Category Archives: heavy equipment

How does your heavy construction equipment handle the cold weather?

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Heavy construction equipment are usually tough machines and they are able to work under tremendous hostile weather conditions. But at times, especially during cold weathers, they come across a lot of complications that result in nonperformance of the equipment. Construction industry is a billion dollar industry and nonperformance of the heavy equipment for a single day means a lot to the industry. They may incur huge loss if the machines cease to work for a day or two. Therefore, it becomes very crucial to keep the machines in check throughout the year and when it is winter time, pay extra care to it.

We would be discussing as to what care an owner should take to protect its machine from cold weather and keep it working throughout the year.

Regular oiling to keep the machine lubricated:-

Heavy equipment majorly work in rough terrain and external dust particles are bound to enter the machine through various entry points. It may not be possible for anybody to keep a check on those entry points and fill them up so that the dust particles do not find a place to enter. Understanding the situation, it is imperative that the machine is kept lubricated all the time. This will not allow the dust particles to stay at the place for long and will easily slip away. Having said that, it is also important to clean the machine once or twice in every month. Apart from this, during cold weathers, the oil gets condensed and finds it difficult to flow inside the engine valve. In such a situation, regular changing of engine oil will help to keep the machine in good health. So, during winter, we may have to change the engine oil and also lubricate the machine more often than we used to do it in other seasons.

Ensure that the brakes are in order:-

Most of the times we pay a lot of attention to important things and skip stuffs that we believe are not so important. Same goes in the case of heavy equipment. We may give lot of importance to the maintenance and servicing part of the equipment but at times, we fail to check the brakes of the machines. According to experts, checking the brakes is the first thing to be done before you begin your work. Majority of accidents happen due to brakes not functioning properly and at the right time. It not only causes damage to the machine but may also become fatal to the workers working on the site. Checking if the brakes fluid is at the proper level should be considered as a priority. Only when you are sure that the brakes are in good condition that you should start your work.

Check if the electrical systems are in order:-

Checking the electrical system is also an important part to ensure that the machine is in good health. The battery should be fully charged and the connections should be proper. It should not happen that while you’re working with the equipment, you press the button and it cease to work. It may only lead you into trouble.

 

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Safety norms can’t be ignored in a construction site

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Construction industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and like every big industry it also has areas that can create trouble for the owner of the business. This industry has many such areas but it seems that people have learned how to tackle them effectively and continue running the business. However, there is one such thing that recurs in spite of several steps taken by the governing body. The area is “Safety”. When we talk about Safety, it is not only limited to the safety of the people working in the site but also relates to the heavy equipment that are working along with the men. There have been several safety norms laid by companies but still accidents are bound to happen. At times, it is beyond our control but most of the time, it is within our reach. So how can something that we try to avoid safety happen so often. It is perhaps we tend to get over confident on ourselves and somehow believe that nothing is going to happen and therefore see no use of following the safety norms. This is where we lose our focus from one of the most important aspect that this industry relies on.

Wearing helmets while inside the construction site:-

We may skip to do something as simple as wearing helmets inside the construction site. While we enter the site, we probably do not see any danger but danger does not give a call before coming. A small piece of stone falling from the 20th story building can drill your head leading to serious injuries and you never know if the accident will happen to you or not. Therefore, skipping the most generic part of safety is for sure asking for trouble.

Hire qualified and experienced operators:-

We all want to save money but certainly not at the cost of our or someone else’s lives. What happens when you hire an operator who is not qualified to operate the equipment you want him to work on or for that matter you yourself want to see how it feels to be inside the cab. A wrong push of the lever and a major accident is on its way. You are not supposed to play around with things that are of so much importance. If you want to learn things, learn it from the right person. Hire a qualified and experienced operator. Even if you have to pay more to him, please do so. At least you will be assured that your men and machines will be safe.

Don’t allow the operator to do overtime:-

You may have lot of work to finish on the site for which you need the operator to work overtime. A couple of occasions of overtime are fine but do not make it a habit. Remember, operators are humans and not machines and they need proper sleep or else if they go drowsy at work.

