Category Archives: construction equipment

Heavy Equipment Operator jobs overseas

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The job of a heavy equipment operator is a highly paid one across United States but if someone likes to seek for opportunities outside US, they have a much brighter prospect. Job opportunities for heavy equipment operator in the overseas markets are huge and they are always in search of highly skilled men who have ample of experience working in the same profile. Years of experience in this domain will only make you more and more better with machines. You not only know how to operate heavy equipment in different work conditions but also learn how to fix machines when they go bad. It is not always possible to have a mechanic handy who can come at their beck and call. In situation like these, it is the operator who puts his foot ahead and takes up the responsibility to resolve the problem.

People outside United States have not received such kind of training that is given to people here in this country and this is why operators from US are in great demand in countries in the Mideast and the Gulf. The job opportunities of a heavy equipment operator is not only limited to these countries but their work are highly appreciated in many other developing countries that engages hugely in construction and mining works. Heavy equipment operators have huge scope in these countries.

The most convenient way to know if there are any opportunities for heavy equipment operator jobs overseas is through advertisements in newspapers. If you are looking for any such opportunities, then you should keep an eye on the newspaper on a daily basis. Just go through the paper once in the overseas assignment section and check if you have anything for you. It is advisable that you do not involve any kind of agent in between. Try to do things on your own and establish contact with the employer via emails. Check if you are eligible for their requirements and then send your resume to them. If they find you eligible, they will respond to you via email. You can then further establish contact and check the procedure on how you can get the visa and work permit. Also check the package they are ready to offer. You should have a clear communication on these things as it may turn into a big problem once you land up in a foreign country.

The other better option is to search for overseas heavy equipment operator jobs online. Checking newspaper advertisement is terms to be primitive and more people are latching on to internet for the smallest of things. Here you can get ample of options and also select the country you want to work. If you want to work in an English speaking country, then you can even opt for countries like Australia, New Zealand etc. They have immense opportunities for heavy equipment operators. However, they want you to give your best to them. Working as a heavy equipment operator overseas will turn out to be a rewarding career for you and you will end up making good chunk of money after having worked for few years in a foreign land.

Heavy Equipment being used in the Military

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The role that heavy equipment play in the construction and the mining industry is known to all of us but few know the importance it has in our military. The United States Military depends a lot on the heavy equipment and they go for the best in the market. Therefore, you will get too see machines manufactured by CAT, John Deere, Hitachi and other popular brands being used by them. One of the most common reasons why the Military requires heavy equipment is to load the weapons in a truck and then transport it from one place to another. It is pretty obvious that the kind of weapons US Military has can’t be lifted by ordinary machines and the need of big strong machines are evident.

The Military also needs heavy equipment to build their bases. They ideally do not give works like these to any private contractors due to reasons of security. There is a wide possibility of intelligence information may get leaked in case they hand over the job of building bases to private contractors. It is therefore that they buy the equipment directly from the company and use them to construct the bases. The use of different kinds of heavy equipment is more in constructing air bases and air strips. There you need the strip to be absolutely smooth take-off and landing and for that you require the best of heavy equipment to put them in use.

The heavy equipment manufacturing companies majorly produce customized machines for the Military. They first receive orders from the Military upon the kind of equipment they are looking for and in turn they present few designs which are based on the needs of the Military. The Military in turn approves the design and give them the order to manufacture “X” number of machines. This is how they go about manufacturing heavy equipment for the defense sector and probably this is why you will hardly find any similarity between construction equipment used by a contractor and the ones used by the defense personnel.

The heavy equipment manufacturers also ensure that they dedicate few employees to service the machines built for Military purpose. These men are not given any other job and are only entitled to service the machines the companies have produced for the defense. These men are given special ID’s that suggests that they belong to a private concern but are allowed to work inside the military compound. At times, these men also have to work on naval ships, sometimes on the water and at times beneath the water.

