Tag Archives: heavy equipment

Guidance is required in every step in the construction industry

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

A person who is new to the construction world or has been a part of it for the last many years needs guidance at crucial juncture. It is somewhat dangerous for the future of any company when the boss starts taking every decision without even keeping the employees in loop. It is always possible that the decision he takes can backfire and if that does it can jeopardize the future of the company. Such kind of actions can pose a serious threat to the very existence of the company. It is therefore a must for any foresighted business owner to talk with his people about a scenario and check their thoughts on the subject. He might come across a lot of new ideas that he must have never envisaged. It actually opens the door for something new and the collective decision have more probabilities to succeed.

It becomes instrumental to understand whom should we take advices from. Taking suggestion from anybody will only land you into troubled waters. If it consists anything that needs people from the legal team to get involved, you need to connect to the legal department of your company and seek advice from them. If yours is a small company and you do not have any legal team working for you then you can seek advice from an attorney who has experience in advising on matters like these. It will be your job to identify the right person from whom you can expect valuable advices.

In a construction industry, the two departments where you require expert advice are legal and procurement of heavy equipment. Though you may understand which heavy equipment is required for what kind of work, you may still need some guidance from the experts. There is a possibility that you are not updated with the recent happenings in the heavy equipment industry and therefore there are chances that you may end up taking some incorrect decisions. This is why it makes ample sense to have a separate team who handles the heavy equipment part completely. Right from guiding you which machine is needed for what purpose to maintaining it, you can give the entire responsibility of machines to them.

Now comes taking some critical decisions in your business. Ideally, any sane businessman will never take a decision without consulting the head of different departments. He has to take everybody into confidence before he take a decision. For instance, there is a bridge building project and many are eying to get the contract. However there are some hassles that one needs to understand and after calculating the pros and cons one can come down to a concrete conclusion. In order to come to that conclusion, he needs to get advices from all the head honchos and only after summing it up he can finally put it across on the transaction table.

Some experienced men who have encountered a similar situation in the past will share their experience and will also caution you of any shortcomings. This is how their advices will push you towards success or save you from an evident disaster.

Related articles across the web

How to tighten the tracks on heavy equipment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Though been one of the most important components in the construction industry, heavy earth moving equipment is sadly the most ignored element of all. Construction companies are all running a race against time. All they know is to complete the assigned work in time or for that matter before time so that they can catch up with another piece of work and in this entire process they fail to remember that they need to give a bit of attention to an important segment which is the earth moving heavy machines. Construction companies are heavily dependent on mechanics whenever they see an issue with any of their equipment. This is not a bad thing to do but depending completely on something can also take a toll on your work when you do not find the team around to get your work done and you do not know how to get things moving in the absence of the team. This can certainly leave you in a high and dry situation and can also cost a fortune to the company.

So the ground rule is you got to take enough notice of your heavy equipment and learn a few things that you can do to fix things in the absence of a mechanic. One of the most common problems is with the track of the heavy equipment. They come out way too often and you are unable to figure out how to get rid of this issue. Well, you will not be able to get rid of it completely but maintaining the overall machine on a timely manner which also takes into account the track of the machine can certainly reduce the frequency of the problem. But when you have encountered a problem like this and have nobody around to help you out, here are few things that you can do yourself to get it track back.

Firstly, you have to ensure that you turn the upper part of the machine so that the boom is at a 90 degree angle to the travel direction. After that you got to check that the bucket floor level is to the ground by positioning the arm upright to the ground. You then need to press down the boom so that the track is elevated on one side and then gradually it is completely suspended above ground level. Once that done, you need to ensure that the track makes several revolutions so that the debris and other dirt can come out. Once that’s done, stop the track from moving and move in the cab. Ask your assistant to measure the bottom of the track frame to the track shoe and compare it with the measurements given in the user manual.

You may also have to inject grease in the small hole of the track frame and for this purpose use a grease injector. This will help to tighten the track. Once the tracks are tightened, make use of a wrench to loosen the fitting and get the track on the ground. Just in case you see any issues and can’t figure out to fix it, stop there and seek help of an expert.