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Komatsu has a lot of expectation from the year 2015

The slowdown of the global economy has put many big as well as small companies in the worry zone and many say it will perhaps take a couple of more years for them to see the glory days. So till then they have to do is to conduct business in the normal fashion without taking more risks. Taking risk at this juncture is only going to tarnish the reputation of the company because it is highly unlikely that you may get any high returns by taking unnecessary risks. Therefore, it is prudent that one carry on their businesses with caution as that will help them to conduct their business with impunity. Many big companies have seen a decline in their sales volume and they feel that the global slowdown is the major reason why they have such a low sales figure. Other than this, businesses in some countries have taken the major hit which has impacted the overall sales figure. Many are even pondering if it will be wise enough to wrap up their businesses in countries where they have suffered maximum losses. That will in a way help them cut off some of their losses in the future. They may also consider to lay off few employees for the time being as that will be a way in which they can save some money for taking major financial decisions.

China which has lately emerged as the world leader as far as its economy is concerned has also seen a fall in the construction and mining sector. Komatsu which is one of the largest producers of heavy equipment feels that China is no longer the market leader. Their sales of equipment in China have fallen drastically than they could have ever thought of giving them a shock of their lifetime. Companies like CAT have similar views. Tetsuji Ohashi, the chief Executive Officer of Komatsu, has said in an interview that China is losing its sheen as far as the construction and mining sector is concerned. He even went on to say that China is losing its hold from the economic growth and it is finally scaling down. The sale of Komatsu equipment has dropped noticeably between April and May and there has high chances that it will miss the annual sales target. He also felt that China is experiencing huge delays in the commencement of some construction projects. Alternatively, he also feels that the demand for mining machinery is also declining. This all attributes to the total mess that is happening in that country affecting the business of the company.

He feels that the impact of the situation in China is big and they have to closely monitor the situation before coming down to a conclusion. They just can’t take a decision without forecasting few very important aspects and are optimistic that things will get back to normal in that country. Komatsu sales have declined to almost 20 percent but they have high hopes for 2015. They feel that the year 2015 will at least heal some of their wounds if not turn the table for them.

John Deere business plans for the Year 2015

The year 2014 may have a wonderful year for many and not so wonderful year for some. But it was definitely not a very happening year for the heavy equipment manufacturing industry. They had to struggle a lot of factors for the entire year; out of which competition was the biggest factor. Other than this, there were factors like global economic slowdown, unrest in the Middle East nations, the overall business slowdown that has largely affected the mining, oil and gas and construction sector and many more reasons that has slow paced the overall industry. Overall, it has not been a great year for the overall industry and the forecast is also not so pleasant. Big and small equipment manufacturing companies are affected alike by the slowdown in the global economy. The sales of the equipment have gone for a toss and there are not much takers available in the market. This is perhaps the reason why many companies have suffered losses and their sales graph shows a massive decline which they have not seen for years.

Talking especially about John Deere, it has not remained unaffected by the impact of the slow paced market conditions. John Deere is known for producing agricultural and heavy equipment machines had to take the beating of the market. Deer’s outlook gave the news that for the new fiscal year the situation will be grimmer and they do not see any major improvement in the market situation. The outlook suggests that the sales of the equipment is estimated to take a dip of more than 15 percent for the current year and may further scale down to 21 percent during the first fiscal quarter. They also estimated that the net income of the company will be around $2 billion compared to $3.16 billion in the year 2014. Things were much better in the year 2013 with earnings of $3.54 billion. The fall in the number of earnings only suggest the performance of the company. It will not be superficial to express that the company needs to take some time out to think and revamp its strategies. May be they need to make some changes here and there and need to focus on few very important issues that may kick off the sales number from where it is now.

The news of poor sales has already affected the price of their shares in the stock market making it more difficult for the company. The company’s earnings were totaled at around $35 billion in the year 2013 which has now come down to $32.9 billion. This dismal performance has not brought down the morale of the employees of the company. The CEO of the company is positive that the company will bounce back and this time with a bang. Though there has been a global pullback in the agricultural sector, still the company will show profits in the year 2015. They have intended to prepare a more resilient model of growth that will help John Deere to turn the table to their favor.

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Application of Equipment Tracking Method for Mounting Profits and Lessening Downfall

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Generally the companies those who depend on the heavy equipment may sometime experience the decline in the profit margin and unfortunately breakdown of the business. The main reasons to this problem are the lack of maintenance of the heavy equipment; erroneous billings can lead to the path of over spending and loss in the market. To curb out the problem the management companies formulated a new kind of solution known as equipment tracking method. It is a constructive equipment executive structure that is appropriate to be utilized with any kind of apparatus.

