Tag Archives: heavy equipment

Caterpillar’s Future – What Could Be the Decisive Factors

Caterpillar is a company that was formed a century ago and during all these years it has successfully passed the test of the time and has displayed its strength by incurring profits even during turbulent times. Caterpillar is perhaps one of the few companies who has refrained from taking the decision to cut jobs during the market fall and has managed to secure the dividends of its stakeholders.

They are also known for producing quality heavy equipments for its customers worldwide. Well, they often do a research of the market and only after having analysed the needs of the customers, they go for the production. These business ethics always keep them ahead of many of their competitors. If we talk about how many time they have been awarded with business awards, well there may be countless of instances when they received the awards by imminent dignitaries which is indeed a matter of pride and honour for the entire organization.

If one has to look back and dig deep into history, they will find CAT to have worked their way out working hard and often following the ethics of the company. At difficult times, many companies tend to fall flat but CAT stood still and stood high. It was only possible out of sheer determination and supreme will power which other companies had failed to have during rough times. CAT is known to have laid its foundation on solid grounds. The grounds based on high moral values and the strength of mind to develop something good to their customers.

If ever we are asked to ponder the future of this company, then there are few things which would play a decisive role in determining how it will move ahead in life. Those points are mentioned as below.

Being focused on client’s needs:-  While many companies after attaining a certain reputation in the industry tend to lose their focus and keep producing the same old stuff without even knowing what the customer wants from them. Customers need keeps on varying. A company should keep their focus intact on their needs and should produce things as per their requirements. A company having lost its focus may not be functional for long and there might be a time when they would have to wind up their businesses. The manufacturers should spend some money doing a research on their clients wants. This research should be exhaustive in nature and should include all facets of operation. CAT is known for its focus on client’s requirements and work incessantly to produce equipments that will meet their wants.

Innovative is the key:-  Many companies have doomed because of not being innovative. You just can’t expect your clients to have the same stuff wherein other companies are manufacturing quality products with excellent features. You need to think out of the shelf and come out with some real good ideas that can change the face of the company. The engineers in CAT work relentlessly in creating something new, add more features to the existing machine or to give it a new look. That’s why they keep on coming up with new models every time they see their client needs something new.

Keeping all these into due deliberation, we see a very bright future of Caterpillar and hope that they continue with their effort of coming up with something new all the time.

Repairing a Heavy Equipment – Who can Do It Better than a Technician

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Repairing a Heavy Equipment – Who can Do It Better than a Technician

Heavy equipments are quite expensive and you got to make sure that you take proper care of it. They are produced by taking into consideration the strength it may require to carry huge pile of debris and tons of loads from one place to other. However, at times the machine breaks down and then you need an expert to get that fixed. Not anyone can open the machine and look what has gone wrong. People who have been operating the machine for years do not take the risk of opening up the machine in case of a breakdown. They on the other hand would prefer to wait for a technician to come and get it repaired. The technicians are the one who knows the in and out of the machine and has the ability to repair the machine by replacing the faulty stuff or making some changes in the affected area of the machine.

We would now be discussing what makes a person an able technician and where one can learn lessons to repair heavy equipment.

Establishments imparting education on heavy equipments:  There are plenty of institutes all across United States who educates students on heavy equipments and make them competent technicians. They are trained on different sort of machines which includes heavy cranes, excavators, bulldozers and so on. The training is divided into 2 segments. First is the classroom session and the other is hands-on training. In the classroom session, the student is given detailed information on the different parts of the machine and is made familiar with each of its components. This helps him to move on to the next level where he has to deal with the machine (apparently under the guidance of an expert). Once he is through with both the sessions of the training, he is given few assignments where he would be asked to work on his own and submit the report at the end of the assignment. After the submission of the report, the learning of the student is evaluated and then grades are given to him. On the basis of those grades, one can understand how able the technician is in repairing different equipments.

Vocational courses: Though vocation courses can be done by anybody, it is highly recommended that such courses are done by heavy equipment operators who have some knowledge in operating heavy machines. As they have been working with the machines for a long time, it would become far easier for them to understand the intricacies of the machine quickly as compared to a layman having completely no knowledge whatsoever.

Professional Certification:  Students having trained in educational institutes are given certificates after successfully completing their training. The certificate means a lot to them. They had to put in their 100% to score in exams and get good grades. The type of institute from where they have studied also matters a lot when it comes to getting a job. Thus, one has to put in a lot of effort and hard work and learn every technique to repair the machine before getting certified.

