Category Archives: Construction

Don’t Let Your Dreams Die Due To Scarcity Of Funds

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We all have dreams in our life to become rich, to pursue the career we always wanted to, and to live a lavish life having all its luxuries. Well these were just about the dreams we all have but in order to fulfill them we have to work real hard. At times, simply working hard is not sufficient to get what you want; you need to do a bit more than that. For instance, a person working in a particular sector now wants to start a business of his own in that sector. However, due to lack of funds, he is not able to. Though he knows that if he is given the opportunity and the money to kick start a business he intends to do, there is no looking back for him but just because he doesn’t have sufficient amount with him, he can’t take the leap forward.

There are many individuals who are capable of starting up a business of their own but just because of scarcity of funds; they stick to what they are doing rather than taking any risks in their lives. What is perhaps suitable for them is to approach a bank and check if they can give him a loan to meet his financial requirements as far as his business is concerned.

There are few things that are very important to do before you approach a bank for loan. We would be discussing them and understand their importance respectively.

How well do you know your work?:-  Before you start up a business of your own, it is important that you analyze how well you know this business. You should never see yourself in a situation where people are taking you on a royal ride and you can’t do much about it just because you don’t know much about the business. This kind of situation can be very harmful to you and therefore it is very important that you take some time to first learn your work and then think of setting up a business of your own.

Availability of businesses from clients:-  Availability of clients plays a significant role in shaping up your business. Your business entirely depends upon the sort of network you have and through that network, how many clients you can get for your business. You may have just started up your business and have no goodwill in the market. It is probably the network thing that can earn you few businesses for the mean time and then once you have established goodwill, you can cash it on by acquiring more clients.

Research on which bank offers loan at low rate of interest:-  Different financial institutions charges different rate of interest to their customers. It is prudent that you first understand the amount you want to borrow and then do some research on the banks which provide loans at lower rate of interest. You will definitely get hold of something that you never knew about.

Availing loans can secure your dreams. It’s just that you got to be a bit careful while you select the financial institution from whom you’d be borrowing the money.

Simple steps to repair your excavator

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Excavators are important heavy equipment that are used to remove large amount of soil from the surface of the ground for construction purposes. Without it, many of the constructional works would stop. Therefore, its routine maintenance is very essential. You should do it to detect the problems. If you find some serious problem, go immediately for repairing it. Any kind of negligence in this case will lead to major damages. Many a times we have to kick on emergency repairs due to the sudden slip of the rubber/steel track or tearing of the wheel of the excavator. Don’t worry, you only have to follow some simple steps for its repairing and your excavator will be ready to go again.  Just have a look at the following article.

Steps to repair the excavator

  • First of all, it is very important to detect the device of track tension. After that, access your excavator’s plate. Every excavator has their own system of chassis which is situated in different time and place. This system depends completely on the type and model of the excavator.
  • The gap between the excavator and the ground surface should be 6 inches minimum. To lift the excavator, you have to use the hydraulic jacks. Don’t forget to keep the bucket and the crane against the ground. It will help the machine to be steady. Now, stabilize the whole excavator on the repairs and jacks before you start repairing.
  • The cover plate of the tension should be removed from the frame of the track. Against the zerk of the grease, the socket wrench should be placed. Try to remove it slowly. Allen wrench should be inserted in to the whole. Push inside the check ball. To lose the tension, press your feet against the rubber track retracting the idler wheel.
  • Using the metal links put the new track over the wheel sprocket of the drive. Now, skate the rubber track on the tension wheel with the help of the pry bar. To get on the metal links over the wheel, push the track’s bottom with your foot.
  • Put the grease zerk into the frame of track tension. With grease gun, push some grease into the zerk. If the frame of the track sag upto 3 inches, stop smearing grease.
  • Placing the engine on the idle, kick on the excavator. Try to rotate the track in all directions using the control lever. Check out the sag by turning off the engine. Go on rotating the track until the sag becomes at least 3 inches.
  • Don’t forget to secure the cover plate of the tension by stabilizing the track sags at 3 inches.
  • Detach the blocks by lowering the hydraulic jacks so that the excavator touches the surface of the ground.

Carefully go through all the following steps. It is not at all difficult. But, it requires little bit concentration and labor. So, go ahead and repair the excavator yourself and make it a new one.

