Category Archives: construction equipment

Safety awareness is instrumental across all levels of employees

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Construction laborers are not only engaged in one of the most arduous tasks but also one of the most risky works and their safety should be at top priority to the construction company. They can’t play around with their lives thinking to save some money by not providing them with the safety accessories. Construction companies in US are kept a keen watch by the body who is concerned about the safety of the workers. If these companies flout the law they will be penalized heavily and legal process will also be followed against the company. Companies ideally would not want to go through all this and therefore ensure that they provide their employees with all the necessary safety stuffs and minimize any untoward incidents at the workplace. Now other than providing basic safety infrastructure there is one more thing that is perhaps more important. It is to let the employees know the importance of the safety infrastructure and why they have to wear them all the time they are inside the jobsite.

All employees should understand the importance of safety:-

Before explaining the employees about the safety infrastructure you have for them, it is imperative that you explain them the need to use those accessories. They might be accustomed to a particular way of working and if you introduce something new to them, it may take time for them to acquaint with it. Some may not even want to use it as they may take that as a hindrance to their job. For instance, if you ask your operator to wear some special boots which is a bit heavy but will keep his feet safe he may initially not like to do so unless he is informed how the boots will protect his feet. This awareness needs to be imparted to different section of employees. They need to be informed why they have to wear the safety gears and gadgets. Some may already know about it but there may be few who may not. A collective training in this regard will be very helpful not only from the point of view of the employee but also from the perspective of the construction company.

Wearing of safety gears should be made mandatory:-

Nobody wants things to be shoved down their throat but there are few things which should be mandatory for the betterment of the employees. Wearing safety gears is one of them. The company should appoint few men who are working in supervisory roles to monitor if people doing perilous tasks are following all the safety parameters. If not they can instruct them to wear the gears first and then perform the task. Employees may feel a bit of inconvenience first but it is essential for his safety.

Safety training should be conducted once in three months:-

Safety trainings should be conducted once in three months and all the employees of the construction company right across all the levels should be part of this training. It helps in learning something new every time you attend one and also gets updated of new safety measures that the company is taking for its employees.

Related articles across the web

Stand out in the crowd in the Construction Business

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

You be in whatever form of business, you would always expect yourself to do something different that will set you aside from the rest of the crowd. Being with the crowd will get you success but you may probably not have the satisfaction from your business which is more important if you are the one who has taken the pain to establish it in the first place. If you get no satisfaction from what you do, it is better that you stop doing that and start working with something that makes you feel important in your eyes. Running a construction business like all others do might become a bit monotonous and if you want to make a difference in this industry then all you need is to see yourself standing out from the crowd. This does not imply that you do not belong to the group. It is just that you think differently than the rest of the folks and that is what is needed to achieve success in this form of an industry.

Be as innovative as you can:-

Innovation is the key to success in any business. You have to keep yourself busy in thinking when you are not doing anything. Remember, not doing anything does not mean you are doing nothing. You can think on what more you can do to make things work for you. Try to foresee situations and take necessary measures to tackle them right from the beginning. Think of something creative that you can apply in your business and that nobody else have thought about or have ever dared to do. Innovation is all about trying new things out that others may find it to be little risky or may feel that it is not going to make a difference. If you feel that it is going to work for you, you should take the leap. You may come across people who will try to intimidate you by showing the negative sides of your idea but you know your idea better than anybody else does and you should ensure that you put it across to bring a difference in your business.

Be ethical and honest to your client:-

Honesty has now become a virtue. Not everybody has it and only few good men hold their heads high because they know that they have been honest all their lives. Maintain certain ethics and values for your company and ensure that everybody follows them right from the core of their hearts. This actually sends a message to your as well as other clients about your way of working. They indeed want to work with people who are honest with their work and maintain certain standard at all levels. At times, you may have to pay the price for being honest but that will be too less as compared to guys who aren’t with their work or with their clients. Slowly and steadily, you will see yourself acquiring more businesses just because you chose to be ethical.

 

Digging the dirt with used heavy construction equipment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

It has been seen that people belonging to the construction sector are mostly confused when it comes to putting new heavy equipment or a used one to task. It is quite obvious that the cost of the machine plays an important role for them to determine which one to go for. The cost of brand new heavy equipment will be undoubtedly expensive for which the business owner may have to take a loan from the bank. This means that he has invited a recurring expense to his business which if he fails to repay, the heavy equipment will be repossessed by the banks. So it is advisable that as long as you are not completely sure that you can pay the due in time, you should stay away from taking a loan. So the next viable solution is to go for a used one.

