Tag Archives: heavy equipment

Caterpillar D10T Bulldozer

Many construction companies get good projects after the giver sees the kind of bulldozers they possess. This only suggests the importance of bulldozers in the construction sector and the kind of impact it can have for getting projects. It has also been seen that big construction companies often outsource their work to small contractors and may lend them their heavy equipment. However, the big companies often prefer the contractors to have their own equipment so that they can use their heavy equipment for other projects. The sole reason of outsourcing their work to small contractors is that they can use their machines to complete the job.

So before they select the contractor to whom they can render the work, they prefer to check the kind of heavy equipment they possess and if they are quite an outdated piece of metal they would like to look for someone else. These big construction companies give a lot of importance to possessing quality bulldozers as they believe it to be one of the most important equipment required in a construction project. The bulldozers produced by Caterpillar are the most favored ones and there are few specific models that have left its imprint in the overall construction domain.

We would be talking in length about Caterpillar D10T bulldozers and its specifications.

The D10T dozer has a gross power of 646 hp. and a net power of 580 hp. which is quite phenomenal in its class. The power measured is at 1800 rpm and the displacement is 27 liters. The total number of cylinders it has is 12 and the aspiration is turbocharged. The operating weight of the machine is 66451 kg with a fuel capacity of 1204 liters. The cooling system fluid capacity, engine oil capacity, hydraulic fluid capacity and power train fluid capacity is 132 liters, 68 liters, 144 liters and 193 liters respectively. The operating voltage of the D10T dozer is 24 V with an alternator supplied amperage of 95 amps.

The number of forward and reverse gears available with this dozer is 3 and the maximum forward and reverse speed is 7.9 miles per hour and 9.8 miles per hour respectively. If we check the undercarriage of this machine, the ground contact area is 7326 in2 with a standard show size of 24 in and the total number of shoes per side is 44. The total number of track rollers per side is 8 and has a track pitch of 10.2 in. It has a hydraulic system pump type which is gear driven. The relief valve pressure is 2725 psi and the pump flow capacity is 107 gallon per minute.

Taking into consideration the standard blade, the width and height of the blade is 15.9 ft. in and 81 in respectively. The capacity of the blade is 24.2 yd3 and the cutting depth is 26.5 in. The length of the machine with and without blade is 30.4 ft. in and 17.5 ft. in respectively and the height of the machine till the top of the cab is 13.4 ft. in.

It is overall an ideal machine for small construction companies as well as for contractors as it is not a very expensive machine and moreover if you are lucky enough you can get further discounts resulting in paying less for it.

Looking for a stable and economical excavator – You should try Gradall

The one heavy equipment without which it would be unimaginable to work in a construction site is an excavator. An excavator is such heavy equipment that can be used for several purposes like its core work of excavating the earth, lifting the dirt and moving it from one place to the other and doing a lot of other things for which you may require some other equipment. If you have a big project in hand, you can’t think of doing it without the presence of an excavator. You need something very strong to dig the land and move all the earth to some other place. You can’t also afford to install another machine just to pick the dirt from the site. An excavator becomes really handy when it comes to performing dual work of excavating the land and taking the dirt away.

When we talk about an excavator, we also have to identify which company’s excavator should a person go for. There are several companies who are manufacturing wide range of excavators that meets the demand of the buyer But as every different person has a different need, they should understand that not all kind of excavators can fulfill their needs and therefore they should possibly do some research before coming down to the excavator they want to buy. People who are looking for a stable yet economical excavator can find Gradall as their best choice. The XL 4300 III model of Gradall can give you both stability and solid rock performance. The best part in this model is that the operator can work the machine in the front as well as in the back without using the outriggers. The option comes as a boon to the operators who are using conventional excavators as it needs to stop working to lower the outriggers.

The overall weight of the machine is around 43,580 pounds and has a horsepower of 173. The tilting boom and the telescoping capabilities of this model are indeed unparallel to many other models manufactured by other giant companies. It also does not go down on boom end power when it is working on jobs that require high productivity like removing the pavements, excavating a good piece of land, trenching and demolishing objects covering a huge area.

The tail swing of Gradall XL 4300 III is short and avoids unwanted traffic while it is working on highways making it a blue eyed candy machine for contractors. Other than this, it also offers loads of features to the man working inside the cabin of the machine. The cabin in fully air conditioned with a front window that is removable and also provides a switch to select the joystick patterns of Deere.

