Category Archives: construction equipment

Running a storm clean-up project using heavy equipment

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Heavy equipment is one of those inventions that have made life way easier. The different types of heavy equipment that are available in the market can take care of any kind of heavy duty work. It can construct, destruct and remove anything from anywhere, without much of a trouble.

Though storms like hurricanes, tornadoes and cyclones and even the snow storms are some of the natural forces that cannot be prevented, the damage that is caused by these can well be repaired and managed with the help of the heavy equipment.

Managing the damages:

Storms are sometimes extremely disastrous, resulting in so much of damage and financial losses that it becomes absolutely difficult to overcome the losses. What is an added trouble is that storms simply disconnect the world and this brings the livelihood to a standstill. Even after the storm has stopped, people fail to get back to the normal life to cope. This is because, the roads, the houses and everything else is affected by the storms. In such a case, heavy equipment comes in as a help to remove the debris and to construct the damaged.

  • Managing the railroad damages:

 

Railroads are one of the most important aspects of communication that is often damaged by the storms. There are some areas of the railroads, where it is absolutely difficult for the rail equipment to go in, in order to remove the debris. The nearby forest and woods often get torn apart and block the railroads. In such cases, the mulcher excavators help in removing the debris. These mulchers can mulch down the logs, stems and the huge amount of forest debris within a very short span of time.

  • Repairing roads:

 

Often roads are damaged severely after a storm. The bitumen and asphalt come out of the roads, making it absolutely impossible to drive on and also dangerous. The bulldozers, excavators and motor graders, crawlers as well as chip spreaders can manage the task within a day or two.

What needs to be mentioned here is that reaching the remote areas is a difficult task for many vehicles because of the waterlogging. However, the heavy equipment that is specially designed to manage storm damages, are capable of going through water.

  • Dumping the debris:

 

Along with removing the debris, it is also very important that you take the debris to the dumping grounds. The loaders help in this task. The loaders come in various sizes and they can carry huge amount of loads from one place to the other. You can also hire the dumping trucks for this task of carrying the debris.

Depending on the damages and the type of help that you need, you can choose the heavy equipment. The heavy equipment for storm clean-up can either be hired or purchased. You can decide whether you want to own the equipment or hire it when you need it. There are many suppliers, who offer both brand new and used heavy equipment for various purposes. Choose a good and reputed supplier.

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Heavy equipment safety meeting topics

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Safety of human resources as well as the assets of the company should be given due importance in every industry. This is perhaps one such thing that can’t be ever taken for granted because if you do so then it will always hit you back and it will hit you hard. This is the reason why many companies across several industries spend good amount of money on safety trainings and explaining its employees the importance of following those safety measures.

Industries that are considered to be risky on part of the employees should take special care towards the implementation of the safety trainings and the outcome of those trainings. Construction sector is one such business where employees are prone to accidents if they do not follow what they have been trained on the jobsite. It has been observed that the number of accidents have fallen considerably after people started taking things seriously. You have to make few things mandatory. Not everybody will like when you compel them to follow a certain routine but if it is for their good then you got to do it.

Another important part that we usually take for granted is the safety of heavy equipment. These machines are an integral part of the construction industry and their role in this sector can’t be seen to be minuscule. Therefore it is equally important for the business owner to ensure that the machines are safe both in terms of maintenance and also not falling in the hand of thieves.

It is crucial that the top notch of the companies sit for a while in a month and check the current status of heavy equipment. Are they in good order, what measures have been taken to ensure that the machines do not break down in middle of an important project and if it does is there an alternative available? These topics should be discussed in a meeting and the team present in the meeting should also come up with some form of a solution to an existing problem.

Machines are really old:-

When heavy equipment become very old they tend to have a lot of technical and maintenance issues. In a heavy equipment safety meeting, this topic should be raised. If you have heavy equipment that is being used for the last many years and if you see getting converted into a liability rather than an asset due to increase in maintenance, it should be highlighted because old machines with technical problems are in many ways not safe to use. They may stop following the instructions given by the operator and the chances of an accident thereby increase manifolds.

