Monthly Archives: September 2016

Top 5 construction equipment safety tips that you must follow

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Equipment, tools and machineries are some of the most important aspects of a successful construction industry. To make sure that they offer a long and desired performance, it is a must that you take care of the equipment. With proper care, your construction equipment, tools and machineries will perform better and longer.

However, it is not just the longevity and performance of the equipment, but also using the equipment safely that is equally important. This will make sure that the hazards, damages and accidents caused by this equipment are low. Since these are often powerful and large, they need to be handled with safety. Here are a few construction equipment safety tips that you need to follow.

  1.  Learn operating heavy equipment:

 

Those, who operate the heavy equipment at a construction job site, must have professional training in how to operate them. This will ensure that no hazard or accident occurs while operating the machines and equipment. While operating, one must –

  • Be alert
  • Know the blind spots of the equipment
  • Stay aware of the surrounding and the functionality of the machines.

This will ensure that the job is performed better and faster, with no possibility of danger.

2.  Safety measures:

 

There are a few factors related to safety that one must keep in mind, while operating these construction machineries. These include –

  • Not climbing the machine or heavy construction equipment while it is moving
  • Always wearing the seat belt to avoid possibility of damages caused by accidents
  • Loading only till the capacity of the equipment or machine.

The heavy equipment can accidentally face a rollover. In such a case, wearing a seat belt can save a life.

3.  Checking the equipment:

 

Often negligence is the root cause of an accident. The heavy equipment is designed to perform a number of tasks. When you turn on the equipment, it is a must that you check each one of its parts such as the tyres, tracks, wires, components etc. In case any disturbance is found there, you need to repair it at once. Neglecting can lead to a possibility of permanent damage and accident.

4.  Falls:

 

Maximum of the accidents that occur, happen due to not following the safety standards for getting on and off the equipment. Workers often jump off and fall from the equipment and this is a major cause of accident. Always maintain the proper methods to get on and off the equipment.

5.  Loading and unloading:

 

When the load of the equipment is released, there is a chance that the equipment might rollover, if proper functioning is not done. Hence, the conductor must know how to do the loading and unloading task, balancing the equipment.

These are some of the most important construction equipment safety tips that one must keep in mind, while operating these tools and equipment at a job site. If safety measures are followed, there is no chance that these equipment and tools can cause accidents. Moreover, maintenance will also aid in the longevity and good performance of these equipment and machines.

Experienced men are most preferred in the construction industry

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We belong to whatever profession but it has been always witnessed that our market value increases as and when we grow older in the system doing the same job and learning more from it. For instance, a medical student after completing his studies practices under the guidance of senior doctors. At that point in time, he makes less money as he is in the learning phase but after once he completes few years in that profession and enhances his skills, the demand for his service increases and thereby his fee is also augmented manifold. What we get to understand from the instance is that a person who gets to experience different aspect of the business and learns things from them is the one who gets more opportunities in life and simultaneously also has more chance of earning good sum of money.

Medical profession is very different from the construction business and one who wants to make decent money after having completed their civil engineering or have taken up a course of becoming an operator can make their way in this sphere. It is evident that they will not simply start generating chunk of money from the day 1 but as and when they gets attuned to the work and understand it well, their marker price automatically rises. They CV speaks a lot for them and then moving from a low paid job to a higher paid one will no longer be a difficult task.

Experienced men have dealt with different situations:-

People who have dealt with situations in the past do know how to deal with them whenever they arise again in the future. The construction industry is full of situations where one gets to learn something or the other on a daily basis. They come across numerous situations and learn how to deal with them in an effective manner. A newbie joining this industry can expect going to new heights in his career if he manages to stick around in this sector. Ideally, it has been seen that people tend to move off to some other line of business as they are unable to tackle the pressure but the one who can take it up has no limit of growth as he keeps on learning things as and when situations arises and that helps him to grow as an individual and also increases his value in the sector.

They can be good mentors for the new joiners:-

A new kid joining this industry is often tensed as he is not aware what he may have to deal with and therefore he will feel relaxed if an experienced person can come forward and guide him through. There may be numerous obstacles that may come in one’s life but a mentor is the one who will equip the new joiners with his expert advices and make sure that they do not make the same mistake which he had made when he was one like them.

