Category Archives: construction equipment

How to choose the right Heavy Equipment for Storm Clean-up

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Climate is not in human control and natural calamities can strike in at any point, without any prior indication. However, nowadays, due to technological advancements, weather and climate changes can be predicted well in advance, and this gives us some scope for prevention or at least precaution. But, in front of huge natural calamities like tornado, hurricane and other storms, there is nothing that we could do.

Damages are also huge as caused by these storms. Not just these cyclones and tornadoes, but the snow storm can also cause great disaster. Even earthquakes can strike in anytime and the results are disastrous. What is a common consequence of any of any of these natural disasters is the huge amount of debris that needs to be cleared, after the calamity.

Heavy Equipment in Cleaning Up:

From uprooted trees to broken down buildings, roofs, damaged roads with concrete and mud, dust and dirt everywhere, it becomes absolutely difficult to get back to the daily lifestyle. Even after a snow storm, the amount of snow that is deposited on the roads, block the roads completely. Hence, to clean them up, the heavy equipment plays a huge role.

Types of Heavy Equipment Needed for Storm clean-up:

The damages that take place after a storm vary to a great extent. The houses, concrete buildings, might structures and even the huts collapse. In case of the roads, they are severely damaged by the amount of downpour that follows the storm. The pitch, bitumen and asphalt, come out of the road. The trees are uprooted and they block the roads and this makes it even more difficult to communicate. To clean the debris and to make everything just as usual, there are a few types of heavy equipment that must be needed. These would include –

  • Excavators
  • Track loaders
  • Dozers
  • Cranes
  • Wheel loaders
  • Backhoes
  • Dump trucks.

Each of these would serve a special purpose while performing the cleaning task after storm damage.

Choosing the right equipment:

Now that you have known about the different types of heavy equipment that you need to choose in order to clean-up the storm damages and debris, you must know the factors that you need to consider while buying or hiring them.

  • Type of damage:

This is the most important factor that you must consider. The type of damage that has been caused by the storm is the most important thing. You need to decide, whether you need to clean the snow or remove the tree logs or clean the debris.

  • Own or hire:

The next most important thing is whether you need to own the heavy equipment or hire them. If the storm attacks your area frequently, you can choose to own the equipment. Or else, you can even hire them as you require. Owning might charge you high initially, but it will reduce the hiring cost every time. You can even rent it out, when you are not in need of it. It will be an added income to you.

Since the use of the heavy equipment is diverse and versatile, they are always in demand.

Only the best salesman can sell heavy equipment

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We all are in some way or the other are into the profession of a salesman. Some try to sell their qualification to get a job, some try to sell their capabilities to get more business. In a way we all are into the selling mode and still many of us feel that selling is not our cup of tea. Well, selling a specific product may require some sort of skill and perhaps this is the reason why many get jittery when they know that their work demands them to sell stuffs. Frankly, selling a product can prove to be quite stressful for a person who does not have the knack to sell things. In the end he might get frustrated when he finds that he is failing to sell the stuff and that might lead him to quit the job. Therefore, before you end up in a profession where you need to sell products check how good you are in convincing people. If you are really good at it then perhaps you should pursue it or else simply do not take it up.

When it is about picking salesman to sell heavy equipment, the heavy equipment companies prefer to have the best men with them. They understand the level of stress a salesman will have to go through while selling expensive items. This is reason they want to employ salesman who has experience in selling heavy equipment and also enjoys his work. It is quite natural that a person who enjoys doing what he does will excel in his career. No matter how difficult the work is, as long as he is content with what he is doing there is nothing that can work as a barrier for him.

Selling heavy equipment is an art:-

We all know that selling products is an art and so is selling heavy equipment. As everything has an extent, it is believed that selling heavy equipment falls in the upper category when it is related to the art of selling. The reason is that it is an expensive product and people specific to an industry will want to buy it. This means that the salesman can’t sell his product to everybody. He has a specific market where he can move around and he will also find many other salesmen within that limited market who are also selling similar products like him. This is why if he is really excellent in the art of selling, then he may find his place in selling heavy equipment.

