Monthly Archives: February 2017

Field maintenance on your heavy construction equipment

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People belonging to the construction industry are often with a belief that there is nothing certain in their job and which is why they always need to have a Plan B to manage stuffs if they go wrong. Well, in our lives as well we need to have an alternative just in case things do not work as we have planned it to be. Heavy equipment that is one of the most important component in the steady completion of the project needs to perform at all times. The construction company can’t afford to keep the machine idle for a single day. The machine can only remain idle when its part is over but when you need it work, it has to work. This is why the maintenance part of the construction equipment is very crucial. One always needs to ensure that the machine is well maintained and it does not suffer any flaws.

Field maintenance of your heavy construction equipment is one such way to avoid untimely break downs and it helps to keep the machine in working condition for a long time. So what do we understand by field maintenance. Field maintenance means that one the construction equipment have to be checked on the ground while it is there on the jobsite. So the responsibility of the person concerned is to check if the machine is in order. The operator on the other hand should mention about any issues that he experience during working on the machine. He should report the problem to the supervisor or the person in charge of the maintenance work so that the problem can be resolved then and there. One has to understand the seriousness of the issue and the monetary loss it can have on the business if the machine is not working for a single day and therefore steps have to be taken in advance to avoid a situation where the machine gives it up.

Keep a record of maintenance:-

The mechanic who is responsible to keep the heavy equipment in order should maintain a logbook where he will record the dates when the machine was last serviced. In case, there was any disruption that should be mentioned in the book and the nature of the issue should be noted down. This logbook can be then used for future reference and can prove to be helpful to the person who is working on the issue. Cleaning of the construction equipment is a must and that should be there on records. One needs to understand that the machines have to take the beating of the hostile weather and therefore it becomes a must for one to clean it quite often.

Lubricate the machine at all times:-

The construction equipment should be sufficiently lubricated at all times and therefore necessary lubricants should be available on the field so that if the machine starts developing issues due to lack of lubrication, it can be sorted out right away. Regular greasing and oiling the machine is a requirement that every construction machine has and one has to cater to this need.

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Challenges most small contractors experiences

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Like many other industries, construction industry is one such sector where beginners have a tough time while they give a start to the business. They got to understand the tricks of the trade and then play the game keeping its rules into consideration. Apart from this, there are always big companies that are waiting to eat up the small budding ones. They do want much competition to their set business. However, it is not always that you experience a direct threat from the old players but many have bitter experiences as well. Small contractors who are primarily fresher and do not know how to run the business can face horrendous situations due to their inability to tackle them.

We will be talking about some generic challenges that most newcomers experience and what can be done to do away with those challenges and end up becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Knowing the business:-

It is very crucial that you know your business well before you get into it. This does not imply that you should know everything about it. This may not be virtually possible for someone to know everything about his business first and then get into it. We all learn while we do something but before we start doing something as important as getting into the construction business, we should know the pros and cons of the business. You can talk to industry specialists about it and take guidance from people whom you can trust. Try to generate contacts with people who have been for a while in this industry. You can expect some good advices coming from them which might help you to steer your way in this business.

Do not overspend on anything:-

You need not have a swanky office if you intend to become a contractor. A normal office will do. Clients check your work history to give you contracts and not the sort of office you have leased. Also, do not go on a buying spree for heavy equipment. They form an integral part of the business you are getting into but your selection should be on the basis of your requirement. You can also take machines on lease. So you do not have to necessarily buy heavy equipment to work. You can take them on rent and fulfill your purpose. Many budding contractors seem to do this mistake and repent later.

Do not fall for offers that are unethical:-

If you are new to this business, you will meet people who will give you offers that may not be ethical but definitely alluring. You might be in desperate need of work and may consider it to be a wonderful offer. But this can be a trap and might end your career as a contractor. By no means should you accept any offer that goes against the norms of the law of the land how enticing it may be. You got to patient to get business. Showing any form of desperation can go against you and can lead you into serious trouble.