Stagnancy in construction business – It’s time to review your strategy

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Forming strategy is a part of every industry and all kinds of businesses. You have to plan few things in advance by assuming how the situation could be in the next few days, months or years. A person who has been running a business for years and has seen many ups and downs of the business can make little mistake in assuming the market trends and on the basis of his assumption, he can form a strategy. However, what can one do if he finds that his strategy is not working and the business is still stagnant and waiting for the push.

Well, it means that it is time to review your strategy and probably re-plan things. It is not at all necessary that what you have assumed will turn out to be correct. Many a times, the most experienced guy in the industry does mistakes in estimating how the market will react in the next few months. Future is unrealistic and it may be utmost difficult for anybody to predict things precisely. We can follow the past trends but based on those trends deciding the future trend is not possible. Playing a bigger bet just by predicting the future is just not advisable and definitely not advisable when you are running a construction business. But that does not mean that you will stop estimating things and will desist from laying strategies.

When you are in the construction industry, you take into consideration advices from all corners. Right from market experts to your fellow workers, any suggestions coming from whatever side can be sheer effective. Therefore, you should keep your ears open to their advices but take rational decision and should not just go just by their words. Give your thoughts to the entire version as it is important to know what others think about the construction market.

Just in case, if you were doing well in your business and all of a sudden you experience stagnancy, then it is a matter of worry. You should act immediately or else the stagnancy has the potency to eat away your business and you might end up losing everything that you have. What becomes important for you do is review your plans and check what is not going as per the plan and if at all you need to bring any kind of changes, be flexible enough to adopt and adapt to the changes.

Stagnancy in the construction business can be due to several reasons. Rise in fuel price can also affect your business in a larger way. You also got to keep a close watch on the client relationship. Many a times, it has been seen that you stop getting business from clients as they have got hooked with some new construction company. A fall in the quality of work can be one of the reasons behind the change of business. It is very crucial that you do a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and check all the possible reasons that could have led to the stagnancy in your business and once you have found the problem, waste no time in uprooting the issue once and for all.

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Heavy Equipment summer maintenance

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After having a chilled winter season, summer is probably the best season one can get to cherish. It is ideally during this season that people plan out their vacations, go out to meet their dear ones living in some other state and enjoy their lives in the warm sunny weather. However, this very same summer season which is so pleasant to many of the folks can be real bad for guys belonging to the construction industry. They may have a hard time keeping their heavy equipment cool. Just because the machines are getting hotter, they can’t pull off from work. They have to continue with their businesses and still ensure that the machine does not get blown off due to excessive heat and do everything possible to keep it cool. Heavy equipment go through number of complications during this season and they suffer chronic breakdowns. We have seen numerous instances where the machines give up when the weather is pleasant, it can become worse when the weather is actually hot.

The workers working in the construction site also finds it difficult to work in a hot climatic condition. However, they still have the leverage to cool themselves by moving in an air-conditioned room but the same logic can’t be applied in case of heavy equipment. If the operator feels the machine has got too hot, he can only stop working so that he can give some time to the engine to cool down. Due to hot weather, it will take more time than usual to cool and the operator will be losing productive time. This will lead to unwanted delay in the completion of the project resulting in many unnecessary repercussions.

Taking the heat into consideration, heavy equipment manufacturing companies are producing machines that can bear the excessive heat and can work without having to wait to let the machine cool down. However, this kind of technology has not been completely successful. Machines possessing this technology also break down causing more trouble to the construction company.

Check your equipment at the end of the day:-

Once you are done for the day, make sure that you spend some time giving a good look to your equipment. If required do some cleaning. Cleaning the machine with water can really help in cooling down its system and also remove the dirt that sticks to the inner portions of the machine. You do not have to spend a lot of time for this activity. You can devote at least half an hour of your time or may be less than that in checking if everything is in order and in case if it needs any action to be taken, you can take a call yourself or contact the immediate supervisor and get the issue fixed.

Monthly maintenance is a must:-

Other than doing a daily check-up, a monthly maintenance is equally important. Get hold of an expert mechanic who can do a monthly check-up of your machines. Changing the engine oil, applying lubricants and other necessary stuffs needs to be done during this time. Give your machine a new life and it will work for many years to come.

