Monthly Archives: December 2016

Cat PM620 Cold Planer Milling Machine

Caterpillar PM620 Cold Planer Milling Machine

Road construction is considered to be one of the most challenging jobs in the construction sector. One may find it hard to believe that in order to construct a road right from its start to its end it takes several months and at times years. Different types of heavy equipment are used for road construction but the one that is termed to be the most crucial is the Cold Planer Milling Machine. So when we are talking about milling, it ideally involves removing the upper surface of the road so that it can be refilled with stuff that helps to make the road smooth. Not just removing the upper surface, if required it can be used for a full depth removal. There are many companies who produces milling machines but if we check the performance of companies that has fared exceptionally in the last many years we will have just one name. i.e. CAT PM620.

The Cat PM620 is installed with automatic plunge-cut which makes sure that the starting cuts are precise and repeatable and also diminishes the wear and tear on the machine. It also has an automatic load control system which make it all the more perfect. The engine it has is a powerful CAT C18 ACERT which has a gross power of 630 hp. The total operating speed of the machine is 100 m/minute and the maximum travel speed is 6 km per hour (3.7 mph). The operating weight of the machine is approximately 33,330 kg (73480 lbs.) and it includes other features like coolant, lubricants, full fuel and water tank and 75 kg operator (165 lbs).

Talking about the most intrinsic feature of the machine – the cutting system; the milling width of the machine is 2010 mm and the number of bits is 178. The maximum cutting depth that it can go is 13 inch which is remarkable as per the industry standards. The rotor speed is around 118 rpm and the minimum left and right cutting radius is approximately 2 meters. Moving to the tank capacity, the capacity of the fuel tank is 1108 liters (292 gal.) and the diesel exhaust fluid tank of 47 liters (12 gal.). The cooling system of the machine is around 85 liters (22 gal.). The engine oil, hydraulic oil and water tank is around 65 liter (17 gal.), 113 liter (29 gal.) and 3400 liter (894 gal.) respectively. It makes it better than any other machine in the same genre and this is why it is the ultimate choice of many road developers.

To operate this machine is no rocket science as an operator with relatively less years of experience can also quickly master it. The electrical system in the machine is color coded and numbered so that the user does not have a hard time in understanding which button means what to him and can quickly get adjusted to the system. It is installed with a very small device known as “Electronic Control Module” which monitors the engine and the various other systems of the machine and alerts the operator in case there is any kind of performance related issue. It also helps the operator with troubleshooting messages so that issues that are miniscule can be taken care at the very first instance.

Making of a mighty construction company

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Construction is a lucrative business. Although many entrepreneurs start this business as, yet it is only 10% who make it very big in terms business to become brand names. These construction companies do not achieve success overnight but they have done diligent business planning to become ‘Mighty’ in this field. Experts have observed some common traits among these super achievers as:

  1. Clear aims and objectives: They know what they want to achieve and have noted it down and hold onto that vision. They are aware of their mission, vision and values. This allows them to maximize resources of time, energy to achieve big monetary returns in future.
  2. Planning: Construction involves a lot of work and it has to be done with a responsibility. They understand the importance of planning, systems, and processes need to be place in business. They plan their work to perform it systematically and they also work according to their plans to be successful.
  3. Updated: They are aware about the market trends in construction and try to adjust themselves as per the situation. They also spend time with people who will support their ideas and from whom they can get suggestions. They participate in healthy discussions to be successful in their ventures.
  4. Well-qualified professionals: They hire excellent staff and managers for smooth and effective functioning of organization. They pay them well, train them in latest technologies and give them good work-life balance. They also hire the right type of people who will perform their work very dedication. They know that hiring of cheap labour will lead to mediocrity and work will suffer and will lead to loss in the future.
  5. Designing Effective Business Strategy: In order to win over rivals in business, they have make appropriate preparations and checklists. They always provide excellent and superior quality service. Further, they know strengths and weakness of their employees. Employees are informed about their weakness and are suggested to be improved.
  6. Defensive business strategy: The costs cover the equipment, vehicle, labor, registration or business licensing, surety bond, and insurance requires a lot of finance. They do not depend on loans abut have saved enough which ensures that this excess money will help them in difficult times.
  7. Effective sales and marketing: Just providing good services is not enough, as its awareness has to be created. Hence, they hire good sales people. In addition, they also get onto social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and sending text messages to get into business leads.
  8. Business Transactions: While performing different transactions, they are diligent and vigilant. They do not sign on any papers to avoid getting them into trouble.
  9. Customer satisfaction: Since they value their customers, they listen to them, reply to their queries and concerns about product. They try to modify or improve their services to please the customers. This increases their customer base. They value professionalism and empathy which makes them customer loyal and successful in business.

