Category Archives: heavy equipment

Want to know your machine – Make good use of training manual

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We all want to pursue a stream that promises us with a good career and simultaneously have sufficient income so that we can have a pretty descent standard of living. This is the desire of every person and which is why we all take special care to choose our career path wisely. One such industry that gives its people a promising career is construction. There are huge requirement of skilled men in this part of the industry. Right from engineers to laborers, all need to know their bit with precision and therefore it is a no brainer why many see a good growth prospect in this industry and every opportunity to fulfill their dreams.

This sector usually have high requirement of operators who can work with the heavy equipments with ease. It is to be remembered that heavy equipments are not so simple to handle and there is every possibility of an accident occurring if the operator does something wrong on his part. It is therefore very crucial on the part of the operators to know what they are dealing with and befriend the machine, know it well before they go full-on with it.

Training is an important component:-

Practice makes a person better but something that comes before practice is proper training. Firstly, you should know the different aspect of a machine and then you put your hands on it. Heavy equipments are usually complex piece of metal and it takes time for one to understand it completely. You may have to go through various courses in order to know a machine that has various new gadgets in it. For instance, if your company has bought a machine that was used in the military and whose functions are absolutely alien to you. You probably do not understand much about the levers and buttons installed in that machine. This is when you need some training so that you get to know which switch does what.

It may not be as complex as it may look but it is still a new thing for you to learn. You can go through the training manual of machines that you are not aware of and understand it well before you put it to use.

Online training videos are great help:-

It sounds tedious to go through every page of the manual to understand the different features of the equipment. However, if you get a DVD that contains the training video, it will be of immense help to you. You only have to hear the things that you need to know. You may already know few things that is being shown in the video and you may want to skip that part. All you have to do is hit the fast forward button and move to the subject of your interest. Other than this, most of the training videos are free of charge. So you can just view them on YouTube for free and improve your skills.

Keep some money for contingency – Don’t spend lavishly on buying heavy equipment

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Doing a business, one has to play with infinite risks. Because in every risk there lies opportunities and one needs to see those opportunities before they see the risk. No wonder one should also analyze the risk involved but that does not mean that he should avert from taking risk and forego those chances. Averting risk will also lead to losing of those opportunities that comes by it. Therefore it is said that one who takes more risk has more chances to earn but he should be careful enough to understand his risk appetite and that if he could sustain after taking that risk.

As far as the construction business is concerned, one needs to take special care when it comes to gaining momentum. At times he will be flooded with work but he should be careful to choose them keeping into consideration his ability to complete them on time and also the kind of heavy equipment he has in hand. Construction business will give you enormous opportunities to make money but it does not take much time for the tide to change. You won’t be able to figure out when the industry takes the beating and you start losing work. Well, this is the time when you will need the money that you have earned during the years to sustain your company. You can’t rely on your investors as they will also face the brunt of the market and will be short of money.

It is therefore very crucial that you keep a contingency fund while you are doing well in your business. Always keep on adding some money towards the corpus and make it look like a healthy sum so that the time you need the money you should not find it short of your needs. Another very common mistake that many owners of construction companies make is that they go on a buying spree. They keep on buying heavy equipment without even thinking if they would need it for any of their existing projects. Well, they are not aware of the possible danger that they may encounter. Any dip in the construction market will have a direct impact on their business and they will find it hard to keep it floating. Then they will begin with various cost cutting measures which was probably not required had they managed a contingency corpus.

Buy heavy equipment only when you see a pretty strong reason to back it or else it will turn out to be futile to go for such investments. It makes no sense to buy machines now at a higher price and then proceed with distress selling. So when the pasture is green for you, save as much as you can for days that might not be a comfortable one for the construction industry and buy heavy equipment only when you see a strong need for it. Analyze the situation well before you take a call. Do not fall prey to fancy gadgets and machines as you may not even need them in the first place.

