Monthly Archives: February 2016

Heavy equipment accidents

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People say that accidents are quite prone in a construction zone and one can’t do much to stop them. Well, it is indeed true that one can’t do much to stop every form of accidents but can certainly work together to minimize the incidents that is not only causing harm to the reputation of the company but also leads to losing few good men. People will not be ready to work for a company that does not give importance to their safety. Workers in a construction site understands that accidents does happen but when they see that nothing is done to take care of the situation is when they start thinking of quitting. It is not wise to lose men like this and is therefore very crucial to take stock of the matter and ensure that proper mechanisms are brought in place to avoid them.

The most common form of accidents that occur in a construction site is from heavy equipment. The reasons of accidents can be different at different occasions but one should analyze the various reasons and come out with a formidable solution. It may not be an entirely foolproof one but may still work and you can then think of more ways to keep a check on this problem.

Stop using machines that are decades old:-

Heavy equipment that is pretty old are one of the major reasons of accidents. The operator has a very hard time to maneuver the machine and most of the times; he does not see the person and bumps him off. Since the machine is old, the brakes do not work properly which could have avoided a possible accident from happening. Moreover, the levers of the machines are also old and some of them might even be rusted. Well, proper care needs to be taken of the machine which is particularly old so that they do not become the reason of accidents.

Unavailability of competent operators:-

Earth moving heavy equipment are complicated machines and they require very able and experienced person to work on it. If you allow an inexperienced or an incompetent operator to work on such machine, it will lead to fatal accidents. It is therefore very significant to hire experienced and competent heavy equipment operator who has previously worked on that type of earth moving equipment.

Purchase machines that have rear visibility function:-

Not all heavy equipment are equipped with rear visibility function. This function allows the operator to monitor things at the rear of the machine. This means that when he is moving backwards, he does not have to put his head out of the window to check if there is someone behind the machine. All he needs to do is check the monitor which gives him the video of things at the rear and accordingly he can maneuver the stuff.

Keep your employees and heavy equipment insured:-

Heavy equipment accidents can lead to serious damage to the machine as well as to the worker. It is very crucial to get the machine as well as your employees insured. In case of any eventuality, the insurance company will take care of the monetary loss.

 

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Rental contract is a must before you let your machine

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Just like before you buy or sell your property, you make a purchase agreement which states all the information about the purchase in detail, in the same way, it is also a must to form a rental agreement before you let your machine to someone else. Heavy equipment are unquestionably one of the most expensive items that you possess in your construction business and in case you decide to rent it, you got to ensure that at the end of the contract you get the machine in order. Just in case, you do not form a proper rental agreement, there are high chances that the user may use the machine according to his whims and fancies and completely deteriorate the quality of the machine. So by the time you get the heavy equipment back in your possession, you got to spend a lot on the repairs and fixtures part which may not sound quite economical to you.

Rent the equipment to a person who has no issue signing a rental contract:-

It is always advisable that you let your heavy equipment to a person who does not have any issue in signing the rental contract. A rental contract is just a document that speaks about the terms and conditions that both the parties have agreed to before the owner handing the possession of the machine to the other party. It basically protects the rights of both the giver and the user. By forming a concrete rental agreement, there are less chances of the user misusing the machine. For instance, the user will give importance to regular servicing which he might otherwise not have paid much heed to. There is lot of advantages of forming a rental contract as it proves to be a healthy affair for both the parties.

Catch hold of a good attorney to draft your agreement:-

Drafting the rental agreement from an attorney who has ample of experience in this profession is of immense importance. An experienced attorney may suggest few points which you must have not even considered and which are quite important. They may charge you little extra but that will be really worthy. You can keep the same draft and use it again if you rent the machine to the next user. You may need the attorney but do not have to pay him the same fee as you did in the previous occasion.

Go to internet to check few drafts of rental agreement:-

In case you are renting the heavy equipment to a close friend or someone in your family then you perhaps do not have to form a stringent rental agreement. A simple one will do in this case. However, you still got to draft an agreement for which you need some help. It is recommended that you go to google and check few rental agreements over there. It will be really helpful and also you get that for free. You only need the help of an attorney to complete the legal proceedings for which they will charge you a very nominal fee.