Equipment tracking system helps the companies to gain knowledge of each and every appropriate machine and its usage. In accordance with the equipment facts the companies are being taught to expand productivity by monitoring equipment tracking solution. This system gives practical information about various equipments like forklift, light tower, bulldozer and generator.  Sometime the appliances are kept in the construction site for long days and when it is again needed it is complex to predict that for how much time the machine was in use. The incessant examining of the equipment in the equipment tracking technique helps in analyzing the longevity of the machine and decreases the fuel cost. Some of the oil and gas companies are applying this method to find out all possessions and equipment very easily. The equipments are connected with the internet connection and the location can be accessed simply. This system facilitates the oil and gas corporations to enhance punter service, perk up billing processes and augment communication with the distant manual workers.

The primary facet of the equipment tracking system is the substitution of customary paper equipment logbook with the computerized record diary. This solution proffers all kinds of information related to equipments and its eminence obligatory for cGMP agreement.  This scheme facilitates the companies with digital signatures and approvals and helps in optimization of handling apparatus. The safeguarding and the calibration measures are analysed electronically in a simpler and faster way. The system gives a practical announcement about the maintenance program of equipment and present the notice prior to the date of expire of any calibration event. This technique can be applied alone or can be accompanied with other well-designed operation management components to increase the output of the organisation.

To operate the equipment tracking technique a computer with internet explorer browser is required. Microsoft SQL Server is the principal database of this system. The client can go through the web page of this solution by browsing only internet explorer. The hardware and software versions are different according to the company’s category. This system is required to maintain an electronic logbook where the records of equipment cleaning, calibration are written. The other quality of this solution is the maintenance of the document in computerised manner so that at the time of approvals and review these documents can be presented very easily. The system also shows the longevity of the engine of any equipment and there is an indicator that displays the need of maintenance of the machine.

Case sees the year 2015 as the year of development

The year 2014 has not been a great year for many heavy equipment manufacturer and many have struggled hard to keep their business at bay. It is not that they see a possibility of shutting their business altogether, but they definitely see a hard time ahead. Few equipment manufacturing companies feel that the forthcoming year will bring joy and prosperity to their business. However, others do not support this view point. Some are also of the opinion to wrap up their businesses from the country they do not see much happening in the future and may focus in only those countries where they anticipate good business. This is the case with almost all the big companies. However, there are also some companies who keep a different perspective. They believe that it will make more sense to simply wait and watch how the overall market performs. Especially, for companies who are located in developing countries are more willing to sit tight and monitor the happenings. It is only after intensely pondering the situation that they might come to some conclusion. They just simply do not want to pull the trigger and later remorse on what they did.

Companies like Case sees this moment as a great opportunity. They feel that the year 2015 is the year of development for them and they have chalked out plans which suggest that they are determined to achieve growth consistently for the entire year. Having said that, they also assume that the forthcoming year will also be a year of immense challenges and it will not be easy for anyone to do business. They feel the reason for poor sales is because of falling demand. It does not have to do much with producing innovative machineries but has to do more with the fall of demand in the overall market.

Case has come with a not so unique way but definitely effective. They do not want any of their employees to do overtime and they feel that working for extra hours is not required in a market condition where the demand is low. For the time being, they do not intend to lay off any of their employees but are giving strong indication that they are certainly not hiring any additional labor force.  They are also working on the plan to reduce higher weekend salaries for its workers and will also significantly reduce their dependence on outsourced sections that will help them a long way to keep the cost in tack.

In order to protect the segment margins, the company has already started to act on its cost structure by bringing it in line with its inventory positions. As far as the agricultural equipment are concerned, it is estimated that they will see a fall in its sale volume for the entire year. Farmers who require machine with higher horsepower will shy away from buying due to weak crop prices. Nevertheless, they also feel that the situation may turn good at the end of 2015 and they will pick it from there.

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Advantages and Tips of Leasing Heavy Equipment for Construction and Mining Projects

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These days leasing of heavy equipment is considered to be a money saving option without compromising on the quality of the equipment. Both for short term and long-term purposes leasing can be the best option for the contractors and project managers in the construction or mining site. It has numerous benefits and advantages. Some of the outstanding benefits of leasing are as follows:

Leasing is cheap: If you don’t have adequate capital for spending then leasing is an excellent option. It will help you to get the heavy equipment you want. In case you need to upgrade your existing heavy equipment for an upcoming construction project you may need to spend hundred and thousand of dollars from the bank. If you consider leasing the equipment it can be cheap and less expensive.