Overall while making a mighty construction business they are aware that is a multidimensional business which requires a lot of planning and detailing to ensure success.

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Make this Christmas special for your employees

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In today’s mechanical world, we perhaps do not have much reason to smile, to laugh or to enjoy. Thankfully, we have few festivals that give us the opportunity to enjoy lives, probably the very reason why we are all here. Festivals bring happiness into our dull life that has been saturated by hard work and never ending targets. Well, we all have deadlines and we should complete our work in that time. But at the same time, we should not forget that we are humans and not some machine that are just meant to work. In this time bound culture, we have also forgot to socialize which is why today there is a need of Social Networking Websites which in a way helps us all to remain bonded with each other.

Having said this, social media is again virtual in nature and in order to socialize in real, we need an occasion where we can just shut our shops and get together, meet people, enjoy and have fun. Christmas is one such perfect occasion that let us forget all our miseries, pain and problem and help us to live our lives like humans. But no festival is complete without lavish food, gifts for your dear ones and proportionate money to buy few luxuries at least once in a year.

The workers in a construction company work all day in a relatively risky environment where they always have a probable threat to their life. Still they work for the development of the nation. They are the most important pillars needed for nation building and therefore it becomes the responsibility of the construction companies to ensure that they make their Christmas special. It may be a one-time affair for the companies but the employees will remember it all throughout the year. The companies should as a goodwill gesture provide the employees with bonus so that they can buy gifts for their children, take them out to a restaurant, guys who are not married can have a blast partying out with their friends and people who are looking to go for a vacation can make good use of the bonus money.

If it is a new construction company, then it may not be able to give bonus in the first year as it may not incur much profit to distribute bonus. However, if possible give your employees some gift vouchers or simply buy them some gift which will be of some use to them. You can also commit them of expecting more in the forthcoming year and tell them the reason why you could not give them any bonus. But if the company makes decent profit in the very first year, you should then give some bonus.

Today we all buy stuffs online and therefore you can also give them e-coupons which they can use while making a purchase online. Construction companies do get such coupons from various distributors. In case, if you have lot of e-coupons available with you, you can give it away to your employees. This will definitely make their day and perhaps a Merrier Christmas for them.

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7 ways People quit their construction jobs

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When it gets too heavy for someone to carry the weight, they decide to quit. There are few industries which are not meant for people who are not foresighted and lack patience. They enter the industry, be a part of it but could not sustain for long and had to leave the industry. Construction sector is one such business where weak hearted and people who can’t take tough decisions can’t stay for long. They have to switch over to a new job sooner than they can think of. It is just that they have not made much of the time they had invested in this industry. They could have made it worthier which they miserably fail to do by quitting. People join construction business with the hope of making good money in a span of few years. However, they fail to realize that it is a tough job and there is nothing known as easy money in this form of an industry.

Finding it too difficult to stay:-

When guys start their construction business they do it with some expectations from this industry. They see their friends doing relatively better in life which also coax them to start a construction business. But little they know about the tough part and when they begin experiencing the real problems, they decide to quit.

Not much experience to deal with things:-

People with absolutely no experience try to become a part of the industry and therefore tend to fall flat on their faces. You can’t run a business without knowing much about it. Lack of experience can often lead you into difficult situations and you will not know how to deal with it or get over it. You will see yourself getting entrapped with nobody to bail you out. This follows with business setbacks and eventually they decide to quit.