How frequently heavy equipment are serviced:-

This is another important topic that should be a part of the meeting. Pull the record of the last time when all the heavy equipment were serviced. Check the gaps from that date till today and raise a question if you find the gaps to be more than it should be. A clear instruction should be given to the hierarchy that heavy equipment by all means should follow regular maintenance and any deviation will be strictly dealt with.

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Heavy Equipment Lube Filters

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One of the most important components in heavy equipment is its engine and one always needs to ensure that the engine is in good shape. A construction business owner understands the importance of heavy equipment on his jobsite better than perhaps anybody else could and he will leave no stone unturned to make sure that the machine is performing at its highest utility. This is why he will change the engine oil regularly and will also check that the lube filters are in place so that it protects the engine from any oil contaminants and increase the overall performance of the machine. By installing class filters, one can also reduce the wear and can protect system failure that otherwise can happen more often. Lube filters are also used to ensure that the capacity of oil and flow is not restricted by any outer elements and the oil can flow without any hindrance on the inset and the outset of the engine.

Heavy equipment are usually at work for most of the time in a day. However, there are times when you do not require one particular machine and it lies idle. When construction equipment are idle they stand higher risk of engine break down. This happens mainly because the engine is not been working for quite a time and thus the oil is not flowing as it should have. This basically leads to contamination in the oil and then when you see the need to use the machine again, you find out that it is not working. You begin to wonder what must have gone wrong but it may never click that the machine is not functioning because it has issues with the engine. The lube filter protects the engine in such an occasion and make certain that it works at the time you need it the most. Also lube filter becomes instrumental when the heavy equipment is carrying heavy loads and ferrying it from one place to another.

The need of lube filters have been seen when the machine is required to do tasks in rough weather or harsh geographical conditions especially when it has to work on steep mountains or driving on roads that is full of dust and dirt inviting lot of external particles to make their way in the inside of the engine and thus block the flow of oil. Extreme hot weather is another big problem which can deter the functioning of the engine oil and hamper the productivity and performance of the heavy equipment. The lube filters play a pivotal role in maintaining the proper flow of the engine oil at such high temperature. Not only at high temperature but also when the temperature is down near around to zero degree, the lube filters becomes quite instrumental.

Today we have advanced lube filters that can be installed in heavy equipment. They result in reduction in the operating costs and also reduce oil usage. This means that you do not have to change the engine oil at short intervals. Construction companies are indeed spending good sum of money on advanced lube filters as they feel it is really worth paying more for the stuff that can take good care of the engine.

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How to become a successful heavy equipment salesman

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Success in any industry and in any profession comes with determination, knowledge and the zeal to work hard in that stream. People should be running after achieving this basic criteria rest follows. Some people are of the opinion that selling a thing is the most difficult job. But as a matter of fact, day in and day out we are in some way or the other selling something or the other, sometimes knowing and many times unknowingly. This means that we are constantly in the process of selling. It is just that we are not aware of it. People who are salesman experiences different kinds of scenarios with each passing day. The ones who are able to manage those situations well find themselves near to success. It is because they learn from those situations and apply it the next time they get them.

Selling heavy equipment is like any other product is full of challenges and perhaps it is a bit more difficult than the rest. There is huge demand for good machines but at the same time there is good deal of competition as well. It is not just the domestic players that you have to deal with but also the foreign players that has seen US as their potential customer. The end user has more options now and this makes your job a bit difficult. There are few things that you can do differently from the rest of the population that can make you successful in this form of the business.

Know your product well:-

Salesmen are normally sent to sell products without them knowing much about it. This can’t be expected to be done in the case of heavy equipment salesman. He/she is supposed to know his product well. When they speak to their client they need to speak sense or you just lose the deal. When you do not have answers for the questions posed to you, make a note of that and inform that you will let them know about it. Please do not speak something that you are not sure about. You never know how much the prospect knows about heavy equipment and if he/she finds that you gave him an incorrect input, you are done with him.

Sell machines that suit his/her requirement:-

The conversation between you and the prospect went successful and he/she is ready to buy a machine. Now there are 2 different types of machines that can be sold to him/her. However, one will be quite effective and the other is not. But you get more commission on the latter. Here comes your commitment towards the buyer into play. You should sell the one that suits his requirement and not the one that earns you more money.