Related articles across the web

Lien property that your heavy equipment was on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

There is always a danger that you will not be paid for your work from the person for whom you are working. This can result in huge loss for your company as you have to pay the dues to your employees which is quite obviously not going to be a meager amount and if you are unable to collect the money from the guy for whom you have been working then that will lead to big problem for you as well as for your company. In order to avoid this loss, you can place a lien on the property that your heavy equipment was on. Placing a lien will ensure that you have the right to dispose of the property after the completion of work to any third party if you are not paid for your work. In case you dispose it off, you will be able to get your dues paid and in turn you can even pay the dues of your employees that is liable on you.

We would be discussing the reasons on which you can place a lien on the property your heavy equipment have been working.

Being paid slowly or not in time:-

This is one of the indication where you should act and act fast in placing a lien on the property. If you paid fairly slow or are paid not in time, it only indicates that the person is either not interested to pay you the entire sum and is paying you a bit so that you continue with the work and once it is done he can just shrug off the responsibility to pay the entire sum of the work. Many small construction companies have suffered huge losses as they failed to put a lien on the property and it finally resulted in non-payment of their dues. You not have much to do later once you are done with your work. You have to get off the place with your machine as you have to take care of other businesses as well.

The project giver disputing your work time and again:-

This is another usual instance that many construction companies experiences in their career span. The person for whom they are working will come out with very lame and silly reasons and will make a huge mole of a mountain. You may not know if they are doing it so that they do not have to pay you the promised sum or are they genuinely unhappy with your work. It is recommended that you take their feedback and work as per their needs but if they still complain and threats not to pay you, putting a lien on their property should be the next step you should take to protect your rights.

Small contractors not getting paid by the project owner:-

At times small contractors who do not own the project directly and work for somebody else are also at risk of not getting paid by the project owner. They can also place a lien on the property and ensure that they are paid in full for their work.

 

Common Equipment Used in Demolition

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Heavy equipment is manufactured for all different fields of work. Each machine type has a general application that it may be used in such as dirt work and excavation. Some machines can be used for applications other than what they are primarily intended for. Crawler loaders, dozers and excavators make dirt moving equipment but they are also great machines to use for demolition purposes.

Demolition using a crawler loader:

Crawler loaders are great when moving dirt and materials. They are also very handy in the demolition side of the construction industry. Crawler loaders can not only be used to push down structures but are also used for clean and moving debris. Using a tracked loader is ideal for clearing debris because of its use of tracks to propel the machine. This allows the unit to move freely amongst the construction without worry of damaging tires as you would with a wheeled unit. Also with tracks a crawler loader can track up on to piles and clear out areas a wheel unit would not be able to get into.

Demolition using a dozer:

Dozers are typically used to push dirt, grade, and cut roads. In demolition a dozer can be a very useful piece of equipment.  A dozer can be used to push down and clear smaller structures with a single piece of equipment. The dozer can push the structure down, then it can be used to clear the area or pile the material. While not being the most efficient piece of equipment for demolition it still does maintain its usefulness.

Demolition using an excavator:

An excavator is probably one of the most useful pieces of equipment used in demolition. Dependent on the size of the machine, it would be able to take down most structures big or small. Excavators are very versatile in demolition because of the different types of attachments available. An excavator can be attached with hammers, claws, buckets, thumbs, magnets, and shears. All of the attachments can be used for the various aspects of demolition. For example an excavator with a hammer can be used to break down a structure, then swap over to a claw then use the machine to clear and load the debris. Alternative to using those attachments an excavator with a bucket and thumb could do both. The thumb attachment allows the excavator to grab and hold on to debris as it is picked up.

Depending on the needs of the job any of the machines are suitable for demolition. Whichever machine is chosen would be based on the needs and demands of the work load.

