Category Archives: construction equipment

Tips for Maintaining Your Heavy Equipment

Maintaining heavy equipment is crucial for ensuring that it operates efficiently, safely, and reliably. Here are some tips to help you keep your heavy equipment in good condition:

  1. Follow the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule: Heavy equipment manufacturers provide a recommended maintenance schedule that outlines when and how to perform routine maintenance tasks. Follow this schedule strictly to ensure that your equipment runs smoothly.
  2. Inspect equipment before and after use: Before using your equipment, perform a visual inspection to ensure that it is in good working order. After use, inspect it again to check for any signs of damage or wear.
  3. Check fluids regularly: Check the oil, hydraulic fluid, coolant, and other fluids regularly to ensure that they are at the correct levels and that they are clean. Dirty or low fluids can cause damage to your equipment’s engine and other systems.
  4. Keep equipment clean: Dirt, debris, and other contaminants can cause damage to your equipment’s engine, hydraulics, and other systems. Keep your equipment clean by regularly washing it and keeping it free of debris.
  5. Replace worn parts: Worn parts, such as belts, hoses, and filters, can cause your equipment to operate inefficiently and even fail. Replace these parts regularly to keep your equipment running smoothly.
  6. Store equipment properly: When not in use, store your equipment in a dry, secure location to protect it from the elements and theft.
  7. Train operators properly: Properly trained operators will know how to use your equipment safely and efficiently, reducing the risk of damage and downtime.

By following these tips, you can ensure that your heavy equipment runs efficiently and safely, and you can avoid costly repairs and downtime.

The Advantages of Using Heavy Equipment in Construction

Construction is a complex process that requires a wide range of equipment and tools to complete various tasks efficiently. The use of heavy equipment in construction projects has become a standard practice due to its numerous benefits. Heavy equipment refers to machinery that is used in construction, demolition, and excavation, among other things. These machines are designed to handle heavy loads, perform a wide range of tasks, and make the construction process more efficient. In this article, we will explore the advantages of using heavy equipment in construction.

  1. Increased productivity

Heavy equipment is designed to complete tasks more quickly and efficiently than manual labor. This is because the machines are specifically designed to handle heavy loads and perform tasks that are difficult or impossible for human workers to complete. As a result, using heavy equipment can significantly increase productivity, enabling construction projects to be completed more quickly.

  1. Reduced labor costs

Another advantage of using heavy equipment is that it can significantly reduce labor costs. Instead of hiring a large number of workers to complete tasks manually, fewer workers can be employed to operate heavy machinery, which is often more cost-effective. Additionally, using heavy equipment reduces the need for manual labor, which can be beneficial in situations where labor shortages exist.

  1. Improved safety

Heavy equipment is designed to perform tasks that can be dangerous for human workers. By using heavy machinery, construction workers can complete tasks more safely, reducing the risk of accidents and injuries. Heavy equipment is also equipped with safety features, such as roll-over protection and seat belts, which can protect workers in the event of an accident.

  1. Versatility

Heavy equipment is versatile and can be used for a wide range of tasks. From excavation to demolition, heavy machinery can perform a variety of functions, making it a valuable asset to any construction project. The versatility of heavy equipment also means that fewer machines are needed on a construction site, which can save space and reduce costs.

  1. Improved accuracy

Heavy equipment is equipped with advanced technology that enables operators to complete tasks with a high degree of accuracy. For example, excavators can be equipped with GPS technology, allowing operators to precisely dig trenches or excavate foundations. This level of accuracy can be difficult to achieve with manual labor, making heavy equipment a valuable asset to any construction project.

  1. Durability

Heavy equipment is designed to withstand heavy use and last for many years. This means that construction companies can invest in heavy machinery knowing that they will get a significant return on their investment. Heavy equipment also requires less maintenance than manual labor, reducing maintenance costs over time.

In conclusion, the use of heavy equipment in construction projects provides numerous benefits, including increased productivity, reduced labor costs, improved safety, versatility, improved accuracy, and durability. These advantages make heavy equipment a valuable asset to any construction project, enabling construction companies to complete projects more efficiently and cost-effectively.

