Monthly Archives: January 2018

Heavy Equipment refurbishing

Construction equipment has to go through a lot of tussle while it is working on the jobsite and which is why we can see enormous amount of wear and tear on the face of the machine. This should probably remind us that it is time that we refurbish the heavy equipment or else be ready to sell it in scrap in the next few months or at the most may be a year. It is very important for a heavy equipment owner to keep checking periodically the health of the machine and this is why it is recommended to service the machine every month. Apart from washing the equipment which should be done every couple of days or at least once in a week the oiling and greasing part should be taken care of once in a month. Now if the heavy equipment has gone really old though you have taken good care of it all throughout the life of the machine, it is probably the time to refurbish it.

When we talk about refurbishing heavy equipment, it is not getting the machine painted and taking care of the dents that it has all around its body. It is more of replacing the old vital parts of the equipment with newer ones so that it gets a new life and can work with the same force and vitality. Other than that you can always upgrade the equipment with new technology provided it should be compatible and support the new features. Not many old machines can support the software and therefore it has to go through a lot of changes. Many owners find it convenient to change the machine rather than making so many changes in a machine. It is completely upon the owner of the heavy equipment but it always stays as a possibility.

Increase the longevity of the heavy equipment:-

By refurbishing the heavy equipment you are indeed increasing the longevity of the machine. However, this refurbishing should be more usual. You can’t expect the machine to perform like before just with one session of refurbishing. It should be followed by series of servicing without being skipped. Apparently the new heavy equipment is quite expensive and it will burn a hole in your pocket if you intend to buy one. On the contrary you can simple refurbish the machine whenever you see the need and get it back on track.

Helps you in the rental business:-

If you are a person who owns lot of heavy equipment and are in the business of letting them out, you should know that it becomes a must for you to refurbish the machine after every contract. The reason is that your machine goes through a lot of wear and tear when it is used by a person who is not its owner. They use the machine as per the business needs and not give a thought if the machine can actually take the extra load. Also before you intend to sell the heavy equipment, refurbishing of the heavy equipment is recommended as the new owner should get the best for the amount he pays you.

Creativity is the need of the hour – show it in your business

The growth of any business majorly depends upon two pillars. The first is hard work and dedication and the second is how creative you are. The way to present your business module to others is an art. The better you present the more are the chances of you getting more business from your clients. So every time you come up with a new idea or a thought, you need to be prepared to display it in the most apt manner that is easily understood and at the same time quite enticing for others to accept it. Many industries are having people from the creative background. They help the marketing team by using their creative minds and make the product sellable. They start by understanding the product and how it is useful to the end-user or to the person whom will buy the idea. Once they get to know the stuff, they apply their minds and come up with something that sounds logical and also attractive.

Creativity is very important in the overall construction sector. Especially when there is so much competition and every other company is claiming to be the best, it is only those companies who are creative will be able to strive to the end. They can market their products by making them look alluring and also reasonable. One more important place where a construction company can show creativity to attract clients is their website. The company’s website will contain all their information which will be accessible to the public. So they have to ensure that they make it look simple and easy to understand. Most importantly, they have to make sure that the navigational tools are well in place and the viewer does not have to spend a good deal of time to search for tabs.

Creativity is most required there because it is a tough job to keep loads of information of a company in one place and that too in such a manner that others do not find it difficult to access and can easily get down to the stuff they want to check. Simultaneously, they should speak in volume about their achievements and existing projects and that should come up the moment one enters the website. So this has to be decided and checked by the creative team.

Do not make your way of working too predictable. You should also bring a bit of creativity in the way you work. This may lead to increase in productivity and you may find things working faster than before. Creativity should also reflect on your work. For instance, if you are constructing a building for commercial purpose then it should consist of all the amenities that one can think of but at the same time you should ensure that the cost does not go out of hand. This is why you incorporate the creative brains in your team and ask for suggestions that allows you to build a commercial building at a lower cost.

Keep a blend of skilled and semi-skilled men for construction work

Highly skilled men are hard to get. They are mostly absorbed by big companies who are ready to pay them the amount they want. It is a no brainer that to acquire skilled set of people you should be ready to loosen your pocket or else they have other options to go by. It has been observed that even small companies prefer to keep a couple of skilled men who will be responsible to see that the work has been executed without any hiccups. These guys know how to get the work done from semi-skilled or unskilled laborers. This is why a blend of skilled and semi-skilled employees is always positive to any company. Coming to the construction segment, the existence of this blend is all the more important and required more than anything. For construction companies that are into business for the last few years should mandatorily have more semi-skilled men who will be supervised by skilled workforce and on the top you have people from the management level.

