Category Archives: Construction

Top advantages of using a backhoe loader

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Those who work in the constructional field know that backhoe loaders serve a lot of purpose which is used in both the constructional field and farms. Though there are many other tools which can perform the same task the backhoe is performing, but most of the people prefer to use backhoe. They unite all the other tools which are used in different jobs into a single unit.

Before buying a backhoe, the people should know all its applications and advantages. Some think that backhoe is mainly used for the clearance of debris and digging the ditches. To say the truth, the application of backhoe covers a wide range.

Advantages of using a backhoe loader

It’s quite unfortunate that lots of people invest a large sum in buying a backhoe loader. They sometimes do not even know the full usage of the loader and use it only for doing everyday jobs and for digging the gutters.  Apart from this, one can also use a backhoe loader for laying the pipes, planting the cable wire underground, setting up of the buildings and the systems of drainage. Not only this, backhoe loaders are capable to accomplish much more tasks.

One can drill some holes to plant his trees simply by attaching an auger to his backhoe. It can also be used to carry out various kinds of projects related with fencing on different kinds of soils. In order to do grading and cutting the slopes, the person can use the backhoe by joining a bucket for cleaning of the ditch on the rear. In the job of a contractor, the person has to mend the gas, roads, sewer lines and the like, he is going to required getting beneath the cement. This work can be done with much ease and quickly if he attaches an asphalt cutter with the backhoe loader. If anyone wants to operate all the backhoes and other machines of construction, he/she should use couplers of pin lock on the backhoe loaders. It will enable them to switch out all their buckets from the stockpile. In this way, a single backhoe can perform several kinds of jobs. So imagine, how easily and quickly can one work on the site with two or more than two backhoes.

Purchasing a second-hand backhoe loader

Those who are interested in buying a second-hand backhoe loader should look for top websites of auction which are offering huge deals. The owners of the used backhoes are ready to sell their equipment through bargaining to make extra profit. Most of these used machines are in excellent condition requiring very little repair. So, one does not have to invest much money in its repairing after purchasing it.

In conclusion, everyone who really craves to buy such a multi-purpose heavy equipment, must have a clear idea of all its applications, so that they carry out more tasks with this backhoe loader. It’s always better to buy a used model of the loader through the online auction, as he/she can save a large sum through the bargain.

 

How to construct a strong bridge?

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Bruce Jackson once said – “Bridges become frames for looking at the world around us”. This statement is perhaps enough to turn one’s mind to the importance of constructing a strong bridge. A well- designed bridge should be able to withstand the wear and tear of time. It should stand erect to enable the passenger to overcome the physical hurdles that come in their way such as valley, river or roads. There are three questions of “what” involved in constructing a bridge:-

  1. What is the time limit of your bridge construction?
  2. What is the purpose of constructing the bridge?
  3. What is the span of this bridge?

Steps to start constructing a bridge

Are you ready to add a bridge to your residential /commercial area? If yes, then follow the following steps:-

  • The first thing you have to do is to seek permission from one of the governmental authority. The agencies such as Water Control Districts, Department of Environmental Regulation etc. are authorised to give such permissions.
  • Now set your budget. Your budget should be high enough to buy all the necessary elements require building that bridge.
  • Then, think why you are constructing the bridge. If it is for commercial development, then it should be constructed with an attractive design. For that, you can also refer to a professional engineer.
  • Now, determine the length of the bridge. For this, calculate the gap between bottom of the bridge and the high water rise. It should be 5-10 feet from the top of the bank. It should be wide enough to provide a smooth clearance.
  • Then at last, design your bridge by referring to Americans Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

Types of design in constructing a bridge

  • Arch Bridges:- Arch bridges have connections at the supports and the centre point of the arch. It permits the bridge to respond strongly to heavy stresses and loads.
  • Truss Bridges:- This type of bridge is composed of many smaller parts. They are mostly made of metals. This bridge has generally triangle-shaped structure.
  • Covered Bridges:- Here, the enclosing roof protects the bridge from all kinds of withering. Thus it elongates the life of the bridge.
  • Pratt Truss Bridges:- In this type of bridge, the middle-section has cross diagonal members. This enables the bridge to get a lighter structure. It is the most common type of truss bridges.
  • Warren Truss Bridges:- It has many isosceles or equilateral triangles to connect the top and bottom line.
  • Suspension Bridges:- Here, the deck is hung from wire-rope suspenders. It consists of a tied arch that prevents the drifting of its bearings.