Excavator safety training

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Safety should be the prime motto of any construction company and also the employees in the company should give equal importance to it. Eventually, if the company is asking them to follow the safety parameters it is for the benefit of the employees. They will remain safe at work. Construction industry is considered as an industry that consist lot of perils for its employees. Day in and day out there are news of people getting injured or even getting killed in accidents happening on the site? As a matter of fact, most of the accidents that happen on a jobsite are due to negligence on the part of the employees and also once the accident has occurred they do not know what to do next. They leave it all for the paramedics to come and take care of the situation. It seems that they do not have the proper training to manage situations on their own which is one of the reasons why this sector sees so many fatalities.

Now one also needs to follow certain safety measures while they are on the heavy equipment. For instance the operator working on an excavator has to pretty sure that while he is working there is nobody present in the vicinity of the machine. The excavator has to move to and fro and also has to swing its arm every now and then. It is not possible for the operator to keep a tab on who has come near to the machine and therefore people should avoid coming near to it while it is at work. The operator also has to be responsible for his own safety. For instance, he should be wearing proper gloves so that if he inadvertently touches anything that is extremely hot he will not damage his fingers. Also wearing boots all the time he is there inside the cabin is a must.

These safety points should be a part of his training program. A list should be made on what the operator of an excavator should do and what he should not and he should be following those safety rules religiously. For instance, before he starts working with the excavator, he should check if the brakes are working fine. Also check if the levers in the machine are in order. An engine check should also be done. The operator should report any shortfalls right away to the supervisor or to the team who handles issues pertaining to heavy equipment. So while the machine is getting repaired, if there is a spare excavator that can be used, the operator can jump on that one or else wait till the time the first one is not fixed.

The construction company should also encourage its operator to take safety trainings at regular intervals. You get to learn a lot in such training programs. The trainer will bring those facts that you were unknown to and also very important to you as far as your safety is concerned. Working on an excavator is fun provided you are following all the necessary safety measures.

Related articles across the web

Why it is important to paint heavy equipment?

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Heavy equipment is one of the most important element s in the present era, because of its contribution in the constantly growing construction industry. With new constructions being made every day, without the heavy equipment, it would be quite difficult to do these extensive jobs in such a fast pace.

Even the workload would be multiple times higher and would require more workers. Hence, to minimize time as well as to minimize expenditure, the heavy construction equipment plays a huge role. However, they do not come for a pocket-friendly price. Therefore, it requires a great deal of maintenance for the heavy construction equipment. Along with maintenance, what is equally important for the heavy construction equipment is to paint it occasionally.

Importance of Painting Heavy Equipment:

Just as cleaning the heavy equipment off dirt and dust is important, it is equally important that you paint the heavy equipment occasionally. There are many reasons behind it.

  • Increases longevity:

Just as high quality paint increases the life of a property, home or other concrete elements; it also increases the life of the heavy equipment as well. These commercial vehicle paints are made of chemicals and materials that can protect the metal structure of the machine from dust, dirt as well as moisture.

  • Increases resale value:

When you wish to sell your old heavy equipment and buy a new one instead, always make sure that the equipment is painted well. This will give it an almost new look, which will certainly increase the price of your equipment. It is worth spending on the painting expenditure, if you want to increase the price of the machine or if you want to sell it fast.

  • Give it a Branded Look:

The branded heavy equipment comes with high quality paint and finishing. If you want to enjoy ownership of your heavy equipment that has a branded look and appeal to it, painting is the first step.

Painting the Heavy Equipment Yellow:

Now that you have understood the importance of painting your heavy equipment, it is also important that you know which colour is the best for you. If you go through the branded heavy equipment, you will see that they all come in a bright yellow colour.

The reason behind this is that the yellow colour is a highly visible colour. Hence, be it early in the morning or in the bright sun or even at dusk, when there is very minimal light, the yellow colour is highly visible whenever light reflects on it. Therefore, painting it yellow is the best choice, so that potential accidents can be avoided.

Conclusion:

If you are thinking of painting your heavy equipment afresh, make sure that you choose the best quality paints and also have the painting done by the professionals. There are professional heavy equipment painters, who will clean your equipment at first and then paint the new colour professionally, so that your equipment gets a completely new look. It is not every day that you will be painting your heavy equipment. So, choose only the best, without compromising on your budget.

