Category Archives: Industry

Workers working in construction sites are prone to various air-borne diseases

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We say that the human race is developing but it seems that we are making things that will cause more harm to us than ever. We make things for our ease but in this process, we forget that there are certain repercussions that we have to face and without wanting to know those repercussions we do things that affect us the most. Our environment is so polluted that every other day we get to see people dying of lung disorder, heart failure, and asthma attacks and so on. If we talk about people working in construction companies, we will find that they belong to the worst affected lots and are infected with various air-borne ailments. They have to go through a lot of dust that is so prevalent in a construction zone. Fresh air is so seldom for them and they are simply left with no other option than to inhale the polluted air.

It is not only the dust that they inhale but also the smoke that comes out of heavy equipment. Most heavy equipment run on diesel and after a certain period of time they emit smoke and intoxicants in large quantity that becomes unhealthy for the people around. There is primarily one reason why machines emit black smoke. It is particularly due to lack of proper maintenance of the machine. The equipment work for months without much lubrication and the engine oil also is not changed at regular intervals. This leads to problem in the engine and if the health of the engine is not good, it is bound to emit intoxicants in the form of black smoke.

What construction companies/employers must do to safeguard the health of their workers has become a matter of discussion and many companies are incorporating the following measures to ensure that the lives of their workers is not taken for granted.

Proper maintenance of machines:-

Intoxicants in the air are one of the major reasons for the falling health of construction workers and machines emit intoxicants due to improper maintenance. To get this fixed, the only way is to ensure that the machines are maintained at regular intervals. It is quite obvious that the operator may forget to send the machine for maintenance. Hence, a calendar must be prepared where you jot down the date when you will take the machine for a wash and get it serviced.

Procure heavy equipment that are environment friendly:-

Many construction companies are in the process of acquiring green machines that will not emit or will emit less toxic in the air as compared to the ones being used currently. Though the equipment will be expensive but will last for more years and will also not pose a risk to the health of construction workers.

Set up camps to check the health of workers:-

Construction companies should take the initiative where they set up camps at least twice in a year and conduct a complete health check-up of its employees. They should not just restrain it to the laborers but also include staff and guys from other departments.

Don’t Let Your Dreams Die Due To Scarcity Of Funds

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We all have dreams in our life to become rich, to pursue the career we always wanted to, and to live a lavish life having all its luxuries. Well these were just about the dreams we all have but in order to fulfill them we have to work real hard. At times, simply working hard is not sufficient to get what you want; you need to do a bit more than that. For instance, a person working in a particular sector now wants to start a business of his own in that sector. However, due to lack of funds, he is not able to. Though he knows that if he is given the opportunity and the money to kick start a business he intends to do, there is no looking back for him but just because he doesn’t have sufficient amount with him, he can’t take the leap forward.

There are many individuals who are capable of starting up a business of their own but just because of scarcity of funds; they stick to what they are doing rather than taking any risks in their lives. What is perhaps suitable for them is to approach a bank and check if they can give him a loan to meet his financial requirements as far as his business is concerned.

There are few things that are very important to do before you approach a bank for loan. We would be discussing them and understand their importance respectively.

How well do you know your work?:-  Before you start up a business of your own, it is important that you analyze how well you know this business. You should never see yourself in a situation where people are taking you on a royal ride and you can’t do much about it just because you don’t know much about the business. This kind of situation can be very harmful to you and therefore it is very important that you take some time to first learn your work and then think of setting up a business of your own.

Availability of businesses from clients:-  Availability of clients plays a significant role in shaping up your business. Your business entirely depends upon the sort of network you have and through that network, how many clients you can get for your business. You may have just started up your business and have no goodwill in the market. It is probably the network thing that can earn you few businesses for the mean time and then once you have established goodwill, you can cash it on by acquiring more clients.

Research on which bank offers loan at low rate of interest:-  Different financial institutions charges different rate of interest to their customers. It is prudent that you first understand the amount you want to borrow and then do some research on the banks which provide loans at lower rate of interest. You will definitely get hold of something that you never knew about.

Availing loans can secure your dreams. It’s just that you got to be a bit careful while you select the financial institution from whom you’d be borrowing the money.