Give equal impetus to online training videos to learn about heavy equipment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

In order to learn heavy equipment and how to operate, it we go to premier institutions that teach us about different types of heavy equipment and what kinds of various activities they can perform. It is very important to learn about heavy equipment if you are going to deal in the construction sector. You need to know which machine does what and accordingly you got to select the machine that will meet your business requirement. Various companies are producing numerous heavy equipment and they all have similar functions (other than a bulldozer can’t be used as an excavator).

It becomes very troublesome to understand which machine should you be using to perform a particular kind of job and therefore you become dependent on others. Alternatively, if you are looking to buy construction machines and you do not know much about it, you are left at the mercy of someone who knows and the guy who knows about the stuff will definitely not do it for free. He may charge you a descent amount of money which you could have saved if you had learned a bit about this subject.

The question is how you can learn about heavy equipment when you do can’t opt for getting admitted in an institution that teaches about construction machineries. You may have a business to take care but at the same time you also need to sharpen your knowledge on heavy machinery. Well, there is no end of the road for you and you have 2 options that you can choose. The first is you can buy some books that will help you gather some information about machines and the next is you can collect some training videos on internet and watch them during your free time.

If you feel that you are more of a reader who loves to read books then you may go for the first option. However at times, you may find that to be difficult. If you have work in hand, you may not find sufficient time to read everything and as long as you do not reach everything you may not understand much about what’s written in there. Though it is not a novel that you have to read it till the end but you can’t just start it off from the middle and search for the stuff you want to know.

You have to take time to go through it to understand it. One other disadvantage that you may experience is that you may not be able to follow it as there are no pictures and if there are any pictures, it may not suffice for you to understand it clearly. Knowing the complexity of the subject, the next best available option would be to go through the training videos on the internet. You will get many videos of your interest absolutely free and that will help you to understand things much better as you will get to see the orator working on the machine and explaining things to you.

Reach out to more people with the help of Social Media

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Social media is an amazing platform where people get to know each other. Friends with whom we have not met since ages can be found there and then can stay in touch throughout. It has made things really simple for people who live far away from their loved ones and still manage to see them, speak to them almost daily. Similarly, this platform also plays a very important role when it comes to augmenting your business plans. It will help you reach out to a good number of population at a given time and spread your message to them. For instance, if you want to talk about your business plans to your investors and to the general public at large, you can make use of this platform as well and convey your message to them. It has also been a great site for people who are looking for different business opportunities. They can get to meet people having various ideas which they can implement in their businesses and make it a success.

People who are in the business of selling and servicing of heavy equipment have a lot to gain from such social networking websites. They can advertise their plans and products on their websites but in order for others to know what they dealing with; they need a platform using which they can reach to a sizable amount of people. Social networking sites give them exactly what they need. All they have to do here is create an account with one of the site and invite all the people you know. The request of your invitation will go out on their email address and they might also latch on to the same website. Once they are also a registered member of the social networking website they can accept your invitation and become your friends on the website.

From there, they will be able to track all your activities that you make public. In case, if you want to post something that you do not want everybody to see, you mark those people whom you want should see the stuff. In this way, you can pervade your message to anyone and everyone who are there as your friend on the website. At the same time, you can ask your friends to always share the stuff you are putting up on the site so that people who are latched on to your friend’s account can also get to see your work. In this way, you can put across your message to people whom you do not know. This actually gives them the chance to add you in your network.

It has been widely observed that people who are in the business of sales and service of heavy equipment have friends who are also into the same profession or in the profession that corresponds or is co-related to your work. Therefore if you make any additional friends, it is very likely that they will also be from the same or a profession that is co-related to your line of business. This will be benefitting you as you may sell your machines to them or make some money by servicing their equipment.

Related articles across the web

Heavy Equipment Recruiters

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Construction companies are always on the look of operators who are good in working with different kinds of heavy equipment. They do not experience finding fresh guys from institutions that teaches students to become competent operators However, they lack experience and this is why they also need people who are experienced in this profession. Someone who has worked for more than 5 years is good enough for the companies to hire them at a level above the juniors. The only problem they encounter is that they have no idea from where and how to get these experienced operators working for their company. This is where the concept of heavy equipment recruiters becomes instrumental. They are the ones who can act as a bridge and can get the operators looking for a job and the construction companies looking to hire operators at a same place so that both can meet each other’s needs.

