Category Archives: Construction

Make use of eco-friendly heavy equipment to save our planet

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Our planet is almost on the verge of getting destructed by its inhabitants and the irony is that we know who is responsible for it and still can’t do anything about it. We have been polluting or environment for years and now we are at the brink. There has been a tremendous rise in the temperature and we are all feeling the heat of the situation. There have been several seminars and meetings held all across the globe to bring the alarming situation in front of the world leaders but nothing much has been done to curb this menace.

The construction industry is also a major contributor to the global warming issue and it is high time that we realize how devastating this is going to be for all of us. The big as well as the small construction companies should think about what they can do to bring things in control. Let them at least do their bit in saving the world. Their contribution can indeed work big time towards the big goal of saving the planet from an otherwise inevitable destruction.

First thing first. With the ever growing population and with the ever changing needs of the people, it is nearly impossible to say NO to construction. Construction industry is here to stay and with it there are also chances of it polluting the environment. But what can be done is if the construction companies start using eco-friendly heavy equipment, it can work as a major contributor in bringing down the emission of Co2 and other intoxicants. It is just that every construction company should take the pledge of stop using the conventional machines that is pretty high on the list of environmental hazards.

The way to deal with this problem lies with the companies that manufacture heavy equipment. They can produce equipment that are eco-friendly and at the same time also performance oriented. Well, the challenge in manufacturing such machines is that they will be very expensive and the heavy equipment companies will not see many buyers for it. As a matter of fact, not every construction company can afford to buy these expensive machines as the ones who have just entered in this industry are working hard to survive, disclaiming the idea to ask them to use such equipment. It is simply not going to work and there is a need to work this out in a different way.

Here the government plays a very crucial role. They can ask the banks to provide such small construction companies with loans at lower interest rate so that they can buy them and have to pay less compared to other big companies. The government can also bring subsidy to the tax payments wherein companies who are using eco-friendly machines would have to pay less tax for the initial few years. Slowly and gradually the price of these green heavy equipment will come down and when most of them are able to afford to buy them, the government can restructure the tax plan for the construction companies.

 

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Not losing focus is the key in construction industry

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To grow in any form of industry one needs to remain focused throughout the time he is in the business. He can’t afford to allow his thoughts to wander in some other direction or simply get distracted by something else. Any sort of distraction can turn out to be quite fatal for the company. For an industry like construction where there is cut throat competition throughout the spectrum, one can’t let his attention get diverted to anything other than his business. No wonder that there are other things than business that one needs to take care of in their daily lives. But any personal problem should not act as a barrier towards the growth of your company. There are examples of people becoming rich by being focused and disciplined and also examples of people who lost everything because they could not manage their personal as well as their professional lives.

Helps you to take the right decision:-

In the construction business, whatever decision that you take should turn out to be the right one because if it goes wrong, it can have a lasting effect on the company that you hold. Guys who are not focused tend to make series of errors while taking decisions and it ultimately results in incurring severe loses and even winding up their business. If you are completely attentive to what is happening in your business and the external forces that is affecting the industry as a whole, you will know what should be your next move rather than just letting things to happen. It means that you are in control of your position and are leading from the front. This also boosts the morale of your investors as they feel that you are the guy with a vision and can’t get easily diverted.

Updates your knowledge:-

You always need to keep yourself abreast with the latest updates that are pertaining to your industry. The kind of volatility that is engaged with the construction industry makes it mandatory for you to have all the updates with you. You can keep the necessary information on your laptop for reviewing your business plans that is so strongly dependent on the external market forces. Being focus will draw you closer towards achieving your business plans which is possible only when you have correct updates about the industry.

Make rapid changes in your business plan:-

When you are dealing in a volatile environment where things can go wrong in any minute, being attentive always helps. For instance, you took a decision and on the basis of it things are progressing. However, all of a sudden you get to know that due to some unforeseen reasons you have to revamp your business plans. If you are not focused enough, you will probably not even come to know about any such changes and you may continue with the same old plan. Since you remain absorbed in your work, you were able to pick the odd at the right time and could revamp your plan. Focus has become key to run any successful business.

Heavy Equipment Broker/Trader

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For construction companies, it has never been easy to buy good heavy equipment at a lesser price without the involvement of a broker. When they are looking for heavy equipment, the first choice of theirs is to catch hold of a broker who can understand their requirement and accordingly can fetch a machine at an economical price. Simultaneously, when someone wants to sell their used heavy equipment, they find the most convenient and simple way to sell it is through a broker. The broker is the person who is aware of who needs what and he accordingly sets things and can clear the deal. Locating a broker will not be a difficult task you can find them on their websites. If you do not have their websites, you can simply google and search for them there.