The companies have to ensure that the service they offer to the Military is of top notch quality and they do not receive any sort of complaints from them. The US military is using all sorts of heavy equipment right from dozers to grader to loaders. Special training is also given to the military personnel to operate the machine. It is evident that the guys in the force do not have much knowledge how to operate it and hence giving proper training to them becomes very ess

How to operate a bulldozer

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Operating heavy equipment can be easy only if you have hands-on knowledge and know which gadget has what function. It is definitely not a child’s play and just in case you do not know how it works and still try your hands on it then you should be also ready for the consequences. Guys who are new to the construction world are often found to be curious to work on a construction machine and they try their luck when the operator is not around. However, that is not a healthy thing to do as they can cause serious damages to life and property. Out of the many heavy types of equipment that one can see in a construction site, the one that is very frequent is a bulldozer also known as “Dozer”. It may not be difficult to learn to operate a dozer but it is absolutely difficult to operate it in vulnerable places like on the mountain slide or on muddy surfaces. This means that one needs a lot of practice to become an expert operator of the dozer and therefore can also become a highly priced driver.

We will speak about some basic techniques that one can make use of to operate a dozer.

Start the engine and keep your foot on the brakes:-

The first thing that you will do to operate a bulldozer is turn the machine on by turning the machine into ignition mode. Once you find the dozer has started, keep your foot on the brakes so that just in case it starts off and catches speed, you should be able to control it well within time and stop it by applying those brakes.

Start moving the machine:-

Once you have started the dozer, it is time that you start moving it a bit by having complete control on the machine. Now you should hold the joystick and move it slowly on the place you need to go. The joystick of the machine is smooth and will facilitate you to move the machine the way you want it to.

Keep good control on the speed:-

You can’t treat a dozer like your car and therefore you need to take immense care and ensure that you keep the speed of the dozer in control. You should make use of the decelerator to bring down the speed of the machine. You hit the decelerator with your foot which is located just beside the brake and can slow it down.

Make the ground smooth:-

The sole purpose of the dozer is to keep the surface of the ground smooth like butter which is done with the help of the blades that runs on the ground. You have to lower the blade so that it can hit the ground in a way that it is making it look smooth. You have to make use of the pedal and the joystick to maneuver the entire area and make sure that the face of the blade is always hitting the ground as you move over it.

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Knowledge always pays off in the heavy equipment and construction sector

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A man with abundant knowledge is respected and greeted well wherever he goes and specifically if he intends to make money by selling his knowledge, he will have many takers. We currently live in a society where people tend to know more about gadgets and less about the industry they are in. This does not mean that they should not know about gadgets but this means that they should give equal importance to the subject they are dealing with and therefore it becomes very hard to find someone who is an expert in their respective domain. We are perhaps more attuned to things that are kind of not so important to us and less interested in what we should know. Other than that, many people like to keep themselves restricted to the work they are doing. It seems that they have killed their hunger of learning something new in life. The curiosity has just died down and this seems to be a very dangerous sign.

Keeping the current trend into consideration, many heavy equipment companies are hiring people who have enormous knowledge in their field and are also paying them handsomely to work for them. Something that was abundant at one point in time is now rare to get and for which companies are ready to pay good sum figures to ace engineers and machine designers. Knowledge does not necessarily come out of books. In order to get more knowledge, one has to work endlessly and also have the urge to learn more. It is only then that he will get to learn new things in life. If you get to check with some real good engineers that deal into manufacturing of heavy equipment, you will find that they used to work for hours at a stretch just to understand how things work and what can be done differently to simplify things for the comfort of the user.

Time was only restricted to a word for them as they did not know the literal meaning of it. Companies like Caterpillar, Hitachi, and John Deere are said to have such experts working for them which is why they are such renowned heavy equipment manufacturing companies. People who use their equipment do not want to switch to any other brand. They have complete faith on their products and know that it will last for many years. It is very difficult to generate this kind of trust in the minds of the user. You can only get this trust if you can give them the number one product that you have manufactured and every product of yours should be number one.

Heavy equipment industry is a highly rewarding industry. Many people have made their career being a part of this industry and are dwelling a decent live. However, in order to get to this place they had gone through rigorous training and acquired enough knowledge which they have used for the development of the company and for the betterment of the users.

