Category Archives: heavy equipment

High Demand for Heavy Equipment Technician

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High Demand for Heavy Equipment Technician

Construction companies having heavy machineries have spent good deal of money acquiring them and continue spending few more dollars in maintaining it so that there does not occur any breakdown; especially at times when they are really needed the most. However, it has been witnessed that even after taking all precautionary measures to combat any potential crashes, it just stops working. The reasons for this could be many; but what becomes significant in situations like these are what can we do to tackle them. The basic reason for a machine to stop functioning is a part of the machine has gone obsolete which needs to be replaced with a new one. Thus, it is of prime importance to always have a technician handy who can deal with stuffs like these and get the machine working. Since you know the solution, the next question that may come up in your mind is from where can you get an able technician who has complete knowledge of the in and out of the machine and can get the problem with the equipment fixed in comparatively lesser time.

Technical Institutes: There is a huge demand for such technicians who understand heavy equipments and know how to deal with them. Construction companies, shipping and mining companies are ready to pay handsomely to people who have skills and have some degree of work experience. People who do not have experience but hold degrees from recognised institutions also have a fair chance in getting recruited with these big companies. Once you have your name associated with these big players, there is no looking back for you.

There are many institutes in several states of US ranging right from California to Pennsylvania. One has to do a thorough study understanding the credibility of an institute before applying over there. Once you are done with the research work, you have the option to either approach them directly or can apply online. They may have certain eligibility criteria which should be read carefully and understood before you apply.

Campus Interviews: Companies dealing with heavy machineries have a team of technicians solely responsible to fix issues pertaining to the machines. They conduct campus interviews by going to the institutes and holding interviews with the students. They definitely take the cream out of the milk and filter the students according to their ability to deal with the machines. Undoubtedly, the deserving ones are paid generously and given opportunities to work under experts and learn more from them.

Technicians are the backbone of the machinery servicing department: A company cannot imagine functioning without the presence of a technical team working 24 hours a day. They are asked to work in shifts which rotate after every month or quarter. This decision of rotating the team is solely as per the discretion of the company and it differs from company to company. The company wisely selects the team and ensures that a batch of trainee has an expert to guide them until they become capable of doing things on their own.

Buying or Selling of Heavy Equipment – Put it on Classifieds

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Buying or Selling of Heavy Equipments – Put it on Classifieds

Big mining companies or construction companies has variety of machines that are used for different projects. Some of the machines which are old and are hard to maintain are usually sold off to small time contractors who cannot afford to buy brand new equipment. Such contractors have a great deal by buying the machineries at a price much below the market price and can use them for their work before disposing it to scrap dealers. These machines do not have a short life. They can carry on for years and years which makes it all the more beneficial for the contractors to make optimum utilization of the piece before disposing it off. Sellers have wide range of options through which they can list their items for sale. These options are very user friendly and easy to understand. We would be discussing in detail about the different options one can use to sell their old stuff to interested buyers.

Listing it on classified on the internet: There are innumerable classified websites where you can list your item and can thus give wide exposure to it. You may find several buyers interested to buy your machine and may also receive many phone calls asking for an appointment and simultaneously to inspect the machine. All you have to do is list the item properly for getting maximum exposure. Buyers would be interested if only you advertise your product by giving all the relevant information that signifies the utility of the product. Any additional information would be welcomed by the buyer. Sellers are charged by the online classified site for listing their item and the charge may depend on the kind of product you are listing or the price you have quoted for the product. Some classified websites charge a percentage of the price you have quoted and if the item is sold successfully, they might charge a little more for the sale.

The seller needs to be very careful with the terms and conditions of these online portals and should list their item only if they have completely understood their conditions and fee structure. You can know the email address of the prospect interested in buying your item and can communicate with them. In this way, if they need any more information or specifications, that can be given to them via email. Overall, listing an item in an online classified is a great option one can have to sell their heavy equipment to interested buyers.

Newspaper classifieds: This is another widely used option to reach to potential buyers. Here, you have to first identify a local newspaper having maximum circulation. You can then post your ad by giving some features of your machine. Posting an ad in a newspaper gives you limited space and thereby it becomes important to give your contact details in the advertisement. Buyers may not know much about your equipment by looking in the small ad. If you want to get it clicked, getting the prospects contact you is of prime importance. You can as well give out your email address in the ad and can get responses from interested buyers. All you have to do is just email them the specifications on their email address and rest will follow accordingly. You’ll start getting calls from the buyers and if things go well, you’ll complete the sale for your good.

