Monthly Archives: March 2017

Design Build Highway construction

A country’s economy is largely dependent on the quality of highways it has. You need big roads for huge vehicles to move on and these huge vehicles carry tons of weight on it. This means that you need highways that are strong and long lasting. Now in order to have long lasting highways you need a solid design to go with so that the construction of the highway goes in accordance to the design being made by the engineers and it remain strong to cater to thousands of vehicles that passes each day. There is something known as “Design Build” which is majorly used in construction of roads and highways. Here the design of the highway and its construction are done by the same entity. This means that no 2 different entities will be in the picture and the entire responsibility of the highways construction remains with only one construction company who has taken the order to construct the highway.

Earlier there was something known as Design Bid and Build that was followed by construction companies. In this particular scenario, one entity used to prepare the design of the highway and the other followed the design and worked on it. This created lot of problems with who will take the accountability if something goes wrong in the making of the project. The company who designed the project will point fingers at the company who has taken the construction work and the later will do the same on the company who has designed the project. In this case, the ultimate sufferer is the common people, the taxpayer of the country who has paid for the project and what they got in return is something worthless. This is why the concept of “Design Build” came into existence where the sole responsibility of the project remains with one company and if anything goes wrong then we know who to catch hold of.

Reduces overall costs of the project:-

Since there is only one company involved with the design and construction of the highway, we can expect a sizeable amount of reduction in the overall cost to the project. The construction company can work on the design and if it finds any changes to be made which happens quite often in a project of this magnitude can have a talk with the guys who did the design work for them and get it redesigned to their convenience. Had there been 2 entities, the redesigning thing would have taken huge sum of money from the project and have also made the process quite time consuming. Moreover there are chances of ego clash happening and if that happens it becomes more difficult to complete the highway on time.

The designers and the contractors are in sync:-

The Design Build concept has brought in a greater sense of responsibility by generating strong team bonding between the designers and the contractors. Since they belong to the same entity they have to work in sync with each other and it has been seen that people who work in a team derives better result that guys who work alone.

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Hard work can make you the best heavy equipment salesman

We may have heard the proverb “There is no substitute for hard work” a million times but when it comes to working hard in literal terms, we will not find many who indeed does that. We all want to do it smartly taking minimum effort but we expect the maximum outcome. Well, it may work in some case but not every time. Your luck may favor you at times but if it will also ditch you when you are not prepared. For a salesman it is all about hard work. The luck factor plays a small role in his career. As long as he is not good in his work he will just not be able to excel. He will never be able to achieve growth no matter how long he stays a part of the industry. There is one more thing that plays a vital role to become the best salesman and that is positivity. Some also call it as being motivated but motivation comes when you have positivity flowing inside you.

Learn selling techniques:-

Having good communication skill is not enough to sustain in the selling industry especially when you are selling heavy equipment. If you are a good communicator you can speak well but it should also make sense to the listener. This means that you got to the point and can’t deviate from the subject. This means that you need to learn some selling techniques. Heavy equipment is in itself a largely complex subject and it certainly takes time for a person to learn it well. If you are a salesman, you should be prepared to answer questions that are technical and may require in-depth knowledge of the subject. Here is where your selling technique may come to your rescue just in case if you do not know the answer. You can probably use the technique and seek an exit from the question. This does not mean that you will evade the question all together but will hold it for a day or for some time so that you can check that from your mentor or from a veteran.

Watch training videos:-

Training videos can be very helpful for new entrants. They can learn some selling skills watching the videos and can also expand their knowledge about heavy equipment and its ancillaries. While selling heavy equipment it is very important to know when you should stop selling the machine and begin selling its ancillaries. Not every buyer will be ready to buy the machine. They may be looking for certain parts of the machine or some kind of attachments. The training videos will help you realize your mistakes that you normally do while on a sales call or during a meeting. Remember that these videos help you to strengthen the foundation on which you will set your career.

Talk more about machine with your mentors and people from the construction industry who deal with machines. Catching up with an operator will always help you to learn more about heavy equipment and how it works. You can get to know the problems that an operator usually experience and on that you can pitch your sales line whenever you go for a sales call.