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Make your heavy equipment worth for resale

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Many believe that heavy equipment has a good resale value but it mainly depends upon how you have used your equipment over the years. Ideally, heavy equipment is a long lasting thing and it does not require care round the clock. On the contrary, if proper maintenance and servicing is done at regular intervals then it will certainly last for years without any problem to its owner. Nevertheless, knowing the nature of the machine, many owners tend to use it in extreme rough conditions without even bothering to service it. Now that takes the toll on the machine and from there it starts giving problems. The owner needs to understand that if he wants the equipment to work properly then he also needs to take some effort in getting it serviced on a regular basis.

It may be simple to get a resale value for the heavy equipment but it is also important to keep your machine worthy to get a good resale value. If you want to list your item for sale you have to describe it well in the advertisement and must mention if there are any defects or issues with the machine. You should not skip that part and move to the next. The prospects would like to know more about the item before they make the decision to buy it. In case, if your machine is not up to the mark then you may not write good about it and that will deter prospective buyers to move away to the next listing listed by another seller. Though you are getting the viewership, it is not ultimately helping you to close the sale and it is all happening because you have not taken good care of your machine.

Employ a qualified operator:-

It makes more sense to pay more and hire a qualified operator who has good amount of experience under his belt and who can understand the machine better than anyone else can. Hiring a newbie may not be very beneficial to you in the long run as they may learn to drive the equipment and get the work out of it but will not understand if there is anything wrong in the machine and will only report it to you when it completely gives up. Hiring a newbie may cost you less as compared to an experienced one but down the line you will get to know the difference. Therefore, it is better to be cautious and spend a bit more rather than being sorry.

Give it to a mechanic once in every 2 months:-

Your machine may not need any maintenance work every day or every month but you should make it a point that you get it checked by an expert mechanic at least once in every 2 months. That will only help in increasing the longevity of the machine and when you feel that you want to upgrade it by selling the old one, you can expect a good price for it.

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How to protect your heavy equipment against theft

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A construction business gives a lot of importance to its heavy equipment as they understand how crucial it is for the smooth running of the business and which is why they take every care to ensure that it works fine all the time. They take necessary steps to keep the equipment well maintained, service it at regular intervals and if they see a need to replace any of the faulty part with a new one, they do it immediately. But there is one particular thing which not all big construction businesses give due importance to and it is protecting their heavy equipment against theft.

There have been a lot of instances of theft in many parts of US and the number is simply rising. The cops are also having a hard time to get hold of the gang who is into this. So it becomes the responsibility of the owners to take utmost precaution of their equipment when it comes to theft. Please do not consider it to be a trivial matter. There is a parallel industry operating who are into selling stolen machines at a considerably cheaper rate. The modus operandi is fairly simple. They first lay their eyes on machines that are not sufficiently guarded. Once they have identified such equipment, they do a thorough study of the zone and chalk out a plan to get it out safely from the zone without letting anybody get a sniff of it.

Let us now talk about the solution. First and foremost once you buy heavy equipment, ensure that it is registered with National Equipment Register. They are the organization that preserves the databases of heavy equipment. So in case if your machine gets stolen, you can raise an alarm and let the cops know about it. The cops will then get the relevant information from the National Equipment Register’s office and will find it helpful to track down your machine.

It is also crucial to do a background verification of all your employees. It is not that your employees will steal the machine but they can turn out to be an accomplice. The gang ideally will first send one of its members to your company and will get employed as a laborer. But his main intention is to know how well you guard your equipment and will try to draw loopholes. Taking benefits of those loopholes they will hatch a plan and execute it before you even get to know anything about it. Therefore, doing stringent background verification is way too important.

You got to keep the jobsite well-lit at all times. Thieves can make good use of darkness and can steal away any heavy item. They are smart and therefore you got to be smarter. If possible, install heavy duty cams all around the jobsite whose visuals shall be monitored inside the security cabin so that they get to know who is doing what with the machine. Following these basic steps can help you in a big way to keep your heavy equipment safe.