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What are the proper operations for heavy construction equipment

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When it is about construction jobsite or work related to construction, we can easily consider heavy equipment to be the backbone of the industry. Different types of heavy equipment are required for the completion of daily activities in a construction jobsite and each heavy equipment has its own utility. In other words every other construction machine is unique in its own way and so the operation of every other machine is different from the rest. For instance, the work that a grader can do can possibly be done by no other machine and it is only grader type heavy equipment that can be used for grading purposes and so is an excavator can do excavation like no other machines can. The owner of heavy equipment takes a lot of things into consideration before he/she decides to buy it. The kinds of project for which he/she will need the machines, the duration for which he may require their services and things like that play a mighty role for the selection of heavy construction machineries.

Excavators:-

Industry experts believe that you can’t replace an excavator with any other machine when it is about excavating earth. No other heavy equipment can do the work as precisely as an excavator. Other than that there are many things that one needs to take into consideration before he begins with an excavation project. The pattern of the soil is perhaps the most important criteria that need to be considered apart from the weather in that area. One also needs to consider the risk that they may encounter while digging deep inside the earth. You may not want to slide in deep and then get stuck. That would be the most deadly thing that can ever happen to anyone. Moreover the different types of attachments that are used for digging purposes and are installed in the excavator can’t be possibly done with any other type of machine.

Graders:-

For construction companies that are into leveling grounds or making landscapes they can’t get anything better than a grader. It has a long blade in the front or in the middle of the machine which is primarily used to remove the unwanted mud from the earth’s surface and therefore level the ground. It is also extensively used in road construction and to remove snow from the roads. It is perhaps one of the best construction machines that is used for removing snow as it can collect lot of the stuff in its blade at one go.

Rollers:-

No road construction work can be completed without the use of rollers. It is perhaps this is why it is also known as road-rollers. It has a big drum at the front of the machine. The drum is used to level the ground during the construction of the road. It is quite a heavy thing and therefore can settle even the toughest of material.

There are many other heavy equipment which has its own specific utility and that can’t be replaced by any other machine.

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Rain and Construction Jobsites don’t mix

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It becomes very difficult to work on a hot summer or on a chilled winter in a construction jobsite but it is nearly impossible to work during the monsoon. When it rains heavily the entire jobsite is full of dirt and water that workers find it extremely hard to work. Operators are also unable to operate their heavy equipment in the muddy water. Moreover there is always a risk posed to the heavy equipment if you force your way inside the marshy land. It is definitely not the right thing to do if you are concerned about your machines.

If you are laying the foundation for a high rise building, you have to dig deep inside the ground. Now if it rains, it will cover the entire place with water. The solution to this will be to remove the water completely through some water suction equipment and then finish the job. Now the problem is once you begin to remove water from the ditch and if it rains again, it will once again fill the place with water. So you may have to wait and see that it does not rain for a week’s time so that you can continue with the same process and then complete the work. In this entire process, you have lost a lot of your time and money just to remove water from the ditch. You may also have to depend a lot on the metropolitan department for their predictions. However, it is just mere predictions and can be wrong as well.

Moving our focus to heavy equipment and how rains can be a game spoiler when it comes to your expensive construction machines. If your heavy equipment is not well maintained and not painted, there are high chances that it may begin rusting. The skin of the machine will come off from its layer and it will look shabbier than before. You have to spend some money on painting it in order to give it a new look. Other than that, there is always a chance of dirt making its way inside the machine and getting settled in there. Also many people are of the opinion that it is a big waste of money to clean or service heavy equipment as it will become dirty the moment you start using it in the rain.

It will also affect your business big time. A lot of your work will remain pending because of rains and if it is incessant then it makes matter worse for you. You may work on strict timelines but incessant rains can force you to alter your plans and change the deadlines. It is never easy to change deadlines and if you do so you, it comes with a lot of ramifications. It also has the potential to tarnish your goodwill. Many construction companies have found that rain and construction jobsites just do not mix well with each other and it is therefore for the best interest of the industry and also of their individual companies that they try to keep all unimportant tasks during the monsoons.