Stagnancy in construction business – It’s time to review your strategy

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Forming strategy is a part of every industry and all kinds of businesses. You have to plan few things in advance by assuming how the situation could be in the next few days, months or years. A person who has been running a business for years and has seen many ups and downs of the business can make little mistake in assuming the market trends and on the basis of his assumption, he can form a strategy. However, what can one do if he finds that his strategy is not working and the business is still stagnant and waiting for the push.

Well, it means that it is time to review your strategy and probably re-plan things. It is not at all necessary that what you have assumed will turn out to be correct. Many a times, the most experienced guy in the industry does mistakes in estimating how the market will react in the next few months. Future is unrealistic and it may be utmost difficult for anybody to predict things precisely. We can follow the past trends but based on those trends deciding the future trend is not possible. Playing a bigger bet just by predicting the future is just not advisable and definitely not advisable when you are running a construction business. But that does not mean that you will stop estimating things and will desist from laying strategies.

When you are in the construction industry, you take into consideration advices from all corners. Right from market experts to your fellow workers, any suggestions coming from whatever side can be sheer effective. Therefore, you should keep your ears open to their advices but take rational decision and should not just go just by their words. Give your thoughts to the entire version as it is important to know what others think about the construction market.

Just in case, if you were doing well in your business and all of a sudden you experience stagnancy, then it is a matter of worry. You should act immediately or else the stagnancy has the potency to eat away your business and you might end up losing everything that you have. What becomes important for you do is review your plans and check what is not going as per the plan and if at all you need to bring any kind of changes, be flexible enough to adopt and adapt to the changes.

Stagnancy in the construction business can be due to several reasons. Rise in fuel price can also affect your business in a larger way. You also got to keep a close watch on the client relationship. Many a times, it has been seen that you stop getting business from clients as they have got hooked with some new construction company. A fall in the quality of work can be one of the reasons behind the change of business. It is very crucial that you do a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and check all the possible reasons that could have led to the stagnancy in your business and once you have found the problem, waste no time in uprooting the issue once and for all.

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Becoming A Successful Entrepreneur Lies In Your Ability To Learn New Things

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The word business sounds to be so lucrative to our ear which is why we all want to own a business. There we will not have any anybody to give orders to us and can do things as it pleases us. If at all, we need to leave a bit early, we have the privilege to do that and do not have to answer anybody for that. Overall, it may give you a sense of freedom, a fresh air to breathe and live life on your own terms. Well, all this sounds so good to hear but does it happen the same way in our practical lives? Well, that is a big serious question which probably a businessman or an entrepreneur may be able to answer. If we give a thought to the fact on how easy it is to run a business, we may find ourselves thinking for hours; because it is not at all easy to run a business. A businessman before starting up a business has to deal with many things and also has to sacrifice a lot of things which he wouldn’t have to do in case he had done a normal day job.

Most importantly, he has to keep himself present to new challenges and to learn to overcome them without hurting his finances. Alternatively, just learning about his business may not be enough but he also has to know a bit of the laws of the land. In order to start a business, one needs to know the government policies of the place and what are the procedures he needs complete to procure a license. Also knowing the time it may take for him to get the license plays mighty role in his business. Thus, he needs to keep himself abreast with few things inside the business as well as outside that will keep him going all the time.

Have a role model:-  Having a role model always helps in difficult times. You might want to make a distinguished person as your role model who is your favorite. A person to whom you respect for his work and also for the kind of attitude he has towards his work. Keeping him as your role model will help you remain motivated as you may feel that if he didn’t give up in a bad situation, so won’t you. You may just stick to your basics and work harder to get through it.

Always keep yourself open to learn new things:-  This attribute is essential in almost all the industry. Employers are always in hunt of employees who know the in and out of their domain. In order to know everything about your line of work, you have to keep yourself open to learn every new thing that comes in your way. For an entrepreneur, it becomes all the more important to keep himself abreast with any small update that concerns his business. He just can’t let them go away or it might prove fatal to his business.

It’s Never Too Late To Set Up A Business In The Construction Sector

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We often wonder the right time for an individual to start a business. Is it suitable for him to start setting up his business when he is young or he should wait to gain some experience and then plunge into so that by then he has learnt the tricks of the trade and can compete with his competitors. Well, there is no thumb rule for when one should start a business. It all depends on how eager he is to establish his business, if he has enough money to go for it, can he devote his time to the business as it being new, will need a lot of his time and attention. Keeping these few things into consideration, one must take the decision of getting into a business.

