Category Archives: Industry

Use equipment tracking system to protect your site

Are you going to start your own company? If yes, then you must be aware with useful strategies that help you to run your business. Without following the important as well as essential strategies you cannot get success. Well, in case of construction sites, it is really important to give your full attention on your site. You should always be very careful about your machines, workers and other related things of your site. It is your responsibility to take care of your heavy equipment. It is not easy to work with such heavy machines. It takes huge time as well as money. So, you should know all those things that can reduce your profit margin. If you cannot maintain these machines properly then the machines can face many problems. These small damages can turn small issues into major fault. Therefore, check the machines properly and remember wrong billing, unnecessary idling can make you huge fuel cost.

Well, when you are going to do business then you should always be aware with your profit and loss. It is very important to manage profit for business to establish it properly and take it to the next level. There are many easier way that can help you to increase your productivity and help you to get more profits. If you can manage to give you 100% attention and full concentration on your job then it is not so difficult to choose the right equipment tracking system for your business. It is your responsibility to find out the proper devices that can help to track down and monitor solution for the business. If you are going to work with forklift then it is very important to know how to work with it and efficiently it can work for you.

You need to track the usages of useful equipment. As you work with a number of machines then may be for sometimes you do not use one of them and keep it aside. Then it becomes very difficult to track for how many days the equipment is not in use. However, by following a continuous monitoring over equipment give an idea of such things. It also allows you to reduce the fuel costs and assure that the proper and prolonged maintenance is not missed for a single day. You can get the information on fluid levels, error codes and temperatures by using the equipment tracking system.

As many workers work in a construction site, so there are high risks of theft and other similar things. If you stop using a machine for a while then you can lost it as well. Therefore, if you can use the equipment tracking system then it can track down the records of all your machines. Equipment tracking helps to track down the detail of the equipment that is in use and not in use. To protect your site you should definitely take help of such system

Case sees the year 2015 as the year of development

The year 2014 has not been a great year for many heavy equipment manufacturer and many have struggled hard to keep their business at bay. It is not that they see a possibility of shutting their business altogether, but they definitely see a hard time ahead. Few equipment manufacturing companies feel that the forthcoming year will bring joy and prosperity to their business. However, others do not support this view point. Some are also of the opinion to wrap up their businesses from the country they do not see much happening in the future and may focus in only those countries where they anticipate good business. This is the case with almost all the big companies. However, there are also some companies who keep a different perspective. They believe that it will make more sense to simply wait and watch how the overall market performs. Especially, for companies who are located in developing countries are more willing to sit tight and monitor the happenings. It is only after intensely pondering the situation that they might come to some conclusion. They just simply do not want to pull the trigger and later remorse on what they did.

Companies like Case sees this moment as a great opportunity. They feel that the year 2015 is the year of development for them and they have chalked out plans which suggest that they are determined to achieve growth consistently for the entire year. Having said that, they also assume that the forthcoming year will also be a year of immense challenges and it will not be easy for anyone to do business. They feel the reason for poor sales is because of falling demand. It does not have to do much with producing innovative machineries but has to do more with the fall of demand in the overall market.

Case has come with a not so unique way but definitely effective. They do not want any of their employees to do overtime and they feel that working for extra hours is not required in a market condition where the demand is low. For the time being, they do not intend to lay off any of their employees but are giving strong indication that they are certainly not hiring any additional labor force.  They are also working on the plan to reduce higher weekend salaries for its workers and will also significantly reduce their dependence on outsourced sections that will help them a long way to keep the cost in tack.

In order to protect the segment margins, the company has already started to act on its cost structure by bringing it in line with its inventory positions. As far as the agricultural equipment are concerned, it is estimated that they will see a fall in its sale volume for the entire year. Farmers who require machine with higher horsepower will shy away from buying due to weak crop prices. Nevertheless, they also feel that the situation may turn good at the end of 2015 and they will pick it from there.