Not getting enough business deals:-

There are also people who have quit the business as they were unable to get enough clients. Getting businesses is an art and you need to be a seller who knows to sell himself. Ideally, people are not able to market their business well and therefore they lose out heavily on that front leading to winding up the business.

Clients do not pay:-

There also have been instances where people stopped doing business as they were not paid by their clients on time. They get the feeling that people in this industry tend to receive payments late of have to forego it completely. This has kind of de-motivated many which lead them to quit the industry.

Lack patience:-

Many business owners lack patience and want results to be instant. They are not ready to give some time for their business to work. When you start a new business, you normally have to give it a time of 6 months to 1 year. In this time, you can’t expect to generate profits. When people do not see profits happening they get dejected and quit.

Financial issue:-

People find it extremely difficult to manage their finances. These industry demands some huge investments and one needs to know how to deal with it. Guys who fail to manage their finances don’t stay for long.

 

Family pressure:-

If you are not making enough from your business then you are treated like a loser by your friends and family. They do not even try to acknowledge the fact that you are giving it a shot. Many people had quit this business as they were unable to perform remarkably and were forced by their family to look up something else.

 

Top 5 Advantages of Construction Safety Vest – Why Wear Them

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If you around, you will find constructions happening everywhere. Be it the construction of a new building, road, flyover, bridge or any other mega structures, or repairing and renovation of an old and existing structure, there is always the requirement of elaborate construction works. And these constructions are always associated with possibility of danger and hazards. The difficulties that can be faced in a job site include –

  • Injuries that might happen due to the fall of big chunks of rocks on the workers
  • Being hit by machineries
  • Being hit by cars or other vehicles while working on the roads
  • Injury caused to civilians or non-workers as they pass by a job site, unaware of a construction going on.

Hence, it is very important that the workers wear a gear or a gadget that makes them highly visible. Visibility helps in avoiding a number of possible accidents. The most useful gear in that respect is a construction safety vest or a high visibility jacket.

What are these?

The high visibility jackets of vests are usually made up of very bright, fluorescent colours such as orange and green. They also have silver reflective tapes striped on the vests, so that even in darkness, when light reflects on their jacket, they are clearly visible. Visibility makes sure that they are not hit by machines or vehicles and even the civilians can identify them as workers and avoid the area that they are working in.

Benefits of wearing construct safety vests:

The construction safety vest comes with a number of benefits. These are –

  1. Visibility:

 

Already mentioned, the colour and the reflective stripes make these vests so highly visible that there is no difficulty on the worker’s part to be visible to the drivers on the road, driving vehicles or the machinery and heavy equipment controllers at a job site. Thus, possibility of accidents is greatly reduced.

2.  Colors:

 

Orange, yellow or fluorescent green are colours that can be seen from quite a distance. Hence, drivers on the road or other workers at a job site can identify the vest wearer from a distance and slow down the speed of a vehicle.

3.  Comfortable:

 

Though these vests are highly useful and effective, often the workers as well as employers wonder, if these would be comfortable for their workers or not. But the fact is that they are highly comfortable and hence, there is no way that the discomfort of these gears will become a hindrance in the performance of the workers.

4.  Waterproof:

 

Along with comfort, another very beneficial aspect of the construction safety vest is that it is absolutely waterproof. Hence, sweat or rain will never be a problem in its performance or purpose.

5.  Low price:

 

These vests are very affordable and there is no way that the price of these vests will become a problem for the employers to buy these for the employees and workers at a job site.

If you are running a construction business, it is a must that you choose this safety gear as a must for your workers.

Use stickers and paint to give a new look to your heavy equipment

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Do you run a construction business? Regardless of small or big, you must own some or the other heavy construction equipment, right? Well, just like others, you too will have to encounter the problem of the heavy construction equipment being old and worn down after continuous usage for years. However, the worn down appearance of the heavy construction equipment do not affect the performance of the machines. In that case, replacing the machine or buying a new one is not at all a solution or an option. What should you do in that case?