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Surviving the competition is the key in the construction industry

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When you are dealing with a business that has cut throat competition at all levels then survival becomes the key. It is quite evident that you may not get things quickly and with ease and probably have to struggle for everything that you desire to achieve. Well, construction industry is one such industry that demands a lot from people. Undoubtedly, it also pays back with good dividends but in order to get the reward, a person has to go through a lot and if he is able to survive the tide he becomes the winner.

Construction sector is a highly competitive industry. People are always eying from projects irrespective of how big or small it turns out to be. The size of the projects does not matter much to companies who have just set up their businesses. What is rather more important for them is that they keep getting something or the other and do not stay out of work for long. Staying out of work for long can have negative impact in getting prospects in the future. People will shy away from giving projects to such companies. Therefore, it is very crucial to be in business and do whatever big or small one can get.

We will talk about with few pointers on what one can do to survive in an industry that is so competitive and demanding.

Generate contacts and stay in touch with them:-

You can’t expect to get projects if you stay isolated from your brethren in the industry. No doubt that this industry is full of competition but staying close to your peers will do no harm to you. On the contrary, it may get something good for you. Remember, not everyone can do everything and it may often happen that someone has got a project which they find is not their cup of tea. Since they have good terms with you, they will turn on to you and may ask to take the project rather than asking the vendor to search for someone who can do it. So your good term with your competitor has got a deal for you.

Ensure you have the right set of construction equipment:-

Construction equipment are so very important if you want to stay for long in this industry. You may not require all forms of heavy equipment but you definitely need the one that will prove essential to complete your project. Therefore, it is vital that you do not spend your money in buying all sorts of equipment that you probably may not even need but you make sure that you have the ones that is required to get your work done.

Take good care of your heavy equipment:-

Maintenance of heavy equipment is the key. Since they are expensive piece of metal, you may not want to ruin them by not taking due care. Hence, it is imperative that you do proper maintenance of all your equipment. They too need some rest. So give them what they need and they will return you with rich dividends.

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How Trolley Assisted Electric Truck Saved Fuel?

Trolley assisted electric truck have been used across the world especially at the mines of North America and Africa. The worldwide usage of trolley assisted electric truck proved that the electric driven trucks are more efficient in the long run than the old existing mechanical truck. In mining areas these trucks minimizes the fuel expense by 45% and increases the productivity by 10%.

The engine of a trolley assisted truck generally idles for about 750rpm. During that time the main pressure inside the machine is that of the electrical system’s cooling blower. This pressure is generally 15% of the total capacity of the engine. In diesel momentum, the engine will attain full power at the highest speed on a 10% effective grade. The BHP is 2025 in a 12V 4000 engine for about 1900rpm. A calculation of fuel consumption rate using the above data in diesel stands at 360 LPH whereas in case of truck assisted electric trolley it is as low as 45LPH.

Electricity is comparatively cheaper than diesel fuel which enables everyone to save money. Moreover, electric trucks also do not create pollutions which is a great problem with diesel fuel trucks. The power through overhead line is more potent than the on board power source of the truck. We all know that voltage is directly proportional to speed and this fact enables the operators to increase the voltage to the level of electric motor’s end point. This, in turn, raises the speed of the truck though it remains in contact with the overhead line. And the speed of the truck reaches 10kph on a twenty percent gradient. The final outcome of this procedure is the reduction in the amount of fuel consumed by the trolley truck which is as low as only about 25 litres per hour.

When trucks run on electricity, and it absolutely makes no use of diesel. It is a well-known fact that electricity or hydrogen are renewable sources of energy. These trucks have achieved the status of zero-emissions, as a result it reduces global warming protecting public health. Fuel cells, battery and hybrid powertrains which are greatly used nowadays saves fuel and hence play a great role in economic saving of the world.

Electric Drivetrain technology saves fuel

  • Hybrid electric vehicle: Hybrid electric trucks are the most mature form of electric drive technology. Hybrid electric trucks can travel more distances as compared to traditional mod of trucks. It improves fuel economy and extend brake life.
  • Battery electric vehicle: Battery electric vehicle trucks are run by an electric motor connected to onboard batteries. No combustion engine is present inside the truck and the batteries should be charged regularly by plugging.
  • Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle: These kinds of trucks gain its braking energy through the recharge of the batteries. They are very similar to Hybrid Electric Vehicles with a bigger battery pack.
  • Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle: These electric trucks gain their energy by refuelling it with hydrogen. It do not require to gain its energy from any external electric source.