If we talk precisely about the construction industry then many believe that there is no age limit to set up that industry. However, before you make your mind up to get into it, there are few questions that need to be answered. How much do you know about this business? What scale of business you want to conduct? Scale of business signifies the kind of projects you want to take. Have you chalked out a plan for your business? How will you strategize your plans as and when you move ahead in your business and if you have the right resources to flourish your business adjoining with the fact the finance required to keep it going. You got to understand the seriousness of all these questions and hunt the answers. Only when you have answers for them, you can take the next leap.

The scale of business that you want to carry is perhaps the most important and deciding point as far as setting up a business in the construction sector is concerned. I you are in your thirties and have sound knowledge of how the construction business is taken care, then you can dare to think big as you may have another 30 to 40 odd years to give to this industry. But if you start in your seventies, then it may not make much sense to put your hands in big projects. Other than that, big projects are given to guys who are experienced and have earned goodwill in this industry which one can earn by staying over a period of time. Therefore taking up small contracts should be something that a person in his 60’s or 70’s should look for.

Concurrently, this industry is a high pressure one. If you are not a person who can deliver in pressurized situations, you really can’t dream big here. People who can take pressure and deliver get more assignments. Having mere ambition may not do any good if you are not blessed with capabilities of working in pressure.

Last but not the least is your foresightedness. You got to have the capability to foresee opportunities and threats and it obviously comes with experience in this domain. Therefore, perhaps experience also matters a lot in this sector. So age is not a constraint but lack of experience is.

Are the oil prices affecting the construction industry

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The cost of heavy equipment depends a lot on the oil price which also has its impact in the construction industry. It is not necessary that if the oil prices are low, it will be a sunny day for the construction industry but ideally it always has a positive impact. The construction industry seems to make good profits when the oil prices are at its low primarily because the heavy equipment consume the same amount of fuel with limited costing to the company. We have seen that when the oil prices were high, it had a negative impact on the construction sector or in other words the construction industry were not able to afford to give any discounts to the end users.

When we relate construction industry with oil prices, we also have to consider few other dimensions and they are the ones that have a greater impact than the others. For instance, after excavating the land, the soil is supposed to be dumped at a distant location for which you need trucks. Now if the oil price is high, it will undoubtedly become expensive for the company to move the soil from one place to another. This will certainly have its impact on the industry as the construction companies will not want to incur losses by selling their products at a lower price. This was just an example. There are many other factors that are co-related with the oil prices that determines the fate of the construction domain.

There is also a flip side of fall in oil prices that can have a negative impact on the construction domain. Heavy equipment companies are in the process to manufacture equipment that consume less fuel. Now taking this new technology into consideration, we can construe that the equipment will be expensive and if the oil prices starts falling they are in no mood to product equipment that are less expensive but consumes more fuel. So the construction companies are left with no option other than to buy those expensive equipment. Other than that, we have seen that after a small correction in the oil price, it again starts rising. This means that the fall will be for a very limited time and the heavy equipment companies will not want to change their technology for a limited duration.

Fall in oil prices affect the construction industry in one more unique way. For instance, a construction company started a project when the oil prices were high but by the time it completed oil prices started falling. This actually is benefitting the companies who have started the project during the fall as they will be able to sell the product at a lower rate than the one who completed their project during the time when the oil prices were at its peak.

Other than that when the oil prices are high, it has the capability to make the entire industry sluggish. It is particularly during this time that the construction companies are not able to show huge profits. Nevertheless, fall in the oil price is mostly considered to have a positive impact on the construction industry.

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Core Advantages of Overhauling Heavy Lift Paraphernalia

Sustaining a youthful, advanced armada of heavy lift apparatuses is an excellent method for commerce. Shiny equipment with admirable work performance keep your machinists happy and help in reducing the maintenance expenditure. However, procuring novel equipment every year is not possible for most of the possessors. Purchasing expensive bulky apparatus is not always economically sensible. Reconditioning the purchased apparatus permits the construction companies owners to maintain their assets in pinnacle working state and assists in growing their fleets.