Give correct suggestion even if it costs you a sale:-

A construction business owner at times sees himself/herself in a dilemma where he/she is required to choose a machine produced by two different companies. You as a salesman will suggest him as per his requirement even it means doing away with your brand. You may not be able to make any money at that point in time but have won the trust of the person. This will get you more business in the future.

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Aspire to become heavy equipment mechanic

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It is always advised to follow your dreams, to do that you indeed want to do. Not many people are able to recognize what they want to do and the few who does recognize are indeed the fortunate ones. It is probably those guys who taste success after success at every walk of life. Talking about heavy equipment mechanic, one can definitely pursue it as there is huge potential in this line of business. Construction industry is here to stay and so are heavy equipment companies. As long as both the industries co-exist heavy equipment mechanics will have every opportunity to earn lot of money and also see them growing in this business. For heavy equipment mechanic, they have the option to work in a workshop or get associated with a big construction company that has a fleet of heavy equipment or work as a freelancer. In both the cases the earning potential of the mechanic does not diminishes.

Ideally a young boy is motivated to become heavy equipment mechanic if his father or someone in his family is a mechanic and the boy has a very close relation with the person. It has been observed that people who have generated the interest to become heavy equipment mechanic from a tender age have someone or the other from their family working as heavy equipment mechanic which in a way has also driven their interest to the same line of business. It is because they have seen their elders doing the work from an early age they probably want to do the same. A little encouragement from the family does all the wonders for them. Get into an institution that creates competent mechanics. Study hard while you are there in the institute and try to come out with flying colors.

Once you are out of the institution the journey has just begun for you. Try to get into a workshop that deals with heavy equipment. If there is one such workshop in your family you can sneak in there or can find your way on your own. But it is in the workshop where you get most of the practical training and learn how to fix heavy equipment. You learn a lot when you work on different types of machines and also when you have an expert right next to you guiding you to do things. You tend to become a good mechanic if you can incorporate the knowledge that you have gained while learning in the institution and the practical stuffs that you have learned in the workshop.

After spending for few years in workshops and having gained some experience you can try moving into big construction houses that pays you well. If you are confident that you know your work well and you can tackle any kind of problem related to the machines then you should try to open your own workshop and work as a freelance mechanic. But it is advised that one should not work as a freelancer as long as he has worked for at least 10 years as a mechanic. 10 years of experience is needed to prove your excellence in the field.

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Buy heavy equipment from companies to get the best deal

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The different types of heavy equipments are the workhorse of construction industry. Heavy machinery and equipment is a serious business and costly too. While buying these equipment a number of factors should be considered as duration, scale, budget and their future use. The harsh construction activities leads to wear and tear, hence buying quality equipments is of utmost importance. In such cases it is good to buy the equipment from a branded company. Companies like Caterpillar Inc. sell both new and used (in running conditions) equipments. They offer good deals for the same.

Some useful tips on buying equipment from companies are as follows:

  1. There are a number of construction projects in pipeline. If the existing current equipment will not be able to complete all tasks, then additional equipment are required. While purchasing equipment in bulk one should check if they adhere to quality standards and are user friendly. They should be compatible with the worksite conditions. Such bulk purchase should be made from companies since goods can be negotiated with them.
  2. The company’s Application specialist also guides and gives suggestions/advice on operation of these machines. In addition, he provides troubleshooting to the problems faced by the customers while using these machines.
  3. Construction is an expensive business. Purchasing brand new equipment requires a lot of planning. The owner may not be able to purchase brand new machines due to economic constraints. Further, always the operators are not comfortable while using new machines embedded with latest technology. Hence, the company has to impart training to them which adds to the cost. In this case purchasing used (pre-owned) machines is helpful. One just has to ensure that all the parts are in working conditions and will not have to bear huge repair costs in future.
  4. When purchased from companies, the equipments have warranty period. If anything goes wrong with equipment during this period it will be repaired free of costs. The equipment needs to be backed by the in-house service team.
  5. Buying from companies will be economical since they offer routine inspection and guide on maintenance of the equipment. The spare parts will be also available with them.
  6. At times these companies lend their equipment to the customers for fixed time period. This practice allows the customer to get used to equipment and later purchase it.
  7. Many times these equipment are given on loan basis. One just has to pay monthly instalment till it recovers the cost.

