Tag Archives: Construction Equipment

Know a bit about heavy equipment to ease selling them

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Selling items is a cake walk for people who know their product well. Guys who can speak for hours on a particular product are also confident of selling the item without much hassle. They are confident that they will be able to answer any questions that are thrown at them. Their confidence about the product speaks how knowledgeable they are and how easily they can convince people to buy the item.

Salesmanship is all about the confidence you have on yourself and the product that you are selling. If the product that you are asked to sell is not quality stuff you will problems while pitching it because you know at the back of your mind that you are not speaking the whole truth. You are disclosing facts that the customer needs to know but there is very high possibility that the customer will get back to you with complaints. This will pull down your confidence level while pitching the commodity. This is why you should never engage in things that are of inferior quality because it will come back to you and you may lose your customer forever.

A sales man who sells heavy equipment needs to be very precise with the features and the shortcomings of the machine. He/she just can’t afford to misinform his customer about the machine. In case, he/she is asked a question that is technical and he does not have an answer for it then he should state that he will get the answer for him rather than saying something that may sound good at that point in time but when the beans are spilled he may get into a problem.

Technical knowledge of heavy equipment is not necessary for a salesman but it is always better to know more about the stuff you are selling than asking the customer to give you time to get back with an answer. It somehow also puts you in a bad light and the customer may wonder if you at all know anything about the machine. Remember there are many other heavy equipment salesman who are in hunt of customers. In a situation like this, you can’t afford to lose a prospect with your ignorance for the machine.

Spend time with engineers to know a bit of technical stuff. No one can tell you about heavy equipment better than an engineer who works on building machines. If you can’t catch hold of an engineer which in most of the time is difficult to get through to them you can always find a heavy equipment mechanic who will be the next best person to help you explore your knowledge on heavy equipment. You can watch him work on a machine and ask questions. Apart from this, you can also watch videos on internet that will impart you information about different types of heavy equipment. These things will really help you gain lot of information about machines and this in turn will help you gain the confidence to sell the product.

How to look at oil analysis reports on your heavy equipment

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Oil analysis reports on heavy equipment are as crucial as a blood report is to a human. By the blood report we get to know the ailments in our body and in the same fashion by doing an oil analysis we get to know if the machine that we see so strong is indeed strong or is it becoming weaker from inside. Remember just like we humans who may look strong from out but may carry a lot of ailments that remains hidden inside our body the machines too may have issues inside it but may still look healthy from the outside. It becomes the duty of the owner to ensure that the fluids of the machine are checked in a timely manner and then an analysis is done to understand the actual position of the machine and if the equipment is not as healthy as it appears to be then necessary steps need to be taken to get it fixed.

A contractor will not have the tools to conduct oil analysis and therefore it is recommended to check for an authorized and qualified oil analysis laboratory who will do the necessary tests for you and give you the detailed report. Ideally the oil analysis laboratory gives you 2 types of reports. One is the basic report and the other is the diesel crank case report. The basic report is not a very helpful one as it only provides with very limited information which focuses on wear metals and contaminants. But there is certainly more to see than just these two and therefore it is advisable to go for the diesel crank case report. In the latter one, a person gets detailed analysis on the report which helps the owner understand the current position of the machine. It not only gives feedback on wear metals and contaminants but also on additives, viscosity and base number.

Other than these 2 analysis there are more oil analysis that can be done which will be slightly expensive than the above 2 tests. They include more chemicals which make the process lengthier but accurate and which is why if anyone wants to go for advanced oil analysis they can ask for it. By paying a bit more will lessen your worries as you will have the correct picture in front of you and that will help you to decide the way forward. Once you are done with the tests and the preventive actions are taken the next question is when you should again undergo the tests. Well that will be informed to you by the guys in the laboratory. So get a detailed guideline from them and also some piece of advice on how you should be dealing and what extra care should be taken to increase the longevity of the heavy equipment.

Doing oil analysis regularly not only lengthens the life of the machine but also increases its efficiency and you may find that the machine is consuming less fuel and have become more productive.

What machines are used in an environmental disaster clean up?

