Caterpillar 740 Articulated Truck

Do you know who carries the debris after the demolition is done? Any heavy equipment that is mostly used on a construction site is not able to carry huge pile of debris from the jobsite to the dump yard and for this you need a truck to get the job done. Trucks are not only used by the construction companies to haul debris but are also used by many mining companies as well. Mining companies can’t spend a day without using trucks. This indeed shows the relevance of trucks to the overall industry. Not only hauling of debris but when it comes to hauling other heavy equipment from the source to the destination, trucks are widely used. An articulated truck plays a very crucial role when it comes to transporting big heavy machines as they can’t make it all by themselves even if they can move on the roads. Heavy equipment can move at a shorter distance. They are not made to get transported on their own. It will take days for a machine to reach one place if it has to move all by itself and therefore the need of trucks becomes so imperative.

Almost all the heavy equipment manufacturing companies are into producing trucks but there are few who are simply exceptional when it comes to trucks. To name a few, Volvo, CAT, Hitachi are some that has an incredible reputation in the market and has also managed to maintain its position over the years. They just changes position in terms of ranking but never has it happened that they have taken a sharp fall in terms of sales figure.

We will be discussing in brief about the specification of CAT 740 articulated truck. The gross and net power of the truck is 464 hp and 445 hp respectively. The power is measured at 1700 rpm and has a displacement of 927.6 cu in. The total number of cylinders installed in this truck is 6. Moving to the fuel capacity of the truck, the total fuel capacity of the vehicle is 61.6 gallons. The hydraulic system fluid capacity, cooling system fluid capacity, engine oil capacity and transmission fluid capacity is 61.6 gallons, 21.1 gallons, 10 gallons and 19 gallons respectively. Talking about the gears fitted in this truck, the total number of forward gears is 7 and is limited with just 2 reverse gears and has a maximum speed of 34 mph.

The total weight of the truck when it is empty is 32840 kg and when it’s loaded the weight is goes to 70840 kg. The overall length of the truck is 35.7 ft in and the overall width is 11.3 ft in. The overall height along with the wheelbase is 12.3 ft in and 17.1 ft in respectively. The height of the dump is 23.2 ft in and its ground clearance is 2.3 ft in.

The CAT 740 is perhaps the truck that every owner of a construction or a mining company would like to possess and it is also pretty much within their capability.

Heavy equipment industry is fast catching up the rental market

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Heavy equipment companies may experience a hard time to sell their machines in the market. They might not find buyers at all times. Due to the cost of the machine which is invariably high, not many construction companies can afford to purchase them and at the same time the needs of the companies also change which means they have to keep on changing the heavy equipment as per their needs. Now it is certainly not feasible for a small construction house to keep buying machines as per the demand of the project. Therefore the best suitable option available to them is to rent the machine till the time they need them. Get done with their work and hand over the machine to its owner.

Though heavy equipment manufacturing companies do not directly deal with renting the equipment but there are entities that make good revenue by purchasing machines from the heavy equipment companies and then renting it out to the end users. Since they are dealing with new stuff, the rental amount one has to pay is comparatively higher than the ones given on rent by individuals. They may be slightly expensive but the quality of the equipment is unparalleled with any other machine listed by any individual.

On the other hand, the equipment possessed by these entities are thoroughly checked before it is listed on their website. So it means that when the guys who want the equipment on rent comes to get the machine, he can be completely assured that he will be taking the best with him. These entities are slowly catching up the heavy equipment rental market and they particularly believe that the year 2016 will be a great year for their business. It is primarily of two reasons. The first is the construction and mining industry are at its peak and it does not seem to come down at least in this year and the second reason is people want quality stuffs and they also need assurance which is provided to them by such entities.

It has been witnessed that people who take machines on rent have a hard time to convince its owners that the machine has developed some complication that was beyond his control and the giver of the machine penalizes him for the problem. This issue is somewhat managed if they take the machine from these small companies. Since these companies have their engineers who can work on the problem they do not fine the takers for anything and everything. This actually increases the confidence of the takers on these companies and they prefer to go with them. Moreover, they are also assured that these companies pick new machines either directly from the company or majorly from banks that confiscate heavy equipment over non- payment of installments.

