Tag Archives: heavy equipment

Learning the basics of heavy equipment

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Heavy equipment if learnt from the very basics can prove to be quite useful for the person who deals into it. For instance, a salesman whose job is to pitch construction equipment to big construction houses and to contractors needs to know almost everything about what he is selling. He might come across any sort of question and he needs to answer them to win their confidence. It is true that we do not want to buy a thing from a person who does not know much about it. Frankly, we will not have the confidence to buy it from him no matter how technologically advanced the stuff it is. We will always have this doubt that the person is not selling us the right thing because he couldn’t answer all our doubts. So when the salesman is dealing with heavy equipment, it is also dealing with large amount of money and nobody will want to buy the stuff from a guy who has less knowledge about the product.

Not only salesman but you can take for that matter anybody who is related to the industry that has need for heavy equipment, they need to have excellent understanding on the subject failing which can have serious consequences on their work and simultaneously on their career as well. So how do we go about learning the basics of heavy equipment and why we should start with the basics? Well, whenever you are about to learn a thing, you start from the scratch. It is because if you try to jump to the next level you will presumably and quite rightly not understand anything about the subject. They will be all interlinked to the first level which is ideally the basics. This is why you should also focus primarily on the basics of heavy equipment and learn it well. You can then steer into other dimension once you are pretty clear with the basics.

There are many institutions who teach people on heavy equipment. You can probably join one such place and gather books that will help you to learn about earth moving equipment. Books related to these subjects will be really helpful. You get to learn a lot from them. They consist basically everything that will help you know the basics of heavy equipment. Simultaneously you can also relate what is there in the books with the machine you have at your place. Please do not open up the machine because if you do so you may not know to put it back again. If you find that to be difficult then the next best solution is to use internet and check some videos that talks about the basics.

YouTube and other such websites contain a lot of videos that are referred by the best in the industry. They prefer to check out the YouTube videos if they want to know anything or fix up something on their machine. You can find them to be really helpful as far as learning the basics of heavy equipment is concerned.

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Servicing of heavy equipment can become quite a profitable business

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After having bought heavy equipment, we experience the real problem when we see the need to service the machine. Though the user manual also speaks about how you should maintain your machine to lengthen its life but getting the equipment regularly serviced by a mechanic is also very crucial. It has been lately found that people possessing heavy equipment see dire need of guys who can also service their machines. Heavy equipment manufacturing companies also have their servicing department but many of the times they are full with work and one has to wait for days and even months to get their equipment serviced. Getting good mechanics has become a big problem.

Construction companies big or small are in dire need of servicing stations that are reachable and can send their mechanics to service the machine without much delay. It is understood that mechanics will always be engaged with enough work to keep them occupied for days but they expect the servicing company to have surplus men who can be sent across to service the machine. Therefore people who are intending to open up such a kind of business can be assured that they will end up making good profits in this business. It can get you a lot of clients who are ready to pay you good money for your service.

Few important things are needed before you start the business of servicing heavy equipment.

Installing right infrastructure for the business:-

When you are thinking of starting up a service center, you got to be sure that you have the infrastructure in place. Servicing of heavy equipment is a task of huge responsibility and it also requires machines that do the work for you. It is pretty obvious that you can’t use your hand to clean the dirt that has been set in the interiors of the machine. For that you may need a water spray that will flush out the dirt from the system. In the same manner, you need other equipment for different kinds of work. So you need to ensure that you have the set of equipment ready before you start advertising about your business to others.

Having the right set of men to do the job:-

Having men who know their job is a very crucial point in this business. Before you start up the business, you need to have people who are good with servicing heavy equipment. You need guys who have worked as mechanics and have repaired different types of heavy equipment. Alternatively, they should also be aware of the places from where you can get heavy equipment parts because you may get machines whose parts needs to be replaced. So you buy the parts from that place in bulk and charge the customer as per the market price. So people who are experienced in servicing machines are the type you need for your business.

You also need to make sure that you pay your men real well so that they stick with you and do not move away to some other company just because they are offered more there.