Motor Grader Tricks

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Grading has always been considered as one of the most important functions in the construction industry and particularly in road building work. Therefore it becomes quite crucial for the construction company to buy the best grading machines available in the market and also hire the best men who know how to work on those machines. The operators need to be really experienced as far as their job is concerned. They need to know the tricks of the trade more than anything else.

Operating the machine is one thing but knowing the tricks to complete the work is what many construction companies expect from the operators. So if you are the one who knows motor grader tricks you might find your place as an operator or also as an instructor in major construction companies that are involved in grading works. Since construction companies gives more stress on the tricks of using a motor grader, it makes more sense to know what tricks in particular are they looking for in an operator to know so that the operator can work in those areas that is required for him to get into the best of the company.

Knowing your machine well:-

This is perhaps the most important trick that one should learn first. Just by the noise of the machine when you start the engine that you should know if it will work fine the whole day or will there be some sort of problem that may crop up as the day progresses. You can expect quick work only when the machine is in good shape or else there is a possibility that it will run slow during the major part of the day. Other than that, knowing the various functions in a grader is way too crucial for any operator. You just do not have run the machine but you have to run it effectively and in order to do so you need to ensure that you know the various functions attached to machine. Heavy equipment companies provide 2 functions for the same job. One will be a quicker one and the other will be the normal one. So if you are the genre of conventional operator who shies away from trying new things then it is a problem. You got to learn the new part of the story to become highly productive.

Soil composition and blades:-

Different types of blades are required to work on different types of soil. You can’t use the same type of blade on all kinds of soil. The trick again begins with knowing which blade should be used for what type of soil. One particular type of blade can be used for a soil that is not meant for it but it will be very time consuming and will lead to many days to grade a small plot of land. You should use the right kind of blades for grading work and it is the responsibility of the operator to know which blade to be used on what type of soil.

How to use a bulldozer

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Operators at times have a hard time while operating heavy equipment. They feel that while they are used to one particular type of machine when they are given to work on an equipment that has new configuration it takes time for them to understand those configurations and get their hands used to the system. They also have to understand the various features and their importance that is installed in a machine making the process more complicated. However once they are used to the system and they understand the features well they do not see much problem in using it. Using a bulldozer in particular has been found to be tougher amongst operators as compared to any other form of heavy equipment. The most common issue encountered by many operators is with steering the machine in the right direction. They sort of tend to lose their control while maneuvering the machine which leads to casualties and losses.

There has to be a systematic way to use a bulldozer and that is discussed as follows:-

Enter the cabin with a calm mind:-

We have enough problems to deal with in our day to day lives but we can’t carry the load of those problems with us wherever we go and especially when it is about going to work you simply can’t carry it there. You have to leave all your worries and hassles right before you enter the workplace and this stands right for the operator as well. You should not enter the cabin if you are tensed or worried about anything. You had a quarrel at home or an argument with your boss. It is better that you take some time doing nothing and clam your mind. You should not work on a bulldozer while you are angry or running through emotions. It can turn out into a bigger mess. Have a chat with your friend, check out a funny video on YouTube and once you feel that you are fresh and ready to work, get inside the cabin.

Have good control on the paddle and the brakes:-

Keep your legs strong while you are using a bulldozer. You use your legs to increase or decrease the speed of the machine as well as when you apply brakes on it. Your legs should not be shaky while you are using the bulldozer. Ideally, the paddle of the bulldozer is located just behind the brake. This means that you should be well trained and have practiced enough before using the mechanisms.

Use joystick to steer the machine as well as to use the blades:-

Joysticks are quite a helpful device as long as you know how to use them. It can be used to steer the machine and also used to move the blades in the right direction. The blades of the bulldozer are used to shove the mud to give a plain surface. An operator who has loads of experience in using joysticks to move the blades can do the work the right way at the first time. Rest may take some time to master the work.