These companies have quite easily won over the hearts of the contractors and small construction houses and have found a good opportunity to make decent income.

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Learning heavy equipment will be fun with the help of training videos

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Learning new things are always fun if one can add the fun element in it or else it may lead to boredom and one may lose interest from the topic. Therefore in order to add the fun element, a lot of unique stuffs can be added in the subject thus making the subject simple to understand as well as interesting. It has been observed that people learning about heavy equipment can at times find the subject to be quite boring and may completely lose interest from the topic. It is due to the complexity of the subject. You always deal with machines that are not so simple to understand and especially when you got to understand them just by reading it from a book concentrating hard to understand the diagrams given in it, it becomes all the more boring.

Just to make things a bit simple, you can take help of the training videos that are uploaded on the internet. You may find them to be really awesome and helpful. You only got to key in the stuff that you want to learn and it will throw you all the videos it has pertaining to the subject. Click on either of the video and watch it fully. Now when you see things happening in front of you, you will not find it difficult to co-relate the things that you have read in the book. You may possibly learn a few things more by watching the video that you may not find in the book.

Some of the training videos are free of cost while some others are chargeable. However, once you access the videos you will be informed that if you want to learn more about the subject then you got to pay a subscription fee to the uploader. In case, you want to check out more on that, you can pay a nominal fee that is mentioned at the end of the video and download the chargeable video on your computer.

For instance, you want to know how to change the engine oil in a wheel loader, you just key in the stuff you like to see in the search bar and it will throw all the videos that are concerned with the subject. You pick up the one you want to see and watch the complete video. In case, you feel that you want to see other videos as well, you can go back to the main page where you will find the list of videos and then select the next one. It gives you ample of information, something that you will not be able to find in your academic books.

You can always be a step ahead than your peers if you follow the videos properly. Your understanding on the subject will be far better than the other guys studying with you in your institution. Ultimately, it will give you an edge over the others when it comes to getting a good employment with a company. You will find yourself to be in a much beneficial position than the rest of the guys.

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Fuel price affecting the construction industry

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For the last few years, we are seeing a decrease in the oil price across the globe. The price of crude oil that was $129 a barrel has now fallen down to less than $50.00. This is a quite a fall and it has affected the economies of many developing and developed countries. However, there are very few countries whose economy has not been affected by this reduction. Any rise or fall in the price of fuel has a huge impact on the heavy equipment and construction industry and as per the current scenario where the prices have dipped sharply it has left a huge impact on the construction sector. If we assume that the cost of construction will fall with the fall in the oil price, it may not always be the case. On the contrary we also see an increase in the price of finished products. However, the chances are more for the price to go down.

Fuel price plays a significant role in lowering the price of transporting raw materials and other items that are necessary for the construction business. Also the fuel required in heavy equipment will cost the company less which means that the company can now utilize the funds for some other purpose or can just keep it as reserves so that whenever it needs to take any strong financial decision, it can do so and utilize the reserves. Even the industries that are associated with the construction sector benefits a lot when the fuel price is down.

Market experts are of the opinion that the fuel prices that are currently at its bottom will soon pick up and then the picture of the construction industry will differ from what it is for the time being. As of now, it is hurting the oil and gas exploration and production companies but is benefitting the rest but as soon as it starts to increase, they will start benefitting and the construction sector might have to face the heat. Countries that import oil while the prices are down experiences good profits but as soon as the price goes up, they feel the pinch. They then have to import oil at higher price. As a result of this, the construction sector at that time takes a hit. They can’t afford to sell the end product at a lesser price.

Countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Gulf countries that extracts oil and are also the major exporter do not experience any crunch when the prices are high. They in fact find it to be convenient to them. They can sell the fuel at an increased price to the rest of the world. The construction industry in these countries also makes good deal of profit as the fuel prices are mostly less. In case it incurs any loss, it has to do with factors other than the fuel price. Low fuel price has come as a boon to many small construction companies who have just started their business few years ago. They are now able to spend less on fuel and can utilize the money to attain business accomplishments.