However, many times we lack the perceiving to build beautiful yet strong bridges. So, we can start by building small bridges that are strong enough to carry us. After learning the skills properly and getting trained, we can start making bridges that is needed to make the nation look beautiful and work perfectly.

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How To Install Hydraulic Thumbs In Excavators?

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Construction excavators are made to design to lift heavy objects. The hydraulic thumbs in the excavators assist it to hold the freight. The thumbs are mostly detachable which moves both in the forward and backward direction to let the bucket slide around a heavy object. Steel of high quality is used to design it. It has hype bracing which adds to its strength. The working of the hydraulic thumb excavator is managed through a series of controls and levers strategically positioned to operate the machine by permitting the bucket to work like a mechanical hand. It drags the bucket towards it by squeezing the load against the excavator’s bucket. The bucket easily picks up the load and shifts it to some other place.

Applications of hydraulic thumb excavators

The Hydraulic thumb excavators are mainly manufactured to handle and load various objects with ease. They are used in the construction site to lift rocks, debris and the like which is not otherwise possible for the bucket to transport alone. You can also take out the thumb while doing normal work of excavations as it back off against the stick.

To install the hydraulic thumb in the excavator is not tiresome at all. In fact, it includes some simple steps which should be carried out carefully.

Steps to install hydraulic thumbs in excavators

  • Park your excavator on a level and smooth ground surface. You have to drop out some space to adjust the forklift in order to place the hydraulic thumb.
  • Now, place the hydraulic thumb close to the edge of the excavator’s arm on the ground. Slightly lower the machine’s arms to line up the arm’s holes with the holes in the hydraulic thumb.
  • Mount the Thumb pad to the stick of the excavator and then connect it with the hydraulics.
  • The gap between the bracket of the hydraulic thumb and the bucket should be at least one inch. The bucket should not touch the base of the thumb plate in curl up position.
  • Lock the thumb properly to prevent it from jiggling and down drifting.
  • The teeth of the excavator and the bucket should be aligned in left to right direction. To do this, you have to pull aside the bucket and lengthen the thumb. Check all the positions of the hydraulic thumb to make sure that the thumb hooks align with the teeth of the bucket.
  • After that, go for welding the arms of the equipment. Welding should always be done in parallel with the axis of the excavator’s arm.
  • The sealing and the lubricants should be replaceable one. Try to use pins and bushings which are already treated with heat so that heat cannot damage it easily.

You should perform some tests to nail down that the bucket and other connectors squeeze the hydraulic thumb. Any kind of failure to carry out the test will have adverse effects on cylinders, pins, sticks, brackets and thumbs. Don’t just waste your time in thinking, go forward, think straight and install the Hydraulic thumb to enlarge the sphere of the excavator’s application.

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Types of renting heavy equipment

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Most of the equipment manufacturers have an affiliated renting company. It permits them to assist their customer’s monetary transactions quite easily.

There are three main types of renting- finance renting, operating renting and contract hire.