You get workarounds from skilled workforce:-

In the construction sector there comes time more often when the labors get stuck with something and they do not see a way out. They probably have not encountered a situation like that before and therefore do not know the possible workaround. In situation like this, the role of a skilled man comes into picture. He with his experience and knowledge will try to get a solution of the problem. Their knowledge about the industry has helped companies on many occasions to get through difficult situations.

Quite instrumental in imparting their knowledge to semi-skilled:-

He semi-skilled workforce gets to learn a lot from the skilled men. As a matter of fact, the construction industry is all about who knows how much. The more you know about the industry the better it is for you to make a thriving career in this sector. The role of the skilled workforce becomes quite handy when it comes to providing necessary support and training to their sub-ordinates. Training can be conducted on large number of issues which the workforce faces on a daily basis. Moreover, they can also give on job training to unskilled laborers so that they can rise a bit from their level.

Valuable suggestion can come from skilled workforce:-

It is the skilled workforce who has their presence in both on field and off-field and therefore can come out with real good suggestion when the management direly requires it. They are the ones who know the things on ground better than anybody else does and can pass their suggestions to the folks who have the authority to make any changes. Construction companies prefer to share their strategy with these men and want to get some inputs from them. Keeping their experience handy, the skilled men can foresee any possible reason to continue or abort a project and will pass it on to the next level who in turn will take the final call.

Use internet to promote your construction business

We are living in the age where businesses are conducted online. All kinds of presentations and business meetings happen on the internet. You meet your clients once personally and then whenever you need to meet them again you can do that online. This saves a lot of your time as well as of your clients’. The advent of internet has taken the world in a new dimension from where most of the things are done without the physical presence of the person at a particular position.

This mean that you can conduct a business meeting while you are holidaying at Hawaii and can also take important decisions without being present in the office. All you need to do is ask all the head of departments to join a video call where you will be updating your people about the decision and simultaneously put it on papers and fax/email it back to them. There is one more thing we can do without any hindrance on the net and that is to promote our business online. Well, you can only promote a business that are ethical and lawful in the eyes of the law of the land but that is still a possibility.

This avenue has been widely used by construction companies all over the world. They are using internet as a tool to spread their message to a large number of crowd at a time and are also getting overwhelming response in terms of people calling them up to know what their business has for them. It makes a lot of sense for the new construction companies to make use of internet to promote their business online and get recognition of people from all walks of life. Starting to promote a construction business is quite simple.

It all starts from your website:-

We live in a world where your identity is your website address. Well not literally but substantially. You have any kind of business but a website for your business comes first before anything. People give more stress of designing an interesting website for their company which looks simple and yet attractive. The web page has to be catchy. It should instantly catch the attention of the person going through it and he should find the contents in it to be interesting or else he/she may not take long to close the window and move to the website of your competitor.

Send mass emails:-

If you construct apartments or condominiums or houses and then sell it to the purchaser then it makes lot of sense for you to inform people about your project. This will allow them to pay a visit to your jobsite and check the progress of the work and then accordingly book their apartments. All that you have to do is send emails to people at random. You can perhaps target people from a specific income group. You will not mention much in the email, just few facts about your existing project and how convenient and comfortable it will be for people who buy the property. Rest you can provide your office number where they can call your company and fix a date to see the jobsite. Your work is done. Soon the footfall will increase and that is a good sign for your business.

Heavy Equipment Operator Salary

We study hard to become qualified to get a good job which can give us good salary. Every industry provides good package to qualified employees and therefore it makes sense to study hard in the beginning and then get into a job that takes care of the monetary part of your life. It is also important to get into the right industry. An industry that will survive for long and has a future for you. Being rewarding should not be the only criteria for a person to join a company or an industry. They also need to understand the future prospect of the sector and only if they see it to be a thriving one that they should get into it. Construction sector is an industry which is not only rewarding but also has the potential to carry on as long as humans are on this planet. This means that the people who are associated to this industry can assume a bright future with lot of perks.

The position of a heavy equipment operator is quite crucial in the sector. They are the ones who operate the big machines and set the roadmap for the laborers. They not only work on the machines but also make sure that the equipment are performing to the fullest without any hiccups and if they experience any hiccups then they need to get that reported to the concerned authorities who will set things right. The guys who play such an important role must not be getting an ordinary package. They are paid handsomely by the companies as they understand the nature of their work and also understand that they can only be replaced by another experienced and qualified operator and by no one else. So it is always better to have the same employee work for you rather than having new faces time and again.

Well the gross income of an inexperienced heavy equipment operator could be anywhere between $3,500 to $5,000 a month and for the ones who are experienced can expect more from the company. Young heavy equipment operators ideally stay in a company for few years which often acts as a training ground for them and once they are confident and know how to deal with different situations, they make a move. This jump to other companies gives them a higher package and as and when they become more experienced they see their package becoming better. Simultaneously, if they attend classroom training and get certifications they come into the bracket of high paid operators. This is what most of the operators who are on salary dream to reach. No wonder it is a difficult one and needs lot of hard work but definitely a possible one.