Make way for new talents in your construction company

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Talents are much needed resource for the growth and development of any economy. So right from running a small grocery store to operating a mighty construction company, the need of fresh talent is highly important. It has been witnessed that companies ideally want to hire experienced people rather than picking up young boys for the job. They feel that the experienced lots know their job well and will fulfill their duties honestly. They for some reason do not have the same faith with the young population. Well this is not a healthy sign because after a certain period of time you will face shortage of employees and will then be forced to hire guys who know nothing about the work you are engaged in. Therefore it makes more sense to hire young talents and train them so that they can become an asset for you and contribute towards the growth of your company.

There are institutions that train the young guns on heavy machinery. They produce competent operators but the only thing that they lack is experience. They can’t gather experience if they do not get the opportunity to work with some company. All they need is a chance to display their talent. They may induce new ways of working that can prove to be beneficial for the company as a whole. So when you see that your company is growing and you need men to work, make way for young talents. Similarly also hire experienced guys but the number of experienced and inexperienced guys should be proportionate.

Since the young guys lack experience, all they need is bit of support and they have the ability to stand on their feet. They need a bit of help from the guys who knows the work and this is how they can mold themselves into a better workforce. Hiring new talents is also beneficial in terms of saving revenue for the company. You do not have to pay more for their services as they are in learning mode. That does not mean that you have got the right to exploit them. The wages should be discussed with them and should be at par with industry standards. You can then check the ones who are performing and should simultaneously increase their wages. Pay them for their hard work. They truly deserve every bit of it.

Being the owner of a construction company, you should give clear instructions to the tenured guys on how they should behave with the new ones. Instruct them to be polite with them. They are bound to make mistakes as they are in the learning phase but that should not give the experienced lots the opportunity to take the young guys at task. Your instructions will ultimately make a favorable condition for your employees. They will regard your values and will hold you high. The policies of the company pertaining to new talents should be crystal clear and you should ensure that they are followed religiously.

Looking to grow your business – Make use of LinkedIn

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Internet has indeed become a boon for many people who have aspired to start a business of their own. When you begin a business, the first hurdle that you come up with is procuring good clients who will stick around with you after receiving quality products or services from your company. Getting clients who can give business to you was becoming very difficult and on top of that you have those big business houses that were not ready to let their businesses go to small start-ups. They were doing everything possible to ensure that the small companies do not get clients and eventually they get rid of them and there stays no competition.

Things have now changed a lot and acquiring new clients is not as difficult as it was a couple of decades ago. Especially people who belonged to the heavy equipment business had suffered a big deal in the past but with the advent of internet and many social networking sites they are able to show their work to thousands of people at a time and they are not paying anything extra for it. There are some sites that do charge a nominal fee for promoting a business but not every website does. Someone who is associated with the heavy equipment business should definitely try LinkedIn to connect to people associated with the construction industry so that the ones who are in his list will know every detail of his business that he wishes to share.

First and foremost, you need to sign up in your LinkedIn account and create a profile. Please make sure that the profile you set up should be very professional as it will be viewed by people who will connect you for business purpose and hence do not leave any scope for any casualness to appear on your profile. Share all your details and write a lot about your business and what you ideally do. For instance, if you are engaged in selling and servicing of heavy equipment you should state that in detail. Mention which kind of machine you basically deal with or if you deal with every kind of construction equipment you should mention that explicitly out there. Since when you are in this business is very important for others to know as that will help them analyze the experience you have in this form of business.

Your language should be polished and avoid using any slangs. This can go against you in a big way. If you have accomplished any goals that you want others to know about, do share it on LinkedIn. People have the right to know about your accomplishments. Simultaneously, always keep our LinkedIn account updated as it will let others know that you are an active member and you have taken this up quite seriously.