How to buy second hand heavy equipment

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There have been often instances where you get a lot of construction projects but you are unsure if you can take them all. The issue is with the limited resources that you have at your disposal. You may not have sufficient manpower or heavy equipment to start working on the new project. Hiring additional manpower is no big deal as you can hire people in a matter of days but the real challenge will be with procuring heavy equipment. Construction companies always run tight on budget and when all of a sudden they get some new projects that they were not expecting can really leave them thinking if they should indeed agree to take them. Taking new projects means spending funds on buying heavy machineries and then to sit tight for months till you get any payments from the project givers. This actually makes your position vulnerable and can also give you thoughts to deny accepting the work.

Well, this entire situation may definitely sound to be quite challenging but there is a solution to it and that is to buy second hand heavy equipment. It is also amply simple to buy used machines at much lesser price than the market price for the new ones. First thing first, you can get in touch with the authorized dealer in your area and check if he has any used machine with him or if he knows anybody who is willing to sell second hand equipment. These guys often have information and they can pass it on to you. The transaction may happen by keeping him in the loop which means that he will take a cut out of the deal. However, you can be assured that you will get the best deal.

The next option is to check with guys in your circle if they know anybody selling used machines. If you need more than one machine, it is better that you stick to the dealer but if you are looking for just one machine, you can talk it out to guys in your circle and you may get some lead.

The third option is probably the best that one can avail. You can search for second hand heavy equipment on the internet and it will throw number of options to you. You do not have to compromise on anything out there since you have plenty of options and you can take your time to select the best deal. Just go through the description as you will get to know a lot about the heavy equipment through its description. You can then establish contact with the seller and close the deal if you like the stuff.

There is one more option which some people prefer to take. They get in touch with the guys who pick up old machines, refurbishes it by installing new parts that makes the machine run smoothly and can give a good fight to the new ones. They sell such heavy equipment at an unbelievably low price and therefore it does make some sense to buy machines from them. However, it is not much recommended one.

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Selling heavy equipment is driven by passion

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In order to do any kind of work, it has to be driven by passion. If there is no passion in a work, the end result will not be a fabulous one. You will not put that effort in your work if you do not have the passion for it and therefore you should do things that interests you and not out of coercion. Working as a salesman requires a lot of that component in you. If you do not have passion to sell things, you will perhaps have to find something else that suits you and when you are selling heavy equipment you need to be more passionate towards the stuff you are doing. You can achieve good results only if you like the job. For many the subject of heavy equipment does not comes with any interest. They find this topic to be very boring and when you start talking about earth moving machines, there is a tendency that it may drive away the interest of people. Such men are just not suitable for selling heavy equipment even if they can sell anything in this planet.

As a matter of fact, the subject of heavy equipment is indeed a boring one but guys who find it to be interesting, they can see their place in selling heavy equipment. Though it offers good money to the salesmen who are able to crack the deal, but this does not mean that the guy who feels bored by hearing about earth moving machines can find his place there. He can’t be a part of this profession just because it offers good money on a successful deal. He simply will not be able to survive in it for long. He will face a lot of hardships down his way which will make him realize that this industry is just not for him. However, for people who love to talk about heavy equipment and have the urge to learn more about it, they can see themselves as a part of this industry.

Selling heavy equipment requires lot of passion to do this work. Guys who love machines often experience tough time to sell machines. They feel that this is just not their cup of tea. However, there are also examples of people who have excelled like anything. They feel that they can’t do anything better than selling heavy equipment. Now this is the passion that is required to sell machines.

Selling is often considered as an art but it is believed that people who have mastered this art have at times found hard to sell machines. Selling cars is certainly different from selling heavy equipment as there may be more takers for cars but it will be only some industry specific guys who want to deal with heavy equipment. You can’t sell machines to anybody but to only those who need it and it is perhaps the passion that you have for this profession that will lead you to those kinds of men.