Know your products well:-

In order to become one of the best salesmen in the heavy equipment industry, it is crucial that you should know your products well. Do as much research as you can on the machine that you are selling. Knowing heavy equipment is not an easy thing. It requires tremendous effort on the part of the people who are involved with the machine. Right from an operator to the guy who gives signal to the salesman who sells the machine, they all need to know as much as they can. If you know your product well then perhaps you will not find much obstacle in your journey to become an accomplished heavy equipment salesman.

Steps taken to prevent early ageing of heavy equipment

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There is no denying the fact that the heavy construction equipment come for quite an expensive price. However, they are very vulnerable to damage and premature ageing, especially when they are mishandled and not taken care of properly. Hence, if you want to make sure that there is no early ageing of heavy equipment, you need to take some preventive steps.

  • Add and Test Lubricants Frequently:

Lubricants play a very important role in any machinery function. It reduces the friction. When you use the good quality lubricants, it will work as a maintenance for the equipment and increase its life-span and performance.

You must also be careful about checking the oil and grease deposition on the pistons of your heavy equipment machinery. Always follow the recommendations and guidelines regarding the choice of lubricant.

  • Keep the Heavy Equipment Clean:

One of the most important steps that you need to take in order to increase the life of the heavy equipment and prevent its ageing is to keep it clean. The heavy construction equipment almost always works in a dusty and dirty environment, being exposed to mud, concrete, cement etc. these need to be cleaned off properly. Otherwise, it can deposit on the equipment or the machinery and make it weary. The machinery might be jammed and stop working.

  • Check for Signs of Wear:

What makes it easy to maintain the health and condition of your heavy equipment is that it will give you signs of wear. You should be careful about –

  • Any sort of vibration that comes from belts and gears
  • Any sort of sudden and high temperature increase
  • Any sort of shock in the machinery.

These can be the result of poor alignment, poor operating technique and poor use of lubrication. As soon as you experience any of these, you need to take special care of the equipment and get rid of these problems as soon as possible. What most people make the mistake about is that they continue using the equipment in that condition, until it completely stops working. And that is too late for the equipment to be saved.

  • Take for Regular Servicing:

Just as the private vehicles and commercial vehicles need maintenance and service for better performance, it is also important for the heavy equipment and construction machinery to be taken for service. Servicing will make sure that the machinery is cleaned, lubrication is proper and every single part of the equipment is in perfect working condition.

When you take the heavy equipment for service, they will take care of the –

  • Power transmission
  • Pulleys and V-belts
  • Seals, bearings, gaskets and other friction materials
  • Do a torque check on the bolts?

These are just a few of the many maintenance services that they will run.

  • Always have Trained Professionals:

The last but not least important step that every heavy equipment owner must be careful about is that only trained operators run the equipment. It is because; trained operators would know how to run the equipment and when to report a problem. This is crucial for the life of the machine and for preventing it from early ageing.

Buy and sell heavy equipment online

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E-commerce has evolved majestically during the last 2 decades. Almost every company in today’s time is in some way or the other engaged in the online business. It means they either buy or sell their products online and this being their core business they tend to make good money from it. Probably a couple of decades ago, nobody must have thought that the E-commerce business will become such a big thing in the global market. However, now we are all in some way or the other are connected to it. We use all sorts of applications to buy and sell things online and this has been the trend of the day it seems. Taking this trend as the opportunity, the owners of heavy equipment have also plunged into the business and now want to sell heavy machines online. The buyers also prefer to buy it from an internet platform.

Connects you quickly to a lot of prospects:-

When you use an online platform to sell heavy equipment you are exposed to a lot of people who have similar needs for their business. They check your listing and if they find the machine valuable for their business they buy it online. The payment is also done through an internet gateway and once the seller receives the money, the item is shipped across. Unlike the conventional method where you do not get much exposure and hardly anybody get to know if you are selling a machine, the online platform just works the way you want it to. Remember that you are also exposed to international businesses and you should make it very clear on your listing if you are ready to ship the machine internationally. A seller needs to follow a lot of legal process to ship the item outside US. So before you take the call to go international, make sure that you are prepared to deal with the government procedures.