 

Heavy equipment sell by performance or by mere brand name

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One of the most important component that has the potential to keep the construction industry moving is heavy equipment. For a person who wants to buy a heavy equipment, he is often baffled with the question if he should be buying an equipment that has a history of good performance or something that simply has a good brand name to back it up. Not all the famous and big brands have produced the best of machines and not all the low market brands have manufactured vulnerable machine is a point worth noting. Though brands like CAT, John Deere, Hitachi and alike are famous for producing real good machines but there are not so famous brands that have produced some machines surpassing the ones produced by the famous brands. In other words, one must go by a brand name as that develops a kind of confidence in the minds of the buyers but simultaneously, if one gets to know that a local company has come up with a real good machine, then they should also show interest in buying that.

We will discuss how a machine with a brand name is an easier selling product than the one without the name of a famous brand.

Brand creates confidence and trust in the mind of buyers:-

What happens when somebody tries to sell you a product that you have not even heard of? The product may be exceptional in terms of quality and performance but you do not know that. This means that the product though being highly productive and excellent in quality lacks the most important feature which works as a constraint from getting it sold. The product lacks a brand and people buy things that has a brand name attached with it. The reason they go for a brand is that other have used the product of this brand and they are content with the quality which in a way suggests that this brand produces goods of high quality and one can easily lay their trust on it.

Brands give importance to the quality of equipment:-

Since brands know that people have huge expectations from their products, they will not want to play with the quality of the equipments. They will want to give the best to the clients. However, knowing the needs of the clients become a must. They can’t produce stuffs that are overtly expensive and that no one is ready to buy it.  They try to maximize the feature components in the machine and try to offer it to the buyers at a reasonable amount.

Performance is more important than just the name of the brand:-

Without a brand’s name, you will find it almost impossible to sell a heavy equipment. Similarly, one can also create a brand name by producing quality machines. It is not that the famous brands were born famous. They had to make their way in. If they stop manufacturing quality machines that gives importance to performance, you will soon find them to be history and they will be replaced by someone who sells machines based on its performance.

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Determination is the key when it comes to construction industry

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In almost every industry, in order to attain the highest level, a person needs to be highly determined to reach till there. Skill also plays a pivotal role in his success but it seems that determination to succeed is the key when it comes to the construction industry. Construction sector is a highly competitive sector and one may have to experience a lot of ups and downs when they are a part of this industry. Many a times they are subjugated by their competitors and at times have to work at their whims and fancies so that they can simply survive in this sector. The big players hold a major share of the market and in order to just stay in and survive, small time companies often have to comply with the orders of the big companies. Other than that, there are different kinds of lobbies that one has to get associated with, without which it will be really difficult for them to carry on in this sector.

In this midst of all these hassles, there is one thing that keeps most of them going and that is the zeal, the determination to make it big in this sector. There are few things that one must do to keep that flare on.

Always think about your goal and move in that direction:-

This is pretty tough to do. However, it really pays you off handsomely. The only think that should be there in your mind is your business. This will help you to keep getting different kind of ideas, plans in your mind that you can make use to expand your business. You will undoubtedly be experiencing many other issues that will be other than your business. However, that should not affect your business plans and your intention to grow. Having said this, you should not mix your business life and your personal life together. This is real tough to do but you got to learn this with time. People may give you some advices. You may check if any of them actually works for you and in case if any of their advice works for you, then you can follow that whenever a crisis of that sort appears. The key is to just keep your focus intact and move in the same direction. Some problems or the other will always keep on surfacing. It will be ultimately your talent how you handle them and continue to move in the path you have chosen.

Always follow the guidance of a mentor:-

The construction industry is a highly complex industry and time and again you will come across issues that you may find new and may not know how to deal with it. This is when you require a mentor, a person who will guide you all the way through, a person whom you can trust and you know that he will never give you any wrong advices. While working in such a multifaceted industry, having a mentor who will help you to be focused is very essential.