 

Electrification of trucks has recently came into being, but it already gained a strong footing. This wiser use of electrification technology has become a key factor that doubles the fuel efficiency of the trucks and will cut down the nation’s estimated oil consumption by 40% in the upcoming years.

 

 

Advent of latest technology gives new life to the construction equipment

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Development of any kind of business is largely dependent on the sort of technology it adopts to get the end product. Similar is the case of the construction industry which is so largely dependent on technologically advanced gadgets and machineries. Construction companies are always in need of machines that can get the work done in a shorter span without compromising the quality of work and in order to get the desired result, they have to depend on technologically advanced construction equipment. Moreover, due to highly competitive market where your competitors are constantly eying work and will not leave a single opportunity to grab a project, it becomes all the more important to deliver the projects on time and keep the guys who give you businesses happy.

Imagine a construction company having all the old models of machineries that take ages to deliver a job. It is pretty evident that he will not be able to sustain in this kind of competitive environment for long. Moreover, he will be losing workers as they will be prone to work for someone who possess latest construction equipments that are more flexible and simple to use.

Machines have a set life:-

Like humans, machines too have a life term and once the term gets over and if you still drag them to work, you will notice that the quality of work has been degraded. In such a situation, you have to deal with changing the older parts of the machine with new stuffs which will undoubtedly cost good deal of money. It also does not guarantee if the machine will work like before however in most of the cases, once the old parts are been replaced with newer ones, the same machine has shown outstanding performances. So the ground rule is when the machine has attained his term and you see it is not working the way it used to, time has come when you should replace the faulty parts with new ones.

New equipment consumes less fuel:-

Most of the construction companies were often struggling with the problem of excessing fuel consumption by their heavy equipment. These days, the construction equipment manufacturing companies are manufacturing machines that eats less fuel and delivers more than ever. Change in technology in the make of the engine has made this possible. Though these sect of heavy equipment are expensive but they are way better than their predecessors in terms of performance and fuel consumption.

Environment friendly machines:-

Government of almost all the developed countries have set up mandates for the construction companies to deploy machines that meets the standards laid to minimize air pollution. Even before the mandate was introduced, equipment manufacturing companies have already started manufacturing green machines (eco-friendly machines). The advent of this new technology has given a new dimension to the construction and heavy equipment manufacturing industry. Many see this as a new chapter to have begun and the advent of this technology has in real term given a new life to the construction equipment.

 

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Heavy Equipment Apparel..ie cat boot, caterpillar phone case

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People who have to drive trucks carrying big machines continuously for hours can understand how hectic the work is and the toll that the job leaves on their body. It becomes a real pain for them to carry on with this kind of job for years. May be the guys who drive trucks have to do it because they know that better than anything else or else they would definitely think about leaving the job and do something else. The situation is same for folks who work on heavy equipment. On the contrary, things become worse for them as they got to work within a limited zone and have to move back and forth with the machine. This makes things very difficult for them and they become prone to getting cramps on heir foot or on their hands/palms.

The easy solution they can get is by wearing some accessories that can lessen the pressure that is exerted on their feet or on their palms. They can possible wear a boot or a glove that will limit their problems to a larger extent. Many construction companies are already in the process of granting such accessories to their operators which in turn ensure that they remain healthy and do not hamper their attendance. Almost all construction equipment manufacturing companies produce relevant apparels but some brands are really worthy to buy. Out of the many brands available in the market, one can blindly trust the products manufactured by Caterpillar.

Caterpillar is not only known for producing premium quality machines but is also known for producing excellent apparels that are primarily used to limit the strain an operator goes through while working on the machine. Apparels such a pair of boots, gloves, goggles, phone case is a must while one is working inside the cabin. During summer, you just can’t ignore any of the apparels stated above. A phone case does not have to do anything with giving rest to your body but you can work with ease by keeping your cell phone in the case. In this way you do not have to fiddle around every time you get a call and can work with maximum comfort.

Caterpillar takes immense care in producing quality products for its consumers and more to it they are not overtly priced. They have managed to keep the price with the reach of small end consumers. These apparels are so important that you just can’t keep the price high and keep it outside the reach of small consumers. You can easily get the required apparels in any Caterpillar store or at the dealer’s shop who deals with caterpillar products or for that matter deals with apparels of all companies.