 Saves capital for future:  It is not a shrewd idea to invest massive capital in purchasing new equipment. You need to save your precious money for unforeseen emergencies, economic downturn or in case of recession in the construction sector. Leasing is the best method of preserving money for future use and put together your capital for other activities. You need to make monthly payments for leasing a heavy machine or equipment for construction. You can avail small business credit from banks for financial assistance. So it is hassle free and helps you in preventing exhaustion of your cash.

Equipment leasing is also beneficial in cutting down operational expenses of the heavy equipments and finishing all the construction projects in stipulated time.

Helps in saving taxes: Under section 179 leasing gives you reduction up to $50,000.You need to discuss this matter with your tax consultant to avail this benefit. Your construction equipment you have taken for lease must come under this section so that you can avail tax benefit.

Tips of Leasing Heavy Equipment for Construction and Mining Projects

 

Research on which equipment you need: Compare the various kinds, brands, dimensions and models online to land with the best equipment. Research is important, as it will give you information on the various leasing or rental companies that provide tractors, scrapers, excavators, loaders, bulldozers etc.

Figure out how much time is needed to hire the equipment. The time period of renting heavy equipment spans from day by day, weekly, and monthly basis. So get to know in how much time you will get the equipments for hiring.

Use websites like RentItToday or Equiprent to find the least possible prices of renting equipments: They present leasing quotes free of costs for the heavy equipment you require. Apart from these websites you can get information from the Yellow Pages or use Google for searching.

Give back the equipment in time and in good state to avoid extra fees: Make sure you return the equipment in top condition without slightest damage.

To sum up leasing and renting a heavy equipment can be a daunting task but hiring it is beneficial for both small and big contractors in many ways.

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Make Your Heavy Equipment More Fuel Efficient- Ways to Achieve This

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Fuel efficiency, off late has become one of the widely discussed issues around the world. Almost every second automobile that we come across claims itself to be fuel-efficient. But the question that arises here, why is fuel efficiency such a concern among people all over today?

Well, there are a number of reasons as to why fuel efficiency has become the norm of the day. For one, a fuel-efficient automobile makes sure that you save all those bucks that go into the fuel expenses of the vehicle.  With the expenses of fuel rocketing sky-high, it is not really surprising that most of the automobile owning population are now looking for a system that helps them save money. And fuel-efficient equipment is definitely one of the best ways of going about the entire process.

The second reason for opting for fuel-efficient automobile is the environment. The fast depletion of natural resources has led the global population to look for ways in which the remaining of it can be saved and thus, the advent of fuel-efficient systems.

Making Your Heavy Equipment More Fuel Efficient

It is a widely known and accepted fact that the construction industry requires a huge sum of money in order to get things going smoothly. And the heavy equipment being such an important part of the entire industry, adds quite a lot to the entire expense. And in such a situation, it is important for the people of the construction industry to come up with certain measures that help them reduce this expense and push up the profit scale. And it is in this regard that the construction industry is now making use of fuel-efficient heavy equipment. There are a number of strategies that they have adopted in this direction.

  • Anti-idling policies

The idle time that every heavy equipment goes through contributes significantly to the entire fuel expense. It has been seen that the average 40% idle time that the heavy equipment goes through, besides being completely impotent also contributes significantly to the fuel expense. Hence, going for anti-idling policy can be a good way of reducing the fuel expense.

  • Making use of clean fuel

Construction authorities should also consider making use of clean fuel in their heavy equipment. Not only will this contribute to lowering the fuel expenditure, but will also make sure that the engine of the heavy equipment stays completely clean.

  • Making use of improved hydraulic steering mechanism

A recent research conducted by the Purdue College of Engineering showed that the use of efficient hydraulic steering mechanism developed by them helped reduce fuel expenses to a large extent. With the new improved mechanism, a significant 14.5% reduction in fuel consumption along with 43.5% improved fuel efficiency was seen in the heavy equipment.

Hence, one could safely conclude that the use of fuel-efficient heavy equipment not only helps in raising the productivity level of the heavy equipment, but also makes sure that the fuel that you put in is used optimally.

 

JCB sees 2015 as the year of improvement and possibilities

With the overall economic slowdown, not many heavy equipment manufacturing companies are optimistic about any positive opportunities in the year 2015. They feel that the economic slowdown has to do more with the unrest in the middle east, rise in oil price, government norms which are not so business friendly etc. that has led to a decline in the demand of heavy equipment. Even the equipment that is required for agriculture is also seeing a downward trend as far as its sales is concerned. Therefore, this suggests that the entire market is suffering because of the economic downturn.