 

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Sell off the outdated heavy equipment

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Every rewarding industry is dynamic and it requires people who are associated with such industry to change with time and situations. Knowing the construction industry, one will suggest that in order to survive in this industry, one has to keep himself updated and abreast with all the latest developments. It may not be a simple task but when it comes to heavy equipment, one has to seriously follow the mandate of the time. They have to procure latest heavy equipment or even machines that are not pretty old. This often leaves us with the question what will happen with the old machines that we already have in our position. The heavy equipment that you have been using for more than 1-2 decades should be shunted from use and also no operator would like to work on a machine that is so primitive.

You may have the finance to buy new machines but the real challenge would be to do something with the old stuff. Since they are so old that you can’t put it on rent or sell it off to someone who is also on the look of used machines, you are not left with many options. Well, there is certainly something left for you that you can do to get rid of the old hag. There are some companies that deal with very old machines. They buy them by giving a decent price and dismantle it. They pick up the important components from it and using their engineering skills try to develop a new machine. They may not have a band but they also find customers for the machines they have built.

So the first thing that you got to be doing is check out such companies in your area or in your city who buys outdated heavy equipment. You may find some within your city. The next thing that you should do is show them the machine and check how much they can offer you. Try to negotiate with them and see the best price that you can get. You have to try this with all the companies and then sell it off to the highest bidder. If you see problem is ferrying the machine from your place to theirs, you can ask them to come and pick it up. They can even dismantle the machine and pick everything. You take the money and that is it.

One more option that you can take is sell the machine to a scrap dealer but that is not a suitable one and should be only used if you are not finding any company who can buy your machine. If your machine is way too old and none of its parts is in order, it may become a real challenge to sell it off to these companies. They also look for some quality in your machine and if they do not see any they will refrain from buying it. Then you are left with selling the stuff to a scrap dealer who will pay you a meager amount which will not be something delightful.

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Different Types of Concrete Crusher Excavators

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Concrete Crusher Excavator is an amalgamation of excavator and concrete crushing equipment. It is the perfect tool which finds its application for harsh purposes such as recovering and destroying roads, buildings, pillars and foundations. A concrete crusher excavator is also used in gravel crushing since it cleans up gravel in a very environment friendly manner. It is simple and cost effective heavy equipment.

There are a variety of advantages in recycling concrete instead of removing it in a landfill.

  • Storing concrete debris out of landfills helps in saving the landfill space
  • By utilising recycled material as gravel decreases the requirement for gravel mining.
  • Using recycled concrete for road reduces the menace of contamination engaged in truck material.

The different types of Concrete Crusher Excavators are:

The Crusher Bucket-It provides the most innovative and effective solution to a construction site by fulfilling all the crushing requirements. The crusher bucket can be attached to several excavators. Due to the efficiency of crusher buckets in crushing any immovable material contractors are depending heavily on it. Instead of opting for mechanical equipment they have started investing on the crusher buckets. This enables them to reduce their transportation dumpsite and management costs.

The Hydraulic Cutters– The hydraulic cutter is an effective device which serves the purpose for cutting through metal. The cutting is done by the Jaws of Life, The jaws are made up of blades. Sometimes particularly to its capacity to cut a hard spherical steel bar, these are mainly and generally used to slice through a vehicle’s structure during an extraction procedure. Cutter blades are disposable and the blade is developed in such a way that it is able to deal with the innovative car safety technology.

It offers elevated crushing of any material in just one bite with high breaking force. This means it saves fuel and consumes less time. It mainly finds application in cutting of brick, stone, sandstone, granite and other masonry purposes.

The main characteristics and benefits of hydraulic cutter are cutting jaws made up of steel, hydraulic rotation which can rotate up to 360 degree, push able cylinders and replaceable blades and teeth.

Screening Bucket-Screening Bucket is a concrete crusher that is compatible with any excavator. It is a perfect tool for crushing innate materials. The screening bucket is easy to maintain due to its simple structural design and guarantees good ability even with that materials that are wet. Most of the material load is borne by the screen combs situated at the top reducing the burden on drums and bearings.

