentum in the latter half of the year. This trend will have its impact on the current year 2017.

The sectors that were into focus in the construction industry are data center building, warehouse building as well as building the hotels. Though there is not enough data on how the impact of the construction industry has been on the data centers, it can well be said that the demand will still be high. What will experience a downfall or at least a slow growth is the hotel industry. But, in some cities of the country, the warehouses will still be in demand for construction.

The Scenario in 2017:

As per the reports of Dodge Data & Analytics, the current year 2017 is going to be very promising in the construction industry. In their report, they have stated that there will be an advancement of $713 billion in the construction industry profit margin, which is about 5% increase from that of the year 2015 and the year 2016. It is also expected that though a slow growth is to be followed in the current year, the growth will be steady and hence, the profits targets are likely to be achieved.

The Impact on the commoners:

Now with this promise, it must also be mentioned that the potential consumers, who are planning to purchase new constructions, apartments and buildings in the USA, will be largely benefited by the low interest rates and mortgage rates. Even there is going to be an increase in the units of single family housing in the USA, which is great news for the potential buyers.

Even the commercial building construction is also going to encounter an increase than the previous years. This will certainly have a great impact on the employment sector. Not only will the construction industry open up new opportunities for the employment, but the commercial buildings that are being made, will open more avenues of employment.

What will be in demand?

As the construction market in USA in the year 2017 is going to encounter an increase, there is a high demand for construction material, employees and workers as well as the heavy construction equipment. Hence, those, who are working in the construction equipment manufacturing companies, will indirectly be benefited greatly. Even the small scale dealers will also be benefited by supplying brand new as well as used heavy construction equipment. Workers, heavy construction equipment operators as well as other professionals will also be benefited with this increase.

If you are planning to have a career in this field, it is a great time to stat. Just choose the right field for you such as operating the heavy construction equipment, engineering or working as a labor in the construction job sites, the options are many.

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Having a mixture of immigrants is healthy for your construction company

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United States is a place that has people coming from all walks of life and they come to this place to have a decent life. It is probably the only country in the entire world which has people coming from different countries to make their dream come true. On an annual basis, US is seeing an increase in the influx of immigrants. Some skilled, some semi-skilled and some unskilled labors constitute the total population of immigrants in this country and strangely they all are able to find a job for themselves. It seems that the construction industry also has a healthy strength of immigrant workers. Since this industry does not need a lot of skilled labor, therefore it does well with semi-skilled workforce. The only criteria that the construction companies have for them is that they should be hard working and should give their 100% to the job.

Now how the construction companies benefit when they employ immigrants in their company. There is a scarcity of labor as many consider this part of the job to be perilous and hence you will find Americans holding the top position where their job is to give instruction to the laborers and also supervise their work. In case, things are not going as per the plan the supervisor will be taken to task. But it is not that the labor workforce is only occupied by the immigrants. You will also find Americans in this club. Usually construction companies are of the opinion that just hiring immigrants as workers can be a bit problematic as they want to give equal opportunity to all and therefore feel that it is healthy to have a mixture of employees constituting your workforce.

Immigrants are paid less as compared to their American counterparts:-

It has now become an open secret that the immigrants are paid less than what the companies had to pay to the Americans. This becomes highly cost effective for the company especially during times of turbulence. The construction market is not always flourishing and there are times when things take a bad shape for the overall sector. This is when the construction companies continue doing business by paying less to the immigrants. Having said so, this does not imply that they exploit them to the core. They are provided with all the other facilities that are given to the resident but are cut short on the wages part. The company in this way is able to save a lot for the hard times.

Immigrants are ready to work beyond the working hours:-

Not every person in the United States readily works beyond his working hours. Though they are paid extra for working after their shift, people are still reluctant to do so. However, the immigrants in this case are more than happy to work and earn some extra money. They are probably without their families and are here with the sole purpose of earning more money. Anything earned in addition to the wages is an incentive. Though government has now made the visa rules quite stringent and construction companies are finding it hard to employ more immigrants. It needs to be seen how things will shape up after few years.