The machine can dig to a maximum of 21 feet which is pretty deep if you are working for a project that’s requiring you to build big buildings. The customer service of Gradall is better than most of the heavy equipment manufacturing companies. You won’t be waiting for someone to fix your problem if you have any. Someone will reach you sooner than you may expect.

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Keeping the heavy equipment in good order will ensure a good resale value

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Heavy equipment cost dearly and it feels good to get a good resale value for the old machine. It is not always possible to fetch brand new heavy equipment whenever you see a need for it. Most of the times, you have to depend on resale equipment to get the work done. Therefore people who have bought a new machine can expect a good resale price for it only if they keep the equipment in good shape. It is pretty obvious that no one want to purchase an equipment which fails to work properly or breaks down every now and then. Everybody wants to buy equipment that are in good shape as that will also reduce the maintenance costs of the owner.

Maintenance cost is a big pain for the owner because if it fails to give good attention to the maintenance of the machine, it may not be able to deliver quality work. This can have a severe impact on the business and may lead to losing of projects. Therefore, if he gets a deal where the machine is well maintained, he would be ready to pay a good price for it. Nobody likes to compromise on quality as they all know that compromising on the quality of the machine means giving way to your competitors to take away your business. There are many things one can do to keep the machine in order to get a good resale value. We would be discussing few crucial points.

Service the machine at regular intervals:-

Knowing the nature of work heavy equipment are into, it becomes very important to service them at regular intervals. Lubricating various parts of the machine, changing the engine oil on a timely basis, regularly washing the machine, changing the faulty parts of the machine before things get out of hand are few very crucial things one needs to keep in mind while servicing the equipment. Skipping either of the work can have an intense impact on the machine leading to various complications that may become expensive to deal with at a later point in time.

Most of the time, the operator who drives the machine is in a better position to understand if there is anything wrong with it. If he finds any issues he may directly report it to the supervisor in charge who in turn should take immediate decision to alter the parts or service the machine.

Take the service of an expert mechanic:-

When you are dealing with something important, do take help of experts. While you service the equipment, it is prudent to avail the service of an expert mechanic who knows the in and out of the machine and can tell you precisely what has gone wrong with it and what needs to be done to get it revived. You should give your machine to someone who is genuine and whom you can trust. Though it is difficult to get good honest mechanics but once you feel you have found the right guy for your stuff, you should stick to him.

Safety First In Construction Sites

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The construction business is not an easy one. There are a lot of aspects that are to be considered when it comes to successfully executing a project. Among several aspects, the most important thing to be concerned with is the safety. It is to be made sure that no harm is cased to the workers or the environment at the time of the construction. At the same time, it is also to be ensured that the people who are going stay inside the building are safe. Therefore, a construction must be done with adherence to the guidelines of the government. Otherwise, legal hassles can leave a construction company completely devastated.

There have been many instances where people in charge have been slapped with extreme cases by the government due to negligence in this regard. An American project manager was sued by the government with charges of manslaughter when. He had ignored order to stop working. As a result, the construction site saw the death of an employee in the trenches. Another company had received orders to make payments of about one million dollars for the charges of terminating a foreman wrongfully along with two drivers as they raised their concerns regarding the fatigue of the drivers.

These actions taken against the company representatives have been done justly. The worker who had been fired had been compensated. However, the family of the deceased will hardly be ever able to compensate for their loss. The injustice done is not only affecting the deceased but also the friends and the family of the sufferer. Therefore, such damages are compensated easily with monetary penalties. Therefore, it is only natural to penalize the people responsible with stringent punishments for their negligence and lack of responsibility. That is why all companies are expected and ordered to stick to the construction rules stipulated by the corporation.

The occupational safety and health administration has been vested with the responsibility of inspecting the job sites, the unsafe practices in the city. They also levy fines for such activities and can also shut down projects. Some may have complaints about the apparent oversight. However, the devastating incidents are far more significant and prominent than the trivial inconveniences. Supervisors and construction workers who do not pay heed to the unsafe conditions are forced to acknowledge the responsibility by the governing body for their as well as other’s safety.

The operators of tower crane have been given the authority to get a project shut down if they feel that the safe lifts are being jeopardized by the wind speeds. In this way many visible accidents can be prevented. There has been the creation of a new group known as the Construction Equipment Safety. This group has mainly three goals. The first goal is to get all accidents highlighted due to the construction equipment so that others can avoid such unfortunate incidents. The second goal is to encourage discussion regarding the improvement of the safety in the construction sites, the finally goal is to share experiences and strategies so that new ideas could be developed.