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Process to buy Caterpillar Scrapers

Scrapers (wheel tractor pulled machines) are type of heavy duty equipment mainly used during construction work. They are useful when hauling distances ranging between 500 to 3000 feet. They are earthmoving machines performing three tasks of excavating, hauling and placing the soil independently. Hence they are the most used heavy machines on any construction site. Caterpillar Inc.’s Wheel Tractor Scrapers are preferred by any commercial user. Since they are easy to operate, possess good mobility, have safety features and are easy to maintain.

Caterpillar manufactures wheel tractor scrapers of 3 main types as Coal Bowl, Elevating and Open bowl scrapers. Further each of them is available in form of different models. They differ from each other in terms of scraper capacity and top speed. In addition to manufacturing of new scraper machines, Caterpillar also sells used scrapers which are in good running conditions. Thus, it’s a challenge for a commercial user to choose the suitable type of model from the wide variety of Caterpillar scrapers. In addition, any heavy equipment including scraper is a heavy investment. Hence, the buyer needs to be diligent while buying a scraper.

The following guidelines will be helpful to the buyer during the process of buying Caterpillar scrapper:

  1. Buyer should learn about the applications of scrapers. They should set their own needs and expectations. They should know their job size, volume of material to move, job conditions, rolling resistance and material type.
  2. They should gain knowledge of the parts of scrapers and understand their functions. Further, they should learn the application of different types of models by referring to the available options and product specifications. Also check for reliability and ease of use.
  3. Buyers should keep in mind the conditions at the construction site and whether a scrapper can function well in these conditions. Scraper works well in sandy soil where they can easily load the material and spread it. They are not good on the wet, sticky clay and on the rocky soil. Buyers should also consider weather conditions and scraper storage and transport
  4. To decide on the type of scraper required according to one’s nature of work.
  5. To decide on the model type and size of the scrapper. Wheel tractor scrapers excel in materials that require a high horsepower-to-weight ratio and the models vary in these factors.
  6. Buyers should be aware of additional attachments other than the standard attachments used for the scrapers. Using multiple attachments allows scraper to perform different tasks, simply by switching the attachment.
  7.  Buying used scraper: Since these machines last long and can operate for long hours, user can try this option of buying a used scrapper. The user should ascertain the working condition of scrapper and the cost of repairs.

While buying a scraper the buyer should consider most important guidelines such as the soil properties, haul road conditions and performance specifications of a scraper. In addition, according to the nature of construction project they should choose the model that can work the best for a long time with reduce costs of maintenance.

“Make hay while the sun shines” goes well with the construction industry

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Not every industry has its golden era forever. There are times when they see ups and also times when they also have to see the downs. You name any industry and you will see people related to it cheering during the good times and struggling when things are not so good. So as a business owner it is crucial that you make the most when things are positive in your sector and stay low when things are not doing well. This may not be the only mantra but is certainly an important one when it comes to finding success in any industry. We have often heard the saying “Make hay while the sun shines”. It makes a lot of sense in an industry that is dynamic and has lot of competitors all wanting to make the most. Construction industry is one such sector where people are vying for almost anything and everything.

Construction business owners know one thing for sure that it is pointless to struggle to get business when the overall industry is not performing well. For some it may sound weird when they get to hear that the construction industry is not doing well. They may have the belief that it is most rewarding industry in today’s time and for some reason can never see any downslide. Well as a matter of fact, every industry has a phase when it has to see the bottom and so it is with the construction sector as well.

Companies should have patience:-

Many new companies wind up their business when they do not see work coming. They probably get into the sector when it is trending downwards and since they do not have work in hand, they can’t take care of the operating costs and are compelled to give it up. Well for such enterprises, the only advice would be drastically cut down on the operational costs even if it means running the business from your house. If you have to do that, you should do so. Having an office and paying rent for it can become too strenuous for you to handle especially when things are bad. Therefore working from home becomes the most viable option and also cut down on the workforce. Stick to any small project that you get and learn to work on heavy equipments so that you can operate the machine on your own. This saves the cost of employing an operator.

Be aggressive when the sector is doing well:-

As understood by many, construction sector rewards you well when it is at its peak. You can take the risk and work aggressively to make the most. While you making profits, you got to remember to save resources for times when the business may take a downturn and you have to keep it afloat using those resources. This is why try and be aggressive when others are minting because you also will make lot of money then.