Can’t Afford to Buy Heavy Equipment, Take It on Rent

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It may not be a simple task for a contractor who has just started his business to buy those expensive heavy equipments and use them for the projects he gets. It has been seen that small time contractors find it very difficult to get big projects at the beginning of their career; hence they have to suffice themselves with whatever small project is given to them. Keeping into account the expenses that are incurred on such projects, it becomes unimaginable to buy heavy equipments. So what is the way out? Rather than thinking of buying them, he can simply take them on rent. Once he has a project, he can very well understand the sort of heavy equipments that will be needed for the work. In accordance to it, he can manage the machines on time and can return them once the work is completed.

Different equipments have different price tags associated with it. It also depends on the number of months you would be requiring the stuff. So before you go for the deal, you need to be sure that you go there after doing your homework or else it might turn out to be an expensive affair for you. The owner may charge differently for different models; that is, if you are given an option between “Fork Lift Truck – X Model” and “Fork Lift Truck – Y Model”, you’ll see a difference in the rental amount in both the equipments, though its features may not be significantly different as compared to the earlier model. At times, you may also notice a difference in the rental amount in the same type of equipment belonging to different brands. This shows that before you strike a deal, you need to know your requirements perfectly and also if the machine fits in those requirements. If you are brand specific and believe in brands are known for their performances in the heavy equipment market, then you also need to be ready to pay more for selecting the brand of your choice.

In order to know the rental rates of the machine, you can make use of 2 class options which unarguably is used by many other small ticket contractors.

The first is pretty simple. Use the power of technology. Go on the internet and browse all the possible sites that speak about hiring heavy equipment on rent. There you’ll have a fair idea of the amount you need to pay as rent. This is also where you start your homework and presumably learn few more things on renting a machine. There are also certain sites where the person who owns the machine lists them to give them on rent. You can make use of those sites and can contact the lessor. However before you try to reach him, please check the number of years it has been used, if there were any accidents that happened on the machine, how often has the owner serviced the machine. You may as well create a list of questions that you feel are necessary to be asked. You can probably shoot those questions in an email and once you are reverted with the reply and find it satisfactory, you can take the next step of meeting him in person.

The other alternative you have is to go through magazines related to heavy machineries. There you’ll get a lot of help in finding lessors who want to rent their machines. The density of people wanting to give their machines on rent would be low but that doesn’t mean we should completely skip the option. The magazine may also provide you with quotations coming from different people which will again help you to understand the fair market price of the machines. This will invariably help you to bargain well with the lessor and if things go well, you come out with a deal.

Heavy Equipment Trucking – A Good Career Option

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Heavy Equipment Trucking – A Good Career Option

It is very often that big construction houses are in need of new machines to replace the old one and in order to do this, they are always in hunt for companies who can truck their machines from the location of the seller to their place. Trucking these heavy equipments is a huge business for obvious reasons. Not only construction companies but companies involved with shipping, mining and other such business houses require services of trucking companies to port their items from one place to the other. This puts the trucking companies in huge demand and at times due to tremendous workloads; they even have to do away with some orders. By saying this, we understand how occupied they are with their work and to what extent they are required by companies dealing with heavy machineries.

Here, we would be discussing how good you need to be in order to become an able truck driver and what training one has to undergo to prove their metal in this industry.

Trucking companies require experienced drivers: When you are giving the responsibility of trucking heavy equipments, you have to ensure that you do not give the job to any novice. This sort of job requires people who are highly skilled, experienced and has dealt with transporting such big machines before. In order to give an order to transport you stuff, all you need to do is check the reviews of the company you would be dealing with. Try to find out details over the net of the kind of reputation the company has pertaining to its business and only when you are convinced, you shall go ahead and place your order. One more important thing you should try digging is the age of the company. The older the company, you can expect them to have a more professional approach towards their work which means that you can get your work done without any complains.