Looking for advice on starting a rental equipment business

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Working as a subsidiary of any successful business will always fetch you good returns. In the construction sector, heavy equipment play quite a crucial role in the completion of the project and if you relate your business in and around this sector you will never run out of business. You will always have clients who will come to you for something or the other. Either they will want heavy equipment from you or their accessories or some vital part which may have gone faulty and want that to be replaced. This will always keep your business ticking and also the flow of customers. People who have spent few years in buying, selling or renting heavy equipment have made enormous wealth. They see this to be a good business and believe that the only thing you require to make this business a success is some knowledge on construction machines. If you possess that knowledge it is only a matter of sometime and you see success coming by.

Starting a rental equipment business may sound to be too simple but aspirants should also keep in mind the complexities that they may encounter while they get into this. They should take some advices from people who have been in this industry for years and who can guide them in taking the right decision. Moreover, they should not consider this business as an easy earning method as there is nothing called as easy earning. Life becomes easy once you have taken enough hardships to learn a particular thing. So you may have to go through lot of hardships while you are in the process of starting a heavy equipment rental business and once you learn to run the business, it may then become simple for you.

How much you know about heavy equipment:-

Before you begin a rental equipment business, it is crucial that you understand which machine is used for what purpose. People will come to you for different types of machines and will ask various sorts of questions which you have to address. So as long as you do not understand what they are talking about you will not be able to give the correct reply. Also knowing a bit about the construction business will be highly beneficial. Just by knowing the type of work you should be able to suggest people the heavy equipment they should take on rent.

Rental price vary from machine to machine:-

After knowing which machine does what, the second most crucial thing that you need to know is the rental price of the different types of heavy equipment. Not all the heavy equipment have the same rental price. Their prices vary a lot depending upon its utility. You can’t rent a high rental price machine at a cheaper rate and vice-versa. No customer will take a low rental priced machine at a higher price and not knowing the correct price can have severe impact on the rental business. Other than that, you also need to know your profit margin or your commission that you will charge from your clients. These are quite important and rest just follows.

Wide-ranging cranes are available for construction works

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Construction cranes are valuable and essential properties for the construction industry. Cranes have some vital jobs on construction sites, especially when tall buildings, bridges, skyscrapers, etc. are constructed. Nowadays different types of constructions are done in odd places like in the middle of a river, or in a busy traffic area, where works can be smooth-sailing with the help of construction cranes.

Utility of construction cranes

Before cranes, construction industry worked differently as everything required human labor. Lifting, loading, unloading and shifting were done by laborers. It required lots of time and labor. The process was expensive too. The construction industry in many places needed to restrict their imagination and design due to lack of labor or expertise. These problems are readily solved ever since construction cranes were invented. It saves much time, labor and money of contractors or owners of buildings. Modern day construction cranes possess a huge capacity and a great many utilities.

Types of construction cranes

Various types of cranes are used depending on the requirements of the work and site location. Here are the mostly used construction cranes:

  • Tower cranes – These cranes are required in building skyscrapers, bridges, and tall buildings. Tower cranes are normally fixed on the construction site with a strong base as long as construction works proceeds. They rise hundreds of feet above and can also reach out hundreds of feet horizontally. Tower cranespossess18-20 tons lifting capacity.
  • Truck-mounted cranes – As the name suggests, these cranes are mounted on a vehicle and easily movable from one location to another. These cranes have two parts: the carrier where the crane is fixed which is also called lower, and the lifting component called upper. A truck-mounted crane possesses 13-14.5 tons capacity.
  • Rough terrain cranes – It is a specialized form of thetruck-mounted crane where the tiers of the carrier are specially built for moving on an uneven surface. Outriggers are used in these cranes so that the system remains firm while loading and unloading. These cranes generally possess 35-80 tons lifting capacity.
  • Crawler Cranes – A crawler crane is almost like rough terrain crane but it possesses crawlers or tracks for movement. The crawlers provide sufficient stability to this cranes, hence, they don’t come with outriggers. Crawler cranes possess high lifting capacity which starts from 40 tons.
  • Railroad cranes – As the name suggest, these cranes are mobile but only on the railway tracks. They possess flanged when suitable for movement on the track. The lifting capacity of these cranes generally varies from 15-250 tons.
  • Aerial cranes – These are the most modern addition to this product line. Aerial cranes are actually helicopters that carry loads to a great height or in an odd site like is a mountain site or in the middle of a river.

