Tag Archives: Construction Jobsites

Rain and Construction Jobsites don’t mix

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It becomes very difficult to work on a hot summer or on a chilled winter in a construction jobsite but it is nearly impossible to work during the monsoon. When it rains heavily the entire jobsite is full of dirt and water that workers find it extremely hard to work. Operators are also unable to operate their heavy equipment in the muddy water. Moreover there is always a risk posed to the heavy equipment if you force your way inside the marshy land. It is definitely not the right thing to do if you are concerned about your machines.

If you are laying the foundation for a high rise building, you have to dig deep inside the ground. Now if it rains, it will cover the entire place with water. The solution to this will be to remove the water completely through some water suction equipment and then finish the job. Now the problem is once you begin to remove water from the ditch and if it rains again, it will once again fill the place with water. So you may have to wait and see that it does not rain for a week’s time so that you can continue with the same process and then complete the work. In this entire process, you have lost a lot of your time and money just to remove water from the ditch. You may also have to depend a lot on the metropolitan department for their predictions. However, it is just mere predictions and can be wrong as well.

Moving our focus to heavy equipment and how rains can be a game spoiler when it comes to your expensive construction machines. If your heavy equipment is not well maintained and not painted, there are high chances that it may begin rusting. The skin of the machine will come off from its layer and it will look shabbier than before. You have to spend some money on painting it in order to give it a new look. Other than that, there is always a chance of dirt making its way inside the machine and getting settled in there. Also many people are of the opinion that it is a big waste of money to clean or service heavy equipment as it will become dirty the moment you start using it in the rain.

It will also affect your business big time. A lot of your work will remain pending because of rains and if it is incessant then it makes matter worse for you. You may work on strict timelines but incessant rains can force you to alter your plans and change the deadlines. It is never easy to change deadlines and if you do so you, it comes with a lot of ramifications. It also has the potential to tarnish your goodwill. Many construction companies have found that rain and construction jobsites just do not mix well with each other and it is therefore for the best interest of the industry and also of their individual companies that they try to keep all unimportant tasks during the monsoons.

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Technology and Connectivity Fueling Digital Construction Jobsites

By Lonnie Fritz  which is a Heavy Construction Industry Consultant for Caterpillar Inc.  (Guest Post)

The fully connected digital worksite is more than likely the biggest opportunity construction project managers and fleet owners are missing out on when looking at enhancing their operations.

Intelligent construction is the way of the future. It’s not how hard you work in today’s construction industry, but rather how smart you work that is going to improve your bottom line. Having a fully connected digital worksite removes the guesswork and empowers contractors to expedite their projects with confidence.

Using equipment with CAT technologies can help your business increase productivity and better control costs by achieving specific results including:

  1. Managing your equipment costs

With the introduction of the Association of Equipment Management Professionals (AEMP) Telematics Standard in the winter of 2014, mixed fleet managers, either on-site or off-site, now have access to critical data concerning their equipment, such as machine location, fuel consumption and operator behavior in the palm of their hand.

Telematics data gives you more control over maintenance and repair needs of your fleet. The longer you can effectively stretch maintenance intervals, the more time and money you can save. Such data also brings maintenance and repair information to a manager’s attention before maintenance issues become critical problems. This substantially reduces unplanned downtime and repair costs.

  1. Making the most out of your fleet

Connected construction worksites allow project managers to get the most out of their fleets. The more connected your machines are and the more effectively your crew uses the data they produce, the faster you will start to see tangible results. Variables such as equipment utilization, in terms of right-sizing the number of machines on-site, and equipment productivity can be determined. Both can help in setting cost predictions for future project bidding.

  1. Taking your operators to the next level

Machine control technologies that offer automatic or automated functions help improve operator productivity, which improves the bottom lines of projects in several ways. A prime example of this is Cat GRADE, a part of Cat Connect Technology. Operating a dozer is one thing, but it takes far more expertise to shape terrain. With Cat GRADE in place, you can expect to reduce rough-grading and finish-grading costs, reduce material costs, and decrease rework overall by as much as 50 percent. Machine control technologies allow operators to manage the project and the materials, not just the machine.

As soon as you activate telematics data-feed capabilities and log into a reporting interface like VisionLink®, you’re able to take advantage of outstanding productivity benefits, as well. For most construction company owners who employ smaller fleets, this technology can deliver immediate productivity results. Larger fleets or fleets working several projects at the same time should concentrate on creating a technology plan centering around the most cost effective equipment and technology pairings.

When you decide to take your worksite digital, the decisions that need to made for that project can be made by the right people at the appropriate time in order to get the job done as efficiently as possible. However, the benefits are not limited to those areas mentioned above.

A positive byproduct of a connected worksite is an increase in safety. Our Cat® Connect Technology can send alerts and fault codes out to operators or foremen when there is a situation that requires their immediate attention. As more machines are connected on the worksite, your fleet will become progressively more efficient, safe and productive.

Falling behind the competition and facing greater profitability challenges are real risks in the construction world today. Technologies that enable optimally connected digital worksites reduce those risks. Ultimately, digital worksites are meant to make your work more efficient, improve your profit margins and enhance workplace safety. Why wait?

Guest Post

By Lonnie Fritz

Heavy Construction Industry Consultant

Caterpillar Inc