It makes ample sense to use second hand heavy equipment for digging the dirt in the construction site. So when we talk about second hand heavy equipment, it does not mean that you should be using a decade old machine. You should try to get something which is perhaps a couple of years old or for that matter a 5 year old machine will still suffice your business requirements. The one thing that you should be careful is about its regular maintenance. Since it is an old one, you have to ensure that the machine is regularly washed and oiled. This will only increase the life of the machine and will serve you for long.

Some of the dirt digging heavy equipment are excavators, backhoe loaders and to a larger extent graders also does the work quite efficiently for you. So buying these kinds of heavy equipment should be your priority. Getting banks loans on used heavy equipment also becomes easy as you do not have to go through a lot of documentation process. Since the loan amount will be fairly low, the financial institution will happily grant you loan. However, you still need to have a good credit rating to avoid any complexities while getting your loan approved. Just in case you have managed to allocate some capital to fund your need to buy heavy equipment, you can channelize those funds by buying used machines. As you are getting it at a lower price, it should fit your budget.

Repossessed heavy equipment are also used machines which are sold at a dirt cheap price. You got to identify the dirt digging equipment that is getting auctioned and place your bid to get the stuff. Experienced operators will be more comfortable working with older dirt digging heavy equipment as they must have worked on such machines before, so it will be like driving an old car.

Before you go ahead to buy a dirt digging heavy construction equipment, check if the machine is in order. You may not want to end up buying a messy one which will give you numerous technical issues. Get it checked by a mechanic first and if he feels that the machine is worth the price, you can go for it.

 

 

 

 

Related articles across the web

Buying water trucks

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Summer has created a furor amongst everyone and right across all the states in the US. People are finding it hard to tackle the heat and many are leaving for a short vacation to places where they can find the weather to be a bit cold. Well people can manage to move to cold places but not the industry. There are businesses that can be done at its present location. You can’t complete them remotely. For instance, people who are connected with the construction industry have to stay at the jobsite and ensure that the work is done. These set of people can’t move to a colder destination to take care of their business. They have to manage their stuff by remaining right there on the spot. So as far as the construction business is concerned during the summer the jobsite becomes hotter and in order to get it mild, the only solution is to continuously spray water on the ground. By applying that method, one can manage to tackle the problem of dust as well as can also keep the heat level under control.

The above method is not only applicable in the construction jobsite but also largely relevant in a mining site. It is to be believed that the temperature in a mining jobsite is relatively hotter than the construction site and therefore the use of water trucks to spray water is more needed in a mining jobsite. This very need of cooling down the site temperature has raised the demand for water trucks and which is why heavy equipment companies are in the mode of manufacturing water trucks. Though the demand of these trucks goes sky rocketing during the summer, it also does decent amount of business during other seasons. Since it is widely used to keep dust under control and keep many air-borne ailments at bay, it has therefore become a widely accepted tool for dust management.

Water trucks are not as expensive as you get other heavy equipment. You may find that well in your budget. For new companies who have just established their business and may not have allocated enough resources for buying water truck can go for other mediums to procure one. They can go for the ones that have been repossessed by banks and later sells them at an unexpectedly lower price or if they know someone who is interested in getting rid of their old water truck which is still functioning properly, they can bargain and get it at a good price. So buying a water truck should not be a problem for those who really want to counter the issue of excessive dirt floating in the air and rising temperature level in the jobsite.

Bank loans are also easily provided just in case you see that you are short of finance and need some sort of financial assistance. All you need to do is approach the bank with whom you have been transacting for a while and check if they can provide you a loan with a lower interest rate.

Related articles across the web

What’s Possible by using Cat Link Technologies

By Craig E. Cutting which is a Construction Technology Application Consultant for Caterpillar Inc.  (Guest Post)

The amount of data that construction machines produce due to advances in technology can be overwhelming for fleet managers who don’t have the tools in place to analyze it. Hundreds of onboard sensors and processors spit out massive amounts of data, and if you don’t have your operation streamlined, critical data points can get lost or simply overlooked. Data is wirelessly transmitted from your machines communicating information such as the location, status, fuel consumption and idle time of your equipment. Viewing this real-time data, project managers can make timely, fact-based decisions to boost productivity and reduce costs.

 

Cat LINK, a part of Cat Connect Technology, includes two key components— Cat® Product LinkTM and VisionLink®. Product Link is the hardware component of the technology and VisionLink is the software. Product Link grabs data from machine sensors and control systems and transmits it to VisionLink, which lets you view the data on any web-enabled device and use it to make quick, informed business decisions.