Putting up your photo is also of much importance. However, you can’t put a shady one or the one where you are partying along with your friends or you are enjoying your time with your girlfriend/s. You should post a decent picture that has only you in the photo and with decent looking attire. This all will go a big way in generating more contacts which will be fruitful for your business.

Joint Checks with Heavy Equipment Rental House and Construction Companies

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Construction companies are often of the opinion of taking heavy equipment on rent rather than buying them as it may prove to be very expensive for them. However, they also find it difficult to gather information of people who are willing to rent their machines. They may do a search on internet but the results are not always encouraging. Most of the times, they do not get what they are been searching for. It is quite obvious to not get the machine they want as the guys who want to rent their machine do not know what the other party wants.

They just put up the ad based on what they have and this what makes things difficult. The taker needs are not necessarily met by searching for machines over the net and therefore they need someone to help them meet their requirements. This is where a heavy equipment rental house comes into play. They are the ones who act as a bridge between the giver and the taker and they do this quite successfully. The modus operandi is pretty simple. Since both the parties know about the existence of a rental house, they turn up to them and give them their requirements. The giver’s requirement is usually the rental amount that needs to coincide with the comfort level of the taker.

If the taker feels that the rental amount is well within the budget of the company, then he asks the rental house to show the machines. The rental house in turn contacts the giver and asks him to come down with the machine or arranges a meeting of both the parties in his office or at a place that is convenient to both the parties. The taker can then inspect the machine and if he finds everything satisfactory, then he goes for the deal and just in case if he does not find the machine worth for his project, he lets the rental house owner knows about it.

In the entire process, one thing that is very crucial is that both the heavy equipment rental house and the construction companies should stay in close contact with each other as there may be always a need to procure machines on rent or give it on rent. Either ways, being in close contact will help both the parties know the requirements and what the rental house can offer. There have been scenarios where the big construction companies could not get good machines as they were rented out to some other small companies. This mainly happened due to lack of joint checks between the heavy equipment rental house and the construction companies.

The party who wants to rent out their machine should also stay in close contact with the heavy equipment rental house as it will be easier for them to rent their machines quickly. They can just walk in to their office and check if there is any party who is interested in taking a particular machine on rent. If they find a taker, the transaction can happen quickly.

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Make your career as heavy equipment designer

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When a heavy equipment manufacturing company is working on a state of the art machine, it also has to invest a lot of time and money in getting its design correct. On the other hand, it is the design that will accommodate the intrinsic features in the machine. Therefore there is a big market for heavy equipment designers today and they all are fetching handsome salary probably the best amongst everybody who are working in various other departments in the same company. The manufacturing company also understands the importance of designers and hence they are offering them high package and many other perks that others are not given.

Well, this will then give all of us the thought to become heavy equipment designer and flourish our career there. As a matter of fact, it is way too hard to become a good designer and the one who are not anywhere close to good at ideally kicked out of the company. This also gives us the impression that if you are unable to perform and show your skills then you do not have your place in the company and it is also not possible to move to any other company because you may not remain anywhere if you can’t perform. Therefore, it is not everybody’s cup of tea and only people who have the knack of designing machine or even parts of machines can see themselves working.

Institutes groom you for this industry:-

For guys who are good in designing stuffs and want to design heavy equipment can get themselves enrolled with institutes that teaches students different sorts of designing work. Now, they may teach right from fashion designing to animation, it depends upon the students where they want to go. So enroll for the right course. These institutes will groom you and make you a worthy designer. They will know your strengths and weaknesses and will work along with you to improve your skills.

Placements from institutions:-

They conduct some exams at the end of the course following which they give you grades and also invite companies to hire you. They have tie-ups with heavy equipment companies who come to their campuses and conduct interviews. Your grade and your performance matter a lot there. You get selected on the basis of your performance and the way you present yourself and your work to the interviewer. This is just the beginning to the world of a lucrative career.

Can work as a freelancer:-

A heavy equipment designer has to work for hours in a day and most of the time he/she is unable to give enough time to his/her family. Well, in a situation like this, he can leave the job and start working as a freelancer where he will just deal with one company at a time and once he is done with that company and intends to rest for a while, he has the liberty to do so. This makes him his own boss and he can run his business the way he wants to.