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Heavy Equipment Guy

Being customer centric will help you grow in the construction business

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Customers are considered as king of the market. The makers of products produce goods on the basis of the wants and demands in the market and the wants and demands are of the customers. This means that they have to produce items that are in trend and are liked by people at that time. Though trend keeps on changing so once the trend changes the makers also have to switch to the next trend that making buzz in the market. They always have to be on their toes to meet the needs and demands of the customers. While they are meeting the needs of the customers they also need to pay good deal of attention to the fact that they provide them with exceptional quality or else customers always have a choice and they can move on to the next provider. You will only end up in losing business simply because you did not give much importance to the quality of the product.

In the construction domain, the voice of the customer plays a very crucial role in the growth of a company. They may have the best heavy equipment and may use top notch materials to build the buildings but at the end of the day they also need to check that whatever they are constructing, is it as per the wants of the customer and does it goes with the trend of the time.

Knowing the pulse of the customer is important:-

For the survival and steady growth of the construction company, it is very important that they first try to read the pulse of the customer. Check what they can do to make things better for them and accordingly build something that should not be less than exceptional. Customers should feel that they have got the worth of their money and you in turn build reputation from your good work. Getting new businesses in this domain becomes difficult when you do not have goodwill backing your company. If you are into building apartments for people to live, your reputation will speak about you and therefore people will book the apartments right from the period the building is getting constructed. You can achieve this reputation only if you can read the pulse of the customer properly.

Provide them with state of the art amenities:-

When you sell apartments that have state of the art amenities, it sells faster. You can market the apartments on the basis of the amenities that you will offer to the general public. Knowing on what you will offer, people will be interested to book their apartments in your building. This also acts as a brilliant marketing strategy that will drive many to go for apartments constructed by you. You can also charge them for the luxury but that should not be exponential. You should not be money oriented but should be more customer centric. You should quote the amount that gives you your profit. If you try to become greedy and quote higher amount, people will look for someone else.

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Heavy Equipment Articulated Truck Tires

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When working in rough conditions, we often want the best of heavy equipment to be deployed. In the similar fashion, when we talk about trucks, we want its tires to be of extremely supreme quality. The tires of the articulated trucks define the overall quality of the truck. This however does not undermine the other intrinsic features available in a truck. It is just that the tires which holds the entire weight of the truck while it is stagnant or moving determines if the truck is vulnerable to rough terrain. The prices of articulated trucks are also determined based on the quality of tires installed on them. Not all articulated trucks have the same quality of tires. There are some trucks that are meant to perform in extreme rough conditions and the rest works inside the city. So the kind of tires used in both the trucks is absolutely different.

The selection of tires have become little complicated given the number of applications used with the earth moving equipment has increased manifolds. So when you go to shop tires for your heavy equipment, you got to know which one will suit your machine. Not every tire can take the pressure and for specific use you need specific tires. This makes the selection difficult. So when you go out to shop for tires, it is advisable that you do a good study on tires and which tire works in what kind of condition. Taking advices from people whom know about the subject can be helpful. You can try and get some information from internet but that may be too limited and may not speak precisely on the subject you want to know. Therefore, talking out to an expert must be the next best option for you.

Powerful machines need powerful tires:-

Construction industry is quite a demanding one and in order to fulfill its demand one has to deploy powerful machines. Powerful machines are nothing but machines that are capable of doing work faster and consume less human effort. Concurrently, you also want the work to be completed with precision. This all leads to heavy equipment with lot of power in it. But you can’t afford to have normal tires on these power packed heavy equipment. This means that you now also have to change the tires of the machine because if you try to work on the old tires, it will unnecessarily put extra pressure on tires and there are chances that it may give up every now and then. Therefore, changing the tires of the machine with more powerful tires seems to be the next best option.

Buy tires from leading brands:-

When you are investing in quality heavy equipment, it also makes sense to buy tires from leading tire manufacturing brands. The leading manufacturing brands produces tires after doing a lot of research and development on the subject. They understand tires better than we do and therefore we need to just tell them the heavy equipment we need tires for and they will get the best product for us. The price may be slightly higher than tires of lesser known brands but it should be worth the price.