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Do not misrepresent your listing on online portal

Doing business is not the same as it was few decades ago. Then people had to put their stuffs in big stores for buyers to come and buy. It is no longer the same now. Today, we have websites that deals with buying and selling of every possible item that one can think of. You can even sell your dozer on one such website and still expect a good price from it. Selling of heavy equipment on such websites has become the trend now. There are plenty of people who are listing their heavy equipment on sites like eBay, Craigslist, Amazon etc. Each of these portals has their own way of listing items. They have formed certain rules that they want their members to follow and one such rule that is being followed quite stringently is to not misrepresent the listing on the website.

We will be discussing in length as to why almost all the online portals that deals with buying and selling of heavy equipments follows this rule so stringently.

Misrepresenting is equal to cheating the buyer:-

When you are misrepresenting your listing, it clearly indicates that you are not true with your listing and you keep the intention of cheating the buyer. Else you will not mention anything that is by any manner sounds to be untrue. Viewers while they checking out your listing, they keep some level of trust on the online portal as well. For instance, if you are checking out a crawler on Craigslist, back in your mind you have the belief that whatever is listed on Craigslist is genuine and the seller will not misrepresent the item there. So you go as per the description stated on the listing and if you like the product, you go for the sale. Now if Craigslist does not give much importance to the description part, sellers will get the freedom to write anything on the description and that will for sure lead to the debacle of the website. Buyers will undoubtedly feel cheated and will look for some other option.

Sellers will also lose their credibility:-

It is not just the portal that will lose its credibility but also the seller will affect his reliability. Buyers will find it hard to trust any seller. This is not in any manner a healthy sign for the online business. Sellers will be able to make few sales by misrepresenting the item but once the buyer finds out that he is cheated, he will definitely leave a poor feedback for the seller. This negative feedback will go completely against the seller and there is also a possibility that he will be expelled from listing any further items on the website. The website will not want people to list heavy equipment who falsify the description part and stern action can be taken against such members.

The online websites have given many of us a great opportunity to sell construction machines without any hassles. We should respect this opportunity and ensure that we list the machines giving most accurate description that we can.

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Blowing your own trumpet is essential in construction business

In order to become a successful businessman, it is quite essential that people know about you and the business that you are into. Also it is important for others to know about the nature of your business. For instance, if you own a bar or a joint that provides nutritious food or anything that involves your dealings with the end user, it is important for you that others know you well and also that you have a good reputation in the market. So when people talk about you they talk mostly good. This is perhaps the most important ingredient that is required to sustain in the service industry. Construction business to a larger extent is connected to the end user and in order to grow the business in your area or in your city, it is quite instrumental that you blow your own trumpet so that people know about you and the kind of work that you are into. Your success in the business becomes your portfolio and so are the existing projects that you have under your belt.

When we talk about blowing your own trumpet we specifically mean that you market your business more aggressively than never before. Reach out to as many people as you can and talk to them about your success story. However, do not ever try to blow things out of proportion or you will get caught. You have to speak what is true. The only difference will be that you will be more vocal than before and mention about all the feathers on your cap to the person with whom you expect some business to come. If needed hire ace marketing guys who knows about the industry and let them do the talking business. You have to get the stuff ready for them so that they can do the talking and get business for you.

You can get guys who are simply exceptional when it comes to market things. They are basically freelancers who do not work on one particular company and can work for any company at a given point of time. All they need is some material and facts to speak on. So when you give them some solid facts and figures that your company has been able to achieve, it becomes simple for them to go and perform. Right from cold calling to fixing an appointment and then meeting the person and turning him into your client, they will get everything done for you. You probably have to go for final meetings as you are the face of the company and people will be ultimately dealing with you.

Social media is one more way to spread the word at a shorter time to a larger crowd. Many construction companies are using Facebook as a tool to promote their business. They also have accounts in other social media websites that are meant for professional use. Here they mention almost everything about their company, right from the inception to the values and the projects that they work on. Many have found them to be quite useful to promote their business and take it to the next level.