Lending Money From A Financial Institution Can Solve Most Your Financial Worries

To make money, we need money. In today’s time, we all suffer from scarcity of money as we have to take care of other financial responsibilities and end up with almost nothing at the end of the week or month. Savings becomes a huge task in such kind of a situation. We have often seen families struggling to meet their ends meet, paying their credit card bills and all other bills that one can think of. Now in mid of all these, if you aspire to set up a business, you may find it to be an impossible dream. Undoubtedly, setting up a new business requires good chunk of money and especially where people are suffering from scarcity of funds, it is futile to think of any influx of funds for your business. You can reach out to your friends or relatives to lend you some money but that really won’t be sufficient to give you a start. Alternatively, they have their own problems to sort. So, it becomes hard for them to lend you a helping hand. In this situation, you are left with one good option. Borrow money from a financial institution at a lower rate of interest and give a start to your business aspirations.

Few things that you need to be aware of before you approach a bank or any financial institution for money.

Your business plan should be concrete:-  The day you aspire to set up a business of your own, you start working to chalk out a plan. Include all the ups and downs, ifs and buts in your plan and see where it lands you. You can make amendments to your plan and if necessary re-start your plan from the scratch. Just make sure that once you are done with it, you have a sound plan with you. The relevance of a sound plan will help you fetch a loan from a bank. A bank will not take interest in what you say as long as you don’t have any concrete plan to show to them. Only when you come up with something which sounds good to the bank and they can put their faith on your plan, they will help you sanctioning the loan.

Get government sanctions:-  There are some businesses which require government sanctions. So by the time, you are in discussion with the bank for the loan, also intimate them that you are also talking with the government authorities to give you the authority to conduct your business in the desired location. That will give confidence to the bank that you are seriously into it and lending money to you will cause no harm to them.

Be ready to give collateral:- If you intend to borrow a huge sum from the bank, you should be ready to keep something as mortgage with the bank. The bank shall not sanction the loan if they do not have the collateral with them. You may keep your house as a mortgage or some other investments. You should therefore be very sure that you have set everything the right way before you take the final leap.

Strategies of Caterpillar for the year 2015

Whether big or small all companies have to draw a strategy to increase their sales volume for the upcoming year. Some companies go for acquisitions and some have other plans that they adopt to give a new dimension to this business. In some way or the other, every company usually set up some kind of strategy for their business and adheres to that plan. It is quite imperative to establish strategies for the upcoming year and also declare them to the investors, stake holders or else they may leave people in a very ambiguous state which will deter them to invest in that particular company. This will be very harmful for the financial health of the company.

Normally, big companies tend to spend good deal of money on advertising their strategy to others. This also gives a clear set of message to their competitors that they are entering the New Year with a bang. Some companies play quiet till the last moment and when the New Year is about to begin, they start speaking about their plans to the media and general public. They also write about them on their web sites. These kinds of advertisements become very helpful to the company and also attract the attention of domestic as well as global customers.

Caterpillar one of the leading brands in the field of manufacturing mining and construction equipment does not leave any chance to promote their achievements and inform others about the sort of strategies they have set-up for the forthcoming year. Caterpillar being a very old company and a huge brand always comes out with something new that makes other patiently wait for. They basically concentrate on market acquisitions and try to increase their sales by bringing in innovative products in the market. They use this strategy as their Unique Selling Point (USP). They believe that innovation is key to any business and they apply this of thought of theirs entirely to flourish their business. Doug Oberhelman, the chairman and chief executive officer of Caterpillar says that they have good sum of money lying with them and he would like to utilize that money by pumping it in the business.

Many business heads have the same opinion. They struggle hard for the entire year to increase their sales and make good chunk of money. The money is then reinvested in the business and various financial problems are sorted with this investment. Doug Oberhelman sees the opportunity is not huge. They need to lay their focus on small growth opportunities as he see very less chance in doing something big. They are primarily focusing on mining, oil and gas an electric power. They see good business opportunity particularly in these sectors.

Caterpillar was shy of entering into the oil and gas sector as it felt the prices of oil were high. However, things have changed now and they see this moment as the right junction to enter the market. They feel the prices of oil have dropped and it makes more sense to get in the market at this juncture.