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Heavy equipment listed on Craigslist

With the introduction of internet, businesses have taken a new shape and most of the things are now happening on the net. You need to contact somebody or write a letter that needs to reach him immediately internet is the answer for that. Whatever information you are seeking, you can get it all on the net. It provides you with a wonderful virtual world that helps you to get anything under the sun. This has also helped the heavy equipment industry big time. People who are in the business of buying and selling heavy equipment can all come under one roof and accomplish their wants. It has given a wonderful platform to both the buyer and the seller.

There are number of websites that deal with buying and selling of heavy equipment but the one the ace the list is Craigslist. This website particularly deals with heavy equipment and if you are unable to find a machine is any website, you can expect to find it here. They are in this business for the last many years and are only getting stronger with every passing day. Many people have made millions with the help of this site. Though there are also some instances of fraud that took place under the name of Craigslist but it seems that the concerned authorities have taken this seriously and have streamlined the process of buying and selling.

Become a member of Craigslist:-

In order to list item on Craigslist, you got to become a member of this website. The registration is for free. However, if you list machines on the website, you got to pay an amount to the website and for every sale you got to pay some extra fees to them. Apart from that, it offers you the service of highlighting your listing so that it catches the attention of the viewers. You got to pay a very nominal price to avail this service. It seems that people who have availed this feature are more successful in selling their heavy equipment as compared to the ones who have not taken this up.

Protects the interest of both buyer and seller:-

Craigslist believes in protecting the interest of both the buyer as well as the seller. Sellers can’t get away easily by selling a faulty machine on this website. One complaint can ruin the prospect of the seller to list any more items on the website. This is the reason why sellers ideally stick to what they have described on the listing. They do not dare to sell faulty machines on this website or else they will not only lose the money but will also lose their reputation. On the other hand, buyers also can’t get away without paying for the machine. They have to pay the money first and then the seller ships the machine. The shipping cost and other miscellaneous expenses are worked out amicably between the buyer and the seller.

Overall, Craigslist has made a good reputation in the online business platform.

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Caterpillar 740 Articulated Truck

Do you know who carries the debris after the demolition is done? Any heavy equipment that is mostly used on a construction site is not able to carry huge pile of debris from the jobsite to the dump yard and for this you need a truck to get the job done. Trucks are not only used by the construction companies to haul debris but are also used by many mining companies as well. Mining companies can’t spend a day without using trucks. This indeed shows the relevance of trucks to the overall industry. Not only hauling of debris but when it comes to hauling other heavy equipment from the source to the destination, trucks are widely used. An articulated truck plays a very crucial role when it comes to transporting big heavy machines as they can’t make it all by themselves even if they can move on the roads. Heavy equipment can move at a shorter distance. They are not made to get transported on their own. It will take days for a machine to reach one place if it has to move all by itself and therefore the need of trucks becomes so imperative.

Almost all the heavy equipment manufacturing companies are into producing trucks but there are few who are simply exceptional when it comes to trucks. To name a few, Volvo, CAT, Hitachi are some that has an incredible reputation in the market and has also managed to maintain its position over the years. They just changes position in terms of ranking but never has it happened that they have taken a sharp fall in terms of sales figure.

We will be discussing in brief about the specification of CAT 740 articulated truck. The gross and net power of the truck is 464 hp and 445 hp respectively. The power is measured at 1700 rpm and has a displacement of 927.6 cu in. The total number of cylinders installed in this truck is 6. Moving to the fuel capacity of the truck, the total fuel capacity of the vehicle is 61.6 gallons. The hydraulic system fluid capacity, cooling system fluid capacity, engine oil capacity and transmission fluid capacity is 61.6 gallons, 21.1 gallons, 10 gallons and 19 gallons respectively. Talking about the gears fitted in this truck, the total number of forward gears is 7 and is limited with just 2 reverse gears and has a maximum speed of 34 mph.

The total weight of the truck when it is empty is 32840 kg and when it’s loaded the weight is goes to 70840 kg. The overall length of the truck is 35.7 ft in and the overall width is 11.3 ft in. The overall height along with the wheelbase is 12.3 ft in and 17.1 ft in respectively. The height of the dump is 23.2 ft in and its ground clearance is 2.3 ft in.