 

 

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Guide to start a business of heavy equipment

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The industry of repossession is growing continuously. It offers a lot of business contingencies to the people who want to start their own business of heavy equipment. This kind of business has lot of growth opportunities. It is because this constructional heavy equipment are used for forestry, construction, mining and transportation purposes. But, to start a business, it is very important to have a strong business plan so that you can easily take your business to the top. You only have to do a little hard work and calculations to build up your successful business strategy. You don’t have to search over the internet to make your business plan. Just follow the simple steps given below and you will definitely rock.

Business plan for heavy equipment

  • The first thing which matters is the budget. You should plan your budget in such a way that you won’t face any financial crisis afterwards. Create a list of all the equipment that you are planning to get. If you have a low budget, then go for buying used equipment. Your budget should include all the money that you have to pay to the marketers as well as to the employees.
  • Now, choose a proper name of your business. Then you have to file all the exact information of DBA with the local government. After that, try to get the license of your business as soon as possible.
  • Your driver’s license should contain the appropriate classification for hauling heavy equipment. Get the license checked by the motor vehicle’s local department of the state. If you are planning for driver hiring, then check their driver license too.
  • Purchase or rent a space for commercial office. The space should have large storage yard so that you can keep big and heavy equipment in that.
  • You can also employ contractors who work independently. By doing this, you can save a lot from your budget. But, the independent contractors should have a proper insurance.
  • Lease or purchase the equipment for your company. The equipment should bear the necessary info of your company like name, address, logo and contact details.
  • Develop strong marketing strategy. Contact with the companies who are involved in financing the constructional equipment purchases. Meet them face to face and try to give them every information of your company which will help you to explore your business.
  • Now, one of the most important steps towards marketing is developing a website with proper logo and company’s name. Your website should have an attractive design to draw more traffic to the website.
  • You should join the industrial agencies such as American Recovery Association. It will help you to apprize with local and national news of business referrals.

Starting a business of heavy equipment is not so easy. You have to be very careful of every step that you are going to take. But, this thing shouldn’t demotivate you. Be brave enough to face the challenge and explore your heavy equipment business globally.

Heavy Equipment summer maintenance

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After having a chilled winter season, summer is probably the best season one can get to cherish. It is ideally during this season that people plan out their vacations, go out to meet their dear ones living in some other state and enjoy their lives in the warm sunny weather. However, this very same summer season which is so pleasant to many of the folks can be real bad for guys belonging to the construction industry. They may have a hard time keeping their heavy equipment cool. Just because the machines are getting hotter, they can’t pull off from work. They have to continue with their businesses and still ensure that the machine does not get blown off due to excessive heat and do everything possible to keep it cool. Heavy equipment go through number of complications during this season and they suffer chronic breakdowns. We have seen numerous instances where the machines give up when the weather is pleasant, it can become worse when the weather is actually hot.

The workers working in the construction site also finds it difficult to work in a hot climatic condition. However, they still have the leverage to cool themselves by moving in an air-conditioned room but the same logic can’t be applied in case of heavy equipment. If the operator feels the machine has got too hot, he can only stop working so that he can give some time to the engine to cool down. Due to hot weather, it will take more time than usual to cool and the operator will be losing productive time. This will lead to unwanted delay in the completion of the project resulting in many unnecessary repercussions.

Taking the heat into consideration, heavy equipment manufacturing companies are producing machines that can bear the excessive heat and can work without having to wait to let the machine cool down. However, this kind of technology has not been completely successful. Machines possessing this technology also break down causing more trouble to the construction company.

Check your equipment at the end of the day:-

Once you are done for the day, make sure that you spend some time giving a good look to your equipment. If required do some cleaning. Cleaning the machine with water can really help in cooling down its system and also remove the dirt that sticks to the inner portions of the machine. You do not have to spend a lot of time for this activity. You can devote at least half an hour of your time or may be less than that in checking if everything is in order and in case if it needs any action to be taken, you can take a call yourself or contact the immediate supervisor and get the issue fixed.