Learning The Tricks Of The Trade Will Help You To Make Money In The Construction Industry

You are in whatever business or industry, the first thing that you need to do is learn the work well. You can’t expect yourself to perform or to outperform before having learned the tricks of the trade. For instance, we take up the profession of a doctor. A guy has to study for years in medicine and then invest another good number of years in practicing. Only after that, he can claim himself to be a good doctor. Or let’s put it in this way that after investing so much of time learning his profession, he can become good in his work and that good work of his will be seen by others which will then make him a good doctor. This was just an example of a noble profession, now if we consider a business; it is no different from the first example.

Construction business is a huge business and it may take one his entire lifetime to know about everything, however not completely. It is important to know how to work things out and also how things work in this industry. If you start from the basics of it and then develop your knowledge, you will not miss anything but if you skip the basics and feel that they are not important, you might not understand things as they are all so interconnected with the basics.

We would be discussing few things that are instrumental to grow as a person in this industry.

Develop the curiosity to learn:-  Let’s start this by saying “Keep your eyes and ears open all the time”. You get to learn a lot of things if you simply keep your basic senses to see and to hear wide open. You will come across people who talk about how to complete a particular project or what kind of heavy equipment is needed to get the work done. They may talk about ideas which you have never heard of or felt that can even work in such a situation. You may even want to discuss things with them and show that you are curious enough to know things which will allow them to let you accompany them in critical assignments. Once you become a part of any critical assignment, you will come across multiple chances of developing your knowledge and also learning to deal with different kind of situations.

Take initiatives at different levels:-  This is perhaps the most important characteristic one must possess. Many people simply do their work and leave. They are never in hunt of any opportunities which sort of rusts their capabilities. Therefore, it is important that you take up initiatives to do things which others may find to be difficult or time consuming. Taking initiatives not only prove that you are not afraid of taking additional responsibilities but also display your ability to learn new things pertaining to your domain.

Learning these little things with time will eventually help you to know much of the things which are absent in others and will make you a better employee or a businessman than the rest.

Plans of Hyundai for the year 2015

The year 2014 has been a big pain for all the heavy equipment manufacturing companies. They were all left complaining about slow growth rate and decline in the sales volume. Due to unrest in the Middle East and other parts of the globe, customers were reluctant to make further purchases. Another reason that adds to the misery is delay in starting a project. Due to many reasons, projects are unable to take off and that results in decline in the demand for heavy equipment. Therefore, it also does not make any sense to produce innovative machine as it makes no difference in a stagnant market. Like all other companies, Hyundai is also going through the same rough phase and is struggling hard to come out of it. The think tankers are working hard to find a solution to this issue and are also waiting for the market to correct. If the issues in the Middle East are put to rest, then things might start catching speed from there. However, that is just a matter of some time and needs patience. It is therefore important for companies to find an alternative and check other potential markets rather than simply sticking to countries that are of not much importance for the time being.

Having said that, it does not imply that construction equipment manufacturing companies should simply wind up their businesses from such countries. They can reduce their labor force and ensure that they do not end up spending their capital in units that may not yield much to them. If we check the last few years’ performance of Hyundai, we find that there has been a consistent fall in their sales volume. It is simply not picking up. In this way, they are only lowering their performance bar and are expecting that it will get to see some green pasture sooner.

Hyundai is in no mood to continue with its sick units or the units that are not performing. The year 2015 will be the year of corrections for them. They have to identify the units that is not performing and then also need to check the possibility of it remaining in that condition for the next few months. If they are convinced that there are no signs of revival, then it will be prudent to close such units and save the company from incurring further financial loses. The next thing that they can do is lay off few employees from units that are performing but not as per the company’s projections. It makes no sense to have a workforce that is not delivering. Other than this, they can also move their back office staff to sales department or can cross train them to perform duties at various levels.

Cross training people will keep the resources intact and will also enable them to perform various duties at different situations. By following few simple things can bring them back in business. However, for the time being the ground situation is grim and it will bounce back only if corrective actions are taken.

Keep an Open Mind to Be Ahead In the Race in the Construction Industry

Change- that is the only thing that has, that is and that will always be permanent. Whether it is the healthcare industry, education industry, politics or construction, change can be said to be a common characteristic for all. And this change makes it important for people to be on the constant lookout for keeping them updated on the latest events of a particular industry. If you are a professional of the construction industry, keeping yourself updated on the various aspects of the industry is quite important for your business.