If we see how it is going to be in US, the picture is not so pleasant. US economy is not in good order and it requires lot of work to put it back on track. Other than that, many government policies are not so business friendly. So there is a need for the government to ponder on such matters. Overall, not many believe that the year 2015 will bring any significant change in the current situation and things will more or less remain the way it is. However, there are few companies that shares slightly different opinion. Out of these companies, JCB is one. JCB being an UK company sees 2015 as the year of improvement and opportunities. They see hopes of possibilities that will flow in somewhere from the mid of this year. They feel that their company will welcome the New Year with a bang by launching the entry-level backhoe loader. According to JCB sources, they are launching the 3CXG backhoe loader in the Middle East and they also believe that this machine will save a lot on operational costs for its customers. The letter “G” in 3CXG means global which means that the company is looking to cater international markets and especially markets that have huge potential. Though there are problems in the Middle East but that does not stop them for entering the market with the entry-level loader. This clearly suggests that JCB is pretty determined to make it big in the year 2015.

If we talk about JCB 3CX, we get to know that the machine has a very good reputation providing great quality service to customers all over the globe. The chief innovation officer of JCB, Mr. Tim Burnhope says that the company is determined to offer solutions to different customer requirements and JCB works very hard to attain that reputation. According to him, the backhoe loader has been specifically designed to cater to emerging economies. It is a tough machine and can work under tremendous arduous conditions.

Most of the Middle East region is hard to dig area and it requires something stronger to penetrate the ground. Therefore, a machine like JCB 3CXG will be fairly compatible and can get the desired work done. The phenomenal part is that they have stuck to the basics and this is why they feel that they can sustain the horrendous tide that has made living difficult for other companies.

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Employ Parking Brake for Safety of Your Heavy Equipment

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Often, many of us think that a parking brake is used only for parking the vehicle on hilly roads or when the heavy construction equipment is mechanical or manual. This concept is entirely wrong, as parking brake is the most essential part of your heavy equipment whether you are running it on the hilly area or on the flat region.

In the bulky equipment manufacturing industry, this brake is recognized in the name of parking brake because it is chiefly applied to park the heavy equipment. Weighty machinery is held in parking condition with the help of the device, parking pawl. This machine is placed inside the transmission to break or extricate the vehicle so as to roll away it.  The parking brake has the ability to hold the heavy equipment in its parking place and assists in protecting its transmission, constant velocity joints and transaxle.

Overview of Parking Brake

In construction manufacturing industry, parking brake is the essential part of every type of heavy equipment that is also known as e-brake, emergency brake, or hand brake. It is a bolting brake which is basically applied for keeping the vehicle at a standstill position. Sometimes, it is also employed by the drivers to prevent the equipment from rolling situation when they required both throttle pedals and clutch to operate it. Generally, this sort of hand is brake available with the wire. This cable is joined to the brake mechanism on one side and to the foot pedal or lever on another side. This brake is also called as emergency brake because it acts as a saviour of the heavy equipment during the poor performance of the foot brake.

Most of the parking brakes are available in the market with the hand-operated lever function that is located in the middle of the console. The capacity of the parking brake not only confined to put the heavy vehicle in motionless state but also provides stability and reduces the danger of undulating away. The drivers place the parking braking by pulling the lever on the upward direction. And when they want to release the e-brake, they press the end key of the brake handle to lowering down the lever.

Procedure to Park Heavy Vehicle in an Angled Parking Area

  • The first thing the drivers should do is to place their bulky equipment far from the other vehicles at least maintaining the gap of five to six feet.
  • It is advisable to the heavy equipment operators to run their vehicle in the forward direction until they reach the middle of the parking zone.
  • When the operators see the middle of the parking area, they should turn the helm brusquely and proceed unhurriedly in to the space.
  • As the operators settle the heavy equipment to its suitable position, then they are required to align the wheels so as to run the vehicle in backward direction during the time of exit.

In conclusion, it can be said that braking system is one of the vital part of any sort of heavy equipment. There are some regulations regarding this parking brake that every heavy equipment operators should keep in mind. If you are operating a large material handling equipment or an earthy equipment, you should know the laws related to its parking brake part.

 

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