Heavy machinery and equipment is an expensive business. The production depends on the kind and quality of equipment used. One has to ensure that these machines are bought from trusted dealer or companies so that it turns beneficial in the long run.

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Types of heavy equipment that you need to clean storm damage

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Storms can attack suddenly and at any point of time in the year. It can be caused by the pressure changes as well as due to natural climate and season changes. Whatever the cause behind the storm may be, some of these storms are extremely dangerous and they have a disastrous impact on the area that it attacks on.

You will see there are different kinds of storms. If you are from a colder region, you will get snow storms. If you live in the coastal areas, you will find the cyclones and hurricanes and tornadoes there. Whatever the type of the storm may be, you will need to make sure that you can cope with its impacts.

The difficulties that you have to face:

Usually, the storms are followed by heavy downpour and this continues for a number of days. There is waterlogging in some areas and some of the areas are flooded. Trees fall down and they often block the roads. The huts lose their roofs and wooden huts are completely smashed and broken. All these result in a huge amount of solid debris that needs to be removed from the ground.

For that there is a strong need of some of the heavy construction equipment that can perform heavy duty works without any trouble. Removing the concrete debris, woods and tree logs etc. is not an easy job. Doing these manually would take a lot of time. It will only hinder the chance of getting back to normal life within a short period of time.

Choosing the right heavy equipment:

Hence, it is a must that you choose the right heavy equipment for storm clean-up. Here is a list of all the machines, tools and heavy equipment that you would require to get rid of the solid debris caused by a storm.

  • Loaders and dump trucks:

 

These are very useful in removing any sort of solid debris like concrete, wood and rubbish, including dust and dirt that might be deposited in any region as a consequence of storm.

  • Snowplough:

 

This is the heavy equipment that is used specifically for the purpose of removing snow. Regardless of how thick or high the snow might have deposited, the snow plough can easily remove that from the roads as well as the sidewalks.

  • Loaders with grapples:

 

These are very useful for removing huge and long logs. These loaders come with grapples that help in lifting long and heavy elements. Tree logs can be easily removed with the help of these.

  • Excavator mulchers:

 

One of the most interesting and useful heavy equipment is the excavator mulcher. It comes with unique machine or tool that has very sharp blades and can be used for removing the fallen trees.

These are just some of the most important heavy construction equipment that you need to have after a storm. The best part of the heavy equipment is that you can hire them or own them. The storm cleaning service companies have these machines and tools. Hence, it becomes quite easy to clean the debris after a storm.

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Never lose your heart after any unsuccessful sale

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The thought of having an unsuccessful sale can leave you with a bitter heart and there are higher chances that you may feel de-motivated. Well, that is quite evident to happen but will that make you a better salesman in any fashion? The answer to this is a clear NO. Unsuccessful sale in no way should be taken negatively. It does come with a sad feeling but also with some lessons attached to it. You need to figure out what it is teaching you in particular. Why the sale has gone unsuccessful and what you did wrong that the prospect said No to you.

Once you have figured out the reasons you need to work on it and try it again the next time and try your best to give it the best shot. You may be unsuccessful for the first few times but not always. It is just that you need to realize where you have been doing wrong and once you have been able to figure that out work hard to get it corrected. It is just a matter of time that things will change for good and you will find yourself in a comfortable zone.

Heavy equipment salesmen have a real hard time selling machines. Heavy equipment are highly expensive commodity and not many can buy them as long as they do not see a very strong reason to buy. They should see a strong need to buy heavy equipment and this need should be first felt by the salesman. The construction business owner may be too busy operating his/her business and may not get enough time to sit and analyze the immediate requirement of his business. He/she will probably want someone to guide him/her in that way. You can prove to be a great asset to him/her if you can figure out his/her heavy equipment requirements. He/she will appreciate your effort that you have shown and will buy a couple of machines from you.