Continuing To Learn- The Benefits

Being constantly on the lookout for the latest happenings in the construction industry is beneficial. If you are involved in the construction industry, it is best if you keep a lookout for the latest trends and developments. Here is taking a look at the benefits that being updated has.

  • Constant studying the trends of the construction industry will give you an idea of the way your competitors approach the entire business. And this definitely contributes significantly to you becoming a successful construction big shot.
  • By keeping the window of knowledge of open in the construction arena, you will also be aware of the various rules, regulations and amendments to the rules of the arena. This means that you will always stay on the legal side of things.
  • Continuing the education whilst you are in the construction arena also lets you gain knowledge on the various technological developments on the block. An application of these technologies to your construction business can definitely prove to be fruitful.
  • Constantly remaining updated also enhances your decision making power. You will be able to take better decisions about your construction organisation if you keep your mind open and continue to build on the recent developments going on in the area.

It can, therefore be concluded that keeping an open mind in the construction area works wonders on your business. Not only will you be able to handle the construction projects more efficiently, you can also be sure of raise in the status quo of your company.

Gaining the Knowledge- The Possible Sources

All being said and done, people might wonder as to where will they get information of the changes taking place in the industry.

  • The World Wide Web can be said to be a virtual trove of information.  All the information that you seek can be availed from the various blogs, updates posted on the social networking sites, online construction journals, construction forums and the like.
  • You could also try gathering information from your mentor, the construction union, various seminars and conferences and the like.

Success in the construction industry is directly proportional to your knowledge of the area. It goes without saying that staying updated on this fore is quite crucial for your construction business. Keeping an open mind, therefore, can be said to be one of the mantras to succeed in the industry.

Never Give Up Your Hopes Even If You Suffer Loses In the First Few Years of Your Business in the Construction Domain

A business is entitled to two very important aspects and they are profits and losses. Either you make money in your business or you lose out. These are the two significant factors that keep your business going. We see another trend in business. Guys who have newly set up their business tend to incur losses than making profits which is kind of demoralizing. This is perhaps the major reason why many of the folks who have started their business thinking of making it big end up completely giving it away. There is perhaps a wrong notion that runs in peoples’ mind that business is the only way to make them rich. Which is why without giving much thought to it, they start doing a business and then all of a sudden realize that this was not their cup of tea and eventually scrap it off.

This was one bunch of folks. There is another bunch of people who no matter what stick to their position even after having incurred huge losses in their business. They are the one who either make it big or get perished completely. They are probably the ones who do not like to give up their hopes and want to continue to see the end of their journey. Well, it is better that we all fall in the second list because you have to give time to your business to grow. If you not financially sound or don’t have much patience, business is not for you.

Incurring losses in the first few years of your business is inevitable:-  When you form a business, you do not have clients, you do not have proper infrastructure, you do not have all the necessary things that is needed to shape up your business. You gather them all in the phase of time and during this time you also do things which an experienced person will not dare to. It is only because you are learning things. You go wrong many times and also do not find anybody to correct you or to guide and show you the right way. In such scenarios, making losses is inevitable. You just can’t expect to get returns from your business because it lacks a lot of things that are important to gain profits in a business. During the troubled times, it is imperative to stick along and not take decisions like to wind it up.

Learn from your mistakes:-  The best way to set your foot in the construction business is to learn from your mistakes and not to repeat it ever. You rarely get people to guide you as folks don’t want competition in business. Many feel that by giving right advices they might give birth to a strong competitor which may pose as a challenge to them in the later years. Therefore, you are on your own and always keep your learning antenna on.

Listen to others but do that you feel is right:-  When you are new, you will come across people who care giving you advices on your business. They may not know much how to deal with situations but always have advices for others. It’s better to give them a hearing ear but use your brains to rationale their advices.