The CAT 740 is perhaps the truck that every owner of a construction or a mining company would like to possess and it is also pretty much within their capability.

Heavy equipment industry is fast catching up the rental market

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Heavy equipment companies may experience a hard time to sell their machines in the market. They might not find buyers at all times. Due to the cost of the machine which is invariably high, not many construction companies can afford to purchase them and at the same time the needs of the companies also change which means they have to keep on changing the heavy equipment as per their needs. Now it is certainly not feasible for a small construction house to keep buying machines as per the demand of the project. Therefore the best suitable option available to them is to rent the machine till the time they need them. Get done with their work and hand over the machine to its owner.

Though heavy equipment manufacturing companies do not directly deal with renting the equipment but there are entities that make good revenue by purchasing machines from the heavy equipment companies and then renting it out to the end users. Since they are dealing with new stuff, the rental amount one has to pay is comparatively higher than the ones given on rent by individuals. They may be slightly expensive but the quality of the equipment is unparalleled with any other machine listed by any individual.

On the other hand, the equipment possessed by these entities are thoroughly checked before it is listed on their website. So it means that when the guys who want the equipment on rent comes to get the machine, he can be completely assured that he will be taking the best with him. These entities are slowly catching up the heavy equipment rental market and they particularly believe that the year 2016 will be a great year for their business. It is primarily of two reasons. The first is the construction and mining industry are at its peak and it does not seem to come down at least in this year and the second reason is people want quality stuffs and they also need assurance which is provided to them by such entities.

It has been witnessed that people who take machines on rent have a hard time to convince its owners that the machine has developed some complication that was beyond his control and the giver of the machine penalizes him for the problem. This issue is somewhat managed if they take the machine from these small companies. Since these companies have their engineers who can work on the problem they do not fine the takers for anything and everything. This actually increases the confidence of the takers on these companies and they prefer to go with them. Moreover, they are also assured that these companies pick new machines either directly from the company or majorly from banks that confiscate heavy equipment over non- payment of installments.

These companies have quite easily won over the hearts of the contractors and small construction houses and have found a good opportunity to make decent income.

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Learning heavy equipment will be fun with the help of training videos

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Learning new things are always fun if one can add the fun element in it or else it may lead to boredom and one may lose interest from the topic. Therefore in order to add the fun element, a lot of unique stuffs can be added in the subject thus making the subject simple to understand as well as interesting. It has been observed that people learning about heavy equipment can at times find the subject to be quite boring and may completely lose interest from the topic. It is due to the complexity of the subject. You always deal with machines that are not so simple to understand and especially when you got to understand them just by reading it from a book concentrating hard to understand the diagrams given in it, it becomes all the more boring.

Just to make things a bit simple, you can take help of the training videos that are uploaded on the internet. You may find them to be really awesome and helpful. You only got to key in the stuff that you want to learn and it will throw you all the videos it has pertaining to the subject. Click on either of the video and watch it fully. Now when you see things happening in front of you, you will not find it difficult to co-relate the things that you have read in the book. You may possibly learn a few things more by watching the video that you may not find in the book.

Some of the training videos are free of cost while some others are chargeable. However, once you access the videos you will be informed that if you want to learn more about the subject then you got to pay a subscription fee to the uploader. In case, you want to check out more on that, you can pay a nominal fee that is mentioned at the end of the video and download the chargeable video on your computer.

For instance, you want to know how to change the engine oil in a wheel loader, you just key in the stuff you like to see in the search bar and it will throw all the videos that are concerned with the subject. You pick up the one you want to see and watch the complete video. In case, you feel that you want to see other videos as well, you can go back to the main page where you will find the list of videos and then select the next one. It gives you ample of information, something that you will not be able to find in your academic books.

You can always be a step ahead than your peers if you follow the videos properly. Your understanding on the subject will be far better than the other guys studying with you in your institution. Ultimately, it will give you an edge over the others when it comes to getting a good employment with a company. You will find yourself to be in a much beneficial position than the rest of the guys.

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