 

The benefits of using technology like Cat LINK stretch across all your business operations, but some of the quick highlights include:

 

  1. Controlling your fuel costs

Fuel consumption information is some of the most valuable information you can collect and use. Some industry experts say it’s not unusual for idle time to represent as much as 50 percent of total running time. Tracking and reducing idle time can have an immediate payback in reduced fuel costs.

If fuel consumption goes up suddenly—and your operator’s task hasn’t changed—it’s a signal that something else needs attention. Here are just some of the problems fuel data can help you uncover before they result in unwanted maintenance or repairs and increased operating costs:

 

  • Excessive idle time
  • Dirty fuel injectors
  • Plugged air filters
  • Contaminated fuel filters
  • Defective sensors
  • Faulty Engine Control Module
  • Worn piston rings or leaky valves
  • Slipping clutch or transmission
  • Improper lube oil viscosity
  • Undersized machine, bucket or work tool
  • Low tire pressure or worn tires
  • Aggressive or untrained operator

 

  1. Increasing utilization by studying when equipment is not being used

It’s hard to see patterns when you have multiple worksites or equipment working in different locations. With the data in front of you, you can look for alternative uses of equipment—any other function it could serve to generate revenue. Your information may reveal that trucks sit idling too long, burning fuel just to be loaded. By analyzing the data you may find enough idle time exists that you can park one of the trucks. This eliminates the fuel cost of that truck and makes cycle times more efficient for the remaining trucks. Another quick win idea would be using your trucks to contract haul during non-working periods.

 

  1. Using data to manage maintenance intervals

Analyzing your data can help you increase the efficiency and cost effectiveness of your maintenance schedules. It may surprise you how long you can effectively stretch maintenance intervals, saving time and money.

 

  1. Creating a fast start team

The information you gather from your machines has the ability to positively impact many areas of your worksites from utilization and uptime to operating costs and billing. Using a cross-functional team to review this information clarifies analyses and recommendations, which can’t help but result in better decisions. It also means that any hurdles can be overcome by the team and not sit completely with a single person.

 

Virtual Site Solutions, a joint venture between Caterpillar and Trimble, is also in the midst of updating VisionLink throughout 2016, making it faster and easier to use, especially with a smartphone or tablet. Some of the improvements users can expect to see soon include:

 

An even better mobile experience. Get ready for quick load times, uncluttered screens, easy-to-read content, good-sized buttons and simple navigation. You’ll have a great user experience whether you’re logging in with a phone, tablet, notebook or desktop.

 

Task-based apps. We’re breaking VisionLink down into smaller applications to better align with your everyday tasks. This will make the software easier to use and faster to update.

 

Turn down the fire hose. Drowning in data? You’ll have the option to reduce the amount of information you see. So if you only need fuel burn and machine location data to do your job, that’s what you’ll get. Someone else may need idle time and run time info, or hours to the next PM. The point is, we’re making it easy to access the data you actually need to do your job; nothing more, nothing less.

 

You’re in control, but we can help. Lots of people want to configure this software themselves, so we’re making it easy to do that. But if you’re not comfortable monkeying with VisionLink, start with the default settings. If they’re not right for you, your dealer can help with changes.

 

Simple dashboard. Everybody loves a dashboard – one convenient place to get a quick look at the key performance indicators you want to monitor. You’ll appreciate the new dashboard in VisionLink. And as you might expect, it will be easy for you to set things up exactly the way you want them.

 

At the end of the day, asset technologies are beneficial because they are designed to help operators solve issues and work more efficiently to minimize service costs and increase uptime. Having the data is important, but utilizing it correctly is what really makes the difference. Technologies like Cat LINK help you do more work at a lower total cost so you can build an even stronger business.

Guest Post

By Craig E. Cutting

Construction Technology Applications Consultant

Caterpillar Inc.

Insure your heavy equipment before it gets too late

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Things have become quite expensive and losing something important and of high cost can put you in a big problem. This is why we are often advised by our financial advisors to insure our things before it gets too late. When you insure your important belongings the insurance company will pay you the coverage amount and you can use that money to buy a new one. We have the fear in our mind that our stuffs might get stolen or if it meets with an accident you will no longer be able to use it. This is perhaps the primary reason why you insure your stuffs.

For the same reason you also insure your home, your vehicle and there are some people who also insure their body parts because they consider it as the tool to earn money. Similarly in the construction business the owner of the business must insure his belongings too and the most important part of his belongings is the heavy equipment. Heavy equipment is expensive and also goes through arduous as well as perilous task which increases the incidents of minor or major accidents happening on the site. Being such an expensive item, if it suffers a major breakdown or needs to be replaced or gets stolen, the construction company will find it hard to get a new one without getting money from the insurance company. Apparently, this will also have a drastic impact on the progress of his project. This is why it is so important to get your heavy equipment insured with a good insurance company.