Buyers get multiple options:-

The buyers in turn have a lot to get by buying heavy equipment online. They get multiple options at their disposal and can make their choice from the given options. They can also review the ratings of the seller and accordingly can take a call if they would like to deal with that seller. Ideally, at the end of a transaction every seller is given a rating on the basis of how effective and transparent the transaction was. The buyer leaves a feedback mentioning his experience with the seller. So if the buyer had a good experience he can give him a good rating or else he can mark it as “Poor”. This will help others to know if the seller is at all worthy to be dealt with and the can accordingly decide on what they should do. So the buyer always has the option to check the listing of another seller and can also expect a better price as compared to the earlier guy.

It is not just heavy equipment but also ancillaries are sold on online platform. So if you want to buy an attachment or a part of the machine has gone faulty, you know where you can find them.

 

Renting an excavator

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Since the construction and heavy equipment industry has risen over the years so has many other industries that are associated with them have developed in these many years. Out of the many industries, one is renting heavy equipment. It is now never a problem to let out your machines as you will always find takers for it. Gone are the days where a person had to struggle giving ads in newspapers to find someone who wants to take the equipment on rent. Now people are educated about how to move ahead with renting equipment. There are number of ways by which you can rent your machine. You can get in touch with a rental company whose main focus is to find parties who have need to give the machine and rent as well as take it on rent. So primarily, they try and bring both the parties at a common place and strike a deal between them. The other option is going online and listing your machine there.

The heavy equipment that people take more than anything is an excavator. It seems that an excavator is quite a flexible machine which can be used for multiple purposes unlike other heavy equipment. You only need to change its attachments and it gets ready for work other than excavating. Due to its flexibility, it is probably the only machine that is high in demand and often gives the owner a good rental value. You can try and know the rental value of your machine from rental companies or from websites where people list their excavators on rent. That is really not a tough job and can help you to know the correct value of the excavator.

Ensure that the excavator is in good shape:-

Before you rent your excavator, it is very important to you ensure that the heavy equipment is in good working condition. If you see any issues with it, get it fixed before you rent it to someone. It creates unnecessary hassles if you hand over the stuff with some faults in it and without informing the user about it. They might even feel cheated and many not want to do any further business with you. This all puts you in a negative light which may turn uglier if he spreads it out to other people. You may find it hard to rent the excavator to anybody else. Also, paint the machine and make it look new every time before you rent it to a new person.

An agreement is mandatory:-

You are required to make an agreement where you explicitly state that you are giving the excavator on rental basis and the person will return it with no or minor wear and tear. Also mention the amount you will receive as rent on a monthly basis as well as the tenure of the contract. Any other details that you feel is important should be mentioned in the agreement. You can appoint an attorney for this purpose who can take care of this part.

Do not keep old heavy equipment for long – Sell them off

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To expect a re-sale value on a used commodity is not wrong but if you expect to get a good price on an item that has nothing left in it, you may become highly disappointed. When it comes to heavy equipment you will also come across people who do not believe in buying new stuff. They see profit in buying old machines, renovating them and make them new. In this way they get heavy equipment at a cheaper price. But these guys do not buy machines that are extremely old and has absolutely no use. You can’t do any modification on them nor are they compatible for installing any modern features. It is just scrap and needs to be re-built all over again. This means that the seller if tries to sell such a stuff will get nothing but peanuts.

List it in an auction site:-

There are plenty of online websites that deals with auctioning heavy equipment and its parts. You can select one such site which is popular with people and list your heavy equipment out there. Please do mention the model number and the year the machine was made. Do mention about the recent changes that you have made in the machine. For instance, if you have painted the machine or have replaced any critical part of it that needs to be stated. The members of the site should know about the improvements that you have made on the machine. It will only help them to gain confidence on you and your product.

Sell it to a friend or amongst your peers:-

This is perhaps the safest way to sell your used heavy equipment. Your friend might have a need for the equipment and he has a lower budget. You can help him by selling your stuff at a lesser price. In this way, you do not have to hang around looking for buyers when you have one next to you. Let your friend inspect the machine and if he find it worthy, he will make an offer. However, if you offer him to buy quite an old model, he might not show any interest. For that matter, nobody will show any interest if you sell machines that are way back in time. They need machines that can support the modern technology and are also less expensive.

Sell it to heavy equipment workshop:-

If you do not get any buyer for your heavy equipment, you can sell it to a guy who runs heavy equipment workshop/company. They might be interested in buying it but they will not be ready to pay you the price that you expect. Ideally, these guys are the last option that people go for and they also know that. If you have to really do away with your machine and are not getting any takers then you have to take this as an option rather to sell it as scrap. These guys will anyways pay you more than a scrap dealer.