 

How Do We Identify Good Undercarriages for Our Heavy Equipment

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The heavy equipment used in construction companies work a great deal to make things look simpler and also get the task done swiftly which may not happen if it was supposed to be done manually. Surely, the construction and the mining industry would be highly grateful to companies producing these heavy equipments. However, it’s just not the heavy equipment that play a pivotal role in shaping up the industry but also the undercarriages like idlers, track chains, sprockets and so on that do their best to keep the heavy equipment running. These undercarriages are more prone to lose their shine and are more often replaced by a new one. It is because the undercarriages takes most of the load of heavy equipments and also plays an important role in manoeuvring the machine in any direction as per the discretion and need of the operator. Due to this wear and tear, it become fragile and needs to be substituted with a new piece.
Quite fortunately, these undercarriages are easily available with dealers and if at all you see a problem with any of the undercarriage, you know from where you can get it swapped. Alternatively, there are also few companies who exclusively produce undercarriage parts and try to have collaboration with major heavy equipment manufacturing companies and also with their dealers. In this way, they supply the undercarriage parts to the heavy equipments manufacturing companies who use them in the final product. Like ways, they also supply them to the dealers so that when the existing one ceases to work, it can be easily replaced.
Most undercarriage parts are model specific, which means that a set of undercarriage parts can be installed exclusively on few models. In other words, the parts should be compatible to the machine in order to go with it.
There are ideally 3 ways to know if the undercarriage part is indeed good for your machine.
Get an expert:- Big construction houses hire a team of experts who tend to understand each and every part of the machine. Having worked on different machines makes them efficient in every aspect in dealing with any problem related to the machine. Thus, they should be the first preference of a construction company when it comes to picking up an undercarriage part. Dealers also know these experts quite well and hence they never try to play tricks with them. Alternatively, you also save a good deal of money as these experts are well aware of the cost of an undercarriage part.
Browse the net:- If you’re a person who likes to do things on your own, then you should consider taking some help from the internet. It unarguably carries all the information for you. However, it’s just that they may not be in a proper manner and you have to take the extra effort to do a thorough search. Also, some parts are even sold online which allows you to make instant purchase at reasonably affordable price. Thus surfing the net can be quite helpful to you if only you are willing to give the desired time.
Calling or visiting the dealer:- You can try this as your last option. Calling the company will make sense if you’ve the machine under warranty period. Even if it crosses the period, you can still get some leads from them and can then make your way on your own. Approaching a dealer would be a good option only if you known the dealer in person. By that, the dealer is more likely to give you quality stuff at a lesser price.

Grease Your Machine Regularly to Make It Work Better

The heavy equipment that work for you all day long are prone to frequent break downs if proper care is not taken. One should service the machine on regular basis thus increasing the life of the equipment. Maintaining the machine is of utter importance as it not only gives it some air to breathe but also ensures that it works uninterruptedly for a long time. Ignoring this can result in frequent problems like the machine may all of a sudden cease to work. This will lead to further complications like calling a mechanic to get it fixed and keeping your fingers crossed on the fact that it may take good number of days to get it back up and running. You may also be asked to replace a part with a new one. At times, those parts remain unavailable with the dealer and they have to order it directly from the company. This means that you are without your machine for some more days. The delay in getting the problem fixed is causing you to lose money which no business person would like to tolerate. The complications could be endless and one might not want to taste any of it. Hence, it is prudent to grease the heavy equipment at on daily regular intervals
Since we have spoken about the ill-effects of not servicing your machine regularly, we would now be diverting our attention on the right kind of grease one should be using on their machine.
Let us first understand what this grease is made up of. It is a mixture of oil, thickeners and addictives. So if you want to grease for the engine of the machine, you may go for synthetic oil. This oil is a bit expensive if compared with other varieties but has the ability to resist oxidation in tremendously hot environment and in extreme cold temperature, they can give better mobility in the automatic lubrication dispensing system of the engine. The synthetic oil is till now the best engine oil used by users.
Molybdenum disulfide:- Molybdenum disulfide is grease that has additives in it. It’s also known as “Molly”. EP greases has around 3 to 5% of Molly that is used for high pressure applications. It helps in filling the microscopic machining marks found on the bushing and the pin and reduces the friction of these two items in the machine particularly when it’s on with some heavy stressful stuff. Having said this, not all EP greases have Molly in it. Various types of EP greases can be used for lubricating the machine which is with or without Molybdenum disulfide.
Using Thickeners:- Applying grease without thickeners can soon leave the machine without any lubrication. Thickeners are used in grease which is applied in the joint or bearing of the equipment. Well this doesn’t implies that one should be using too much of thickener in the grease. In cold weather condition, the less the thickener is used in the grease, the better grease may pump. This is completely on the contrary in extreme hot temperature or for high temperature applications. The thickeners which are most commonly used are lithium. It also has a mixture of aluminum and calcium soaps but the proportion is far less.
This is how one can use different kind of grease for different applications. One may also take help of heavy equipment manuals to understand the kind of grease that would work better on the machine.