Training the drivers:- The drivers who are given the work to transport heavy machines are paid handsomely and as a matter of fact, they deserve every mint of it. They have to go through rigorous training which is of very high quality and each of them has to excel in every module of the training. The drivers are first put into classroom training where they are imparted with different types of trucks that has the potential to carry heavy equipments and what precautions are they supposed to take in case if situations get out of hand. Right from carrying heavy equipments to transporting materials that are hazardous in nature, they are trained with everything. Tests are conducted at regular intervals where they have to pass with flying colors in order to move to the next level. Once they have cleared all the modules of the classroom training, they get ready to meet up new challenges. They are then given few practical lessons and once they learn how to truck the stuffs, they are given assignments to transport machines. Though they work under an experienced driver who keeps giving lessons to the newbie and in the due course of time makes him an able driver.

Mechanics for heavy equipment –Less in numbers, high in demand

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Imagine that you have a major construction assignment to complete but due to lack of proper maintenance, your machines are experiencing frequent breakdowns. I’m sure this will prove to be a big blow for you and you would be ready to spend any amount of money to ensure your machine starts working at the earliest. Well as a matter of fact, many construction companies experience such breakdown quite too often, for which the only remedy is to get it fixed by a mechanic. If you think that a machine breaking down and unable to work can hamper your business activity, in that case you got to get yourself ready for something more serious to come. Imagine that your machine has stopped working and your employees who are usually competent enough to fix petty issues related to the equipment are unable to get this resolved. You start looking for a mechanic who specialises in fixing such big machines. However, to your disappointment, you found none to help you out.

Here we would be talking about how can one get mechanics that are competent enough to tackle such grave situations and can help you put your machine back on track. Though the points would be brief in nature, it will definitely be helpful to you.

Search the net: A simple solution to every problem. If you are in search for something and you need it quickly, you can’t get it better from anywhere else other than searching it on the web. Internet holds the answers to all your questions and one can certainly reply on it. So if one of your heavy machines breaks down and you are on a hunt for a mechanic, you probably know where to look for it. Just go on to google and start searching for a mechanic in your area and you will come across plenty of them. Now, you can approach them with the help of the phone number on their site and there you go. You have a solution.

Put it out in the classifieds: This one is a time consuming process and you cannot do this when you have a live project in hand and no alternate machines to work on it. However, if you already have a back up ready to replace the faulty stuff, you can make use of this option. You only have to publish an advertisement in the local newspaper stating your requirements. Also ensure that you state down your contact details in the advertisement. Within few days, you would be having someone to contact you. You can check his competency by speaking with him over the phone and if you feel he is apt for the job, go ahead and struck the deal.

Mechanical Colleges: Do you know that some instructors in mechanical colleges are highly competent mechanics. Since they know almost everything about the machine, they become quite useful when it comes to fixing your machine. However, there is a catch here. These instructors are usually loaded with college works that they don’t get time to take up any other assignments. In such cases, they offer an apprentice to help you who also possess a certain degree of knowledge and experience towards repairing the equipment.

I hope that by now you know what you can do to repair your machine in case it goes down completely.

Want to Rent Your Heavy Equipment – Know How to Do It

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Want to Rent Your Heavy Equipment – Know How to Do It

You can always utilize other options like renting it for some months to a contractor who cannot afford to buy a brand new piece for operating his business.

Let us now understand the different ways through which a person can let others know about renting a machine.

List It On Internet: In today’s time, we depend largely on internet. Right from shopping to getting information, internet has been an integral part of our lives. When we depend so much on internet, it becomes evident that listing items on internet will get maximum exposure and this is probably the quickest way to let others know what you are looking for. You need to first get all the specifications of your machines handy so that when you are listing the item for rent, you put them all in the listing.

Buyers who would be interested in your item would want to know the specification before contacting you. So try and get all the details available like the features of the machine, how long it served you, the and age of the machine. You might as well give an appraised value of the machine which you can know after doing an appraisal from an appraisal company. Putting this lot of information is very important to let others know the condition of your machine and that the price quoted by you is justified. Please mention how to maintain the machine by lubricating its parts at regular intervals and any other clause that you want the person using the machine to adhere.

Putting It On Classifieds In Local Newspapers:- This is another option which can be used to attract attention of people wanting heavy equipment on rental basis. In order to utilize this option, you first need to recognize the newspaper which has a wider circulation throughout the city. Once you’ve identified the newspaper, get in touch with them and place an ad giving in the price at which you are ready to rent your machine. You may not want to give in the specifications in details as it may not give you enough space to put everything in it. On the contrary, you can leave your contact details so that the prospects can contact you and if possible meet you and check out the machine as well. Meeting your prospect is very important and once that’s done, the deal is more than half done.