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We often think that heavy equipment are exclusively used for construction related work and it does not have any importance other than that industry. However, the fact is heavy equipment are used in many other areas which does not fall in the construction genre. Construction is probably one of the sectors where we use the machines a lot but this is certainly not the only place where we require these big pieces of metal. Heave equipment are extensively used to clean up the debris after a catastrophe has hit a place. Be it an environmental disaster clean up or a human made catastrophe, these heavy equipment play a significant role when it comes to saving lives of people who are stuck under the debris. There have been a lot of instances in the past where heavy equipment like an excavator are used extensively to pull out debris from a catastrophe hit zone and save the precious lives of people.

Heavy equipment are also used in cases where there has been a manmade catastrophe. For instance, if there is a major accident in one of the chemical industry that causes havoc in the area. In order to contain that from spreading, the authorities take necessary steps so that it does not spread to the other areas. However, once it has been contained the next part is to set things right and this is where the use of heavy equipment come. They need to bring in different types of machines as no one type of heavy equipment will be capable enough to do the entire job. Heavy equipment such as dozers, excavators, backhoe loaders, articulated trucks and other such machines are used to remove the left outs. This is an extremely painful and risky job for the operator as it can also endanger his life. So the guys who are behind the machine should be extremely experienced and need to tactfully complete their job.

When an environmental disaster like earthquake hits a place, it can swallow the entire city and it can be quite a difficult task to set aside the debris and rescue people from it. Floods, heavy winds, hurricane can also cause extreme damage to the people of a city and heavy equipment are used for the rescue work. Not just heavy equipment but also the attachments that are used on machines play an important role in cleaning up the mess in the zone. Therefore, when you are deploying heavy equipment like an excavator in a zone that has been struck by an earthquake, you also need to keep handy all those attachments that are required to remove the debris quickly. After all, you may find many lives inside the wreckage waiting for help to come.

Dozers are used to break open structures that cause hinder to the rescue work. So you can make use of lot of machines on the site at the same time. Each doing their part of work and ensuring that they simply things for the rescue team to pull out lives stuck inside.

Cat Mini excavators are used extensively in the construction sector

We have often seen those big heavy equipment working around the construction sites half drenched in mud making way for a solid foundation. These heavy equipment play a strong role in the making of the all the tall rises that we see around us. Be it for commercial or for residential purpose the importance of these heavy equipment can never be rules out which is why these stuffs are so expensive in the market. Lately, it has been realized that these big machines can be used in huge construction sites but what if the contractor has to work on a narrow lane or in areas where there is not much space between two structures and still he needs to do this work without causing any harm to the other structure. It is simply not possible to bring in the heavy equipment that we see to perform in such sites. This is where the need of mini heavy machines becomes instrumental.

Caterpillar is known in the heavy equipment and the construction sector for its top quality machines and high performance. They have brought in the 302.5 mini excavators which according to industry experts are the best of its kind and can pose a good competition to the rest of the heavy equipment manufacturing companies. To begin with its specification, the gross power of its engine is 23 hp with a displacement of 91.3 cu in. One must not compare the power of a mini excavator with a full-fledged one as they are two completely different variants of machine. The operating weight of the machine is 2735 kg with a fuel capacity of 41.5 liters, the hydraulic system fluid capacity is 50 liters and the hydraulic system relief valve pressure is 20594kPa. Moving into the undercarriage segment, the show size of the excavator is 300mm and it has a travel speed of 4.5 km/hour. It is considered to be the maximum that a machine of this caliber can have. The Drawbar Pull is 22 kN and the track gauge is 1150 mm.

Moving to the important segment which is the Stick of the machine, the total size of the stick is 1110mm with a maximum digging depth and maximum reach along around of 15 ft in and 14.4 ft in respectively. The maximum cutting height and loading height of the machine is 14.4 ft in and 10.2 ft in respectively. It also has a good enough vertical wall digging depth which is around 7 ft in.

Talking about the dimension of the machine, the total width of the machine to the outside of tracks is 1140 mm. The length of the tracks on ground is 1470 mm and the ground clearance is 310 mm. The height to the top of the cab is 7.5 ft in which can easily accommodate the operator and also gives him enough space to move around inside the cabin. Overall, he will not find it as a packed room with limited space to spread his legs. Construction companies find it extremely affordable to buy mini heavy equipment and CAT 302.5 mini excavator is certainly one of the best choices that they have.

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Green (Environmental Friendly) Heavy Equipment

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Human progress is nothing if it is not competent enough to save its own race and what is ideally happening in today’s time is we are making living more complicated that what it was few decades ago. Our standard of living and our health has gone for a complete toss and people are suffering from all sorts of health related issues. One of the major reasons why we have to live an unhealthy life is air pollution.