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New into selling heavy equipment – Learn your stuff well

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It has been observed that the profession of sales is in itself a tough one and it becomes tougher when one has to sell heavy equipment. It is a testing period for the beginners who came attracted into this profession whether they will be able to carry on with this for long. Not many want to be a part of this industry as they find it extremely difficult to sell heavy earth moving machines. It is not that there are no takers for the equipment. It is just that they need to put a lot of effort in order to learn things and then apply it in their line of business.

What is of utter importance if you want to make it big is to know what you are dealing with. Well, yes you are dealing with heavy equipment but to know a bit more about them will take you a long way from where you are. You do not have to know things as much as the guys who produced the machine knows but knowing the salient features and few technical stuffs always helps when you are trying to sell it to a tough consumer.

Be with the technician to upgrade your knowledge:-

The technician is perhaps the only person who knows the in an out of the heavy equipment and he can tell you the good and the flaws of the machine. You got to be with him while he is working with the equipment or just in case you can manage to get in touch with an operator, he can teach you a lot of stuff about the machine. These guys are regulars with the equipment and they carry loads of information which you find quite handy when you reach out to clients to sell.

Watch training videos:-

Training videos also help big time to learn about different types of heavy equipment. If you are given to sell an excavator or a grader or crawler, all you need to do is watch some training videos that are available online. It will help you a great deal and will make life simpler. When you know a lot about things, you will feel confident and will also comprehend the jargons that are thrown at you by some clients. The client also generates a sort of trust when he gets to know that you are not just any salesman but a guy who have done his homework well and know your stuff well.

Take help of your seniors:-

It makes lot of sense to spend enough time with your seniors and discuss things with them. Since heavy equipment is a far too complex subject and takes time for one to learn it, discussing things with your seniors often helps and clears out lot of doubts. They will also give you good advices to sell heavy equipment and the challenges that a salesman often experiences. In order to grow in this profession one needs a good mentor and therefore finding one amongst the seniors should be your priority.

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Engage with your employees to make a construction company successful

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The success of any business is sheer hard work and the way you engage with your employees. Working hard is just one part of the success story but there is more that makes a business successful. People owning a construction business may understand the importance of talking regularly with the employees. They got to check if the people working in his company are happy working there or do they need any sort of benefits or require any upgrade in the heavy equipment. Not talking with your employees on a regular basis can make them feel that you do not care for them any longer and you only need them to get your work done. That actually puts you in a very negative frame as people may take you as a self-centered and selfish person. Therefore, you should make sure that you come down to meet with your employees at least once in a month and check about their well-being. It is not possible for you to remember each and everybody’s names but try to remember few of them. This might give them the feeling that you indeed care for them.

 

Engaging with your employees can be fruitful to your company in a number of ways.

It sets up a long lasting bonding:-

Setting up a healthy relationship is important for the success of any business. It is very crucial to set up a strong bonding with the people with whom you will be working day in and day out. It may be possible that you would be working from a remote site and would be monitoring their performances from that location but still you will be part of the same team that aims towards taking the company to the zenith. This motive of yours is only possible if you establish a strong bonding with your employees. They are the ones who have the potential to make or break your company. See that all their needs are fulfilled and they return home happily with the enthusiasm to come again to work the other day. If you engage regularly with your employees, it will help in setting up the bonding that is needed for the success of your business.