Ideally when you buy heavy equipment from a dealer or directly from the company, you are advised to insure the machine with one of the insurance company with whom they have their tie-ups. You have the option to either go with the insurance company that they have advised you or go for an independent company. So if you tell them of your choice of going with an independent insurance company it becomes your responsibility to ensure that you insure the machine with the insurance company of your choice.

Some insurance companies charge high premiums:-

Different insurance companies charge different amount of premiums. Some may be high and some may fit your budget. But the ones that charge high from you may also offer you few other services that a company with lower premium may not offer. So before you take an insurance cover for your heavy equipment, it is imperative that you read their policy related documents and understand the intricacies well. This will allow you to take the best call for your machine. There are some companies who charges nominal premiums but offer excellent coverage. So be wise and do good research before you pick up from the lot.

Go for companies that offer coverage on replacement cost:-

When you insure your heavy equipment on replacement cost basis, the insurance company will provide you the money without discounting the depreciation. They will give the amount on the basis of the coverage you have taken and not on actual cost basis. It makes more sense to go with a policy that has replacement cost and not actual cost.

Website is the face of the company in today’s digital world

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Any form of business in today’s world needs instant recognition. If only people knows about the existence of your company that you will start getting more and more businesses from them and in order to make that a reality, you need to first have a website. A website gives sort of an identity to the company. Here you can write a lot about your company which you will not be able to do in any other forum. Be it a contractor or any construction or heavy equipment company, these days it is a must for all to have a website of their own. It also acts like an address of information to the world. Anybody can access the things that you want them to know about your business on your website. All they have to do is just key-in your site’s address correctly on the browser and seek all that you have for them.

It gives recognition to your company:-

Imagine that yours is a start-up company and not many in your circle know about your business. You basically have two ways to spread the word. The first is through advertisement which could be of any form and the next is through word of mouth. However, now we have something more advanced to express your business to a larger section of the society and that is by inputting all the information on your website. People after visiting your website will start knowing about your company. In a way, it gives your business the recognition that it has always wanted.

It becomes the face of the company:-

Your website will speak for your company. Therefore if it is well maintained and up to date, it speaks a lot about how serious you are with your business. People visiting your website should be able to comprehend the stuffs that you are dealing in by just having a glance at it. They should understand the message the website is trying to put across to the public at large. You should elaborate about your work and your achievements in the website. The current projects and the one that you are expected to begin working should be posted there for everybody to see.

Put the information at proper places:-

Giving out information about your business on your website is not all that you should be bothered about. It is rather more important to see that the information is put in the right place. There will be several tabs in your website. You can make use of those tabs and name them according to the data you are putting in there. It generally means that the information should be well synchronized with the tabs so that the viewer does not have spent more time in searching for the detail that he wishes to know. Your website should be like 1+1=2. Nobody have to crack their brains to get that.

Construction companies are largely dependent on their websites and they give due importance to it for the sake of their business.

Buy affordable second hand heavy equipment sold by dealers

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

If you are a person who wants to stay loyal to a brand and do not want to switch amongst manufacturing companies then you probably have to pay a price for it. But if you are not even willing to pay the price, then perhaps you do not have more options available. However, when it comes to heavy equipment it seems that now you have options. Heavy equipment have always been an expensive item even if it is decade old and small construction companies as well as contractors find it difficult to buy them directly from the manufacturers. This has also lead to a fall in the sales figure but there is another reason which is playing an important role to the sharp decrease in the sales volume and that is people are getting attracted towards second hand heavy equipment and there are dealers who are providing the brand that people want at dirt cheap prices.

So invariably now the dealers are making good chunk of money in a legal business. Though it is a loss for the mainstream heavy equipment companies but certainly a big gain for the small time dealers who predominantly deal with selling second hand construction machines and sees it as a growing business all throughout. Likewise, it has not only attracted the small construction companies but also the mid-sized ones as they all are been buying their stuffs from these dealers. So when the buyers do not see the mainstream heavy equipment manufacturing companies as the only option, these companies will have to work out things that save them from wrapping up their businesses. In fact, some companies have even winded up their businesses from few locations which is a clear indication that people are attuned to buy less expensive machines.