If we feel that eating wrong is causing number of health related issues, we are not wrong in considering that as a big threat. However, that is still manageable as it is entirely in our control. We can change our lifestyle just in case we feel that it is getting out of hand and will result in losing our life but there is not much we can do about the air we breathe. We have to get out of our homes and we have to breathe constantly. We are inhaling poisonous air and making ourselves sick. Heavy equipment have a major role to play when it comes to polluting the environment. They emit huge proportion of toxics in the air causing numerous health related complications. People are becoming prone to diseases like asthma, heart strokes, lung cancer and so on and so forth.

Diesel run heavy equipment are the major source of emitting poisonous gas and make living next to impossible for people living close to a construction site. In such a situation, it becomes very important for heavy equipment manufacturing companies to introduce machines that are eco-friendly. The term eco-friendly denotes to things that does not cause or comparatively cause less harm to the environment. Governments of the developed countries are also taking initiatives by introducing subsidies to land to the construction companies who are using eco-friendly heavy equipment.

Eco-friendly heavy equipment are available in the market. It is just that they are expensive as compared to the conservative form of machines and perhaps has few performance related issues. Well, the equipment manufacturing companies are working hard to fill this gap and manufacture more machines that do not let down their clients one grounds of performance. They understand how important performance is for companies working in the construction domain. The government is also setting up various environmental standards that speaks about the standard of engine equipment manufacturing companies should be producing. They are kind of setting up a regulation and all the equipment producing companies should stringently stick on to those parameters. The sad part of the story is that the regulation is applicable only for the newly built machines and not for the existing ones which are the major contributor of air pollution.

This means that it will take another couple of decades for the non-environmental friendly machines to go obsolete, subsequently causing more harm to the people and claiming more lives. In order to curb this menace, government is urging construction companies to ensure that they conduct regular maintenance of their machines and apply mechanisms to reduce the emission of intoxicants.

 

 

Adequate security for heavy equipment is of utter importance

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For any construction company irrespective of its size, it is quite crucial to take adequate steps to ensure that the heavy equipment in the construction site are safe and secure. There are enough reports that you get to hear where machines have been stolen due to inadequate security. These machines are then sold in the grey market for a lesser price and you will also find enough buyers for it. Now the security of heavy equipment is the sole responsibility of its owner and that can’t be pushed on anybody else’s shoulder.

If you are running a big unit then you have people under you who are given the responsibility to ensure that the machine or their parts are in place and no trespasser can ever manage to sneak in without taking prior approval. These measures carry a lot of weight in today’s times when there are increasing incidents of thefts happening from the construction units. At times, the burglars are able to creep in and manage to take the entire heavy equipment but most of the time they content themselves with the vital parts of the machine.

Tight security can be one of an option:-

You have to guard the construction site with enough men who will be stationed at the entrance and in the exit (if the exit is different from the entrance). At times, there are more than one entrance points and hence you must make sure that you have the guards on all the entrance and exit points so that no one can sneak in and get out easily without being checked. Their primary work will be to check each and every person and their belongings when they get inside the site and also when they move out of it. You never know if an insider is also attached to one such gang and therefore you should leave no stone unturned to ensure that your site remains theft free.

Install cameras at all important junctions:-

You need to keep a round the clock watch on the construction site and it is not possible by manning humans where there are chances that they may feel fatigued and may take a short nap. This is why it is important that you install cameras at various junctions so that it tracks every move of people that works on the site. When you are installing cameras, please make sure that they are of superior picture quality so that if there is a theft that takes place in the site, it should not give a blurry picture of the burglar. Moreover, the guards stationed in the security cabin from where they can view the pictures should be extremely active and if they see anything wrong on the site they should immediately raise an alarm.

Drones can be used:-

Flying drones can be used for this purpose as well. The only challenge is that you can’t have them flying for the entire night and therefore measures should be taken to give rest to drones at regular intervals. In a nutshell, it should be in complete control of humans.