 

 

Heavy equipment accessories can turn out to be a good business opportunity

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One always do not need to get into the construction business to reap volumes of profits but can also consider taking up businesses that is closely connected to the construction business. For instance, one can see himself doing well in supplying raw materials. For this business to flourish all you need is good contacts with the real supplier from another state who in turn will ship the materials to your state and you eventually hand it over to the company. So your work is to ensure that the stuffs have been shipped on time and it also reaches the construction company on time. Other than this there is one more business which is quite thriving and that one should give a good thought to exploit it.

Heavy equipment are required by almost everybody in the construction arena. Now one machine can be used for many purposes provided the accessories are changed. You can start something that deals with the accessories part. You do not have to sell the entire machine and only need to concentrate on the different types of accessories that a machine is compatible with and then sell the right stuff to your customers.

Knowing about different attachments is crucial:-

Before you get going with selling attachments of heavy equipment you got to first upgrade your knowledge about the different types of attachments that are available. The reason why this is important is that you will be dealing in an out with it and not knowing much about what you are dealing with can lead you to lot of issues. The ground rule of starting any business is to first know a bit about the business and preferably have worked in the same line of business for a quite a time. This will help you to understand your business better and you will be able to take on any challenge that may on your way.

Sell attachments of all heavy equipment companies:-

You can’t manage to sell items of one particular brand. Customers will come to you for attachments of various brands and you got to cater to them. What you can possible do is take the orders from them and some advance payments so that you can in turn place the order to the company. Once they ship the item to you, you can give it to your customer. Give good discounts to your customers so that they stick to you and do not wander to any other such store or buy it online. Remember, customers’ today have a lot of options from where they can buy their stuffs. It is just that when they go to buy online they will not get much offer as what you can give them. Other than this, they also look for some valuable suggestions. For instance, if they are not sure about a particular attachment and need some kind of guidance, they will expect to get it from you. Giving them any valuable suggestion will bring them back to you.

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Challenges contractors face in the construction business

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Every business has its own ups and downs and people who own a business have to go through several challenges in order to survive in it. Similarly, construction business is all about taking up challenges coming from various corners and turning every calamity into a possible opportunity. Well this defines your character and the temperament you have got. This will also define if you will be able to carry on for long in this industry. Many join the construction business thinking that it is easy money. People who think this way have never been a part of this industry before and one who has been a part will never think this way.

They fear to broaden their horizons:-

Some contractors are doing marvelously in their area but when it comes to expand their business and move to other states, they catch cold feet thinking about it. They may have to overcome a lot of difficulties and uncertainties but that is part of the game and since they have created their comfort zone in the place they are operating then someone else might come there who will be a bigger player and might eat up the small fish. This is a stark reality of this industry. No one is secure in this form of a business and this is why it is important for contractors to expand their wings and think of flying higher. Differences in regulations and laws between the states will persist but when you start to get into it you will find that most of the laws of the other state that you are venturing in is the same as it is in your state. There may few minute differences but apart from that everything else will be common.

Trustworthy laborers are a real challenge:-

Construction workers are hard to find especially when there are big companies who are picking them for a better package. Contractors are losing their men to these big companies and hence find this to be a bigger threat than anything else. Well, the solution for this is quite simple. You need to increase the pay of your skilled labor. Workers ideally do not want to leave their existing employer if they are paid as per the industry standards. They know their worth for sure and it is time that contractors too know their worth. Once you begin to pay them like others do you will rarely see the laborers leaving your company?

Embrace technology with both hands:-

The sooner you befriend technology the better it will be for you and for your business. Right from having the latest device on your heavy equipment to creating a website that is visible to everyone, you need to ensure that you do not lack a bit when it comes to using technological applications. Get hold of a website designer who has created websites of construction companies and other contractors. Such guys will know the kind of stuff you need in your website and therefore will make the best for you.

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Never let the zeal to get more business dry out

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One should always be satisfied with whatever little he gets but at the same time his hunger to get more should not die. It is perhaps this passion of his that will keep him ticking during the rough patches of his business. Laying concrete strategy is one thing but when it has to come to the ground for implementation there lies the real zeal of the business owner and this zeal to get more and more business will also take him to the many levels that many aspire to reach in the construction industry.