Hydraulic Pulveriser-It is a type of Concrete Crusher Excavator that is beneficial in secondary demolition purposes. It has the following technical advantages:

  • Offers good resistance to wear and tear
  • Have longer life span
  • Broad jaws which makes the working surface large
  • The Hydraulic Cylinder is fully shielded
  • Endowed with removable and exchangeable tooth.
  • Lower jaws which are flat scooping for easily collecting building blocks from land.
  • Easy to maintain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depend on online websites to sell your heavy equipment

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Selling is a skill and if you are not good in that skill then you may have a hard time in selling stuff that you have used to some other person. It is not that everybody uses brand new items but as a matter of fact, you will find several people who like to use more of used stuffs than going for new things. The reason is pretty simple. Used items cost less and then they do not have to shell more to buy them. So they get the technology at a reduced price and in this process save some money.

However, in order to sell your used item to people, you got to sound very convincing and if you feel that it is too hard for you to sound convincing then you have to sell the stuff at a dirt cheap price. People will at least flock in hearing that you are selling it for real cheap. They may then not consider how latest the technology you were using. They might just go for it if they really need it. But in this entire process, the one who loses is you as you had the chance of making good money but just because you lack the skill of putting things in a presentable manner to convince people to pay a good price, you succumbed for a shoddy sale.

Now consider that you were trying to sell your heavy equipment and you were not able to present it the way you should have for a good deal. You will make heavy loss in the transaction. Therefore it is quite important for you to know the right platform from where you can sell your heavy equipment and can still expect to get a good price for it.

With the advent of internet and various businesses happening on websites, you can also make money in there. All you have to do is know which site is good for selling heavy equipment and what people does to sell their machines at a good price. For this, you should be watching other’s listing for a few days and check what different are they using on the website that helps them to fetch a high price for their items. This is the first and the most crucial step that will change the way of selling that you have adopted and have been practicing for a long time. Once you are done with checking other’s listing and got the idea, you have to work on your skills to put up your item in a similar fashion.

Most of the websites selling heavy equipment gives you the option of selecting a fixed price which means that you can put the price of the machine that you feel is suitable and let the buyers decide if they should be going for the purchase. However, what you should add on the listing is information that people will find helpful to know about your machine. If they feel the stuff you are selling meets their requirement, Bingo. You have made a sale.

Long Reach Excavator

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An excavator is normally used to dig deep inside the earth and extract the dirt out so that it can make way for a strong foundation for the building. Therefore, an excavator has a lot of importance when it comes to the construction or mining sector. Construction companies are ready to pay large sum of money to buy excavators that are best in fuel efficiency, productivity and reliability. On the other hand, heavy equipment producing companies also pay heed to the demands of their customers making it a point that they manufacture world class products after doing some extensive research work. When the construction companies felt the need of a long reach excavator, they had one probably during the 1970’s by MHJ Ltd. The long reach excavator was designed specifically to work on waterways. Now what is important in long reach excavators is the hydraulic fittings that needs to be of top notch quality and that gave way to companies like Hitachi and Komatsu who were said to be the leaders of producing quality machines in their zones.

A long reach excavator is needed to remove large quantities of stuff from water surface which is not possible by the normal type of excavators that we all know. Caterpillar was soon to join the race and became one of the most splendid manufacturers giving stiff competition to the ones who were holding the market for a long time. We will be speaking in brief about the specs of 345B L Series II Long Reach Hydraulic Excavator that became famous after it was introduced in the heavy equipment market.

Starting with the boom/stick of the machine, the shipping length and height of the unit is 49 ft in and 18.4 ft in respectively. The maximum cutting height and loading height is 47.4 ft in and 38.2 ft in while the maximum reach along ground and the digging depth is 57.7 ft in and 40.1 ft in respectively. Moving to the dimension of the machine, the width to outside of tracks is 14.2 ft in and the length of track on ground is also of the same measurement. The ground clearance of the machine is 2.3 ft in and the height to the top of the cab is 12 ft in and the tail swing radius is also 12 ft in. The track gauge is 12.2 ft in and the shoe size is 23.6in.

The 345B L Series long reach excavator has been gifted with high power to perform. The gross and net power of the machine is 345 hp and 321 hp with a displacement of 628.5 cu in. The operational weight of the machine is 51300 kg with a fuel capacity of 720 liters. The cooling system fluid capacity, hydraulic system fluid capacity and engine oil capacity is 66 liters, 520 liters and 30 liters respectively. The minimum bucket capacity is 1.4m3 and the maximum capacity is 1.7m3. It can travel at a maximum speed of 2.7 mph keeping it pretty stable.