 

 

How to purchase worthy heavy equipment

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Be it a construction business that owns heavy equipment or contractors who uses their heavy equipment in various construction sites, they all are worried about one basic thing and that is have they bought worthy heavy equipment? Is the machine going to work for many years as promised by the dealer or the heavy equipment company? These thoughts do make several rounds in the mind of the person who has recently bought heavy equipment and it is also very obvious for them to worry about the worthiness of the machine. They buy heavy equipment after investing thousands of dollars and they want suitable outcome of their invested money. They just want the machine to function when it is required to.

There are few things that one needs to do before he decides to go for procuring heavy equipment. These steps are simple but many skip doing them due to several reasons better known to them.

Go for a good brand:-

Purchasing heavy equipment from a famous brand has a lot of merits. A famous brand will not afford to play around with the quality of the machine and therefore whatever they will manufacture will be of top notch quality. Though they may sound to be expensive but will be very reliable when it comes to performing on the jobsite. You may have to shell more money while buying the item but then it will save your money as far as fuel consumption is concerned which becomes another major cause of worry to the owners of heavy equipment. Moreover, they will cost less on maintenance and will be more productive unlike machines of less popular brands which start giving problem after few months of purchase.

Take valuable suggestion from industry experts:-

It makes a lot of sense to take suggestion from few people who knows the in and out of the subject and then take your call. The heavy equipment company will speak all positive about the machine but you will get to know about its negative side from industry experts who have been working on different kinds of heavy equipment for the last many years. They might be in a better position to give you valuable suggestion about a particular machine. You might also consider taking suggestions from more than one person. However, refrain from involving too many people as that might confuse you and weaken your decision making ability.

Take an expert with you to shop for heavy equipment:-

Ask an expert to accompany you whenever you decide to buy machines. This is perhaps one of the best options you can take to purchase worthy heavy equipment. It will actually allow the expert to personally check the machine and also ask certain intrinsic questions which are technical in nature that you may have skipped to ask. This will always prove to be advantageous to you. The only criteria will be that you should know he is a trustworthy guy and will not mislead you.

 

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Modernization of heavy equipment has changed the dynamics of the construction industry

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With the advent of new technology, we also see the face of the relevant industry changing. It is pretty obvious that with new technology coming in, the method adopted by people towards their work is bound to change, which therefore impacts the overall performance of the industry. The arrival of new technology brings in a change in the attitude of people towards their work. They probably become more energetic and their aspirations rise manifolds. Though it brings in lot of positivity but there is also a fair chance of experiencing the negative side of it.

In the last few decades, the construction industry as a whole has seen a number of changes with the arrival of new technologies in this sector. Initially, there were hardly any sky touching buildings but now everybody seems to have an office in one such tall rises. This means the demand of constructing huge buildings is rising on an increasing trend and construction companies on the other hand demand for heavy equipment that are more technologically sound and highly effective in every manner. Be it building big bridges or creating an entire city under water, all seems to be possible with the help of technological advancements.

Owners of advanced technology heavy equipment get more projects:-

When you are about to give business to somebody, you will definitely check his credentials and the tools he has to complete your work. In the same fashion, when a client hunts for a construction company to complete a project, they ideally see what kind of heavy equipment does the company procures and how technologically sound are those equipment. They will be reluctant to give work to a company that lacks heavy equipment of latest technology and will look for bidders who has the potential to complete the work on time and if possible before time.

Entire township can be built in a span of few years:-

If we look back a couple of decades ago, building a township for residential purpose was very difficult as one had to construct large number of buildings in a large plot of land. This undeniably will take lot of time for the construction company to complete the work and give possession to the people who have booked the flats. Such projects may take more than 5 years to complete and if there occurs any issue with the title of the land then there are high chances that the entire work is halted for unknown period of time. These problems are quite rare these days. Firstly, it doesn’t take this long for a big construction company to construct a township and other than this they start working on the land only when the title on the property does not have any lien attached to it.

They use the latest machineries to plan the project and execute them. They understand that any delay will only cost them money and therefore they make use of advanced heavy equipment to complete the project as soon as they can.