In case, you find difficulty in getting the stuffs at the dealer’s store, you can search the item on Caterpillar’s official website or can hunt it on any online shopping portal. It should not be a difficult and time consuming task to get something that is so widely available. Just pay for the item online and give you mailing address so that it can be shipped at your place.

What is the ultimate medium dozer?

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Heavy equipment are of various types each type of heavy equipment is meant for a specific function. Though there are few equipment that are multi-purpose but they also come with certain constraints and keeping into consideration those constraints, an operator bring that machine to use. It depends upon the operators recommendations if the equipment should be used for a specific work because he would be in a better position to understand if the work is doable with the equipment. Similarly, heavy equipment can’t do all kind of work that it is meant to do.  For instance, you are given a project to repair the road which looks fragile. You know that you have to unearth the strip using an excavator and then roll a dozer to plain the road. In this situation, you can’t use the excavator that is used for big projects and also can’t use the big dozers. It becomes important for you to identify the kind of machine you need for the work. You perhaps need a medium dozer to complete the work in contrary to the higher version.

We would be talking about why we need a medium dozer and is it really going to be effective.

Not all work suitable for all machines:-

Not everybody is compatible for everything. This also goes good with heavy equipment. Construction companies that are engaged with mighty projects need big dozers. However, while doing those big projects, they come across situations where they require a medium range or small dozers because they may not find the bigger ones compatible for the small work. They may see the use of a medium dozer in that situation. Similarly, when a person needs to work in his garden or there’s some work in the school campus or in the university campus, a medium dozer is much preferred machine.

Very simple to use and bar the requirement of an operator:-

The medium dozers and quite simple to use and do not have complex buttons that you may see in a big dozer. It would be almost impossible for a layman to understand the various functions in a big dozer. He may ruin the work if at all he uses the complex machine. However, if the person decides to hire an operator, that will be an additional expense on his part. Firstly, it is not so easy to get a heavy equipment operator. They are people with expertise knowledge about the machine and are usually hired by big companies paying them fat packages. Nevertheless, if he still manages to get hold of one, he may not be able to afford him. In such a situation, the medium dozer comes very handy. He only need to follow few very simple instructions and can get his hands on the machine.

Quite economical in terms of fuel consumption and high productivity:-

The medium dozers are highly economical when it comes to fuel consumption and still manages to deliver high productivity. After a lot of research work, engineers of various heavy equipment manufacturing companies have come up with latest technology enabled medium dozers that saves good amount of money for the user. It can also give a good sales value after using it for some time.

Where should a Cat Diesel tech seek advice from?

In the construction and heavy equipment industry, it is very simple to get advices from people. However, you never know how far those advices are accurate and will work for you. So, before you start looking for any advices, it becomes quite instrumental that you find out the right set of people who can advise you on things. People who know about the subject you would be asking and if at all they do not know much about it, they will be frank and tell you to check it from someone else. There are many people who just for the sake of giving advices give you any wrong recommendations which turn out to be dangerous for you. There are people who have set up their office and consult others on various issues. Well, one can’t know anything and everything to consult others. Therefore, you should be aware of such thugs and go to the right place in case you need any consultation. Other than that, in today’s world where internet has brought all of us so close and has made the world a small village, it makes no sense to approach a person directly without checking things on net.

Create a forum and invite people to give advices:-

People love to give advices on things they know and at times even on things that they do not know much about. The best way to get some solid advices is to create a forum ad put up the question you want to know. You will see people flocking in to answer your question. As long as the question does not request others to give their business tactics, they will be more than willing to tell you know what you want to know. A forum will allow experts and intellectuals belonging to the construction and heavy equipment industry to come at a common place and speak on the topic in question. They can give you ample of options that you may have not even heard of. Having experts in your forum will always help you to develop your knowledge about the particular sphere an make you more competitive and a person who has an edge over others.

Simple search it on the net:-

At times you may just want some simple answers and may not require lot of opinions on a given subject as that might confuse you further. In such a situation, it is recommended that you simply search for it on the net. Internet can provide you distinctly what you are looking for and you may ignore the rest. As a matter of fact, it makes no point in getting confused with multiple options and we all expect a straight and simple answer to our questions.

Take advices from your colleagues and peers:-

When you are in trouble, you always depend on someone who is trustworthy. You can do the exact same thing here. If you are eagerly looking for something, you can depend on people with whom you have been working for years. They will be the right choice for you when you need them the most.