Employees will be dedicated to their work:-

A person can work hard only when he is dedicated to do so and what will make your employee dedicated towards his work. The answer to this lies again on the way you set up your relationship with them. If you are in good terms with your employees and do everything to keep them happy, they in turn will be more inclined to their job but if you are not good with them, they might act as a troublemaker for you. That is no way going to be healthy for your company and you should avoid any situation where there is any confrontation with your employees. On the contrary, you should seek ways by which you can solve their problems if they have any and try to get them back to work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Beginning your career as heavy equipment salesman

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The overall construction and heavy equipment industry are simultaneously booming in many parts of the world. Since the economies of many countries are inter-related so the current scenario suggests that this industry will only flourish from here and there are very limited chances of it taking a backseat. It is therefore quite advisable to become a part of these industries and prosper with it. One particular avenue that gives immense scope of growth is selling of heavy equipment to construction and mining industries. You can also concurrently reach guys who are into forestry and road construction as well as guys who are into agricultural domain. It makes a lot of sense to be a part of an industry that has the potential to provide you with everything that you have desired for.

A word of caution would be that selling heavy equipment is no joke and can be quite hectic if you are not a person who is good in sales or not confident about your product. You got to quite interactive if you select this as your profession. There are men who lack excellent communication skills and hence have a hard time to sell any piece of machine. Even a potential prospect turns him down and that can be really frustrating. Therefore, one should know his/her qualities well before making his/her way in this profile. However, for a person who has good communication skill need to learn a lot about the product before going for a meeting with the client.

Customers may come up with difficult questions:-

Even a salesman having an experience of over 20 years can have a difficult time with a customer while trying to sell particular heavy equipment. He may have loads of experience but may meet up a person who knows more than him about machines and it will not be a pleasant thing to say anything that may sound stupid. It is always possible that you may not know something that you are asked but letting the client know that you will come down with an answer is what he would expect rather than giving senseless talks. It may infuriate the client and he may also develop a negative impression of yours. Therefore you got to be ready to accept difficult questions and if you do not have an answer for that, take some time from him and do revert with one.

Switching companies too often can be risky:-

If you are a good salesman, promotions are quick to happen. However, that does not mean that you should then move to the next company who can pay you better. You should ideally stick to your current company and look for more opportunities of growing and if you feel that you have learnt everything that you can from that company, probably that should be the time of your movement. If you leave companies too often it will throw an impression that you are greedy for money and might prove to be not a trustworthy employee for the new company.

 

 

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The Answer To Effective Construction Is Coal Connect

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It is always a good idea to make the best of technology when it comes to construction project. It is known to all that profitability and productivity could be increased a lot with the right application of technology on the job sites. One of the finest examples of such technology of connected site on larger scales is Coal Connect. According to the bills, it is the most well known project of machine controlled earthmoving in the entire region of southern hemisphere. The technology used a strategy of connected site for integrating the advanced survey, earthmoving technology as well as construction for a certain site that has a footprint a hundred and three miles long.

As implied by the name, this project from Queensland AU had been designed for constructing a rail line and connecting two rail lines so that coal could be moved to processing from the mines in a more efficient manner. There are plenty of challenges that are to be faced when it comes to projects of this scale. This particular project had flat land that is located in as many as four plains. There plains were flood plains and so excellent drainage was required so that the water flow could be managed.

Apart from that the project also required upgradation of the lines along with crossings of fifteen level, eleven railway bridges, road intersections and a couple of road bridges over rail. Therefore, the task had been a magnanimous one and without a good technology this would not have been possible. The scale required the spreading out of the crews all across the construction project. Therefore, it need stable as well as consistent data positioning all over the place and at all times.

The productivity of the project could be reached to such extent with extensive planning. However, the challenges could be overcome with this site-wide connected technology for construction. Across the whole site a framework was built by Coal Connect for coordinating and establishing a network for station correction based on GPS. Machineries of more than forty two pieces had been equipped with the technology of 3D grade. It also included sixteen excavators, twenty graders, a compactor and five bulldozers. The team had excavated earthworks bulk of about four million cubic meters. This had been done all over the three sites and had been done in over a hundred and fifty thousand truckloads.

The technology of connected construction has opened many doors of many increased productivity in several areas. The project in concern had been completed well within the estimated time despite of extensive flooding, two cyclones and very inclement weather conditions in general. Also, the implantation of the technology as also resulted in a very cost effective project completion. For any such project there would be a requirement of a huge number of professionals on the site. Therefore, this would mean more personnel. Travel cost, equipment along with the issues of data integrity as well as logistics. However, with the implementation of this technology a lot of such problems could be avoided.