We will be discussing why one should approach a broker when they can directly buy heavy equipment from the company.

They can simplify the process:-

Buying heavy equipment which is undoubtedly a very expensive piece of metal may not be a simple process as what many may perceive it to be. Different kinds of customers may have different issues and it may not be possible for the heavy equipment manufacturing companies to go through the issues of the customers in detail. If they find anything fishy, without further investigation they may reject the sale. Thus the buyer as well as the seller both are at equal loss. In such a situation, a broker can step in and look into the matter. There are area specific brokers who can sit down with the potential buyer and explain the formalities and eligibilities of buying a construction equipment. He will also check in advance if there are any possibilities of the sale getting rejected. He will go through the documents and then approach the company. Since he has studied the case, he will be in a better position to take things from there and process the sale.

Can clear the legalities involved:-

While processing the sale of heavy equipment, they come in several legal stuffs which a normal construction business owner fails to understand. At times, he may not even be bothered to read the terms and conditions of the heavy equipment company and may just go through the verbal communication. Later he may find himself in a tight spot leading to more complications. In such a situation, a broker comes handy. Since he understand what legal problems may arrive in future, he informs the buyer about it well in advance and ensures that he does not do anything that can lead to unwanted problems.

Understanding the need of the buyer:-

This is perhaps the most important aspect why a buyer needs a broker. Many of the time, the buyer may not know which heavy equipment he should be buying. He may not completely understand the requirement of his project and may end up in a haphazard purchase. A broker on the other hand can spend some time with him going through the project he has and understanding the kind of heavy equipment he should be buying. He can then advise him the machines he should buy and simplify things for him.

 

 

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Want to know your machine – Make good use of training manual

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We all want to pursue a stream that promises us with a good career and simultaneously have sufficient income so that we can have a pretty descent standard of living. This is the desire of every person and which is why we all take special care to choose our career path wisely. One such industry that gives its people a promising career is construction. There are huge requirement of skilled men in this part of the industry. Right from engineers to laborers, all need to know their bit with precision and therefore it is a no brainer why many see a good growth prospect in this industry and every opportunity to fulfill their dreams.

This sector usually have high requirement of operators who can work with the heavy equipments with ease. It is to be remembered that heavy equipments are not so simple to handle and there is every possibility of an accident occurring if the operator does something wrong on his part. It is therefore very crucial on the part of the operators to know what they are dealing with and befriend the machine, know it well before they go full-on with it.

Training is an important component:-

Practice makes a person better but something that comes before practice is proper training. Firstly, you should know the different aspect of a machine and then you put your hands on it. Heavy equipments are usually complex piece of metal and it takes time for one to understand it completely. You may have to go through various courses in order to know a machine that has various new gadgets in it. For instance, if your company has bought a machine that was used in the military and whose functions are absolutely alien to you. You probably do not understand much about the levers and buttons installed in that machine. This is when you need some training so that you get to know which switch does what.

It may not be as complex as it may look but it is still a new thing for you to learn. You can go through the training manual of machines that you are not aware of and understand it well before you put it to use.

Online training videos are great help:-

It sounds tedious to go through every page of the manual to understand the different features of the equipment. However, if you get a DVD that contains the training video, it will be of immense help to you. You only have to hear the things that you need to know. You may already know few things that is being shown in the video and you may want to skip that part. All you have to do is hit the fast forward button and move to the subject of your interest. Other than this, most of the training videos are free of charge. So you can just view them on YouTube for free and improve your skills.

Make your heavy equipment worth for resale

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Many believe that heavy equipment has a good resale value but it mainly depends upon how you have used your equipment over the years. Ideally, heavy equipment is a long lasting thing and it does not require care round the clock. On the contrary, if proper maintenance and servicing is done at regular intervals then it will certainly last for years without any problem to its owner. Nevertheless, knowing the nature of the machine, many owners tend to use it in extreme rough conditions without even bothering to service it. Now that takes the toll on the machine and from there it starts giving problems. The owner needs to understand that if he wants the equipment to work properly then he also needs to take some effort in getting it serviced on a regular basis.