Why Should One Be Using Caterpillar Excavators – Find It out Here

A construction site is filled with heavy equipment of different kinds and they all are working all day busy constructing a building for us to live. But one thing we must all understand that without the help of these heavy equipment, things won’t look as simple as we see it to be. A construction company needs to have all sorts of machines. Right from a bulldozer to an excavator, they need it all to fulfil their business requirements.

Each machine has its own role to play and hence it becomes quite imperative to pick the right iron for the job. It becomes quite tricky to select the best available option when you are given too many of them. However, when you have a name like Caterpillar as an option, you may not think twice to pick that up. Therefore, it is wise to put Caterpillar machines to work and get the job done.

Cat is perhaps one such company which gives lot of stress to consumer’s demands. They leave no stone unturned when it comes to fulfilling customer’s requirements and pay special heeds to their needs. This is probably the major reason why many big construction and mining houses vouch for Caterpillar heavy equipment.

We would be discussing about caterpillar excavators and why should one have them in their corner. Let’s talk about the most recently launched Cat 320EL Hydraulic Excavator. Well, this machine can make the hard work look simple. It’s rock solid but has the potential to do the work with ease. It’s easy to move from one place to another and the control system is simply awesome. The operator won’t perspire doing the tough job and may even find him listening to some music while moving earth. Its capacity to lift things has increased by over 5% on a standard one and if we consider a heavy lift configuration, then that’s been increased by more than 20%. Like its earlier version, it has low emissions engine which not only increases its fuel efficiency but also boosts productivity.

Cat 320EL is fitted with C6.6 Acert Engine that has an electronically control the fuel pressure. It also includes a 3 layer fuel hoses and an electric pump which permits the use of biodiesel. In order to cool the engine, they have an air to air after cooler and an A/c condenser. The fan automatically adjusts to the temperature and keeps it cool. The engine of this model plays a significant role to keep down the fuel consumption without hampering its performance.

The machine is gifted with hydraulic horsepower which perhaps make it unique in approach and also more favourable as compared to other machines. It’s indeed the actual power behind the machine which allows it to do the toughest of the work with much ease. It has a back to back main control valve which helps it to increase its efficiency. It’s also blessed with a heavy lift which allows the machine to lift a lot of stuff at the same time and complete the work at a much faster pace.

Knowing all these, it would be absolutely naive to think of going for any other equipment which may not at all have these features and if at all they possess it, it may be short lived.

 

What Should One Be Doing – Buy Heavy Equipment or Take Them on Rent

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Heavy Equipment serves you in a number of ways as far as your business are concerned. However, it has a high price attached to it and normally businessmen are baffled thinking if they should be buying the machine or take them on rent. Taking them on rent sounds to be a good option but has its own problems. If you take the equipment on rent, it definitely means you’d be using a used machine and hence can’t always be sure that it’s not going to give any troubles. There have been numerous instances where the person taking it on rent had problems with the machine.

At times, it just broke off or it consumes too much of fuel and perhaps isn’t that productive. The common reason to this problem is the people who take it on rent are very much aware that they don’t own it and have to return the equipment once the term of the contract gets over. Therefore, they use it without taking any care for it. Maintenance is hardly done and hence the machine keeps giving some or the other problem. Thus, it becomes imperative to distinguish properly if you should be purchasing a new machine or go for a rented one.

There are few things that one needs to understand before they take a decision. Only on the basis of considering few parameters, one must either buy or take the equipment on rent.

Finances:-  Before you come on to the decision of buying heavy equipments, it’s prudent that you check your financial position. You also need to plan things like wages of the workers, payment of utility bills and any other bills that needs to be paid to keep the business running. You might consider taking a loan but that should struck your mind only if you’ve a fortified business plan where you are pretty confident that nothing can go wrong and you’d end up making money. That will nevertheless help you to pay off the loan amount.

Know your business requirements:-  You should do your homework before you start thinking about buying/renting heavy equipments. Try to know the project you are dealing with and for that what kind of machines you’d need. Once you’re sure of your business requirements, you can chart out a plan where you can state which machine is needed for what purpose and try to streamline your work.

Take suggestion from people in this domain:- You can always take suggestions from people who have spent good number of time in this business. They will be in a better position to guide you. Their experience in this domain will benefit you for good. Thus, it’s important that you reach out to such people who are in your good books and you are sure they will not throw you in the dark.

Take references:-  Once you have taken a decision, you can also ask for some references. You get them from the people who’ve advised you with things. Check if they can help you out with few names with whom you can do business with. They can certainly give out some names from where you can buy/rent equipments.