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Is civil engineering a good major for a future in the construction domain

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To hold a crucial designation in a business that is quite a thriving one is certainly important for the growth of one’s career. We talk about any industry for that matter and each of them will have few very crucial designations without which the likelihood of the survival of that industry is nil. It has been observed that people usually eye for those crucial positions but it is not at all simple to achieve them. The sole reason is it is too hard to get there. You need to acquire lot of knowledge and experience to reach somewhere closer to it. We consider the construction domain to be a highly rewarding one. Right from the bottom level people to the guys sitting at the management level, they all make good money at the end of the day. So why not attain a place for yourself without which the sector will find it to be incapable to perform.

Engineers are given a special place in the construction sector. It is because of them that the industry can go out and execute the plans. As a matter of fact the engineers are the one who designs the plan and then work on it to give it an ultimate shape. It is because of the important role that they play in this sector that they are paid so handsomely. Apparently, it is also expected that the engineers do not do things incorrectly as it will hamper the making of the entire project. This means that they got to do their work with complete accuracy and there is no chance of any sort of error.

To become a civil engineer is quite a tough business. It takes 4 years of education in Bachelor of Science in civil engineering in order to become a civil engineer. From thereon, the person needs to strive harder to make his position first in the company and then in the industry. For guys/gals who do not wish to study for 4 years, they can pursue a 2 year associate degree in civil engineering and then work as an assistant to an engineer. After working for few years he/she can then pursue another course to become a complete civil engineer. In both the courses, one has to go through both classroom training as well as practical field work. This is done so that students can have a better understanding of the subject and can develop into able and competent engineers.

If a person is aiming to become a civil engineer, he/she got to be good in math and physics. The entire civil engineering thing revolves in and around these two subjects and therefore someone who do not see much interest in these subjects should never make civil engineering as its goal. Another attribute that is required is that they need to be good team worker as civil engineers are required to work in a team. Overall civil engineering is a good stream that one can pursue and see a rewarding career.

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Liening construction job sites

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Imagine you get a contract to work on a site. You invest good deal of money into the work. All your labors have worked hard, day and night to make sure that the work is completed in time and then once the work is completed, you get to know that the company who has given you the work can no longer afford to pay you. That will come as a lightning bolt out of a clear sky. You may wonder how all of a sudden he does not have any money to pay you and what you have now to protect your interest. To be frank, you got nothing to protect your interest. You have to pay your workers for their labor and you get nothing out of this entire deal. On the contrary, you just end up spending all you have.

Well, this is not how things work in the construction industry. When you take up a work, you make sure that you get the payment regularly. However, before that, you have your lien on the property so that in case the project owner is unable to pay you, he can’t use the property and you can sell it off to any financial institution or do whatever to claim your money back.

Now take the same example other way round. Let’s say that you have taken the contract and you sub contract it to a third party. For some unfortunate reasons, you are unable to pay the sub contractor his dues. This will result him in placing a lien on the said property. Therefore, it is believed that placing a lien on the property is perhaps the only method by which you can secure your payments.

Placing a lien can have serious implications once it is placed on any given property. The first major implication will be banks or any financial institution will lend money to refinance the property. Banks want them to be having first lien if they are giving any loan on an existing property. So if there is already a lien on the property, you cease any scope of getting loans from bank. Not only this, you credit rating also takes a beating. This has a huge impact on your borrowings.

It has also been witnessed that some contractors fraudulently place liens on a property even though they have received all the payments. This is a serious issue and is also dealt stringently by the forces. However, you have to go through lot of hassles till the time it is not proven that the money is paid to the contractor. Work at other jobsites is also stopped as contractors fear that they will not get paid for their work. It is crucial that you scan the contractors well by checking their work history and then give work.

Liens on property can have damaging impact even if it is fraudulently put on you. Therefore, always ensure that you pay your contractors well in time so that they do not impose a lien on the given property.

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My Grease fitting will not take grease on my heavy equipment. What should I do?