Types of renting

  • Finance leasing: – It is also known as full payout lease. This kind of leasing or renting helps you to get all the financial advantages and risks without any legal title. This renting rate is calculated to get the total value of the asset including finance costs during the contract time period. The asset is handover to a third party at the end of the renting period. Here, you can get a lion’s share in the proceeding sales. This can happen only if the renting period is not extended. You cannot become the owner of the equipment at anytime, unless you go for a private arrangement with the third party. As you can extend your renting contract period and already have paid almost the full amount during the initial phase, so you have to pay very little during the later extended period of the contract. It is sometimes referred to as “papercorn rental”.
  • Operating lease: – Unlike financial leasing, operating renting is like a regular rental. It comes with a smaller time period. The renter here tries either to sell the equipment in a second-hand market or to rent it again to avoid the need to regain the total asset price by the regular lease payments. There may be a choice for elongating the renting span at the end of the initial rental phase. Just like the financial renting, you cannot become the owner of the equipment at any point of the time. But, contrary to financial leases, you will not get a single penny in the sales procedure.
  • Contract Hire: – It is another kind of operating lease which involves a lot of services such as management, maintenance or replacement if the equipment needs to be repaired.
  • Hire purchase:- In this kind of leasing agreement, you will get an option to purchase the equipment. They will confer the legal title to you when you have cleared al the payments. The term of a hire purchase should be notably shorter than the working life of the equipment. As you have bought the machine outright, you can easily claim capital allowances from the renting company to make as much profit from it as you can. Hire purchase agreements are written especially for domestic users only. Business owners can avail this type of renting.

 

It is very important for you to count on your future needs. Every kind of renting option has its own merits and demerits. It will have an everlasting effect on your monthly payments. The renting payment heavily depends upon the total value of the equipment, rate of interest and duration of the renting.

If you have any query regarding the procedure of renting and its terms and conditions, then you should immediately seek the help of your advisor for further assessment.

Making the most from your oil analysis data

Oil analysis also known as OA is used to get accurate information of the lubricant and the condition of the machine. With the help of oil analysis one can eliminate heavy costs involved in the maintenance of the machine. Tribologists are there to interpret the data of oil analysis.

Oil analysis helps to identify two primary oil conditions that can cause hazards to the equipment:

  • Measuring the acid number and oil viscosity help to detect the chemical changes that has occurred due to thermal degradation of the oil.
  • Metallic contaminants in the oil are detected by Atomic Emission Spectroscopy which also indicates lube mixing.

Tribologists use the Oil analysis data and distinguish the new oil from the used one to replace the oil at the correct time. A careful Oil analysis data sometimes make the oil sweetened either by putting some quantity of fresh oil or by adding replenishing additives that were drained.

What is the use of oil analysis?

  • Amount of dirt contaminants present in the oil.
  • Fuel liquefaction of lubrication oil.
  • Limitless bearing wear.
  • Quantity of antifreeze in the oil.
  • Lubricant is correctly applied or not.

Through oil analysis one can peer inside the engine, transmission and hydraulic system without dismantling the machine.

How to take an oil sample for oil analysis?

An oil sample represents the condition of all of the oil in the machine. It is useful to get the oil hot and thoroughly mixed before taking it as a sample.

Taking the oil sample at the time of draining is more preferable because during draining some of the used oil will be drained and one could store the remaining oil in an appropriate container.

One can have oil sample by sucking out the oil by connecting a plastic tube with the oil reservoir.

How to choose the best oil analysis laboratory?

There are many oil analysis laboratory and choosing the right one is definitely a herculean task. Some points are given below that may help one to choose the right laboratory.

  • Turnaround time is one of the most important factors. It means the time which the laboratory has taken to test the sample. It should be 24 to 48 hours after the sample has been received by the lab.
  • Alert notification through email, telephone call, fax or by sending message should be given to the person if some kind of abnormality is detected during testing.
  • One has to find out whether the industry is specialised in that kind of testing equipment’s oil or not.
  • The analyst should interpret the environmental information, condition of the fluid, contaminants parameters and machine wear parameters and directs the person for the next step that should be taken to save the machine.
  • One should find out a laboratory that performs wide range of tests and not only one that fits the person.
  • Oil analysis test is mainly based on “you get what you pay for.” So one should not prefer price over quality service.

Oil analysis data serve as a tool to measure the condition of lubrication management procedure. So it is important to make the most from oil analysis data and prevent the machine from its early breakdown.