 

Things that are required to become a heavy equipment recruiter may not be as simple as it appears to be. A person who wants to act as a bridge between the construction companies and heavy equipment operators should have ready information about who needs whom. If it is difficult for the construction company to find operators, it is also hard for the heavy equipment recruiters to do so. They follow few very basic rules that get them the lead and thus they can make the resource available to their clients.

 

Letting others know what they are into:-

Heavy equipment recruiters have to start with letting others know the type of business they are into. This will only help them to get clients who understand their business and will contact them to hire operators for them. This is perhaps the first most crucial step that they need to be taking and must ensure that they pervade the word about their work to every big and small construction company. Once the companies know them, they will place their requirement with them and they in turn will circulate an advertisement mentioning the requirement of the client. As per the requirement, eligible operators will either call them up will send them Resume to the recruiters. They can then call them up for an interview on a date when the representative of the construction company is also available so that he can take the interview of the candidate and if things go well, the company will get an operator.

Recruiting may not be a day’s affair:-

The role of the heavy equipment recruiters becomes essential when the recruitment process is not just a day’s affair. At times, it takes the entire week as the date of the construction company interviewing the candidate may not match as per the convenience of the candidate. It becomes the responsibility of the recruiters to call up the candidate and settle things well in advance. It should not happen that the construction company comes up to the venue for the interview and they end up with no candidates. That may not go well with the company and they may think of ending their relationship with the heavy equipment recruiters.

 

Hire experienced technicians to take care of heavy equipment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

One of the biggest hindrances that many construction companies encounter is the abrupt breaking down of the heavy equipment which ultimately leads to no business activity in that area for the next few days. It is quite evident that not every construction company can afford to deploy more than one heavy equipment in one location. They simply do not have enough heavy machinery to manage their business affairs on the jobsite and on top of that if they experience a break down with any of the machines that are currently in use, they suffer heavy loss for the number of days the machine remains inactive. Taking this into consideration, the way out of this mess is to ensure that you have someone to repair the machine whenever it breaks down.

The easy solution will be to hire technicians who will be a call away from the jobsite and can fix things instantly. If for some reason the machine needs any crucial part to be replaced then that should be done without any further delay which means immediately. Such should be the instruction coming from the higher management that as soon as there is a problem you have men to resolve it and this is how things will be in place.

Now when we talk about hiring technicians, it is prudent that one should hire experienced technicians who have worked earlier with most of the heavy machines that are normally used in a construction jobsite. The benefit in hiring such technicians will be that they will take less time to resolve the problem and also they will provide with highly effective solutions. This is perhaps something that we can’t expect from an inexperience technicians. They will relatively take more time to identify the issue whereas the experienced ones by then will be over and done with it. It will make life lot easy for the people directly involved in the business. An operator will be always at ease as he knows at the back of his mind that there is someone to help him if the machine goes bad. So he can work without any limitations.

So when we talk about hiring experienced guys does not mean that you only have a bunch of experienced men working for you. This may create a level of uneasiness amongst the technicians and in order to avoid this scenario, it is advisable that there should be a mixture of both experienced as well as inexperienced technicians. In this way, people who want to become good technician gets employment and you on the other hand can get a bit of cheap labor. Remember, experienced technicians charges good chunk of money as their compensation which most construction companies find difficult to give. Therefore, they are compelled to have a mixture of experienced and inexperienced men in their company so that they do not have to pay more for their services.

Alternatively, there is a high risk that the experienced guys may switch companies for better salary and benefits. So, having a mixture helps them to a larger extent.