It may be simple to get a resale value for the heavy equipment but it is also important to keep your machine worthy to get a good resale value. If you want to list your item for sale you have to describe it well in the advertisement and must mention if there are any defects or issues with the machine. You should not skip that part and move to the next. The prospects would like to know more about the item before they make the decision to buy it. In case, if your machine is not up to the mark then you may not write good about it and that will deter prospective buyers to move away to the next listing listed by another seller. Though you are getting the viewership, it is not ultimately helping you to close the sale and it is all happening because you have not taken good care of your machine.

Employ a qualified operator:-

It makes more sense to pay more and hire a qualified operator who has good amount of experience under his belt and who can understand the machine better than anyone else can. Hiring a newbie may not be very beneficial to you in the long run as they may learn to drive the equipment and get the work out of it but will not understand if there is anything wrong in the machine and will only report it to you when it completely gives up. Hiring a newbie may cost you less as compared to an experienced one but down the line you will get to know the difference. Therefore, it is better to be cautious and spend a bit more rather than being sorry.

Give it to a mechanic once in every 2 months:-

Your machine may not need any maintenance work every day or every month but you should make it a point that you get it checked by an expert mechanic at least once in every 2 months. That will only help in increasing the longevity of the machine and when you feel that you want to upgrade it by selling the old one, you can expect a good price for it.

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Expanding construction business by ignoring your finances should be avoided

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After you have started your business, the next thing that runs in your mind is how you can expand it and what are the things needed to expand your business. However, with every expansion of business there also comes certain amount of risk that one needs to consider before they go ahead with their plans. It has been witnessed that people who are too quick in expanding their business are also prone to fall sooner. The reasons could be many but one very basic reason is that they skip the most important aspect and that is their financial stability.

Switching the focus to the construction domain, this industry is all the more volatile and it keeps on fluctuating once or twice every year. In this situation, it is very tough to foresee things and estimate anything accurately. People may tend to may numerous mistakes if they take the chance of estimating the market position and may fall flat on their faces. Moving steady may be the key but something that is more important is to know the reserves you have and if it is sufficient for the expansion plans that you have planned.

Expanding the construction business implies that you have to shell out good sum of money to acquire heavy equipment which is perhaps the most expensive item in your list. Other will be paying salary to the additional employees that you have to hire and taking care of all the other operating and non-operating expenses that usually happen in a business of this kind. So before you give a go to your plans, it is quite imperative to sit down and share a thought with your peers letting them know about your plans and chances that you have to take in order to materialize your plans.

Having a word with others on this subject will be very beneficial for you as you will come across many thoughts and ideas that did not strike your mind while you had to go through the thinking process. You can also get some real valuable advices from them that may change your plan a bit for good. Nevertheless, you will understand few intricacies that you probably missed and will work things out in your favor.

Discussing about the company’s finances with the financial department will also be beneficial for you as they will be in a better position to advice you on the current financial position of the company and if the company is ready to take any such risk which if does not work can prove to be quite drastic. You can ask them to prepare a report of the financial standing of the company and that will help you to have a bird’s view on where your company is standing.

It is only after you have gone through all these rigorous deliberations and consultations from the employees of various departments that you should take the final decision of investing in more money in your business or should wait for some more time.

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Selling heavy equipment is driven by passion

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In order to do any kind of work, it has to be driven by passion. If there is no passion in a work, the end result will not be a fabulous one. You will not put that effort in your work if you do not have the passion for it and therefore you should do things that interests you and not out of coercion. Working as a salesman requires a lot of that component in you. If you do not have passion to sell things, you will perhaps have to find something else that suits you and when you are selling heavy equipment you need to be more passionate towards the stuff you are doing. You can achieve good results only if you like the job. For many the subject of heavy equipment does not comes with any interest. They find this topic to be very boring and when you start talking about earth moving machines, there is a tendency that it may drive away the interest of people. Such men are just not suitable for selling heavy equipment even if they can sell anything in this planet.

As a matter of fact, the subject of heavy equipment is indeed a boring one but guys who find it to be interesting, they can see their place in selling heavy equipment. Though it offers good money to the salesmen who are able to crack the deal, but this does not mean that the guy who feels bored by hearing about earth moving machines can find his place there. He can’t be a part of this profession just because it offers good money on a successful deal. He simply will not be able to survive in it for long. He will face a lot of hardships down his way which will make him realize that this industry is just not for him. However, for people who love to talk about heavy equipment and have the urge to learn more about it, they can see themselves as a part of this industry.