In terms of quality, they are not bad either. These dealers have connections with workshops that work on the old machines and make it look new. They also change the parts that do not work and ensure that they give a new life to the equipment. The cost of repairing a machine is not that high. So they only need to ensure that they put the things in place and make it ready to work. There are few agencies involved in this process. The first is the one who buys the old heavy equipment from the original owner. He gives it to the workshop who brings it back in shape and then it eventually goes to the dealer who sells it to another buyer. More often the agency who buys the machine from the first owner and the dealer are the same. They only need to have good connections with workshops where the heavy equipment are repaired and painted and rest is simple.

The advantage for buyers is that they can buy heavy equipment of any brand at a cheaper price and for guys who are brand loyal, they can manage to buy machines of their brand which is otherwise so expensive that it becomes out of their reach.

How to level the land using a grader

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

For a construction activity to begin on a site, it is very important that you have the site leveled so that when the heavy equipment moves on the roads, they do not feel the unwanted jerks and bumps. The work of a heavy equipment operator is never so easy and when you do not have the land leveled it causes all the more trouble to the person working inside the cabin of the machine. He is just not able to position himself properly and this might have some serious implication on his work. It is therefore very crucial to have the ground at a same level so that it makes working for every individual safe and hassle free. Now the machine that can do the work for the construction laborers as well as for the operators is nothing else but a grader.

Generally, a grader is made up of 3 axles. The first axle is located with the engine and on top of the cabin, the second axle is at the front end of the machine and the third one is located at the rear end. It also has a blade in between which does most of the cutting work. So the operator who will be working with the machine needs to check if the blade is sharp enough to do the job and once he is sure about its efficiency, he can begin with grading the land. When we talk about grading it means removing the unwanted substance which is the reason to bumpy roads. So the work of the grader is to cut lose those unwanted substance which can then be disposed in the dump yard truck. A grader is also used to set native soil foundation pads which helps to finish grading quickly before large buildings could be constructed.

Since not all lands are the same. In the same way we can’t use just one type of grader. Graders are of many types but with the basic function to weed out anything and everything that comes in its way. We will normally see a grader with a blade in between but now we can also find graders without blades. Instead of a blade, they have a fork front which becomes fruitful to knock down the hard substance that is quite solidly attached to the ground. The fork fronts of the grader are of different sizes and it also largely depends upon the kind of land it has to work on. If the land is rock solid and quite vast, then the bigger size will be brought to use but if it is for a small place with not much to cut then perhaps the smaller one can do the trick.

The blade of the grader is not only restricted to cutting process but is also used for spreading and leveling. You can flatten a surface if you do not spread soil over it and it sounds absolutely insane for someone to use another machine for spreading soil. Therefore we have the grader taking care of this part of the work.

Related articles across the web

Selling heavy equipment – Must to have a mentor

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

We all want to excel in our career and lead a prosperous life and for that we try and do everything under the sun to make that happen. One such profession where you need not be ultra-qualified is being a salesman. However, that does not imply that anybody can become a good salesman. It requires lot of hard work and determination without which it will be futile to dream of a prosperous life. Now when we are talking about sales, we are dealing with a difficult chapter. When you are into selling something, you are winning someone’s trust first and then selling him the product. This also means that if in any case the product goes faulty, the person will lose his trust from you for eternity.

Therefore it is important that you sell the right stuff to the right person. But when you are a beginner you do not know how to deal with situations and how to crack a deal. This is where the need of a mentor surfaces. Ideally, you be a part of any industry, the need of a mentor is always required there but it is probably more needed in the profession of sale because you are not only dealing with the reputation of the company but also with the trust of people and you just can’t allow that to go for a toss.

For people who are selling heavy equipment, the need of a mentor increases in their case. One can just imagine the situation of a newbie who after graduating gets into selling heavy equipment about which he knows nothing. He must be having nightmares to come to office every day and may even think of moving to some other job or some other industry. Well for people like these, there must a guy who will guide them with the things he is supposed to do and the things he should stay out of. Since he will be completely new to this environment, he should first meet his mentor before his starts working for the day. No wonder his mentor will fill him up with positivity and will try to clear any hurdles that he must have experienced during the sale.

Selling heavy equipment may not be as simple as selling some financial product but it is also not a very difficult job. It just depends on how well you take it and the kind of support you get from your mentor. You should be sharing possibly everything pertaining to the job with him. Right from meeting the client to the kind of questions that were asked to you by the client and also the answers you gave should be said to the mentor. By that he will judge the areas where you are lacking and will give necessary advices to work on. You should take them positively and hone your skills further. It takes time to become a good heavy equipment salesman but with the help of your mentor, you can do it without much effort.