Heavy Equipment Training – A Must for Every Heavy Equipment Operator

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Heavy Equipment Training – A Must for Every Heavy Equipment Operator

The job of a heavy machine operator is indisputably one of the toughest jobs and one has to be highly skilled and trained to perform his duties with zero errors. They have huge responsibility on their shoulders and understand that any mistake done by them can have serious consequences on the company they work for and simultaneously on others as well. With the advent of technological advancements, things have been made lot simpler for the operators to perform their duties without undergoing an error. However, it takes a great deal of effort and constant learning to understand the technological changes that comes up every now and then and incorporating the changes can at times act as a challenge to these operators. So what makes these men the best in the industry? We would be unearthing this question and will try to put down some facts that speak in volume about the kind of training one has to undergo before becoming a heavy equipment operator.

Ideally, one has to go through rigorous training which includes classroom training of 2 years and on the job training of 3 years. We would be discussing what sort of training they undergo in the 5 years of their learning of heavy machines.

Classroom Session: This is the initial and perhaps the most important part of their training. Here they are given a brief introduction of the machine and are made acquainted with its parts. It is considered to be the most vital part of the training as the students are given basic understanding of the machines and its properties. If they follow the manuals properly, they will comparatively take less time to understand the concepts and will easily grasp more in the following sessions. Classroom training also involves training on safety measures that needs to be followed on duty. If the teachers can inculcate the importance of safety measures to the students’ right from the base level, they will grow up as a far more responsible operator and will stringently follow the safety codes while performing their duties.

Students are also taught a bit of technical stuff like removing hazardous waste, equipment maintenance and repairing parts of heavy equipments. These things gives the student a better learning of how important it is to keep the machines well maintained and in case of a break down, what they can do to fix the problem (as long as it does not require a technical expert to fix the problem)

On Job Training: On job training is a level higher than the classroom training. Here, they get a practical approach to all that they have learn in the classroom sessions and may find things to be more interesting as they will get to operate machines (of course under the guidance of an expert). They have to work and study for another 4 years and get themselves acquainted with different types of machines. All their learning’s that they had in the classroom takes a practical approach and things become all the more exciting for them. They can try their hands on machines like bulldozers, excavators and other earth moving machines.

Importance of Heavy Equipment Articles

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Importance of Heavy Equipment Articles

For small time contractors who have just begun their business and are often in search of information from different sources, they can always refer to heavy equipment articles that are posted by industry leaders and heavy equipment gurus. They would certainly find great deal of help reading those articles as it contains plenty of information pertaining to what they are looking for. There is not any hard and fast rule to hunt for such stuff on internet. They can as well buy a magazine based on heavy equipment or parts of heavy equipments to get details of their search. These magazines do not cost much and contains a lot of information on machines as well as dealers who deals with such machines. Here you can also know the various time saving and cost effective methods to maintain your machines. Hence buying such books having articles on heavy machineries will always help you getting better control on your machine and therefore subsequently having a better hold on your business. At times, it can also give you ideas of growing your business.

Articles covering different topics of Heavy Equipments training institutes: Suppose one shows interest in becoming a heavy equipment operator and is seeking information to know if he is eligible with his current educational qualification; the best place for him is to surf the net and read articles written by distinguished writers. There he will get to know the number of institutes in and around his area and also the number of years he needs to spend for the training. He can also know some other avenues involved with it which can help him curve his future for the better. Different authors may have their own view as far as the qualities of education given in different institutes are concerned. However, the reader will have a fair idea regarding which institute he can approach and can roughly estimate the fees he needs to pay to get training that will make him a skilled heavy equipment operator.

Articles covering heavy equipment parts and dealers who deal with them: Right from small time contractors to big construction houses, everybody to a certain extent are dependent on heavy equipments articles to know about the different features available in their machines. These machines at times are working for 24 hours and thus there are high chances of uneven breakdowns. When it is opened up, you get to know that a part of the machine has gone down and needs to be replaced. Here, the research thing comes. You start browsing the net and begin reading articles that speaks on that particular part of the machine and try to know from where you can get it replaced and at what price you can presumably get a new piece. This is all possible by reading some small articles that speaks volumes of the thing you’re concerned. It also helps you know the best dealer in town from where you can buy the stuff. They also write about the different qualities of product available and which one you should buy to give more life to your machine and cause no more interruption in your work.