Related articles across the web

How to clean a machine with a power washer

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Heavy equipment have to go through a lot of dirt and stains on a daily basis. The kind of work it goes through can only suggest the amount of mud it has all over its body and through that one can also understand the mud it has eaten and must be rotting inside its body. It is said that heavy equipment should be cleaned on a regular basis and if not done then there are higher chances of it getting damaged. People spend a lot for buying a machine and they can’t see it rotting just because it has eaten a lot of dirt and the guys are finding it hard to remove it from the machine.

Well, there is a very simple solution to this problem and that is to clean the machine using a power washer. It is also known as “Pressure Washer”. It gives you the access to reach those areas which are ideally not possible for human hands to reach. Well, in order to clean the interiors of the machine, you do not have to open apart each and every piece of it and then spray the dirt out. All you can do now is just use the power washer and get rid of stains and dirt that is in and around the machine.

It is also very simple to use a power washer and can be done by you or by your children (only if they are young enough to understand how it works). Also, it does not put a lot of stress on you. You have to select the time on the power washer that you think you will take to wash the entire machine and you also got to make sure that you have sufficient gallons of water that will sustain till the time you are cleaning the machine. The garden hose should be ¾-in diameter as that should suffice to connect to the washer’s inlet. You also got to make sure that you have tightened the hose connection so that no air passes in the line.

You need to ensure that you have set the spray want to 0 pressure so that there are no kick-backs when the power washer is started. Once you are done with this, you have to turn on the water faucet completely. Once you do that, slowly squeeze the spray wand so that you can wash out the air from the stuff. You can then start the engine and allow it to warm-up for a minute after which you can adjust the pressure and the settings on the spray making it ready to shoot water.

While you are working on the power washer, it is advisable that you keep the user manual handy as different power washers work differently. So you may need them when you are actually working with it. You may also ready it first and then try the washer. It may seem difficult but the moment you use it for the first time, things will turn out to be quite smooth for you.

Related articles across the web

Top 5 favorite pieces of heavy equipment

When it comes to the construction industry, every machine has its value and people prefer to make the maximum use of the machine they get to use. For instance, if they are given the work to bulldoze an existing structure so that they can build something else in its place. They can get this part of the work done using a bulldozer manufactured by an ace company. In this situation, they will not be making use of any other heavy equipment as it will simply not be the relevant instrument to get the work done. You have to make use of a bulldozer for that work and can’t use an excavator or a truck for that matter. Similarly, you have to use a truck to haul materials from one place to the other. Here you can’t use a dozer. The construction companies are very specific with their wants and they do not ever compromise when it comes to the need of heavy equipment.

We will be speaking on the top 5 favorite heavy equipment that are liked and are equally in high demand by the owners of different construction companies.

Excavator:-

An excavator is one such machine that has no alternative. You can’t make use of any other heavy equipment for the work that is done with the help of an excavator. It will help you to dig deep in the ground and make a big hole so that you can lay a strong foundation. Today most of the major construction companies are making use of excavators to dig deep in a given plot of land and take all the mud out of it. Once the ground is dug deep, then start laying the foundation for the building. So the much needed heavy equipment is the excavator as without it, you can’t have rock solid foundations.

Bulldozers:-

The need of a bulldozer can’t be ignored. They are used to bulldoze any permanent existing structure into debris so that something new can be built in its place. They are probably the one which are used much before an excavator is brought on the site. However, it is used only in places where you already have a structure which needs to be demolished.

Graders:-

We all love to travel on flat roads. Bouncy roads can have a direct impact on our minds. We definitely do not like to have bumpy rides and in order to have a smooth road, we need graders in place. It has a single large blade that is attached to the front of the machine and using that it flattens the ground or the road making travelling far comfortable for us.

Dump trucks:-

There is a very important reason why dump trucks are considered as the most favorite heavy equipment. Well, once you demolish a structure or excavate a land or simply clean up the forest, we got to do something with the leftover material. This is why you need the dump truck which will facilitate in taking the debris and dumping them in the dump-yard.

Forklifts:-

Forklifts are much needed equipment in any worksite. You will always have the need to lift several pounds of materials at a go and this is where you will find the forklifts to be instrumental.

 

Related articles across the web