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Grease fitting is attached to the top of the grease gun and it delivers grease from grease gun under high pressure to inside of the sealed joints of heavy equipments. For the efficient functioning grease fittings should be free of dirt and not contain hardened grease. However, grease fittings get clogged and become ineffective in delivery of grease (malfunction).The following are some of the solutions to overcome this problem:

  1. Spraying petroleum based spray onto a grease fitting and cleaning it with a cloth will clean the grease fitting.
  2. Heat the clogged fittings with a propane torch or heat gun on a low flame. Following which the grease gun should be attached and flow of new grease will push soften old grease out and will clear the fitting.
  3. To attach commercial grease fitting cleaners such Zecker Zap, IPA, Powerfist and Performance tools to the clogged fitting. They are attached to one end of the grease fitting, injected with light viscosity oil and then stroked with a hammer. This will force the oil into fitting and will clear it of the hardened grease. Thus, these tools help to clear fitting without removing, replacing, digging or scraping. Applying this option has advantages that one does not have to pay for labour charges, reduces maintenance costs and downtime.
  4. When the above solutions do not work, then the grease fittings have to be taken apart to clean off the grease.
  5. After unscrewing the fitting, its passage is cleaned with a wire and filled with motor oil. The fitting is replaced and oil is pumped up, which will soften the grease and get it out.
  6. Sometimes there is a hydraulic lock at the zerk and which seals it. One has to loosen this component so that grease flows in.
  7. Sometimes the little ball in the tip of zerk gets friction stiffness or dirt gets collected over it and just needs to be loosened. A small sharp object can be used to dislodge the tip.
  8. Most the grease hardens on the zerk fitting. After taking the grease fitting taken apart, the zerk fitting is removed. A very small flat head screwdriver is used to remove all the grease out of the opening. The remaining can be cleaned using oil. A new zerk fitting is used and new grease is pumped till it comes out of the seals.
  9. If the above methods are not effective, then the fittings can be replaced with new ones as they are inexpensive.

Additional few things although minor, need to considered when grease does not flow into grease fittings. Sometimes there is lack of contact of the tip of the grease gun and zerk of fitting. There is also a possibility that the grease gun nozzle is worn out and leads to collection of grease around the zerk. Hence, replacing it with a new nozzle works for a long time. Also, one used use superior quality of grease. Finally, a daily scheduled servicing of the grease fitting is necessary for proper maintenance of the equipment.

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Kind of heavy equipment to build a housing lot

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Building houses has always been a thriving business and construction companies have made enough wealth being in this business for years. Even the newcomers are getting enough work and thereby not have to go through a lot of hardships. All that they need is some good heavy equipment and a bunch of able and competent workers who knows to build houses. When you are building a housing lot you need to deploy different types of heavy equipment for digging foundation, for breaking existing structures and to clear land. You can’t make use of 1 heavy equipment for all kinds of work and at the same time you need more machines if the construction area is huge. To build houses in massive lot, you need earth moving heavy machineries like excavators, loaders, bulldozers, backhoe crawler loader, trenchers etc. The utility of these machines is basically to move huge pile of soil that has been dug and load it in a truck. The truck will then ferry the soil in a dump yard.

The utility of an excavator is immensely felt in constructing a housing lot. It is multi-purpose heavy equipment which can be used for array of construction activities such as digging trenches and holes for laying foundation, demolition of existing structure, forestry work, general landscaping etc. It is one of the most common types of heavy equipment that you will find in a jobsite. This is followed by a loader which is primarily used to load materials like construction debris, asphalt, raw materials, logs, dirt etc.

Then we move to the construction vehicles which involve Dumpers, Tankers, Trailers, etc. These heavy equipment are used for various types of work. Right from ferrying the soil from the jobsite to the dump yard to spraying water on the jobsite using a truck, these heavy equipment are used for many such purposes. They have not have a direct relation in house building but still plays an active role. Without these heavy equipment it will be really difficult for the construction laborers to perform their duties. When we are talking about a huge housing plot, one can just imagine the amount of dirt that gets accumulated on the jobsite and to get that cleared off you need the help of a dumper, or a truck.

Then comes the material handling equipment which mostly consists machines like Cranes, Conveyors, and Forklifts. The cranes are used to move heavy slabs and place it on the top. Cranes are required when you are constructing high end towers. They are also used to lift heavy machines which get s stuck for some reason. It is therefore basically used to lift and ferry a heavy item which can’t move on its own from place to another. Conveyors are used to move heavy and bulky materials from one place to another. It is quite common is many construction sites as they all involve moving of heavy material items from one place to another.