Selling heavy equipment requires lot of passion to do this work. Guys who love machines often experience tough time to sell machines. They feel that this is just not their cup of tea. However, there are also examples of people who have excelled like anything. They feel that they can’t do anything better than selling heavy equipment. Now this is the passion that is required to sell machines.

Selling is often considered as an art but it is believed that people who have mastered this art have at times found hard to sell machines. Selling cars is certainly different from selling heavy equipment as there may be more takers for cars but it will be only some industry specific guys who want to deal with heavy equipment. You can’t sell machines to anybody but to only those who need it and it is perhaps the passion that you have for this profession that will lead you to those kinds of men.

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What should I know when hiring someone to do grading work

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Unlike demolition work, grading is considered to be a work of an expertise. It is called the work of an expertise only because if it is not done accurately then the entire work goes for a toss and therefore it is quite important that you hire people who know what they are doing and also have good deal of experience in this form of a job. Experienced graders are hard to get as they are always engaged with some or the other contractors or construction companies. You will never find them out of work.

Also, there are many types of graders. Not everybody does all types of grading work. There are specialized men who do different kinds of grading. So let’s say that if you want to grade your lawn or for that matter a landscape then you need graders who specializes in landscape work but if you are looking for leveling roads and needs graders to cut the uneven land, then you perhaps have to check out some other grader who does that type of work.

Things that you should know when you hire someone for grading work are as follows.

How long he/she is in this business:-

Experience of a person doing a particular kind of job matters a lot. So when you got to do some grading work, you hire guys who have been in this business for years. Not just any guy from the construction background can work for you. You need expert men for this job and therefore hiring people who have loads of experience doing the same kind of job matters a lot. Just by the look of the piece of land, they will be able to estimate the cost attached to it and what heavy equipment they will require to do the job. Getting the same work done from a beginner will lead to some complications and there is a high possibility that you may not like his work once it is done. Similarly, he/she may not understand your requirements and will end it up in a complete mess.

Do not just rely on one vendor:-

There are many contractors who do grading work and they all have different price quotations. You got to select the best one out of them. This does not mean that the one who charges you less gets qualified to do the work. Some contractors may quote very less price but the quality of work will be too shoddy and you may end up regretting your decision to hire him. Therefore, price should not be the only parameter to qualify a person. Check their reviews if they have a website. People must have left their feedback there. You can go as per their review score and take a call. Alternatively, you may also consult someone from your family or friends who must have done a similar job and if they can advise you on this. The bottom line is you hire someone whom you believe can complete the work without letting you to complain on their work.

Construction business is all about accepting new challenges

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You be in any form of business, you will always be exposed to new challenges; at times from inside your company and most of the time from outside. It is very important that you know how to tackle those challenges and come out with flying colors. Every challenge brings 2 things along with it. One is an opportunity to do something really outstanding and the other is a calamity that has the ability to end your business forever. It is up to you how you take it up and work things to turn the challenge in your favor and turn it into an opportunity.

Construction industry is one of the many industries that have lot of thrills in it. It may give shivers to you but if you stand firm during the crisis, it will also reward you. Many people have taken their business from rags to riches and there are few who have stumbled badly and have fallen flat on their faces. People who were able to make it were go-getter and were not afraid of taking calculated risks. In other words, they took challenges as opportunities and made sure that they overcome all difficulties and shine like a star.

Few crucial things that one must keep in mind which will be helpful to accept challenges in the construction business.

Have a concrete strategy in place:-

In order to accept challenges, one must be ready for them in the first place. Laying down concrete strategy and working on them can help you in many ways to face any challenge in your business. You should be ready with a “Plan B”. Problems will come without giving a knock at your door but you will be able to surpass them only if you can foresee them and lay an appropriate plan to counter them. While you put up a strategy, take into consideration the minutest of things. You never know the stuff you leave turns out to be the most crucial part of your plan and things may go for a complete toss.

Try to have good rapport with your competitors:-

A wise man keeps his friends close but he keeps his enemies closer. Well, your competitors are not your enemies but you still got to maintain a good rapport with all of them. Not all competitors are bad and they understand that in order to survive in this business, they should remain united rather than tumbling by becoming an encumbrance for each other.

Try to maintain a strong financial standing:-

Challenges bring along a lot of pressure with it and no pressure is bigger than the thought of not able to face the challenge due to scarcity of finances. That will pinch you all throughout your life. Always ensure that your finances are in place and you have enough reserves to take care of any contingency. Be it buying some additional heavy equipment or deploying more workers for a new site, your financial requirements should be met at all times.

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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.