 

 

 

Want To Get Your Machine Repaired – Get Help Of An Expert

Construction industry is heavily dependent on heavy equipment and one need to take utter care of his equipment; because if the equipment go wrong, he has no work to do for the entire day. More to this, the work pending for the day gets carried forward to the next day, which means that he has to complete 2 days work in a single day. This could be quite problematic for a company which deals with huge projects. A delay of work for a day can even lead to huge loses and can also tarnish the reputation of the company. Therefore, it is very important for them to ensure that they have all their machines in working order and if they feel that any of the stuff needs some repair, they should make the arrangements in advance and see to it that things are taken care of much before it goes out of hand.

Knowing the fact that heavy equipment are an integral part of the construction industry, many construction companies keep a team of experts whose work is to check the condition of the machines on a daily basis and if they find anything objectionable then they have to report it to the manager or to the person up in the rank. Once that gets reported, it becomes the responsibility of the managers to take a call on this and give direct instructions to the mechanics who will ultimately get the issue fixed.

Where do you find these experts:-  Finding the right person to do the job is in itself a huge task. We normally find many people who claim that they can do the job but eventually they all turn up to carry very limited knowledge about their domain and only possess the skill to resolve the issue temporarily and can’t provide a permanent way out  to it. In such a situation, it becomes very important to find people who can do end-to-end work for you. There are many educational institutions that train students on heavy equipment. The training ranges from a couple of years to 5 years of rigorous training where they learn everything in detail about heavy equipment. No doubt, that they lack practical application, however that vacuum is soon filled once they start getting some experience in their line of work. This is one place from where you can pick guys and make them as potential experts. The candidates should be thoroughly screened and all sorts of technical questions should be thrown at them. If only they are able to give satisfactory answers, they should be allowed a place in your organization.

Contact your peers if they can help you out:-  If you have your friends who are also into the construction business, you might as well take help from them. Check with them if they know an expert who can fix problems in machines. If your friend is pretty old in this industry, he will certainly know someone who fixes his machine. So you might get some help from them.

Putting it on internet:-  You might also want to take help of internet by posting an ad there putting your requirements. You will be then contacted by an expert who will get the problem resolved.

Save Fuel and Earn More- Opt For Anti-Idling Policy for Your Heavy Equipment

Running a construction organisation is not simple. And adding to the entire complexity of the situation is the need to earn more than you actually put into the business. It is quite obvious that as a businessperson you will want to push your profit margin higher by a considerable extent and Heavy equipment can prove to be quite a damper in the entire affair.

Idle Construction Equipment- What Does It Mean?

Maintaining heavy equipment is quite a costly affair. Repairing faulty parts and replacing them may prove to be quite taxing for any construction company. And an idling heavy construction equipment does nothing more than add insult to injury. The fuel consumed by heavy equipment per day accounts for a major part of the expenses borne by a construction company. Research shows that particular heavy equipment has a regular idle time of 40% on an average. Not only is this time an impotent one but also contributes a great deal to lower resale value, shortening of the warranty inclusion and the like. Add to this the fact that idle heavy equipment acts as a catalyst for engine wear and equals to wasted fuel and you can very well gauge the negative impact that idle heavy construction equipment has on the economy of the construction organisation.

Anti-Idling Policy and Its Effect on the Construction Arena

So, is there are a way to overcome this unwanted expenditure? Well, of course there is. Many construction companies on the block have resorted to anti-idling policies for their heavy construction equipment in order to cut down on their expenses.

There are a number of anti-idling technologies aiming for reducing emissions available on the block that are put to use by the construction companies. Operators need to be well trained to handle such technologies including that of the “mobile idle-reduction” technology which includes the automatic shut down and powering of the system. Though the entire technology might sound to be an impressive one, there are certain pros and cons of the entire deal that construction company owners need to evaluate before anything else.

Perhaps the one greatest benefit that construction site owners are going to have out of the entire business is significant reduction in the fuel expenses of heavy equipment. Construction companies can witness significant reduction in the entire thing when they compare this rate to the amount of capital investments.

Attaining the highest level of profit is possible only when construction companies are able to work within and meet deadline. The expenditure meted out by such constructions companies also contributes significantly to the profit margin of the company. It can, therefore be easily concluded that reduction in the fuel expenses of the company does contribute a great deal to the profit earned by a construction company.