 

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The right way to repo heavy equipment

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Heavy equipment are usually expensive materials and not many can afford to buy them by paying hard cash. The small contractors or small construction companies usually find it very difficult to arrange money to buy equipment but if they have no other option they approach a bank or some financial institution that lends them the money to buy the stuff. Now that they have possessed the machine, the next difficult task for them is to keep on with the monthly payments and any defaults with the payments may cost them the machine. Well, the loan system works this way. You borrow money from the lender and promise to pay the entire sum along with interest at regular intervals. Till the time you do not clear off the debt, the lender holds lien on the equipment. This means that if you fail to pay money to the bank, then it has complete right and authority to take possession of your equipment.

This really sounds harsh but people all across the United States have to go through this phase in some or the other time in their lives. Having said that, no lender ever wants to repo heavy equipment and they use this as the last resort. Lenders simply want their money back with the interest amount that the borrower has committed to pay. Just in case, if they find the borrower is unable to pay the installments they try to establish contact with the borrower to check if he is going through any financial turbulence. They try to sort things out with the borrower and if they find that he is unable or just unwilling to pay then they go for the repo; which means they send the guys to tow the machine from the borrower’s place so that it can be sold a dirt cheap price to someone else and in this process they can get their money back.

The process is quite simple. If the borrower is unable or unwilling to pay the loan, the lender brings the repo guys in the picture and then they got everything to do from there. They will track the item give the notice to the borrower where it will clearly state that they are taking away the machine since he was not able to pay the debts in time and after repeated reminders when he failed to show up with the money, the lender which has the first lien on the item is finally forced to take it back. The repo guys get some money based on the kind of stuff they would be towing. For instance, if they tow heavy equipment, then they get their fee based on the weight of the machine.

Before the repo guys can tow the machine, they got to be careful that they are towing the right equipment and not the one that belongs to somebody else’s. They need to check the Serial Number and accordingly tow the machine. They also need to inform the local police so that if the owner of the machine gives a call to the police, the authorities could explain him the matter. Once they repo the equipment, they keep the stuff in their storage facility or simply hand it over to their clients.

 

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Do not let winter eat away your heavy equipment

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Winter is a major cause of concern for both heavy equipment manufacturing companies as well as construction companies. Once it starts snowing, things become very difficult for them to carry on. The ongoing projects come to a standstill and there are high chances that the construction companies may not be able to deliver the work in time and due to this they may incur heavy losses. No business would ever like to make losses just because the weather condition is hostile and it did not allow the men to work. Other than that, the construction companies are also at risk as far as their equipment are concerned. Most of the equipment during winters just do not want to start. So the operators also face a tough time in getting the equipment started. A lot needs to be done to take care of the machine during the winters. Heavy equipment are at their worst during this chill season and if proper care is not taken then there may be lot of complications which will ultimately result in a bigger mess.

Check if the engine oil is in order:-

We tend to remain so busy with our work that we fail to give the required attention to the machines. Changing the engine oil at least once in 2 months should be done without fail. However especially winters, they should be checked more frequently and made sure that the engine oil is in good shape. In case, if the oil becomes thick then it is time to change the oil. Any delay in that situation will only cause problem to the machine reducing its longevity.

Get the equipment serviced by an expert mechanic:-

Just when the winter is knocking the door, it is advisable to get the equipment serviced by an expert mechanic. It would be prudent if you do not get the machine serviced by anybody other than an expert. Just when the winter is at the corner, a lot of things need to be checked in the machine which may often get skipped by a routine mechanic but may hardly skip the eye of an expert.

Painting the machine will be a good alternative:-

If you have an old machine and it needs urgent attention of the mechanic, get it checked first and then get it paint for once. Painting the machine will give a new look to the machine. You can also put some stickers or logos especially in areas where it is slightly dented and has scratch marks on it. Painting the equipment may also protect it from getting rusted during the chilled season. It acts as a good alternative when you are short of money.

Get the faulty parts replaced:-

Just in case if any part of the machine (attachable or not) goes faulty, it should be replaced as soon as possible. Just in case, if it is not replaced in time then severe cold may cause further problem which may become irreparable.

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