Tool box safety talk

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Over the last few decades, safety of the employees has been on the forefront. Construction companies want their men to be safe at work because any accident can cost the employee as well as the employer dearly which can also lead to closure of work for some days. Now the owners of construction companies can’t afford to remain closed for a single day and therefore they want their men to go safe and sound while they are in the construction site. Now there is something known as “Tool Box Talks” where the employees talk about different kinds of hazards and how to work safely and not fall prey to those hazards. So at the beginning of the shift, they can go through a small session of Tool box safety talk where someone will speak on a particular topic, will explain the reason why the safety tips should be followed and how that will help them to remain vigilant and safe all the time while they are at work.

Things are better understood when they are explained by giving few examples. So a tool box talk will kind of have some examples for the trainees. So they will be given a situation where the person in the example will be a victim to some hazard and then questions will be asked like what are the potential threats that were present in the zone. What could have been done to avoid the danger and taken an approach that is considered as safe. Also if someone already meets such a form of an accident what should be done to save his life? All the employees should remember the emergency contact numbers so that it can be dialed whenever deemed necessary.

Tool box safety talks can consist of any topic irrespective of how small or big one may find it to be. The intensity of the problem is completely dependent on the situation that the person is in and therefore having a tool box safety once every day before the beginning of the shift sounds to be a good idea. The employees who attend such talks on a daily basis have indeed learnt a lot and remain cautious from any potential perils. They have learnt to work safe and more and more construction companies are following this trend. The things that come under tool box safety talk can be anything and everything under the sun. Right from the battery of a construction equipment to learn to give signals to the operators, it consists of just everything.

There are different ways to conduct tool box safety talks. Some does it by way of examples. Some prefer giving live demos. It seems people learn faster when they see demos. But demos can be expensive and therefore some companies strictly stick to examples given in the notes. It also speaks about the do’s and don’ts about every topic that has some peril attached to it. Basically it is all about being safe and tool box talks teaches you exactly how you can be safe while working in a construction site that is often termed as an unsafe zone.

 

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Renting a compaction roller

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Gone are the days when the construction company had to work hard to save every penny that they can to buy heavy equipment. It is not that heavy equipment have become any cheaper but is just that there are alternatives available with people and they are utilizing it to the fullest extent. Some of the alternative available are buying a second hand heavy equipment that will cost much lesser than the new one. Other is to buy repossessed heavy equipment. But in all the examples you end up buying the heavy equipment. There is one more option which may sound to be more appropriate than the rest and it is to rent the heavy equipment. Pay a nominal rental amount every month and once you are done with it, you simply return it to the rental company in the same working condition apart from some minor wear and tear. This sounds to be the perfect solution for people who are new to the construction industry and does not have enough capital to go for the earlier two options.

 

Now within the construction industry, there are few segments where one can maintain their focus and procure only those machines that are required for that genre of work. The road construction job is one such work where you do not require lot of heavy machineries and can still make decent money. One of the heavy equipment that is most required when we talk about road construction is the compact roller. Compact rollers are ideally heavy equipment that are predominantly used to compact soil, concrete, gravel, asphalt and other things that are required for road construction. So once you lay those stuffs on the ground, you have to roll the compact roller for better results. Using any other form of roller may not do the trick or may take more time to get the same result but doing it with a compact roller will make things quicker.

 

The compaction roller since they are better than the conventional ones and more in demand are expensive and may not fir the budget of a newbie. So he may have to plan out an alternative and the best option for him will be to rent a compact roller. All he needs to ensure is to pay the rental amount on time without any default. There are plenty of online portals that deal with renting heavy equipment. He needs to visit the site and check the model that he wishes to take on rent. Finding someone from the same city is advisable or else the shipping cost will increase and that is mostly borne by the taker.

 

Once you have identified the compact roller, get into the talking mode with the Rental Company and check if they will be ready for any negotiations. You can try to bring down the rental amount but do not try to be pushy. Also do a round of inspection by operating the roller and check if it is completely in place. Once you see everything to be satisfactory, make an agreement and make arrangements to ship the machine to your place.

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Is Renting Wheel Loaders a Good Business

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The construction activities have increased due to increase in population. Many big and start up construction companies cannot afford to a buy and maintain all new equipment for their work, especially in case of short term projects. Hence, they prefer to buy equipment and machines on rental basis at an affordable price and return it after use. Thus, rental business is profitable and is booming. It is observed that many equipment rentals only rent specific equipments and do not keep all types of equipments. It is because they have studied market and functional aspects of the equipment. Since most of the heavy equipment are multifunctional, being in rental business of specific equipment can be a good idea as it saves the cost of buying and maintaining different equipment.