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Repo business has good growth prospects

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What if you are given the rights by the bank to take away heavy equipment whose installments are due by the borrower and who presumable does not have any intention to pay them and in return you can earn good commission. Well, you would probably want to have a go in such form of a business. This you may see as a multi-million dollar business if you are able to stick to it for a decade or so and set up god rapport with different banks that are known for lending money to construction companies for buying heavy equipment. We call this business as “Repossession of heavy equipment or simply Repo of machines. This business often demands people who are strong mentally and can withstand pressure. Now when we talk about pressure, it can come from many corners.

Many a time, the borrower is not willing to let go his machine and also will not pay any installments. It becomes difficult to repossess heavy equipment from such people. You can’t even tell that the bank about the borrower’s behavior because it is your work to get it out from him and you got to go to any means in order to get the machine from him. The bank will ask you to show up with the heavy equipment so that they can auction it and can claim the price of the machine. So it all falls on you on how you will manage to get it out from the defaulter.

Moreover, some banks even give you the responsibility to keep a track of borrowers who default payments. So you are also responsible to hunt down men who borrow money to buy heavy equipment but are unable to pay them off. This seems to be quite an effort but it also pays you off real well. A repo agent makes around $400.00 for picking up any small sized machine. The amount increases manifolds if they are to repo big machines. They are paid handsomely for the effort they take to repo the machines and this is why many people are getting in this trade. They find this job to be interesting as they do not have to report to anybody and can wander as per their wish to track defaulters. Simultaneously, they make decent income at the end of every month.

They can also double their income by putting in more hours in a day doing this job. So this is for guys who can handle pressure and can take away the machine without making a fuss out of it. They also need to have contacts with transportation guys who can ferry the heavy equipment from the source to the destination. They at times have to move to other cities and states as well to repo machines. In scenarios like these, they will need the help of the transportation guys so that the construction equipment can be ported from one city to another. They are paid really well when the assignment comes from a different city so they never shy away from taking such jobs.

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Back up cameras on heavy equipment

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Operators experience a real tough time while moving the heavy equipment backwards. There are certain blind spots for which they need signals but the problem comes when there is nobody to give signals and the operator has to move the machine back. If they go wrong with their calculation then there is a big chance of them bumping an object or a person. Therefore they should install a camera through which they can check where the machine is going and if there is any object that is in mid of its path. He can then maneuver the machine by getting inputs from the screen that is installed inside the cabin. Heavy equipment companies these days have stopped manufacturing heavy equipment without a rear camera. Some also have cameras in the front. It actually helps the operator to figure out things that fall in the blind spot so that he can see them on the screen and avoid bumping off anything that comes on his way.

Saves life as well as money:-

A camera at the rear of the machine sounds to be quite effective especially when it comes to avoiding any sort of accidents. A construction zone will always have uneven roads and rough terrain which means that the operator has to be extra careful when it is driving the machine to a spot where he can’t see stuffs that comes on its way. There are always higher chances of him dashing an object or a person and can cause irreparable damage that can’t be compensated monetarily. The construction company on the other hand does not want to get into accidents because that leaves a dent to the reputation of the company. They may get the tag that it’s not an employee friendly company and employees are risking their lives by working with them. Simultaneously, if an accident happen because the operator wasn’t able to locate the object or the individual, it becomes the onus of the company to compensate the loss. So just by installing a camera in the rear can save priceless human lives as well as the heard earned money of the company.

Invest in cameras that last long and are truly effective:-

Cameras that can be installed on heavy equipment come in different quality, shapes and sizes. The cost of the cameras differs based on its features and its quality. It is recommended that you invest in cameras that has the most sophisticated feature and is considered to be one of the best in terms of quality. So before you go ahead to buy cameras for your heavy equipment, do some research on what kind of camera you need? Some cameras have good picture quality in dusty terrain. This means that if you are working in a zone that has lot of dust around, this camera will still be able to give the operator a clear view of the rear of the machine. Also check if they come up with any warranties and the conditions the companies have on such warranties. Only when you are convinced, you should go for the purchase.

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