Best heavy equipment salesman knows customer’s needs

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Salesmen are generally of two types. The first is the one who sells his/her products without even knowing if the customer really needs them. The do not bother much to know how essential the commodity is for them. They just try to create a need of product in the lives of the customers and sell the stuff. The other type of salesman believes in doing a bit of extra work and tries to know what the customer really wants. He/she spends more time with their client and asks him/her questions that are relevant for their sale. This type of salesman often try to get his act right by trying to know as much as possible about the business of the customer and the effectiveness of the product to him in his life and he then pitches the product accordingly. For him the features of the product are secondary. He/she first tries to analyze the reason why the customer would buy the product in the first place.

Giving big sales talk can often help you achieve your sales targets but that can’t go for long. At one point your sales talk will not help and eventually you will be forced to do one of the two things. You either have to give up your profession or start working like the type 2 salesmen. When it comes to selling heavy equipment to construction companies or to contractors, it is quite difficult task to do so by merely using sales talk. As long as you do not understand the business of the construction company, it will always be a problem to meet your sales target.

Every other construction company may have different requirements of heavy equipment and it quite essential to know these requirements first before you pitch the products to them. It may be possible that they do not need another machine but are looking for some kind of ancillary. In this situation no amount of sales talk will convince the customer from buying an additional machine. You have to sell them what they need and in this case they need an ancillary.

Most of the time, it has been observed that construction companies are confused with what they need. To put it in simple words, they are confused about upgrading their existing fleet of heavy equipment. Some people in the company may be of the opinion to upgrade the old machines by buying new ones while others may feel that doing such an activity will cost the company dearly. This is where the role of the salesman comes into picture. The salesman should conduct a thorough study of the customer’s business needs and check if he really needs to uplift his existing fleet. Here, the salesman has to know what kind of heavy equipment are needed by the company to carry on with its activities. He/she should guide them in the right way and not think about augmenting his sales figure just because he/she has an opportunity to do so. His/her efforts will be appreciated by the company and may be referred to others as well. This in turn will eventually turn him into the best salesman.

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Construction Telehandlers work seamlessly in rugged construction sites

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Telehandlers are frequently used lifting machines, typically mounted on mobile chassis and equipped with a telescopic boom that provides different lifting heights depending on the requirement. Telehandlers are generally applied where normal forklifts cannot work. The opening end of a telehandler is mostly fitted with a with a pallet fork for lifting and transferring materials from ground to a height or from one place to another on a construction site. Some customized models of telehandlers may be designed to lift buckets or other similar attachments to carry liquid or semi-liquid materials.

Types of telehandlers

In the construction industry, “Rough Terrain Forklifts” are commonly called telehandlers. In fact, telehandlers are just one type of rough terrain forklifts. There are total three types of telehandlers are found:

  • General telehandlers – These are the telehandlers that are commonly used in any construction site that can comfortably move from one place to another and have a vast utility in lifting weights to a height. A high-reach telehandler can lift a weight up to a height of 50-56 ft. They can carry 5500-12000 lb. to that height. These days, many other attributes are added with a high-reach telehandler to increase its utility, like steering wheels that can tilt, roomy cab design for increasing operator’s efficiency, single joystick for multiple functions, all-wheel steering, etc. These telehandlers are used in adverse environments where construction works are going on.
  • Rotating telehandlers –These telehandlers are as efficient as general telehandlers but with an additional benefit that these telehandlers can rotate 360 degrees with lifted weight. That means a rotating telehandler can cover a wide area from a single position. This particular feature of rotating telehandler helps to work seamlessly where space is short or where too much movement is not possible. Some rotating telehandlers contain two joysticks instead of one. The second one controls the rotation only. Most models are available with stabilizers that ensure safe movement of the rotator from one side to another when the telehandler is fully loaded.
  • Straight mast forklifts – Apparently, they look like lift trucks but they are actually a different kind of telehandler with having features of a rotating telehandler and forklift. These machineries are mostly used in construction sites for loading and unloading building materials. Their standard lifting capacity varies from 5000 lb. to 35000lb and lifting capacity just like a general telehandler. Straight mast forklifts are available in two-wheel and four-wheel carriage.

Telehandler attachments

Telehandler attachments are also important and selected as per the work specifications. The standard carriages pallet forks, rotating carriages, etc. are available with the range of 48-72 inch length. Besides, heavy duty multipurpose buckets, grapple buckets, and truss boom are also used depending on the requirements.