Wheel loader (front end loader or bucket loader), is one of the widely used machines in construction. It is primarily used in construction applications such as material handling, digging, load and carry and road building and some even are used for waste handling. They are versatile and have good payload capacity to perform multiple functions at low cost. They are very much required in any construction project, however they are expensive.

Tier 4-compliant models, the cost of a new machine is more than it has been in the past. The cost of these A survey reported that overall the heavy machinery rentals have jumped by 75% in 2013 to 2014 alone, with wheel loader rentals soaring up 273%. Thus, renting of the wheel loaders (WLs) is a profitable business due to the following reasons:

  1. It has been observed that as a result of the engine refinements made to machines, their cost now ranges from between $86,000 and $245,000. Due the enormous cost factor, most individual contractors, small and big construction business purchase either single or an entire fleet of wheel loaders on rental basis. This becomes more cost effective.
  2. There is overall a downfall in economy and purchasing such expensive machines is not affordable to many construction industries. Hence they prefer rental WLs.
  3. Buyers are also interested in new models of WLs since they are easy to operate, have advanced technology and increased speed. The new models include features such as
  • Electric loaders as compared to the diesel or gasoline engines
  • Range of attachments such as grapples, forks, buckets of varying sizes.
  • Reduction in fuel transmission
  • Good cab/cabins for the operators to get greater range of visibility on all sides.
  • These factors increase productivity at a work place. If the rental service providers (RSP) can add such advanced WLs to their fleet and provide on rental basis then it will increase their business.

 

4.  RSP should have good business plan and strategy, advertise in newspapers and on websites, know about their own expenses (owning a store, ability to purchase these high end equipment, maintenance and repairs of machines, water and electricity bills.)

5.  Buying used equipment on rental basis is common for the short duration projects, hence they are in demand. Thus, RSP can also look for option of renting ‘used’ or ‘second hand’ WLs too, since purchasing such equipments is cost affordable. However, they should be careful while choosing such machines that have undergone less wear and tear and their parts are available.

6.  RSP should be careful while renting the expensive and used WLs to the buyer. They should understand the nature of work requirements of the customer and should guide them properly. They should help the customer to choose appropriate model of WL with proper loading and bucket capacity. Further, they should make sure that the buyer has the capability to pay the rental amount and would take care of the equipment and will return the equipment in good condition. After all the terms and conditions are acceptable to both parties, a rental agreement has to made between RSP and prospective buyer.

 

After sales service can turn the fortune of a heavy equipment company

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We have all made to understand that the growth of a company is determined on its sales. By large, this perception is true but not the ultimate truth. There is something that plays an equally important role when it comes to the growth of the company. Not only this, it also helps in increasing the sales by upsizing the goodwill of the company. This important instrument is known as the after sales service. There was a time when not much importance was given to after sales service and people believed that it is only high sales figure that counts to the growth of the company. But later people realized that good after sales service plays a dominant role to increase the sales and since then companies who are into manufacturing business have started with the servicing department as well. Soon other industries from non-manufacturing background also followed suit and today people give lot of credibility to after sales service.

The after sales service is a much needed concept in the heavy equipment industry. Here people are dealing with machines that cost them thousands of dollars and just in case for some reason if they stop working, the consumers are in the middle of nowhere. They will be completely lost and may not know whom to approach to get the issue sorted. They will come up with the belief that the heavy equipment company has sold them a faulty stuff and may put the entire blame on them. Now this hampers the goodwill of the company which the heavy equipment company will not want to happen. It is therefore that the after sales service becomes so instrumental. Now the buyer knows that he can approach the company if the stuff stops working and they will take charge of the situation and try to get it resolved.

Now every heavy equipment manufacturing company has got a customer care number. Now a consumer can use this number to get connected with the sales team or with the after sales service team or with any other department of the company. So when the consumer has issues with the machine, dial up the number and speak with the agent out there. Tell the person your problem and he/she will connect you to the right team. Once you are connected to someone from the team, the next person might ask you follow certain things that will let you to take care of the issue but if that does not work, then an engineer will be booked.

The later part is simple. The engineer will check the machine and will try to fix the problem. In case, if he finds that the problem is irreparable and was some kind of defect on the part of the company, he might even raise a request to send you a new machine. Ideally, they try to sort the problem first and keep the replacement of the faulty machine with a new one as the last option.