Forums on Heavy Equipments

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Forums on Heavy Equipments

A person newly entering into the construction business needs to know a lot about machines. Though, he would have some knowledge plus experience with these machines, still he would want to see people’s comments and their experiences with heavy equipments. He would perhaps want a forum where people having dealt with heavy equipments write their experiences and also provide their valuable feedbacks for others to read and eventually helps others to take a call. Unquestionably, he would get to learn a lot from such forums where people from all age groups come up and share their thoughts on machines.

Here, we would be talking about how important these forums are for a new guy entering the industry and what should one take from these forums.

One can put down their question: For a person starting a fresh may have tons of questions revolving in his mind, desperate to search for an answer. In such a scenario, he has limited alternatives. He can either go to google and key in the stuff he wants to know or can just enter a forum where he puts up his questions to people having being dealing with machines for good number of years. He is very much likely to get answers that will satisfy his quest and will perhaps help him take a decision. He also gets the option to cross question if he finds the answer to be little strange. Different people have different opinions about a machine which at times may leave the questioner in a state of ambiguity. In order to clear the air, he can cross question and can expect a satisfactory reply.

Distinguished personalities: This is one of the most important reasons why people end up going in a forum to get answers for their questions. They are aware that they will be answered by people who have been in the industry for long and has relevant experience dealing with such machines. So whatever they will speak, it will be mostly on the basis of their experiences which can be relied upon to a greater extent. Sharing their personal thoughts could be quite interesting as they may speak about the challenges they have faced and what they did to come out of it. This undoubtedly will work as some good learning for young brains and their understanding will get clearer leaving no scope for any sort of confusion.

Similarity Scores: Most forums have a tool which indentifies similar replies given by different people and set scores to their replies. This indicates the common viewpoint being shared by others on the same question. In other words, it shows how many of the users think alike and feels the same about a particular question/issue. It ultimately helps the questioner to come to a conclusion and based on the similarity score can judge the authenticity of the answer. Some users only read the feedback of people having high similarity score. It often reflects the thought of others in their answer and thus saves time going through the feedback posted by other users.

How important is to keep your heavy machines well maintained

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If you want your machine to deliver the same kind of performance year after year, you got to make sure you keep it well maintained. These heavy machines go through a lot of stuff all day and if not maintained properly could show signs of wreckage which will ultimately cost the owner dearly. Thus it becomes highly imperative to take utmost care of your machines that plays a significant role in nurturing and giving a good shape to your business. Here, we would be talking in depth about how important it is to keep the heavy machines well maintained and how does it result in increasing the productivity.

Proper maintenance leads to unwanted wreckage: Heavy machineries are undoubtedly way too expensive and often digs a deep hole in the pocket of the buyer. The buyer would definitely want the machine to work as long as it can; for which he need to ensure that the machine is taken care of. These heavy machines have to go through a lot of strenuous work on a daily basis. As a result there are high chances of dust particles getting stuck inside the machine which if not removed in time can lead to unwanted wreckage. They need to be oiled properly and if required, change faulty parts of the machines with newer ones. Doing all these at regular intervals will make sure that they keep functioning for years without giving much trouble to its owner.

High productivity: While in business, what you want the most? I’m pretty sure, you want to see your balance sheet showing good profits and that’s going to happen when you have machines which are not prone to breakdowns. You want machines which can work for more hours and eventually increases the productivity. This is possible if some good care is taken of the machines and are maintained well at times they are not at work.

Train your employees: This is a very important point one can’t afford to skip. It is your employees who are directly handling the machines and they need to be sure they are operating it the right way. You can’t expect an unskilled person to operate a heavy machine with ease and if your employee does not know to run it correctly, your machines are in deep trouble. Thus, it is very critical to train your employees and make them familiar with the machines they would be operating. Regular training sessions should be conducted to upgrade their knowledge pertaining to the machines which will help them to understand the technicalities of the machine and if there happens to be a breakdown, they would be in a position to fix it on their own.

Proper maintenance ensures safety: There has been many incidents where the workers have lost their lives or have got critically injured due to heavy machine breaking down in the mid. Well, you cannot blame the machines for the debacle. It was in good order when it got delivered to you. However, due to overlooking the maintenance thing, employee’s safety is jeopardized.

We have discussed some of the critical points which imply the importance of maintaining heavy machineries and ensuring that they are in good order at all times.