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Compact Heavy Equipment

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Not all heavy equipment is meant to do work at all locations. At time you will find it difficult to put through a huge machine in an area that has a narrow entry. Well it makes things worse as you do not know what you should be doing as you will not be given any more space to grant access to the machine. It may become quite an annoying and frustrating affair for the one who actually needs to drive the machine inside. Well, this kind of a situation needs to be dealt carefully and in a much organized way. That is why it is advised to use compact heavy equipment which can easily get access to a narrow space and complete the work in the designated time frame.

We can find the compact version of almost every machine and you will be surprised to see that the compact version of the machine is able to do the job with the same perfection and efficacy that the larger version would have done. Companies that produce compact heavy equipment are CAT, John Deere, Volvo, Komatsu, Hitachi and any known heavy equipment manufacturing company. However, the only difference is with the quality of machines that these companies produce. Having said that, it does not imply that the quality of one company differs significantly with the other. It only means that there may be few features that may be present in one brand and missing from the other. However, that does not imply that the heavy equipment of one particular brand is by any means inferior to the other.

In the last few years, a sharp rise in the rental activity of compact machines has been witnessed. This means that people who have purchased compact machines and do not need it for their existing projects are willing to rent it and make some money in that process. However, they are in no mood to sell that off. They consider compact heavy equipment as one of the most essential part of their arsenal and also understand the importance of these machines. Compact heavy equipment can also be used in case the primary machine stops working. It can be worked as an alternative and will result to the completion of work.

Talking about what kind of compact machine one should go with is completely dependent on what they are looking for in the machine or the kind of project they would need the machine. However, it is important that one should do good research before he/she decides to buy the stuff. Ideally, big construction companies have separate departments who work on knowing the kind of projects they have in hand and the sort of heavy equipment they will need for those projects. After doing this study, they come out with few names and brands that they do go with. They simply refrain from picking a particular brand just because it is a famous one. They pick is purely on the basis of some solid research work.

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Prepare goals that are realistic – Do not ape what others do

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We often consider every business to be tricky. However the fact is we make it tricky by probably deviating from the basics of the business. Innovation should never be considered as a form of deviation. It is rather a part of the basics but following someone else’s success model and incorporating it in your business may not give you the desired result. It can possibly give success to the person who has adopted that model but not everything is for everybody. We should not ape around what others do. On the contrary, we should have role models and analyze their way of working. Use that as a source of inspiration but never adopt the exact same model and incorporate it in your work culture. It may not work for you and therefore you need to do some experiment and see what works best for you.

Prepare a growth chart:-

Preparing a growth chart will actually help you take there. You need not make it for 10 years down the line. Try to keep the chart for a period of a year or two so that it would be easy for you to monitor the growth. It also helps you to track the growth that you have estimated and the actual one that you were able to achieve. This kind of concept matters a lot in the construction arena where people come only with the intention of making money. They may be quite short sighted and therefore they are the one who have to wrap up their business during turbulent times. The ones who have a long term vision will initially take baby steps and monitor their growth and once they become confident of their start that they will pull the accelerator and move with high speed.

Your goals should be realistic:-

This is a common mistake which many owners of small construction companies make. They keep their goals unrealistically higher and when they are unable to achieve them they feel dejected with their performance and end up by taking some drastic decisions that further dampens the career growth of the company. Therefore it is crucial that you set up goals that are achievable. By setting up unrealistic goals, you are only mounting pressure on yourself and on the people who are associated with your company. That is certainly not a wise thing to do as people will not be able to take the pressure anymore and will start quitting. You will then have to do away with some valuable resources which are then very hard to get.

You start should be slow:-

We often have the perception that the faster we grow the better we are. Well this is nothing but a myth. There is nothing called fast growth that ever existed. You do not start making profits from the very next day and if you think you should then business is not your cup of tea. You should be patient and understand the business first. Be slow but be steady. You take time to stand. Once you are up on your feet, take calculative risk and move steadily. You are not in a race with anybody. Enjoy your work as and when you go along with it.