What are the problems that you face?

Before you think of giving your heavy construction equipment a makeover or refurbishment, it is a must that you know about the problems that you will have to face with them.

  • In most cases, the heavy construction equipment loses its colour. This is because these machines and tools are exposed to concrete, cement, mud and dust and many such hard particles that can wear off the paint of the equipment. Despite cleaning the equipment regularly, you will find that the paint is not staying for long.
  • Yet another difficulty that the equipment operators face is that the machines and tools within the equipment lose their tags or instructions. Hence, new operators have to face trouble with understanding which button or lever indicates a certain function.
  • Structural damages are some of the most common damages that are caused to the heavy construction equipment. When your heavy equipment suffers this damage, it will require serious repair. Otherwise, it might lead to serious accidents.

Giving the heavy equipment a new look:

If your heavy equipment has undergone these troubles, it is a must that you choose some refurbishing techniques to give your equipment a brand new look. This is something that you will have to do carefully, so that it does not cause you too much of cost.

  1. Paint the equipment:

 

One thing that is a basic and must be done once in a while is to paint your heavy construction equipment. Your equipment requires occasional paint, as this enhances the beauty of the equipment as well as increases the life of the equipment. The reason behind this is that the paint for the heavy construction equipment is strong and protects the heavy metal bodies of the equipment. Hence, be it the weather damages or the concrete or cement damages, the paint will protect the equipment for long.

  2.  Use stickers:

 

Stickers are something that can always give a new look to any of your vehicles and other personal assets. However, when it comes to the heavy construction equipment, using stickers is a great idea. Not only can the stickers give a new look to the equipment, but they can also help you to revive the indication and instruction labels. As these stickers can be easily customized, you can make the stickers as per your requirement. Even the sticker that boldly expresses the name of your construction company can be used on the equipment.

So, what are you waiting for? Give your equipment a new look with the simple stickers and paint and get rid of the old and wearied look.

How to keep your employees happy

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One of the biggest challenges that many construction business owners encounter is massive attrition of employees. Once the employee works with a construction company for a couple of years, they tend to switch companies and move into a company that pays them better remuneration. This means that they have to spend a lot on training new employees every year. The number of people who stays back in a company after having worked for 5 years or more than that is very less and construction business owners have a hard time in dealing with this crisis. Though they manage to recruit experienced men but they also have to pay a higher price for having their services. This does no good to them but is a kind of money drain that they are finding difficult to avoid.

There are some very simple things that one may follow to keep their employees happy and avoid their movement to other companies.

Acknowledge and appreciate their hard work:-

When your employees put their soul and work for you, it becomes your duty to acknowledge and appreciate their work. If you fail to do so then they have plenty of other options where they can expect better employers who will appreciate their work. Appreciating their work also increases their morale and they start feeling that the company belongs to them. This will only add to the fervor of continuing the hard work for the company. It actually works big time to establish the healthy relation between the employer and the employee.

Equip them with state of the art machines:-

You can’t expect your employees to give you quality work without providing them with state of the art earth moving equipment. They need good machines to give solid outcome or else they might not want to work for you. Working on outdated machines means exerting more force on a job which otherwise can be done without having much physical difficulty if they were given the option of using technologically advanced machines.

Speak with them quite often:-

A healthy relationship is generated when you often speak with the other person and ask about his well-being. In the construction business, where most of the business owners are more concerned with profit making, the employee will truly appreciate your effort to reach out to them and speak to them about their family and their wellbeing. In case, if anybody is in a financial mess, then you can try to give them a loan out of company’s reserves and help him out from that crisis. This speaks high volume about the kind of person you carry in front of your employee.

Give gifts and bonuses during Christmas:-

It is a goodwill gesture if you offer your employees with some gifts and bonuses during Christmas. It will make them extremely happy if you give them or to the family of the employees any gifts during this festive season. It does matter a lot to them. Giving such freebies may pinch you a little but will definitely bring a big smile on the face of the people who devote most part of their days’ time working for you.