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Follow the basics to sell heavy equipment

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We often have the notion that in order to become a good seller, one need to be ultra-smart and should have the confidence that he can sell anything to anybody. Well, this notion is completely wrong. You can’t sell anything to anybody as long as the person does not see any need for that product. You can’t catch hold of anybody by his throat and compel him to by your product. That is just not the way how one can become a good seller.

Selling heavy equipment can become more difficult if you believe the notion of “anything can be sold to anybody”. You can’t step out to sell a crawler to a guy who works in a bank working as a home loan officer. It might even happen that he will pitch his home loan products and you may go for it. Simultaneously, if you try and push a guy to buy the machine, even if he has the need for it, he will not buy it from you. People usually dislike salesman who are pushy and prefer to buy stuffs from guys who will give them proper suggestion rather than pushing them hard to buy the equipment.

It is very crucial that you follow the basics of salesmanship and you will not find it a tough job. The skill to sell a product is equally important but even if you just stick to the basics, you may see that things are gradually falling place and in no time you will start hitting good sales figure. Let us discuss the basics of salesmanship and what one should know in order to become a master in selling heavy equipment.

Knowing your product well:-

You can sell something only when you are confident that whatever you are pitching to the prospect makes sense to him and for that you got to keep your product knowledge sharp and your communication concise. Do not over say anything as that may get you into unnecessary trouble and definitely do not say anything that you are not sure about. You try to take your prospect on a ride will only result in him taking you on a ride. Try to gain as much knowledge you can about the machines you are dealing with. Knowing the features should be sufficient if you are newly appointed by your company but as you stay in for a longer period try to learn the technical aspects as well. Experiences will always tech you more on how you can deal with different kinds of clients.

Understanding your prospects wants will fetch you a sale:-

You do not have to try anything harder to make a sale. The only requirement is you need to understand his needs. If possible take a tour of the equipment that he procures so that you make your ground strong and also buy the time to understand the areas where the prospect needs help. Most of the time, the prospect does not know what he is lacking and he will be really grateful to you if you bring him anywhere closer to that realization and eventually ending it up by buying the product.

 

Construction business is a dynamic business – Do not take decisions alone

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Whenever you are about to take an important decision in your life, it is prudent that you have a talk with your near and dear ones or the ones whom you trust that they can help you cross the challenge with their expert advice and then take your decision. If you skip taking any advices from people, it may so happen that you start doing something without knowing much about it and end up endangering your life or career. That was about life and so it is with your business and especially when you are dealing with a dynamic business like construction, you got to be all the more cautious about what you are doing. Any incorrect step can prove very costly to you and also to the people who are connected to you with your business. Construction business is quite dynamic in nature:- If you have set your foot in the construction domain, you have probably entered into one of the most dynamic industry of today’s time which is dominated by players who are pretty old in this business. They are also the one who has a bit of hold in the construction market and can change things to their convenience. Having said this, it does not imply that they can play around with things as per their whims and fancies. That is never the case and will also not be feasible in the future. The construction sector is influenced by large number of factors and the big players are just one small factor. Other than that, you got to be cautious about other factors as well that has the potential of causing enough harm to your business if ignored. Expert advices are needed in every stream also in construction domain:- You may have spent quite a good number of years in the construction business, yet you may find yourself in a situation where you may need advice from people. It is not that you do not know the way out but it is just that you are tensed then and may not be able to pick the right way out. Therefore, you may need some consultative talks from your peers and people you know in this industry from a long time. They should be the right guys who can give you appropriate suggestions and may get you out of a mess. Taking decision along can be harmful. Take people along:- When you are taking important business decisions, it is very important that you do not skip the presence of other people working in your company. They are the ones who can come down with valuable advices, something that you may have never thought about and after hearing them you may just wonder “how can I skip this?”. Well, a single head may not be sufficient to take all the load of a business and therefore it is better if you can share the load with other trusted people in your company. That will set things right for you.