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Heavy Equipment Insurance

When our lives are full of uncertainties and we have a lot of responsibilities to take care of, it is advisable that you take adequate insurance coverage so that the responsibilities that you have are well managed in your absence. Insurance in the need of the day. We will probably not find a single person without a life or a general insurance which includes vehicle insurance, home insurance or medical insurance. You never know when you will need one and therefore it is instrumental that you that you one in place. Nowadays we also have insurance that protects you against risks that is attached to your company or your business. It has become almost mandatory for companies to insure themselves against such risks. Talking about the construction industry, one of the most important components that this industry has and is always prone to risk is heavy equipment.

Heavy equipment are required to work under intense conditions and at times they work for hours without taking adequate breaks. This form of machine is quite tough but it also has its saturation point and if someone tries to break its saturation point, the machine will react. This means that the construction equipment will break down. Other than this, there are other risks that are attached to heavy equipment which are beyond human control. Your machine can get damaged due to some external calamity, fire or explosion. There are risks of it getting stolen as it has a huge demand in the market where stolen goods are bought and sold. You definitely need an insurance company that will cover your equipment with all the possible risks that you can think of.

There are many insurance companies available in the US that deals with protecting heavy equipment. They also deal with other insurance products and therefore you can check with the insurance company from whom you have covered your life or your business if they can provide insurance for heavy equipment. Some of the insurance companies that provide insurance to heavy equipment are Liberty Mutual, Occidental Fire & Casualty, and American Southern Insurance etc. You can get in touch with your financial advisor who will help you to select the best plan. You can also check the details with the insurance agent of the respective company to know the annual premium and the maximum coverage the company can offer on the machine.

It is understood that the heavy equipment are vulnerable to risks like theft and it is also not possible for every construction company to protect it from getting stolen. So the next alternative is to insure them. However, one also needs to check the claim settlement process of the insurance company. Some insurance companies become a big pain when it comes to claim settlement. It is therefore quite imperative that you check the claim settlement history of the insurance company before you go for it. You can find that out by visiting their website where you will see the number of claims they have settled in a year.

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Demolition Debris Cleanup

Pulling down an existing structure leaves a lot of debris on the site and if not cleaned up in a day or two it will lead enormous problems to the construction workers to function. They will be unable to move along the debris and also it will become hard for them to breathe. It is therefore important to get the debris removed as soon as you can once the demolition is done. The next question is do you have the right sort of heavy equipment that is exclusively used for debris cleanup. In order to get the debris cleaned up real soon you need to have the heavy equipment that is meant for that purpose. You can also make use of an excavator or a dozer to do the work. It is just that you need to change the attachment on those machines and if you do not have the attachment then that is again a problem.

Normally, a construction company can easily arrange for attachments. The other option is you give the work to a contractor who has relevant heavy equipment and who exclusively does this sort of job. A construction work is done in several phases and for each phase you need help of different set of contractors. This is perhaps one of the reasons as to why a contractor is never out of job. He always gets something or the other to do irrespective of the season.

Be it summer, monsoon, spring or autumn you will never see a contractor idle. It is however the discretion of the construction company if they would want to hire a contractor to clean the debris or do they have the required heavy equipment and the operators who knows to do the work well. One more heavy equipment that plays a crucial role in cleaning up the demolition debris is the dumper. A dumper or a truck has the capability to pull loads of debris and tow them away from the jobsite.

Contractors who work as demolition debris cleanup do necessarily possess a dumper or a truck to do the job for them. It is kind of must heavy equipment without which they can’t see to complete the job. When we talk about demolition debris, the debris is not restricted to only dirt and mud. Most of the times the debris are heavy like concrete slab or the remains of the foundation removal. So before you chose a contractor to remove those heavy concrete slabs, it is important that you do some study on the contractor’s job background. For instance, how experience is the contractor in cleaning up demolition debris is the key point to look at. What kind of services they offer and also the reviews of their customers will act as a deciding factor if one should go with them or look for some other contractor.

Checking the type of heavy equipment used by the contractor is perhaps the second most important thing to do. You want the debris to be cleaned up in the shortest possible time and for that the contractor needs to put the best of heavy equipment to use. So be sharp while you choose any contractor for the demolition debris cleanup work.