 

 

 

Top 10 Fantastic Types of Excavators

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Excavators are heavy equipments used for mining, digging and moving bulky objects. There are different types of Excavators. Here are top 10 fantastic types of Excavators.

Compact Excavator-It is that type of excavator which is basically a wheel vehicle with backfill blade and boom swing that operates independently. It can weight approximately 0.7 to 8.5 tonnes. Its structure has three separate division .The first division is house second one is undercarriage and lastly the workgroup. The hydraulic motors assist in travel functions as well as rotating the vehicle.

Dragline Excavator-Dragline Excavator finds its application in civil engineering and mining of surfaces.

It his divided into two categories

The first categories are cranes which are used for lifting materials. It is heavy in size and is provided with winch drum situated at the front side which acts as a dragline.

The second category is relatively smaller than the first category and is used for civil engineering purposes like constructing roads, bridges, port etc. It is also used for cleaning ponds and canals as well as driving heap rigs.

Wheel Excavator-This type finds application in surface mining. It is very large in size. It has a large round wheel as it name suggests with an arrangement of scoops which help in its rotation. All the materials are carried away from the machine by the discharge boom.

Reclaimer– A Reclaimer is a type of excavator which is used for handling large objects and eliminating heaps of materials. Reclaimers move on a rail between stockpiles. They perform all the instructions with the help of a remote control. All the modern reclaimers functions automatically whereas the older reclaimers are operated manually.

Digger Excavators-Such Excavators are heavy equipments and also has three separate divisions which are house, undercarriage and workgroup. The house comprises of boom and sticks. The second division which is the undercarriage consists of wheels and tracks. It is operated by cables.

Dredging– This vessel is used for cleaning and collecting the sediments and silt deposits in the bottom of the seas or lakes and disposing them to another place. Dredging helps to keep the seas and lakes traversable which would have otherwise become swallow due to presence of silt deposits making the seas and rivers unsuitable for navigation.

Apart from this dredging is also used for making harbours and channels in the sea for accessibility of larger ships. Other uses of dredging include mining of ocean floor, mining of sea beaches that are badly eroded by gales, eradicating garbage and debris, land reclamation etc.

Steam Shovel-The first Steam Shovel was invented by William Otis in the year 1839.

This excavation type is a large machine powered by steam. It finds in application in moving soil and rock. Steam shovel has contributed heavily in public works which dates back to 19th century. This equipment finds its application in constructing rails, roads and canals. They are also used for digging canals, building roads and railways and for mining purposes.

 

Vacuum Excavator-Vacuum Excavator is a vehicle which is used mainly for removing debris on land that is heavy. It is also used for eliminating soil from hole. Its structure consists of a suction nozzle with two knobs which the operator holds with his hands to grip it. For cutting soil and sucking up debris it has a tooth situated at the end of the tube.

Trencher-This type of Excavator is used for mining trenches, deploying drainage. It comes in different sizes and models. There are four different  kinds of trenchers includes Micro Trencher, Portable Trencher, Chain Trencher, Wheel Trencher.

Slurry Wall Excavator– They are used in the construction of concrete walls in those areas which are situated close to ground water table to block the walls enclosing tunnels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What are the Operational advantages of renting heavy equipment?

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Manufacturers of construction equipments have noticed the fact that the big economic environment is changing its gear to the renting of heavy equipment. As most of the construction companies are now busy with their work, that’s why they don’t want to spend much time and money in buying the equipment. Renting has many advantages which are discussed below:

Operational advantages

    • Extra-capacity:- To the companies who have already made up their mind of buying heavy equipment, renting the equipment plays the key role. This role mainly includes putting extra-capacity on an as-needed basis. It is very common for particular projects to put demands on the resources which go beyond the routine operations. That’s why, the company which has multiple units of that equipment also thinks to ramp up their abilities with additional equipments to get the job done in an efficient manner. Equipment rental equip the company with some additional means to get their jobs done in a better way as compared to other general units.
    • Fair play: – The quality of resources is the biggest factor which makes the big companies stands out from the small ones. A big construction business can afford the high-end equipment models with the trendy whistles and bells. But, a smaller company is compelled to manage with the more sluggish equipment for a long time. Renting generates a fair play giving opportunity to the smaller companies to get the top-level equipment. This helps the smaller companies to complete their work within the deadline and that too in an absolute manner.
  • Renting before owing: – Before going to purchase equipment, you should use it by renting it. This renting of heavy machine will enable you and your employee to get familiar with it. It is very important because ultimately when you buy that machine you can easily handle it at that time.
  • Service: – The main advantage of renting over buying is the outstanding support and assistance servicegiven to the company. The equipment rental staffs know how to manage the equipment. They also provide you with the tutorial classes on how to handle the equipment safely and effectively. They can easily solve all the problems related with the equipment.

 

Nowadays, large rental companies offer web-based programmes that allow the customers to rent and call off the constructional equipment, track rental fleet inventory and invoices of the review. This financial management online tool gives an additional budgeting tool which enables the contractors to have better control on costs of rental machines.

If you decide to rent equipment, you should look for the long-term impact of buying the equipment on your company’s balance sheet and operations to determine whether the utilization price is enough to justify the ownership. If the utilization price and ownership costs are not considerably less expensive, then the best thing for you is to rent the heavy equipment.

But don’t forget to read all the terms and conditions of the renting company before signing in any contract paper.

Protect Your Eyes At The Construction Site. Use Heavy Equipment Safety Glasses

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One of the major concerns among those involved in the construction business today is the safety of the workers on construction sites. And it is for these reasons that the construction market is now flooded with a number of safety devices to facilitate the safety of the working community. Among all other safety gears available on the block, the safety glasses have acquired quite an important position in the entire chain of events.

The Importance of Heavy Equipment Safety Glasses

The construction area is never hazard free. Mishaps and accidents can come to the forefront in any form and cause damage to those involved in the arena in a number of ways. And one of the most vulnerable parts of the body that can be injured is the eye. It is for the prevention of the eyes from injury that manufacturers have come up with safety glasses. Available in different makes, models, styles and usage, the heavy equipment safety glasses have become an indispensible part of the entire heavy equipment safety gear.

In a survey conducted on the various accidents taking place at construction sites, it has been found that around 800,000 people suffer from eye injury every year by working at construction sites. It was also revealed that around 20% of these injuries were fatal enough to cause temporary or permanent injury to the eye. When issues regarding the prevention to these mishaps began to be taken into consideration, it was found that almost 90% of these mishaps could be avoided if one took to the use of safety glasses.

What Can Heavy Equipment Safety Glasses Prevent You From?

Heavy equipment safety glasses have acquired quite an important position in the entire safety scheme at construction sites. All the construction workers have been advised to put these safety glasses to use and they now form an important part of the safety kit of all construction workers.

  • Construction sites have flying particles of all shapes and sizes flying in various directions, and it does not really take a genius to figure out the effect that these particles can have on your eyes if they manage to penetrate them. The use of heavy equipment heavy glasses can prevent the eyes from such a thing.
  • Construction sites may also involve working with electrical equipment.  There is every chance that as a heavy equipment operator can get a sting of the flying sparks in the eyes. Heavy equipment safety glasses can save the day anytime for the workers.

There cannot be any doubt about the fact that dealing with heavy equipment can be the cause of lot of mishaps in the construction arena. The eyes being one of the most vulnerable organs of your body have been found to be more prone to damage than any other part. The heavy equipment safety glasses have been found to be indispensible in this case.

 

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Get Rid Of Debris- Use Skelton Buckets

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Do you own a farmland that needs clearing off small bushes? Or does the construction site you are working on requires to be cleaned off its debris? If yes, then how about using Skelton buckets for the purpose? Not only will they you clear your land off debris, but they will also help in uprooting scrubs and bushes and make the land suitable for your purpose.