Besides, telescopic cranes, floating cranes, level luffing cranes, etc. are also used in different construction sites. Again, contractors may require more than one types of cranes to work simultaneously. Cranes make any construction work rather easy and inexpensive than manual or semi-manual works. However, proper training for operation and safety is required while working with the cranes.

Get associated with a Repo company

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Guys who have big businesses today have started with something small at one point in time. They took help of other companies and incorporated their assistance in the work and simultaneously both grew. The thumb rule of success of any business is do not do everything on your own. Allow others to be a part of your business and take their assistance. The companies whom you will share your project with will provide you the necessary resources using which you can grow and make more money.

No company wants to utilize all of its finances to buy resources when it can easily incorporate another company to get the work done and simply share the profits. This is what the Repo companies also believe in. Not many Repo companies have a towing van to tow heavy equipment. Whenever they get an assignment from any banks or financial institutions they hire a towing vehicle from someone they know and get the work done. However, not all Repo companies follow the same modus operandi. Some believe in buying the van and keep it in standby so that whenever it is needed they can make use of it.

If you are a small time Repo company and you want to grow big, the first thing is you have to develop your contacts with financial institutions that lend money for heavy equipment or trucks or you get associated with another bigger Repo company who will give you assignments as and when it gets one. They will keep their share and give you the money of the work you have done. Ideally, they will only take the money for the information they have given to you and you get the money for the entire work. However, that is still better than having no work at all.

Get into an agreement with the Repo company:-

When you are getting associated with a Repo company, it makes ample sense to first get into an agreement with them where you will define your rate to them and they will pay you accordingly. Your rates should differ depending upon the kind of work you have to do. For instance if you are assigned to tow a mid-sized heavy equipment you can accept a lesser price for that work but that certainly does not mean that you have fixed your rate on towing all types of heavy equipment. To tow big sized heavy equipment you require specialized towing vehicle and if you do not have that vehicle you may have to borrower it from someone who will bill you more for it. So mention your rates on the basis of work that you will do.

Deal with many Repo companies at the same time:-

It makes less sense to hang around with just one Repo company with the hope that they will keep you busy for the entire week or month. You need to be associated with many other Repo companies at the same time. This will let you get more businesses which will further help you to grow in a short time.

Selling heavy equipment can be an enjoyable job

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Selling products can become an enjoyable job only when you know how to sell things to people. This does not mean that you are going to sell items that they do not require. What you will do is show the end user that there is a need of the product in their lives and if at all they have not been using it then they should start doing so. This skill of creating the need in one’s mind and later convincing them to buy the items is the art of selling. A salesman will find his job enjoyable only when he masters the art and can sell anything to anybody just by creating the need of that product in their lives. However, there is one thing that a salesman should always bear in mind and that is they should not try to overdo things. At the end of the day, customers know what they want and what they should avoid buying. So a salesman should respect the wisdom of the customer and when he sees that the customer is not at all ready to buy it from him, he should leave it there.

Selling heavy equipment is altogether a different ball game. Here you can sell the products to a limited genre of people who will probably know about machines much better than you would know. So before you start using your skill to create the need you should be sure of what you are doing and with whom you are doing. There are certain selling tricks that are used but you can’t use the same trick on every individual. It will just not work. A person who is in the construction business for the last 20 years and have dealt with nothing but heavy equipment, it will be really difficult to play the trick with him. You should assume that he is a smarter guy and therefore you should simply stick to your point.

Know their business:-

To sell heavy equipment to such veterans is a difficult task and as long as you do not know their business well you will never be able to sell heavy equipment to them. They will always outsmart you with their knowledge and you will end up looking like a fool. Well, this is a fact. So in order to sell machines to them, you got to first impress them by letting them know how much you know about their business and what kind of machines are required for the successful completion of the project. You may even request them to allow you to visit the site and inspect the health of the machines that is currently in occupation. By that you will understand what types of machines he normally uses and if you have any better alternative.

Take less stress:-

Stress can weaken a person from inside and selling heavy equipment can put a person in lot of stress especially when he is unable to achieve his targets. However, if you are in stress it further adds up to your problem. Try to remain happy and if you are unable to sell those big machines try to focus on the smaller ones.