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Construction business is all about meeting deadlines

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Construction involves constructing of a building or an infrastructure. It requires collaboration across various multiple disciplines. It comprises different types of professionals such as an architect, construction manager, design manager and a project manager and each of them with their team members. It involves huge financial investment. It is risky but lucrative business. Effective planning allows successful execution of a project. However the projects need to meet the deadlines to stay forefront in this business.

 

Any profession comes with a deadline, which is an external pressure to complete the task of making quality product within a given time period. The reason being the finance invested has to be ultimately regained in terms of profit. In case of the construction business, it is the completion of an infrastructure within a promised time. As ‘Time is Money’, sticking to the timeline of completing the project is the main responsibility of a construction company.

 

Some of the ways to meet deadlines

  1. Being realistic:

Being aware about magnitude of the construction project will give a true estimate of how much time and finance is required for its completion.

2.  Use of Technology:

Many construction companies use different construction management software programs that help keep projects on time and within budget. These programs allow companies in preconstruction planning, to organize a schedule, project budget, manage customer list and so forth. They are easily available in software form or are present in form of apps and can be easily downloaded. Thus, latest technology helps to manage the schedule of projects and complete them on time.

3.  Being foresighted:

Always scheduling the project on time is not easy. There can be many unforeseen developments that can delay the entire construction project such as the adverse weather conditions, delay in shipments, no labour force, contractor overshooting the schedule and more. Thus, project scheduling should be flexible so that construction owners do not lose clients.

4.  Selection of a right manufacturer/distributor for the product:

Developing a relationship with distributors who offer quality products (whether its heavy machinery, heavy equipment, construction material, electrical devices) with fast product distribution channels and easy installation can speed up the project. In addition choosing good quality and economical product is important. This will ensure to meet the deadlines of a project.

5.  Maintaining a Log of the work:

A log or keeping record of the problems faced on the construction site, when they were encountered and how they were resolved. This will be helpful to use these as reference to solve if similar problems arises in future on the same and other projects. This will save time and allow project completion on time.

6.  Selecting professionals and skilled labours and retaining them:

Having right type of skilled workforce will allow superior productivity. Sufficient training should be imparted to the newcomers so that become adept at the work. Having professional and serious workforce ensures completion of projects on time.

7.  Ensuring safety at workplace:

The owners should ensure safety at the site for the workers as well to the customers. This will minimize the accidents from taking place at the workplace and not waste time of the unit in attending to them.

 

The new and experienced entrepreneur’s should be aware of the business and strategies required to complete the projects on time which will make their customer base strong.

 

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Sharing your knowledge on heavy equipment by writing blogs & articles

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Sharing knowledge always helps. It may help the person who wants to know things which perhaps you know and in return you can make some money or can generate contacts through which you can get some business. There are various platforms available where one can share information that can be helpful to the mass. The most common platform is internet where one can write things on his blog and the entire world gets to read it.

Other than this, you can also post information on magazines, newsletters or can even make it to Television. Sharing knowledge on the internet is sought to be the most convenient and favored method in today’s time. If you write something in a newspaper, that will be only read by people who reads that particular newspaper. Newspapers are area/city specific. So if you have written something in a newspaper, it will not necessarily reach out to many people. This is why writing blogs and articles on the internet make more sense.

Articles on heavy equipment are read by many who are associated to this industry and needs to update their knowledge on the subject. There are people who know in depth about different sorts of construction machines often uses internet to spread their message to the public. They have in a way become a brand by writing numerous articles. People do not intend to read any new reader as they do not trust anybody other than the person they have been reading. It is quite a powerful tool and hence should be used with caution. The writer should mention things with caution in his article and must maintain that he does not put in something that he is not so sure about. If he is not sure about anything, he should mention that in the footer of the article.

Good way to share one’s experience:-

An article is perhaps a better way to nice one’s experience to the people. An expert who knows the in and out of construction machines can pick up a different topic and write on it sharing his experience, his knowledge and what he feels should one do in a certain situation. He should also invite others to come up with questions or any doubts after having read his article so that he can clear them all by answering them. He should also share some stories that have indeed happened, the mistakes that he has committed or have seen people doing so that it can be avoided by others. The articles could act as a learning curve for many who are new to this industry and do want to make the same mistakes which the writer has done.

Talk about different kinds of heavy equipment:-

When you are writing articles on heavy equipment, it should not be contained to limited equipment or machines of some selected brands. You have to speak in totality. Most importantly, you should not only speak about the goodies but also point out the negatives. People want to read about different kinds of heavy equipment so give them what they need.