Monthly maintenance is a must:-

Other than doing a daily check-up, a monthly maintenance is equally important. Get hold of an expert mechanic who can do a monthly check-up of your machines. Changing the engine oil, applying lubricants and other necessary stuffs needs to be done during this time. Give your machine a new life and it will work for many years to come.

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Advent of latest technology gives new life to the construction equipment

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Development of any kind of business is largely dependent on the sort of technology it adopts to get the end product. Similar is the case of the construction industry which is so largely dependent on technologically advanced gadgets and machineries. Construction companies are always in need of machines that can get the work done in a shorter span without compromising the quality of work and in order to get the desired result, they have to depend on technologically advanced construction equipment. Moreover, due to highly competitive market where your competitors are constantly eying work and will not leave a single opportunity to grab a project, it becomes all the more important to deliver the projects on time and keep the guys who give you businesses happy.

Imagine a construction company having all the old models of machineries that take ages to deliver a job. It is pretty evident that he will not be able to sustain in this kind of competitive environment for long. Moreover, he will be losing workers as they will be prone to work for someone who possess latest construction equipments that are more flexible and simple to use.

Machines have a set life:-

Like humans, machines too have a life term and once the term gets over and if you still drag them to work, you will notice that the quality of work has been degraded. In such a situation, you have to deal with changing the older parts of the machine with new stuffs which will undoubtedly cost good deal of money. It also does not guarantee if the machine will work like before however in most of the cases, once the old parts are been replaced with newer ones, the same machine has shown outstanding performances. So the ground rule is when the machine has attained his term and you see it is not working the way it used to, time has come when you should replace the faulty parts with new ones.

New equipment consumes less fuel:-

Most of the construction companies were often struggling with the problem of excessing fuel consumption by their heavy equipment. These days, the construction equipment manufacturing companies are manufacturing machines that eats less fuel and delivers more than ever. Change in technology in the make of the engine has made this possible. Though these sect of heavy equipment are expensive but they are way better than their predecessors in terms of performance and fuel consumption.

Environment friendly machines:-

Government of almost all the developed countries have set up mandates for the construction companies to deploy machines that meets the standards laid to minimize air pollution. Even before the mandate was introduced, equipment manufacturing companies have already started manufacturing green machines (eco-friendly machines). The advent of this new technology has given a new dimension to the construction and heavy equipment manufacturing industry. Many see this as a new chapter to have begun and the advent of this technology has in real term given a new life to the construction equipment.

 

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Rain affects the construction project

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Rains ideally brings cheers on our faces but when it comes to the construction industry it may not always be the same case. When the workers are laying the foundation of a building, rains can be a boon. The rain water supplements for the cost of water that is required to put on the foundation slab. A construction company can save a lot when it is in the foundation phase but when the building is been given a shape and it starts raining, the entire work comes to a standstill. The builders can incur huge loses if it continues to rain for days. There are lot of places in US where the rainfall in heavy and the construction sector in these places take a backseat in such weather conditions. Many construction companies do not want to take any projects during the beginning of the monsoon as they have experienced good deal of problems due to heavy rains.

It hugely impacts the digging operation:-

For construction houses who have taken a new project at the beginning of the monsoon face tremendous issues to dig the foundation. If they start the digging process and it rains heavily, the entire place gets filled with water and then they have to take extra pain to pump the water out. In order to pump the water out, they need specialized equipments that are capable in pumping the water. This ideally cost them a fortune and many construction companies do not want to get into the hassle of digging the construction site during the monsoon. They would rather wait for the weather to change and then begin the work.

Can’t complete the project in time:-

Rain can play a huge role in spoiling the goodwill you have maintained over the years of completing the project in time. If the weather is not good, you have no other option than to wait till it clears off. You just can’t take any kind of risk and begin working. If it starts raining, you are left with no other alternative than to stop the work. Therefore, it is imperative that you either take the job at the time that you feel is appropriate and you can kick start the work from the word “GO” or if you feel the monsoon is going to be a spoiler, then you better inform the people involved that there may be some delays before you hand over the work to them.

Problem in transporting materials to the construction site:-

Heavy rains can disgust you when you are in dire need of construction materials to be transported to the construction site. Due to water clogging, vehicles carrying the construction materials will get stuck and can only move once the water level recedes. If the materials are coming from a far-fetched place and it gets stuck due to water jam then you have to pay your workers for doing nothing.