How does Auction Companies work for heavy equipment? What do they charge?

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When you do not need the services of your heavy equipment, you got to get rid of them. There is no point in keeping the machines with you and see them getting rusted during different seasons. Now there is a smarter way to get rid of heavy equipment and that is by selling them in auction. So while you put them up for auction, you generally give them the minimum price to start and it takes up from there. People will place their bids on the item and the guy with the highest bid will eventually become the new owner of the machine. It is no big deal to locate a company that is into selling heavy equipment through auction. In fact, you will come across many companies that see this business with huge potential and with larger margins for profit. So finding a company who can help you to do away with your old heavy equipment is no problem.

Get all machines at one place:-

Auction of heavy equipment is more like an exhibition. It is not just your machines that will be slated to get auctioned on a particular day but heavy equipment belonging to many other people will be put on sale on that day. So these companies if they are selling it offline then they advertise about the mega event where they rent a huge place to put up your construction equipment and invite people who belongs from the construction or mining industry. The invitation happens through ways of advertisement, cold calls and online registration. So once people gather at the venue, the auction begins and they bring each equipment at a time. The possibility of a construction equipment not getting sold exists but the larger possibility is that it may get sold off quickly out there than any other forum.

Online auction companies:-

There is also good number of auction companies who deals exclusively on the internet. They make members by asking them to register on their site and then use the site for buying and selling heavy equipment. So a person who is a buyer can also become a seller using the same User ID. He need not change any of his details to sell anything especially when his prior transactions were restricted to only purchases.

Different auction company charges differently:-

The seller has to pay good chunk of money to the auction company to sell his machines. Firstly, some auction companies charge money for registration. It may vary from few hundreds to thousands of dollars. It also covers the listing cost. For offline auction, they do charge for using their services to auction the machine. The amount may be minimal for putting the machine on auction but if it sells of, they may charge from 2% to 10% of the sales price. Sellers take advantage of both the platforms to sell their heavy equipment. Online auction companies charge not only for listing the item but also for enhancements like making the description part look more attractive or to just put a star on the listing which makes it a bit catchy. Any additional feature will cost the seller more and therefore one needs to first understand the costing before going for it.

Heavy Equipment refurbishing

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Construction equipment has to go through a lot of tussle while it is working on the jobsite and which is why we can see enormous amount of wear and tear on the face of the machine. This should probably remind us that it is time that we refurbish the heavy equipment or else be ready to sell it in scrap in the next few months or at the most may be a year. It is very important for a heavy equipment owner to keep checking periodically the health of the machine and this is why it is recommended to service the machine every month. Apart from washing the equipment which should be done every couple of days or at least once in a week the oiling and greasing part should be taken care of once in a month. Now if the heavy equipment has gone really old though you have taken good care of it all throughout the life of the machine, it is probably the time to refurbish it.

When we talk about refurbishing heavy equipment, it is not getting the machine painted and taking care of the dents that it has all around its body. It is more of replacing the old vital parts of the equipment with newer ones so that it gets a new life and can work with the same force and vitality. Other than that you can always upgrade the equipment with new technology provided it should be compatible and support the new features. Not many old machines can support the software and therefore it has to go through a lot of changes. Many owners find it convenient to change the machine rather than making so many changes in a machine. It is completely upon the owner of the heavy equipment but it always stays as a possibility.

Increase the longevity of the heavy equipment:-

By refurbishing the heavy equipment you are indeed increasing the longevity of the machine. However, this refurbishing should be more usual. You can’t expect the machine to perform like before just with one session of refurbishing. It should be followed by series of servicing without being skipped. Apparently the new heavy equipment is quite expensive and it will burn a hole in your pocket if you intend to buy one. On the contrary you can simple refurbish the machine whenever you see the need and get it back on track.

Helps you in the rental business:-

If you are a person who owns lot of heavy equipment and are in the business of letting them out, you should know that it becomes a must for you to refurbish the machine after every contract. The reason is that your machine goes through a lot of wear and tear when it is used by a person who is not its owner. They use the machine as per the business needs and not give a thought if the machine can actually take the extra load. Also before you intend to sell the heavy equipment, refurbishing of the heavy equipment is recommended as the new owner should get the best for the amount he pays you.