Buckle Up on the Construction Equipment

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We often give a lot of importance to the safety of heavy equipment but when it comes to safety of the operator, we perhaps do not think much about it. It is not that we do not consider the safety of the operator to be important but it is for some reason have always taken a backseat and even the operator is not much bothered about it. You can hardly find any construction company who will ask his operator to buckle up his seat belt while he is working on the construction equipment. Though it is considered to be one of the most important safety processes to follow but not many operators take it seriously.

Buckling up on the construction equipment can prevent from colliding with the window of the machine when the machine hits something hard while in motion. However, people who drive trucks are often found wearing their seat belts. It is therefore to be understood that people are of the opinion that the chances of accidents happening while working in a construction equipment is far lesser than it is while driving a truck on the road. People may have the believe that since they are driving on the highway where there are other vehicles that move at a very high speed, there is always a chance of an accident and therefore buckling up can end up saving their lives.

But when it comes to heavy equipment they see that in a different way. They then feel that there is no point in buckling up when you do not have other construction equipment working at the same time and therefore there will be no collision. However, they forget the fact that while working in a construction machine, one has to go through a lot of jerks and if they can’t handle those jerks properly then there is a chance for them to come rolling down from the cabin to the ground. Though such types of instances are quite rare in nature but one can’t dismiss its vulnerability.

Now there are some heavy equipment on which you have to buckle up while you are working inside the cabin. The seat of the machines is positioned in such a way that you will fall if you do not buckle yourself properly. These seats are known as skid-steer suspension seats. Operators who work on excavators feel it is a must to wear seat belts for them. The machine keeps on jumping and one finds it to be extremely difficult to work if he is not buckled up. Excavators work on bumpy surfaces and therefore it bounces a lot which makes the operator to lose his seat every now and then. He will not be able to operate the machine if he is not able to position himself well on the seat and therefore it becomes a must for operators of excavators to wear belts.

Some construction companies are very stringent when it comes to buckling up on construction equipment. They just do not want any sort of untoward incident to take place for a silly reason like not buckling up.

Take the right call when it comes to heavy equipment

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In many situations, life gives you a second chance but there are few instances where you do not get a second chance and you got to ensure that you do it right the first time or else you consider that to be the end. Same goes with your business. In many situations that you encounter in your business, you do get a second chance but there also comes a point where the chance you have is the only one and you are not given any more chances. So you got to be ultra-careful and analyze the situation well before you make a decision. Taking important decisions is an art. You got to be absolutely sure of what you are doing as you know that you will get plenty of time to repent later if it goes against you. So do your calculations well and work on the graphs to understand the scenario and then take the decision.

In the construction business, one of the most important decisions that need a lot of pondering is buying heavy equipment. A construction company buys heavy equipment keeping the needs of his current project into consideration but the story does not ends there. He can’t throw away the machines once the project is completed. He has to use them for future projects as well. So in case he buys a machine whose utility is limited to his existing project and does not have any relevance to future projects, it does not make any sense for him to buy the equipment. Buying machines incurs good deal of money to the construction company and therefore taking a decision to buy machines that has its relevance for just one project does not sound to be a sane idea.

It is often advised by industry experts to take the right call when it comes to procuring heavy equipment. Renting machines for a short while can be a good idea but purchasing it for a short term project may not be a wiser one. Even if you rent heavy equipment before analyzing the need of the project can turn out to be a big waste of money. So if you feel that by renting heavy equipment you will not incur heavy loss, you may have to think all over again.

Getting your project studied by an expert in this domain makes lot of sense. The person will be liable to give you suggestions that will not be limited to procurement of heavy equipment but will also contain a gamut of other advices that will benefit you in every possible way. Their suggestions will be based on the facts that you will put across to them. Facts about your financial standing and the number of projects you have in hand and also that you are likely to acquire in the future. After doing a thorough research, they will guide you with the types of heavy equipment you should be using and if at all you should buy them or take them on rent or make use of some other modes so that you have them to complete your project. Overall, it will help you to take a sound decision.