Speeding up of work can lead to a decline in the quality of work:-

Since the rains have delayed your work and you are running behind schedule, you will be hurrying things. This may lead to compromising the quality of work. If the quality is compromised, there are higher chances that you may not get any business from the same person.

By having lower diesel prices, are you making a bigger profit in your construction business.

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The rise or fall in the price of fuel does have a big impact in the profitability of a construction business. A construction company tends to make good profit when the price of the fuel is down and it has to shell more money on fuel when its prices are high. For the last many years, we have seen that the diesel price was on an increasing trend. It has only been in the last few months that the diesel price has started to fall and things seem to be a bit better for the industry. Other than this, heavy equipment manufacturing companies find it easy to sell machines that run on diesel. The logic to this is quite simple.

The machines that move on diesel involves less cost to production which means that they can sell them off at a lower price than machines that are more environment friendly. However, giving due consideration to the current environmental condition, they are also producing machines that runs on diesel but release less toxic. This may not be at par to any environmental friendly construction equipment but it also does its bit in bringing down the level of pollution.

Construction companies want diesel prices to be down:-

You make good money when the price of the commodity that is mainly required in manufacturing the end product goes down. This is quite evident t happen and does not require any big thinkers to research on it. It is exactly the same way you tend to make good profits when the price of the diesel goes down. Fuel is one of a commodity that is required a lot in a construction project. Your require diesel to run the heavy equipment.

These heavy equipment do not consume fuel like your car does. They simply eat up all the entire fuel that is there in the tank in few hours. If you keep the engine running throughout the day, you need to make sure that you have enough diesels for the machine. Now, you run many such machines in case you have a big project to work on. So all the equipment need diesel to function and if the price of the fuel is high, you are obviously shelling out a chunk of money just for paying the fuel price.

Now, let us imagine the price of diesel goes down. This means that you will be paying less and still be using the same quantity of fuel. This leaves you with surplus funds which can be utilized in taking care of other business expenses. You can even invest this money into buying much needed heavy equipment that are more technologically advanced and perhaps is just the need of the hour. So a fall in the price of diesel can win you so many things which are apparently not possible with the prices being high. It is therefore the wish of every construction company to see the price of diesel falling down which will in turn give them more gains than ever.

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Upgrading heavy equipment can boost the construction business

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Human race has been benefited a lot with the advent of new technologies. We can’t imagine our lives without the presence of these technologies that we are using on a daily basis. It has not only affected our lives but has also played a significant role in giving our businesses a new dimension. A successful business largely depends upon the kind of technologies being used by the employees.

The introduction of technology has also changed the way the construction industry looked decades ago.  Earlier most of the heavy equipment were run on diesel and there were hardly hydraulics used. But now that is not the case. Construction companies are demanding machines that are environment friendly and also consume less fuel giving more productivity. The heavy equipment industry has also seen tremendous changes in the last few years. Every year we get to see an upgraded design of machine in the cover pages of construction equipment magazines. This clearly shows how much they are in demand in the construction business.

Old technology will not get the desired results in a short span:-

We live in a fast paced jet world where we want everything to happen just instantly. It is quite evident that we can’t expect things to happen instantly when it comes to construction but still people will expect the construction companies to finish up the work as soon as possible. With heavy equipment equipped with old technology, it will be almost impossible to get the desired results in a short span. Either you have to give time for the completion of work or you got to compromise on the quality of the building. However, if you are not ready with either of them, then you have to switch to equipment that have the latest technology gadgets fitted in it. It simple means that you have to upgrade your machines by installing the new gadgets.

Upgrading heavy equipment can get you more businesses:-

Guys who give you businesses also try to know the kind of equipment you would be using. They ideally do not pay much heed on the machines that you possess but they walk on strict deadlines and they want you to complete the work within the desired timeline. A delay of few days is acceptable but nothing more than that. So if you work on machines that take ages to complete a task, it will only tarnish the reputation that you have built. It will also affect your relationship with project giver and things may end up in a mess. However, if you have the upgraded machineries at your disposal, then you can always create a positive impression by completing the project in time or at times before time.

Chances of accidents go down:-

Upgrading the construction equipment can bring down the chances of accidents happening in the construction zone to a larger extent. As the old parts of the machine will be replaced by technologically advanced ones, the operator will find it very simple to maneuver the machine diminishing the chances of accidents. This will establish goodwill of yours in the construction industry and more and more people will recognize you for your work. This in turn increases the chances of getting more businesses.

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