Not just the business requirements, at times a salesman also need to work on the financial standing of the company. If the company is financially sound and has ample of projects in hand, it means that they will not have much of an issue to finance the machines. But normally the case is different. You will encounter businesses that are financially crunched and if you can help them get a loan you can have just bag the deal for yourself.

This is where you should be paying the maximum focus on and not on getting de-motivated. Negative emotions should not have a place in your life. You can do wonders if you think right and have the self belief to conquer any challenge. A salesman in particular needs these qualities the most. Rest is nothing but strategizing your flow of work. Increase your client base by meeting as many people as you can and leave an impression on their minds. Not every sale can be a successful one but you can turn every meeting a successful one. That is entirely up to you.

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Mid-sized heavy equipment are highly beneficial in the construction business

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The heavy equipment industry includes machines such as the backhoe, crane, wheel loader, grader, forklift, bulldozer, tractor pulled scrapers and excavators. These are the workhorses of any construction industry and they make the job easy and quicker. Due to the increased competition these are offered as superior products to the users in construction industry. They are embedded with new technologies for increased safety, comfort, and reliability.

This equipment is available in various sizes as mini, midi and large. Depending on the nature and type of construction work, suitable size is chosen by the commercial user. Selection of right type and size of equipment affects the time and effort and productivity of the project. Hence, on site managers and construction workers must be familiar with features of each equipment.

Some of the factors that affect the selection of an equipment

  • Size of a job: the larger the job requires large equipment.
  • Job to be completed in less time: requires mini or midi sized equipment.
  • Space constraints: less space can allow only mini or medium sized equipment to operate
  • Speed of the machine: smaller the machine it can move faster.
  • Soil, weather and temperature conditions affect the operation of equipment.

 

Today a great amount of construction activity is confined to small places. For such construction activity medium sized equipment are used. Also they are many medium sized construction firms which prefer mid-sized heavy equipment. They are less expensive, quick to move in less space, have better fuel efficiency and not very high on maintenance costs. The operators can operate these machines with less difficulty as compared to the large sized machines. This enables to complete work quickly by meeting the deadlines. Thus medium sized equipment are highly beneficial.

 

Although this being the case one should choose appropriate size of heavy equipment depending on the nature of work.

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Sell heavy equipment on the basis of customer’s needs

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Selling is indeed an art but it loses its authenticity when you sell things just for the sake of selling. Most of the times customers do not know if a particular product can be helpful to them and perhaps this is the reason why there is a need of a salesman to pitch the product and explain its importance in the customer’s life. However, the fact of the matter is the salesman should have the ability and patience to understand the needs of the customer and only if he finds his product to satisfy the needs, he should go ahead and pitch it to the customer. Well what is happening in today’s time is exactly contrary to what a salesman should be doing. He is so pressurized to achieve his targets that he no longer cares of the ethics that he should follow and sell the product to anybody irrespective of whether he needs it or no.

In case of selling heavy equipment, the salesman may find it to be extremely difficult to sell something that is not going to meet the requirement of the customer. People will simply not buy something that they do not see any use to their business. It makes no sense to invest good chunk of money in buying a machine that has absolutely no practical applicability. In such a situation, the salesman can’t afford to play around with his customer as there are high chances of it getting backfired at him.

So let us discuss what should a salesman do when it comes to selling high priced heavy equipment.

Understanding the need is the key:-

A salesman need not do an in-depth analysis of the project of his customer but can roughly go through the kind of projects he has in hand and the type of heavy equipment he has put to use. By that he will get to know if he can be of any use to his customer by providing something out of the blue. After knowing about the heavy equipment being used in the project, he can pitch in his products which are better than the one that’s being already incorporated.

Show him a fair comparison:-

This requires a bit of hard work as he needs to gather information about the machines the customer is using and the one he has to sell him. In order to do a thorough comparison of both the machines, he needs to know the salient features of the one being used and compare it with his product. Put those points in a “PowerPoint Presentation” and show it to the customer. If your presentation makes sense to him, he will go for it.

Process the necessary paperwork:-

Once the customer gives his nod to buy the machine, you got to do all the paperwork and if needed also assist him with getting a loan at the lowest possible interest rate. Also provide him with a after sales number where he can reach to solve the issues in case he has one.

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