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Not getting buyers for heavy equipment – Try selling online

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Heavy equipment are really expensive items and not everybody has the money to buy it. For instance, a guy who wants to set his foot in the construction industry may have a pretty hard time buying different kinds of heavy equipment. Firstly it will be out of his budget as long as he does not belong from an ultra-rich family and secondly he will have a tough time to get hold of someone who can sell him used equipment. Same goes for sellers as they also experience the problem in hunting down prospective buyers for buying their machine. This issue has been diminished with the advent of internet and online stores to a larger extent.

In today’s time, internet has given both buyer and seller the platform to buy and sell the machines safely. So sellers no longer have to pay huge chunk of money to newspapers to advertise their products. All they have to do is simply list the item on the website by paying a nominal fee and rest is sorted. Buyers will go through the listing and if that interests them, they will establish the contact and may finalize the deal.

We would be focusing on few pointers that stress on what a seller can do to maximize the visibility of his listing.

Try to put sufficient pictures of the machine:-

If you list the equipment without putting sufficient pictures on your post, it is possible that your page will not receive many views from the viewers. It is quite obvious that people will lose their interest the moment they find out that there are no pictures for the listing and therefore will not be in a position to understand what the item is all about. The description at times could be misleading without the actual picture. Putting enough pictures of the machine will always help in receiving more views for the post.

Description should be in detailed format:-

When a person would be looking for your item, he would be obviously wanting to understand the in and out of the machine. Therefore, you should give every possible detail of the equipment. This information will only help the prospect to know more about your product and he may quite possibly find it to be intriguing. This will result in establishing contact with you which will bring you closer to a probable sale.

Use everything the site offers to make the listing look attractive:-

We must have heard this a thousand times. “First impression is the last impression”. This saying goes a long way as far as listing equipment online is concerned. You should make use of hyperlinks or any other feature that the site offers you to make your listing look attractive. This will increase the visibility of your listing and will pull more prospects towards it.

Pay additional fee to maximize the listing:-

Some websites may charge a nominal fee to maximize the visibility of the listing. You can avail the feature by paying that fee.

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Dozer vs Excavator: which is more versatile

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Though all heavy equipment are built with a specific purpose to serve the construction industry, but now most of the machines can be used for multi-tasking. Gone are the days when heavy equipment were used for only for specific purpose and companies needed some other machine for the next work. Today with the help of one machine, many tasks can be completed. However, such heavy equipment are also expensive and certainly cost more than the traditional ones but people prefer paying the extra price for the comfort of one machine. At times, there are issues when there is a requirement of the same machine at two places. This is when construction companies make use of the traditional ones but only when it is most needed. If given a subject where we have to pick a dozer or an excavator based on their versatility, it will be quite a difficult one even for the experts to do so.

Both a dozer and an excavator are widely used for activities like demolishing a structure, bringing down a tree and clearing the site debris, grading and excavating. We can’t expect an excavator to do heavy duty land clearing work. It can’t be used to bring down real huge structure but can certainly be used to demolish sizeable structures. At times, when contractors do not have a dozer at his disposal, he makes use of excavators to bring down any structure. It does not matter much to him how big the stuff is and if the excavator can do it. He is ready to give time but can’t deploy one more machine. There the excavator becomes more versatile. Though it does work out of the way but still its versatility remains intact.

Some experts in the construction industry believe that an excavator is more versatile when it comes to performance on the field. It is used extensively for a number of activities and one can simply depend on that piece of metal to complete all his work. They also believe that if given a hoe, the excavator can do everything under the sun. One can’t use a dozer to that extent. However, that does not imply the dozer to be non-efficient equipment. The group of experts who have their patronage for dozers feel otherwise. They see the dozers to be more versatile as it can quite efficiently do all the work which is somewhat not possible by any other genre of heavy equipment. They consider it to be the toughest of all and right from bringing down huge structures to carrying loads of debris, it can do it all.

There are also a bunch of experts who feel that it all matters on what kind of accessories are attached to the machine. You can get the same quality work done from an excavator that you can with a dozer if you gift them with appropriate accessories. These equipment fall in the category where they can be transformed as per their utility.

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