Getting To Know the Skelton Bucket

Rocks and debris, like a lot of other things, are an inevitable part of the construction industry. However, they are not a necessary presence, inevitable though it might be. Clearing the site of these debris, therefore, forms an important part of the entire business. And it is because of this reason that the Skelton bucket has come to hold such an important position in the industry.

Available in the dimensions of eighty-four inches, seventy-two inches and sixty-six inches wide, the Skelton bucket is a great tool for clearing a construction site off rocks and debris. And what’s more- the buckets are designed in a way so that it is compatible with all equipment. This is that one tool which is quite versatile as far as its uses are concerned and which is capable of handling extreme conditions.

Now, this entire clearing process that the Skelton bucket performs can be well achieved with the help of backhoes and hoist buckets. So, one might wonder the reason behind the requirement of the Skelton buckets. Well, it is pretty clear. The former equipment do clear off a land effectively, but they also leave large gaps on the ground. With the Skelton bucket, one can be assured of no such thing happening.

Where Can You Make Use Of Skelton Bucket?

That the Skelton bucket is quite a versatile tool is a fact that has been mentioned earlier. There are a number of ways in which one could make use of this tool.

  • The Skelton buckets can be put to use in the construction arena in order to remove rocks and debris. They are also quite useful foe pulling off the remains of a tree root.
  • The Skelton bucket also proves to be quite useful in the cities with respect to the post demolition work where workers need to clear off the rubble.
  • Since, it proves helpful in uprooting tree roots farmers often make use of the Skelton bucket in order to clear a land off scrubs, bushes and the like.
  • Because of their open rib cage like structure, they are also put to use in the scrap metal procedures, as it helps filtering out small metallic pieces.

One could, therefore, easily conclude that the Skelton buckets to be quite an indispensible tool- both in the construction industry and otherwise. Not only does it prove to be helpful in clearing off a land of debris but also ensures that large uneven gaps are not left in the process

How to reduce risk by renting heavy equipment?

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Owners of construction industries are aware of the impact of economic decline on their businesses. Many of them have evolved a new appraisal for gripping money in their hands. They have started to explore strategies of risk management with a fresh vigour. In this competitive world, it is very important to rent equipment as one of the important strategy of risk management. It has both money and risk management advantages.

The construction industries have intensely fixed ownership culture regarding heavy constructional equipment. However, there are some advantages of leasing the machines which is almost same to all spheres of construction industry, irrespective of the type of equipment.

Renting mitigates asset risks

Renting minimises asset risks such as high maintenance cost. Bulldozing equipment requires maintenance. As the time passes, it faces much wear and tear. This increases the maintenance cost and repairing time of the equipment. This increased time and cost results in delaying of the project fulfilment. This delaying is a very big problem for the industries who are trying to maximize their crew. Renting assures that equipment stays first hand. Therefore, the money and time spent on its maintenance can be minimised significantly.

Apart from the maintenance of the equipment, businesses which buy the equipment straight away are responsible enough for ensuring that the purchasing is in compliance with appropriate regulations. The regular upgrading of the new equipment helps to keep up with the latest regulations.

Reselling of the construction machines is another important factor that constantly bothers the owners when they own such a machine. Sometimes, the owner should consider selling the older machine and decide what to do with it can be intimidating. There are very few companies who have right price to sell it in the market. Renting permits business owners to turn the machine in at the edge of the lease-period and move-on smoothly.

Use of Equipment management

As most of the entrepreneurs know that the monthly cost of renting the heavy equipment is really very expensive. If you want to go for purchasing new equipment for a particular project which will lasts for 2-3 years and which you are not going to use after that initial period, then it is not worth buying it. In fact, renting allows an owner to match the particular equipment’s usage with the deadline of the project. After that only, he should add that expense into its tender.

Your construction business relies on a variety of equipment to operate. Renting heavy equipment is a smart choice because the entire lease payment can be claimed as a tax deduction. If you want to rent the machine from an online company, then you only have to fill an online application form and submit it. After that they will give you a call for the further processing of your request. Or, you can directly give them a call so that you can visit the company physically. So, make your business bigger by renting heavy equipment.

 

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