To avail the entire benefit of reconditioned apparatus, contractors should comprehend properly what overhauling involves. The opportunity of the task connected with the process can differ from one service supplier to another. There are some heavy equipment possessors who consider reconditioning as a simple technique of applying new paint and attaching tires on the equipment. Whereas, other procurers think the servicing of the factory programs pursue stringent guidelines of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). It is a notable fact that purchasing overhauled heavy equipment is not same as procuring second-hand paraphernalia. Often, the used heavy equipment buyers have to face the crisis situation where they find that the mechanism is not properly refurbished. In contrast, the overhauled paraphernalia has been titivated to compensate the consequence of attrition on second-hand bulky apparatus.

Benefits of Overhauling Heavy Lift Construction Equipment

The first and foremost point that a heavy equipment purchaser should know is that when to buy a reconditioned asset. Budget restraints generally coerce this decision. Overhauling is typically less pricey than procuring a novel one. Relying on the apparatus, a possessor can be able to overhaul two equipments for the same price as purchasing a novel one. Therefore it can be analysed that the return on expenditure is double that of a solo new asset. Here are some of the advantages of reconditioned mechanisms that you will get to know:

  • Overhauling equipment is the competent technique to develop a fleet while successfully controlling capital accounts.
  • Recondition apparatus is the best substitute of changing the fleet of good functioning order equipment.
  • The re-establishment of tier 2 and tier 3 engines of the heavy equipment is the part of overhauling procedure. This process only requires meeting the criterions of the construction equipment industry.
  • Overhauling permits the possessors to remain complaint whilst getting more utilization out of the apparatus and maximising their expenditure.
  • This overhauling technique also recognised as the green substitute for disposing the equipment. It decreases the quantity of material requires for landfills.

How to Select the Best Reconditioning Service Provider

When assessing the overhauling programs, gaze for the one that examines the weighty equipment according to the standard of OSHA and ANSI. Here in the below cited points, you will come to know the features that must be included in any reconditioned program:

  • Fibre glass hoods
  • Mirror
  • Sheaves
  • Chains and many more

The order for overhauling the equipments continues to develop. This effectual alternative to procure novel apparatus permits construction trade proprietors to execute their fleets and capital expenditures properly. As a construction business owner, you should understand your requirements and then make an apprized choice about your heavy equipment list.

 

 

 

How to Get a Job in the Construction Industry

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The construction industry is expanding all over the world. Therefore, it is quite natural that the demand for skilled professional is very high in this industry. However, it would be wrong to assume that any layman could land a job in the construction industry. It is important that you through a considerable amount of training and education so that you are eligible and skilled enough to handle the heavy equipment. Academic as well as practical expertise is required tyo get a good job in this industry. Therefore, you must acquire your certification from a proper school of some repute.

 

It is very important that you have your basic education competed if you want a job in this industry. Therefore, one of the first things that you would need is diploma certification from your high school. A course in math, English and shop could be quite useful in this regards. If you do your course on the subject of auto mechanics you may enjoy special preferences because most construction workers have the job of maintaining the equipment. You can also go for a vocation course in the private schools. Getting a job can be a lot easier with a degree from one of these schools. However, it is very important to do a background check on the reputation of the school. It is also very important to know if the school can give you training with real machines.

 

You can also learn the job with operating equipment training with the guidance of an operator. With the graduation in training, these learners may start handling heavier machines like bulldozers. It is important that you have excellent operational skills if you want to handle equipment with improved hydraulics and computerized controls. It is important that you get specialized training in order to be able to handle such equipment. Workers may have a clear understanding of the job with an apprenticeship of about four years. For every year, the apprentices would have to follow instructions of 144 hours. They would also have to go through paid training for 2000 hours. At the job, these apprentices would learn about operating machinery, procedures of operating, safe practices, first aid, using special technology and many more. With an apprenticeship, you would be able to work with a wide range of industry equipment. Therefore, the choices of jobs in this industry would also increase for you.

 

Training

Many workers learn their jobs by operating light equipment under the guidance of an experienced operator. Later, they may operate heavier equipment, such as bulldozers. Technologically advanced construction equipment with computerized controls and improved hydraulics and electronics requires greater skill to operate. Operators of such equipment may need more training and some understanding of electronics.