 

Do not shell all your money repairing old heavy equipment – Buy a new one

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It is close to impossible to function in the construction industry without the presence of heavy equipment. You simply will not be able to walk an inch if you do not have good functional heavy equipment and may find your businesses moving to your competitors. So possessing necessary heavy equipment is of utter importance if you want to make your presence felt in the construction domain. However, if you have few construction machines that are faulty and every now and then you have to spend a fortune paying good chunk of money to the mechanic to fix things, you are heading for a bigger mess.

Firstly, you just can’t remain in business with machines that do not work. If it a minor problem and you can get it sorted with the help of a mechanic, you should do it at the earliest but when you start experiencing chronic issues, it is time to give away the old piece of metal and buy a new one. Spending more money for repairing the stuff does not make any sense when you have a big construction business to run. You can’t expect your equipment to go off the field for whatever reasons.

Buy a brand new machine if you have enough reserves:-

To buy a brand new heavy equipment or a used one can be a very tricky question. It all depends upon your requirement and the reserve amount you have in hand. For instance, if you have projects that demand new equipment at work, there you are left with no other option that to invest your money in buying a new stuff. But if the situation does not demand you to buy a new machine and if you can get a used one that is quite functional then you should prefer the later. Keep your money for future requirements as you do not know when you may need the money.

In case, you have to buy a new machine and you do not have sufficient reserves for it, taking a loan is the last option. You can think of all the options you have at your disposal when it comes to borrowing money. It can be from a friend or somebody from your relatives. There you may not have to pay any interest to them but if you do not get any financial assistance from them then you have to turn up to a financial institution for loan. You will be charged interest on the loan which is required to be paid on a monthly basis.

Buy heavy equipment directly from the company:-

Buying heavy equipment directly from the company can be very rewarding. There you can expect to get some offers that the company is running at that point in time. You may also get some discounts on the price of the machine or they may offer you some accessories for free. Overall, it will prove to be a win-win situation for you.

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Caterpillar is strategizing to consolidate its future

It was a good year for most of the construction companies and so was for the heavy equipment companies but not all were doing well in the year 2015. Some heavy equipment companies were incurring losses for the last few years and they were thinking of downsizing their labor force. But they were not able to take the call as the overall industry was doing well. Perhaps they were looking at the global picture which seemed to be pleasant but with reference to the situation in the United States, it was a bit worrisome. Not all heavy equipment companies in the US were making profits and especially the giant ones were certainly not seeing any profits in their book of accounts. They made some profit in a couple of quarters but when it was time to check the fiscal growth, the situation looked dim.

One such giant company that is experiencing a hard time showing profits is Caterpillar. It seems that the primary reason for them incurring losses is having started lot of units in every part of the country. Now they have to employ people to run the unit and also port machines from one place to other which involve huge costs. Other than that, they have pledged to manufacture excellent quality machines for which they require to invest chunk of money on research and development work. As a result of this, the final product produced by them is a bit higher than the machines of other heavy equipment companies. Not every construction company can afford to buy CAT machines and they majorly sell them to big construction and mining houses. Therefore it is utterly futile to have so many units across the country and hence the first step that they will take to consolidate their position is to crack down the units that are not performing up to the mark.

Cat is planning to reduce its salaried workforce of around 4000 to 5000 employees till the end of 2016. This also includes the guys who are operating in the agency. It has also planned to shut down most of its units and manufacturing facilities by the end of this year and the process may even extend till 2018. It also planned to offer voluntary retirement scheme to most of its qualifying employees. “It will be sad to part ways with the employees but that is the want of the situation and in order to sustain in this market, strong steps are required to be taken” were the words of one of the CAT’s spokesperson.

Primarily, the major part of cost reduction is to be done from curbing Administrative costs. It seems the company spends a whopping amount on Administrative costs which will be cut down across states once the non-profitable units and the manufacturing facilities are closed down permanently. The company has to take the tough call in the year 2016 so that it can expect good returns in the following years to come.