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Best way to sell used heavy equipment

Buying a new heavy equipment can cost the buyer a fortune and can even bring his business to a financial standstill. Not every owner of a construction company can afford to buy brand new equipment and instead prefer to purchase a used one. This will not only save some money for the buyer that will help him to take care of his financial worries but also he gets the stuff he needs to complete his project at a much lower price. The seller on the other hand takes a sigh of relief as he is able to sell the used equipment that was lying idle to someone who can brought it to some use.

Seller has multiple modes to sell the used equipment but the most convenient mode in today’s time is to sell it online. This will not only save the time and money of the seller but will also make the seller worry free. Internet is the most sought after technology in the current century and people from all walks of life uses internet almost on a daily basis. People have also started to buy many things from online shopping site. Right from apparels to electronic items, all can be bought and sold on the net. Therefore, selling used heavy equipment will not be a difficult task for the seller of today’s generation.

There are few pointers that the seller needs to incorporate before he lists the equipment online.

Check the machine is in order:-

If the machine has been lying idle for quite a period of time then it becomes crucial for the seller to get the machines checked from an expert mechanic and if he finds anything faulty then get it repaired or replaced. It makes no point in selling junk to others. Sellers have to remember one very important thing and that is for every item they sell online, they are marked on it and if the buyer puts a negative feedback or gives negative score then he will have a hard time selling any further item on the same site. If possible paint the machine and put stickers wherever you find it to be necessary. Try to make the equipment look new as it will also help you to get a good price.

Post enough pictures and be descriptive on the listing:-

Sellers need to understand that prospective buyers will only make their judgment on the basis of the description and the pictures that the seller has put on the listing. Other than that, they do not have any other way to determine if the equipment is indeed functional or is it the one they need for their project. They take the call on the basis of these 2 things and if any of them does not suffice to the buyer’s satisfactory level, then there are higher chances that he may move to the next listing posted by a different seller.

Collect the money and ship the item:-

Once you have a buyer for the equipment, ask them to pay you the money and only when you’ve received the money, go ahead and ship the item.

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Building finances for your construction company. Does it take time?

Construction is a multifaceted industry and a risky business. It requires huge financial investments, which get returned as profits much later. Thus, it is an expensive business which offers delayed benefits. The construction project cannot proceed without adequate finances. Hence, the owner of construction facilities must obtain reliable capital resources to finance costs of construction. The owner does not just work on one project but numerous projects which are all financed together. In addition, there are other problems such as budget overruns, unreliable contractors and delays. If the owner is unable to cover costs, the capital investors face financial problems.

However with a pragmatic approach, owner of construction industry can build finances (achieve profits) in less time. Some of the guidelines for the same are as follows:

  1. The owner should be aware of the amount of work to be undertaken. Further obtain knowledge of the technical skills required which will enable to calculate the correct cost of construction project. Thus he should define goals and set expectations. Emphasis have to be on long term planning. Setting expectations enhances confidence of both clients and employee’s in the owner.
  2. Generally it costs less during planning and designing of the project but involves substantial expenses during construction. Instead of giving importance to sales, and getting deals, owner should develop understanding of the financial aspects and costs involved in the construction project. They can also hire appropriate project managers and financial consultants to understand the actual costs incurred by a project.
  3. Estimate the true profit by considering overhead costs, risks and job costs.
  4. Managing the job production to achieve profits: the job should be done in the cost-effective manner to make profits. Changing daily orders of operation and determining the productivity of labour force. When the work to be completed in 2 days, takes 6 days, it incurs additional costs. Thus jobs should get delayed.
  5. Accounting for profit by employing a project manager who keeps track of the budget and purchase orders. He has accurate knowledge of the expenses since he is present on the site. He applies construction specific accounting knowledge.
  6.  Since education always helps, hence training to be given to labourers, employees and management professionals.
  7.  Emphasis on written procedures (SOP) is important. Procedures should change improve. They should be evaluated periodically.
  8.  Effective Good communication with employees is valuable and necessary. They result in strong relationships with all parties and frequently result in future referral business.