Telehandler tires

Tires are one of the most vital parts in telehandlers. As the machine need to work in a rugged construction environment and used to lift and shift heavyweights, rim sizes, thread depths, widths, and diameters of the tires vary according to the average weight lifting capacities of the machines. Both pneumatic tires and polyurethane tires are used in telehandlers.

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Know all about heavy construction equipment – types available and how you should choose the right one!

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Heavy construction equipment is one of the most important elements in today’s world, where there is a continuous growth of the construction industry and new constructions are taking place every day. That is the reason, why the heavy construction equipment supplying job has become such a popular one in the industry. If you too are thinking of starting such a business, it is important that you know all about this.

Types of heavy construction equipment:

Many people do not know much about the different types of heavy construction equipment that are available in the market. These are used for various purposes. Some are used to assist in the construction and some are used indirectly in carrying, loading and unloading raw materials.

Some of the common heavy construction equipment that you will often get to see at a construction site, on the roads etc. includes –

  • Cranes
  • Backhoe
  • Loaders
  • Excavators
  • Forklifts
  • Bulldozers
  • Concrete mixers.

These are just a few of the many that you will frequently get to watch. However, there are many others that are not used as widely, but are meant for job-specific tasks. These are usually used during earthquake damage, storm damage and such other damage cleaning.

How can you access one?

The heavy construction equipment is not very cheap. There is no denying the fact that you will have to spend a lump sum amount of money, if you want to own one. Hence, it is always a better idea that you hire them, instead of owning them. This way, you will be able to access the ones that you would require for a particular task and you will not even have to spend a huge amount of money to own them and take care of them.

But of course, the heavy construction equipment is something that not everyone and anyone would require. It is mostly required by the construction industry companies and services. So, if you own such a company, it is always advised that you choose one that you can own, rather than hire it. This is because, hiring it every time will only cause you to pay more.

Choosing the right heavy equipment:

Once you have decided, whether you want to buy one or hire one, you need to check out a number of factors. These would include –

  • Brand: The right brand is very important. With a branded company, you will be able to have the peace of mind regarding its function and life.
  • Condition: In case you are buying used heavy equipment, make sure it is in a good condition.
  • Papers: The papers of the used heavy equipment must be proper, otherwise you will not get a permit and insurance, if you wish to have one.

If you take these factors into consideration, it will be easier for you to make a choice. In case you are still confused, always consult a skilled professional, who has years of experience in this field or a dealer of heavy equipment. They will be able to guide you properly.

Hose service repair for your construction equipment

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It is evident that one can’t work without heavy equipment in the construction industry. Heavy equipment is not only restricted to equipment that we see on the construction sites breaking structures or digging the earth or drilling deep inside the ground. When we talk about construction equipment it also takes into account equipment that are perhaps not a part of heavy equipment but are still crucial for the functioning of the business and if they fail to work as they should then the laborers are not able to work on that day. Therefore it is equally crucial to ensure that all your construction equipment is in order.

No matter how trivial they may seem to be they still hold an important ground as far as the construction equipment and its functions is concerned. Construction equipment used pumps, valve spools etc. to do their work. Now these stuffs are interconnected with steel resistant rubber hoses. Since the machines are required to work on a daily basis there is high probability of hydraulic oil leaking from the hoses. This is when you are required to either repair the hose or replace it completely with a new one.

Repairing a hose is a tough and some also believe a dirty job but certainly worth the time you spend and the money that you can save. However, if you do not know much about the hose then it is recommended that you do not try to work on it or else you may end up damaging the entire stuff. It is better that you call a guy who can get that repaired for you. They should be qualified to do that work for you and should have enough experience in repairing hoses. Normally, the hose service repair for your construction equipment is not a complex process but for a person who does not know anything about it should not venture into it. It makes sense to first learn the way the hose can be changed by watching the hose service repair guy while he is doing his work and then you can try the next time if it develops any problem.

There are many small companies who engage in services like repairing hose or replacing it. They can be approached if you see a major burst in the hose and the oil is flowing in high volume. It is also important to locate the source of the problem. When you call the repair guy, he will ask you few important questions which he should know before he can turn up to the jobsite with his tools. So you should be in a position to identify the source of the leak and inform to the service guy. Please note that you should not use your hands or any body part to detect the leak. You can use detection additives that can help you to find the source of the leak. These preliminary information should be passed on to the service guy and if he requires any further information, he can guide you over the phone and you can avail the stuff for him.