For operators who have plenty of experience under their belt, they become freelancers. You will find lot of operators who works as a freelancer with different companies. They are picked on the basis of the project the company has and are paid accordingly. A freelanced operator is mostly connected with a union which provides them with job. However, the money they make at the end of the project is gigantic.

Pros and cons of expanding construction business

For any business decision there is always some sort of pros and cons that one has to undergo and the person should also be ready for the ups and down after taking a major business decision. These decisions can also have a lasting effect on the overall prospect of the business and therefore they need to be extremely cautious before they see an opportunity and move ahead to get it. Expansion of business is seen as one such opportunity where a person needs to be extremely cautious with that he is doing. It has every chance of firing back. However, that does not mean that companies should act reluctantly when it comes to topics like expanding their businesses. It is just that they need to be careful with what they have in their mind and need to analyze the pros and cons before they finally set their foot in it.

In the construction sector, evaluating the pros and cons before expansion of the construction business is quite crucial. A wrong call can even lead to complete shutting down of your business. There have been numerous instances where people after taking up projects in the name of expansion were not able to complete them and were fined heavily. It really took a toll on their business. There are lots of legal things that one need to consider. Every state in US has different laws and you need to consider them well before you chalk out something. Talk help of people who knows about laws. Talk to them and understand what the law of the land says so that you can protect your interest first. Expansion of construction business comes with a cost attached to it and it is important to understand those costs. You should be ready to take the chance in the first place.

Expanding your business will certainly give you high returns if things move in the right direction. You will get more work and your fame will precede you. You perhaps do not have to advertise as you will get work on the basis of people knowing your company and that is one of the most unique selling points that will drive your business. It may be real fun when you see that you are acquiring more assets and your company is becoming stronger with every passing day.

Moving across horizons is something that every construction company has dreamt. When we talk about moving across horizons we specifically mean moving from one genre of the construction industry to another. This has a lot of benefits like you can set your foot in a genre that you know has enough potential to earn you rich dividends. However, while you do so you also need to acknowledge the fact that you do not know much about the genre of work and have to depend on expert advice. This means that your dependability on others will increase manifolds. Also you got to study the future prospect of the sector in advance. How the sector has performed and how it will in the future should be known to you before you expand in that horizon.

Thinking of selling your heavy equipment? Give it a new look first!

Do you own a heavy construction machine or equipment? Whether you run a construction business or if you are a renowned builder, having your very own heavy construction equipment is one of the wisest decisions that you will ever make. However, due to continuous usage, the heavy construction machinery, vehicles and equipment are sometimes likely to lose their functionality and performance. In fact, with every passing day, a more enhance tool or technology is being introduced to the world.

In such a scenario, it is a great idea if you want to sell your old equipment and buy new ones. Given the constantly growing construction industry, there is a constant demand of the heavy construction equipment, regardless of how old or new they are. As the price of the new equipment is often quite high, buying the second-hand or used ones is a trend that small scale construction business owners always choose. Hence, you will easily get a buyer for your equipment. In fact, there are construction equipment buyers and sellers, who buy old equipment from you at any time. You can sell the equipment to them as well.

What should you be careful about?

Before you sell your heavy construction equipment, it is a must that you take care of a few things.

  • The parts are properly fitted
  • It is a functional condition
  • It looks as new as possible.

The first two factors can be taken care of, as you refurbish your equipment. The repairing or servicing works will fix the damages and also increase the functionality of the equipment. Moreover, with damaged parts, the possibility of accidents is also quite high. Hence, you might lose potential customers. So, this is a key step that you must take.

Apart from these two factors, what is equally important is that your equipment has a clean and almost new look. Though the papers will clearly show the age of the equipment, having a clean and appealingly new look will help your equipment get more customers and that too faster. The customers are always drawn towards those equipment and machineries that look new.

How to give your heavy construction equipment a new look?

Now that you have understood how important it is for your heavy equipment to get an almost new look, it is a must that you take proper care of the equipment in terms of its appeal. For that you need to paint the equipment at first. As soon as you clean the equipment of all the dirt and dust, it becomes more suitable for a better sale.

The expert equipment cleaners also provide sandblasting feature that helps in painting the equipment even better. After sandblasting, the paint has to be done as per the specifications or requirements of the equipment. Once the paint is done, you can add the stickers for the manufacturing company names. This will give the equipment an absolutely brand new look or appeal. Certainly, this will increase the price of the equipment, regardless of how old it is.