Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Construction industry requires different types of heavy equipment for various types of works. They can’t limit their use to just one kind of machine for all the work. They have to bring in different heavy equipment that are capable of doing certain specialized work. For instance, you can’t make use of a loader for grading purpose. You have to use a grader for that work. Simultaneously, you can’t use any heavy equipment other than a water truck to spray water on the jobsite to contain the dust on the site. In the same way, when you are constructing a highway there are few heavy equipments that you need the most; without which you just can’t get the act right. You need a roller to crush the stuffs and make the road smooth and plain. Similarly, you also need an excavator at the beginning of the highway construction. Perhaps it all starts with an excavator which comes in handy for lot many activities.

A crawler excavator is perhaps the best heavy equipment that a contractor who engages in highway construction can have. A crawler excavator is quite similar to any other excavator which is exclusively used for excavating earth and rock and then loading them onto dump trucks. It basically has a boom which is attached to the front of the machine. At the end of the book, you will have a bucket with or without claws which is extensively used to pull out mud. The cabin in which the operator sits and operates the machine is just right above the undercarriage and is set on a rotating platform. The undercarriage of the machine has wheels or tracks which help the machine to move without losing grip. The attachment in a crawler excavator can be changed as per the requirement of the business. This means that you can now select from a range of options of attachments that you feel will get the work completed in lesser time.

The operator working on the excavator should be highly skilled and experienced as you can’t have someone who has little or no experience in highway construction. Operators who have worked for at least 5 years in constructing small roads can be signed up for highway construction. They should be under the supervision of senior operators who have loads of experience in constructing highways. Constructing highways is a tough job and it takes years for operators to clear the ground for the next level.

A contractor who has taken up the job of excavating should have more than 3 excavators working at a time on the site. They should set up a point till where the excavation work will be carried out and also a deadline should be given to the operators to make sure that the work is done within the given timeframe. Excavating work should be done in a phased manner and not dig up the entire place at one go. Once the excavating work is done, it should pave way for other machines to complete their part of job.