Many enter the construction business with an incorrect notion that they can make good money without having to shed much effort. They believe that getting business is simple but industry experts find the truth to be completely other way round. In order to get business you need to have all your stuffs in place. Right from heavy equipment to a track record that is impeccable, you have to display all of them to get some business.

Getting small may not be much of a struggle but there will be a point when you will mind doing petty work and want to get into something bigger. This is when you will start experiencing acute hardships and failures. They may even become the part and parcel of your daily routine but this is what the leaders of the construction industry had also gone through. They had their share of rough patches but what they did different that most did not do is they stuck to the ground and kept their zeal alive to continue the search of getting more business.

Your confidence will keep your zeal alive:-

Folks who are new to the business and do not have anyone who can guide them ideally lose their confidence when they see things not working for them. They do not see the light out of the tunnel and find themselves to be completely lost in their endeavor. It is absolutely critical for such men to first generate some confidence and remain hopeful that luck will favor them. When you go to market your company, the person on the other side of the table first checks your confidence and then the stuff that you are presenting. So you may be marvelous in your work but self-confidence also speaks loud and you need to pay stress on developing that. It actually keeps your enthusiasm to get more business alive.

People start knowing you:-

You drop in to the office to check if they can give you a contract. They saying NO should not disappoint you because by reaching out to them and dropping your business card at their office will let them remember you. Also check out the classified part where people are looking out for contractors to give them work. So be open to that as well and try and meet as many people as you can. A “NO” now does not mean a “NO” forever. There will be a time when they will really need your services. So meeting people often should be your priority.

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Oil Field In 2017

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Crude oil has always been seen as being one of the most important sources of energy that has fuelled the growth of modern civilization. With the growth and progress of modern civilization depending largely on the oil, it is therefore, no wonder that the oilfields constitute as one of the most important sectors that determine a number of other global factors such as the economy, technological advancements and the like.

Trends in the Oil Field Sector to Watch Out For In 2017

2016 being an eventful year in many ways for the oil field industry, 2017 is expected to be more so. When it comes to predicting the future of this industry it is possible for even the astute experts to go wrong. Though it is easier to talk about the trends in the oil field industry in hindsight rather than the future possibilities, there are certain trends that one could watch out for in the coming year.

The demand and supply gap is likely to reduce in the coming year with a gradual reduction in the stockpile. While the global capital expenditure is likely to remain weak, exploration and production capital in the US is likely to bounce back. It is also expected to be a good year for Russia and the Middle East.

With the Exploration and Production companies resetting their financial allocation at higher levels, the impetus of the rigs based in the US and Canada are likely to roll over into 2017 from 2016. There is likely to be a proportionate reduction in the rig demand and drilling time, with the average utilization of rigs causing a hike of about $2000-3000 per day.

The offshore drillers are likely to get a boost in the coming year largely owing to the decision of the OPEC. The clearing of credit tracks is been seen as an effective contributor to the reduction in overhead pressures.

The demand in pressure pumping and frac horsepower are also likely to take some time before they gain the desired momentum. Entrepreneurs are more concerned with the maintenance of market shares more than a hike in the price at the moment.

3 Key Oil Projects to Look Out For In 2017

The prices of oil and gas gradually came to a stable point and the prominent oil producers reacted to these changes in a variety of ways in 2016. In spite of the various cuts in the budget in the previous year, a considerable amount of promising investments are being expected to roll out in 2017.

  • Turkish stream– After a period of stagnation, Russia and Turkey are likely to move forward with the Turkish Stream Pipeline project in 2017. The first phase of this project is likely to be complete within the year 2019 and the total cost of the project has been estimated to be about $15.1 billion.
  • Egina field development– With project cost of about $16 billion, the Engina field development project in Nigeria is all set to be able to start its first oil production by 2018.
  • Tengiz field expansion– The Tengiz Field Operations in Kazakhstan is likely to begin from 2017 with a project cost of $36.8 billion.

In conclusion, one could say that 2017 will definitely be an eventful year for the oil field industry all throughout the globe.

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