Overall building finance in construction industry takes time. Following the above guidelines will enable the owner to develop business skills to reap profits in less time and have sustainable career in construction industry.

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Why should we do preventive maintenance for heavy construction machinery

In order to increase the life of any mechanical substance it is highly crucial that it is serviced, checked and maintained at regular intervals. The mechanical instrument is perhaps being used all throughout the day and if any such instrument works for hours at a stretch then the chances of it breaking down increases manifolds. This is the reason why the owner of the stuff should take uttermost care to service it at regular intervals and ensure that if it shows any signs of wreckage that should be addressed then and there. Heavy construction machinery falls under the category where it works almost all throughout the day. Heavy equipment are quite expensive and the owner of the machine can’t afford to just leave it unattended and uncared. On top of that, you can’t work for a day without the help of heavy equipment. They constitute an integral part in the growth and success of your business and therefore their ill-health can’t be and should not be ignored.

Can’t buy another one easily:-

Due to the high price of heavy equipment you can’t afford to buy a new one whenever you see a need for it. No one wants to sell their used heavy equipment for cheap and if that is the case then one can easily imagine the price of brand new heavy equipment. For that matter if your machine goes out of order and you need to keep up with your work pace you have to get another one its place or repair the existing one. Getting another one is not a wise idea and getting repaired means you have to wait for days to get it back fixed. This means that your work is now in jeopardy. This is one of the prime reason why you should always ensure that the construction machines are serviced and maintained regularly so that it does not develop any glitch at the time when you need it the most.

Hiring a mechanic can prove to be expensive:-

Heavy equipment mechanics are equally expensive as they understand the complex stuff that they are dealing with and when you deal with a complex thing you charge more for that. So if there appears to be any technical glitch that may have surfaced due to improper maintenance, you have to call a mechanic. Now this guys will fix his rate depending how complex the problem is and how long will it take for him to get it fixed. Moreover it will not be a day’s affair. He might just take the machine with him and will give it after a couple of days or may be even more. The same is applicable if you give it to an authorized dealer who fixes heavy equipment.

Servicing and maintaining heavy equipment is not a thorny thing to do. It is all about remembering the last time when you serviced the machine and also recognizing from the signals the machine throws if it develops any problems.

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Hard work and dedication is all needed for the growth of construction business

We generally believe that construction business is a highly profitable one and people who are associated with it know the secret of making quick money. Well as a matter of fact, first and foremost there is nothing like easy money. It may be quick money but one can’t guarantee how long does the quick money last but there is definitely no easy money. People belonging to whatever industry have to work hard all day to earn money and they do not want to emphasize that as neither quick nor easy money. Same goes with the men in the construction domain. Right from the person who owns a construction company to the one who work in that company, all of them have to go through rigorous hardship day in and day out to achieve success and the money that comes attached with the success.

There are basically 2 most important attributes that is required to form or to transform a small construction company to a giant organization and these attributes are something that we have been doing all our lives without knowing the importance of it. The first one is hard work and the second is dedication. As you spend more time in the construction business, you keep on learning new things that were completely unknown to you or is probably unknown to many in this domain. However, you get to know those things only if you are dedicated towards your business. One who gets knowledge is the one who seeks it. Therefore, you have to keep your dedication intact irrespective of whatever challenges comes up in your life. Difficulties are part of our daily life and they come and go often. If they start bothering you, it will be tough for you to take things ahead in life.

Dedicated towards your work will also keep you focused towards what you want to achieve in life. It has been often witnessed that people after having started their construction business plan to wrap it down in few years time. This happens because they have entered the sector thinking that life here is a bed of roses where challenges are rare to come. They can make good, easy and quick money and will still rich forever. Things are not what these men contemplate it to be. It is indeed absolutely contrary to their imagination and they fall flat on their face when they see the industry is giving them several blows without anytime to recuperate.

Dedication and hard work goes hand in hand. In fact, it is dedication that gives rise to hard work. You will not work hard on things that you are not dedicated to do. You will find the work monotonous and after some time you may lose interest from it. Stories of ace construction companies should be read to know the pain they have gone through to reach the place they are in. That will motivate you to work harder and extend your limits of persistence.

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