Heavy Equipment Operator Salary

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We study hard to become qualified to get a good job which can give us good salary. Every industry provides good package to qualified employees and therefore it makes sense to study hard in the beginning and then get into a job that takes care of the monetary part of your life. It is also important to get into the right industry. An industry that will survive for long and has a future for you. Being rewarding should not be the only criteria for a person to join a company or an industry. They also need to understand the future prospect of the sector and only if they see it to be a thriving one that they should get into it. Construction sector is an industry which is not only rewarding but also has the potential to carry on as long as humans are on this planet. This means that the people who are associated to this industry can assume a bright future with lot of perks.

The position of a heavy equipment operator is quite crucial in the sector. They are the ones who operate the big machines and set the roadmap for the laborers. They not only work on the machines but also make sure that the equipment are performing to the fullest without any hiccups and if they experience any hiccups then they need to get that reported to the concerned authorities who will set things right. The guys who play such an important role must not be getting an ordinary package. They are paid handsomely by the companies as they understand the nature of their work and also understand that they can only be replaced by another experienced and qualified operator and by no one else. So it is always better to have the same employee work for you rather than having new faces time and again.

Well the gross income of an inexperienced heavy equipment operator could be anywhere between $3,500 to $5,000 a month and for the ones who are experienced can expect more from the company. Young heavy equipment operators ideally stay in a company for few years which often acts as a training ground for them and once they are confident and know how to deal with different situations, they make a move. This jump to other companies gives them a higher package and as and when they become more experienced they see their package becoming better. Simultaneously, if they attend classroom training and get certifications they come into the bracket of high paid operators. This is what most of the operators who are on salary dream to reach. No wonder it is a difficult one and needs lot of hard work but definitely a possible one.

For operators who have plenty of experience under their belt, they become freelancers. You will find lot of operators who works as a freelancer with different companies. They are picked on the basis of the project the company has and are paid accordingly. A freelanced operator is mostly connected with a union which provides them with job. However, the money they make at the end of the project is gigantic.

Thinking of selling your heavy equipment? Give it a new look first!

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Do you own a heavy construction machine or equipment? Whether you run a construction business or if you are a renowned builder, having your very own heavy construction equipment is one of the wisest decisions that you will ever make. However, due to continuous usage, the heavy construction machinery, vehicles and equipment are sometimes likely to lose their functionality and performance. In fact, with every passing day, a more enhance tool or technology is being introduced to the world.

In such a scenario, it is a great idea if you want to sell your old equipment and buy new ones. Given the constantly growing construction industry, there is a constant demand of the heavy construction equipment, regardless of how old or new they are. As the price of the new equipment is often quite high, buying the second-hand or used ones is a trend that small scale construction business owners always choose. Hence, you will easily get a buyer for your equipment. In fact, there are construction equipment buyers and sellers, who buy old equipment from you at any time. You can sell the equipment to them as well.

What should you be careful about?

Before you sell your heavy construction equipment, it is a must that you take care of a few things.

  • The parts are properly fitted
  • It is a functional condition
  • It looks as new as possible.

The first two factors can be taken care of, as you refurbish your equipment. The repairing or servicing works will fix the damages and also increase the functionality of the equipment. Moreover, with damaged parts, the possibility of accidents is also quite high. Hence, you might lose potential customers. So, this is a key step that you must take.

Apart from these two factors, what is equally important is that your equipment has a clean and almost new look. Though the papers will clearly show the age of the equipment, having a clean and appealingly new look will help your equipment get more customers and that too faster. The customers are always drawn towards those equipment and machineries that look new.

How to give your heavy construction equipment a new look?

Now that you have understood how important it is for your heavy equipment to get an almost new look, it is a must that you take proper care of the equipment in terms of its appeal. For that you need to paint the equipment at first. As soon as you clean the equipment of all the dirt and dust, it becomes more suitable for a better sale.

The expert equipment cleaners also provide sandblasting feature that helps in painting the equipment even better. After sandblasting, the paint has to be done as per the specifications or requirements of the equipment. Once the paint is done, you can add the stickers for the manufacturing company names. This will give the equipment an absolutely brand new look or appeal. Certainly, this will increase the price of the equipment, regardless of how old it is.