There are a few requirements that are to be considered after the competition of the apprenticeship:

  • A minimum age of eighteen years
  • An education of high school
  • Physical ability of working
  • A driver’s license that is valid

These are the requirements that you would need for making applications.

 

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Advice for young people starting their career in selling heavy equipment

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Selling an item is considered to be the most difficult profession in the world. Selling requires huge skill and it cannot be a profession that anybody can do. People who lack the skill to persuade others can find it extremely difficult to sell things. It would be prudent for them to look for something else as their profession as they may not be able to make it big in the selling world. People who are good salesman are often smart with their talks, appearance may not matter much but what matters a lot if the way they communicate. Therefore, communication is a must have feature in them. If you are a guy who feels timid to approach new people and put your thoughts to them, then again this is not the industry for you. Looking for some other work will make more sense.

Selling heavy equipment may be all the more difficult because you would be dealing with expensive items then. Selling an item worth thousands of dollars is quite difficult and is impossible if you are unable to show the need of the item to the person you are trying to sell. We all know that the best salesman is the one who can sell a comb to a bald man. But as a matter of fact, such kinds of salesman are really few and they will charge a fortune to give few of their selling tips. You may not even afford those tips.

Few advices that can be given to young guns who want to make a career in selling heavy equipment are as follows.

Don’t be a shy guy when it comes to introduce your product to people:-

If you are a guy who can talk smartly but is reticent then you only have to give upon shyness and talk with your client without disclosing your nervousness to them. It is not bad to be timid but not when it appears on your face, you simply lose the sale and losing the sale is definitely bad. So when you approach someone and speak on the equipment you want to sell, be confident on what you are saying. People will go on your confidence and will feel that your product is worth buying.

Be highly informed about the equipment:-

If you happen to sell equipment to a guy who is an expert himself, he may turn out to be a spoiler. He may ask you different questions pertaining to the machine that you may have not even heard of and you may just want to meeting to end. You may even have to face embarrassment as the person will make out that you do not know much about the thing you are trying to sell. Therefore, it is important that you study everything about the product before you land up to a person who knows more than you. He will at least appreciate your knowledge and that may trigger the sale.

 

Advice for young people starting their career in construction industry

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Construction industry is like any other industry where people do not want competition. It is only because if you have more people getting into this industry, the chances of the people getting projects becomes slimmer and therefore when you see a new guy making his way in, he will be welcomed with many obstacles. Creation of obstacles is obvious as others see him as another competitor and therefore tries to make things difficult for him. However, if he decides to keep his foot firm on the ground, then he may get someone who would be ready to help him with advices on how he can establish his business in the volatile market.

Few pointers one must keep in mind before he decides to set his foot in the construction domain.

Overall knowledge about the industry:-

It is absolutely not advisable to enter an industry without knowing anything about it. It is almost like entering inside a dark cave without a torch in your hand. You never know what will apprehend you next. Therefore, it will be prudent if a person works his way out and understand how the industry works and few tricks of the trade if not all. Other than this, it is very difficult to determine when you are ready for the job. You may have not know much about the domain but with the available knowledge you may feel that you have learned a lot and are now ready to take the plunge. But when you indeed take the plunge, you may find yourself in the middle of nowhere. Hence, it is very important to take time and learn things patiently. Get to know as many things as possible and ask people questions. Not everybody will be in a position to answer all your questions but you should not stop till you get your questions answered.

Try to gain some experience by working with a construction company:-

Sons and daughters of construction company owners who want to make a career in the same industry and like to carry on with the legacy that their father has left for them, they prefer working in their company and gain some experience out of it. But not everyone can be so fortunate to have born with a golden spoon in his/her mouth. Most of us have to make our own way in setting up our own business. For them, it is advisable to give few years of their life working in some construction company and learning the tricks of the trade. It takes time to learn things for which people have to patient enough. If you spend enough time and learn most of the things needed to open a company of your own, you have cleared the most difficult level.

Check your financial stability:-

While you are establishing your business in the construction industry, you just can’t ignore your financial stability. Setting up a new business requires lot of money to be invoked into it. Therefore, knowing your financial position is another important criteria that you can’t afford to miss.

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