Looking For Seller/Dealer of Heavy Equipment – Read This to Find Out

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Be it a businessman who has newly started his construction company or someone who is running the business for a while, both are always in need of new machines. This means that they both need sellers to provide them with the heavy equipments they need to meet their business requirements. If not the one who has been in this industry for long but certainly the beginners would have a hard time to locate sellers who can sell good stuffs to them. Most of the times, it has been seen that the newcomers find themselves tricked by the dealers and are given something they have not asked in the first place and then they have issues in getting it replaced. Thus, it is very important to know whom you can trust and therefore continue the business with them.

Having said that, we don’t mean all sellers/dealers trick buyers who are naive as far as heavy equipment or their parts are concerned. It may be just a handful of them who gives more importance to money rather than business ethics and buyers should be watchful of such sellers. The more cautious you are, the better it would be for your business.

So the vital question is how one can find sellers/dealers on whom they can lay some trust and buy those expensive heavy equipment.

Through proper reference:-  It’s said that a word of mouth is the strongest mode of advertisement and therefore you should first reach out to folks who’re pretty old in this industry and check from whom they buy heavy equipment. They should be in a position to tell you whom to approach and whom you should avoid. Having dealt with different sellers and dealer all through their life, they must have seen the many faces of this industry and would be the right set of people to guide you. They may also let you know if you can expect any discount of stuffs.

Most of the times, the seller offers discounts on machines if you give them the reference of the buyer who’s been dealing with them for long. So it often helps you save some amount of money and then you can gradually develop your relationship.

Search the web:-  Internet is another strong medium to locate sellers selling heavy equipment. You can 2 major options. The first one is you can directly visit the website of the company and check if they have a showroom in your city. The second option would be to just enter the thing you’re looking for the in the search menu and the search engine will throw multiple options related to your concern. You can then choose the best available option and can get some information from it.

Similarly, you can also make use of online shopping site which allows you to buy heavy equipments online. You get to see the specifications in the listing which also mentions the price of the item. If you feel it’s too high, you can as well contact the seller and check if they are ready to negotiate with the price. However, before you contact the seller, it’s advisable that you check the feedback of the seller. If only the seller has a goof feedback score or has received many positive reviews from different buyers, you can reach out to him.

These are few simple ways to locate the seller/dealer and get some good deals from them.

Installing a Fuel Filter Will Prolong on Fuel Consumption

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The construction sector is often hit with factors like finances, land acquisition, environmental issue etc that plays a major role in the fluctuation in the price of this industry. In addition to this, the rising cost of transportation and other essential commodities required to keep the construction sector running has become a deeper worry for construction companies. Keeping all these into consideration, any increase in the price of fuel works as the last nail in the coffin. You require fuel to run the heavy equipment and a rise in the price will definitely bring you in a high and dry situation. It can also hamper your business if you are not able to cope up with the problem. However, the question here is do we have any option to get through with this issue?
Well as a matter of fact, there are few options available which we can use to contain this issue if not eliminate it for once and for all. Heavy equipment manufacturing companies are in the process of designing heavy equipment that runs on electricity. It means that this equipment will not require any fuel to run. All you have to do is just charge the batteries of the machines and it will be good to go. This sounds like a wonderful idea but there has to be a catch behind this new stuff. Well, it ideally doesn’t have a catch to be precise but the problem is they would be very expensive than their predecessors and since they are in testing phase, one cannot guarantee if it will be as effective as their precursor. Also, being in the testing phase, the first option isn’t of much use to the construction houses and hence they might look for other alternatives.
What can be done in this scenario is install your machine with stuffs that help to reduce the consumption of fuel. You might also want to change fuel filters every 250 hours or less or find alternatives that consumes less fuel. The clean fuel filter simply prolongs the consumption of fuel which makes it an all the more expensive affair for companies to operate these machines. The fuel filters are though important for your machine needs to be replaced only if you can install something that is capable of doing the work with the same intensity. In order to know the alternatives, the best available option would be to contact an expert who has studied in length on machines and has equivalently worked all his years with them. These experts will be in a position to advise you with the various alternatives available that can be installed in place of a fuel filter without compromising the quality of the work and also help in reducing the consumption of fuel.
Alternatively, you can also make use of internet and try to search options that can help your cause and simultaneously can bring down the consumption of fuel. There are many articles written by experts where they write on giving up the fuel filters and use an alternate in its place. You may also find the name of the companies/brand that you can use in your machines.

Thinking of Renting John Deere Heavy Equipment – We’ll Show How to Do It

You have a strong business plan, have allocated human resources, also have few contracts in your pocket but have problems in getting the machines just because you can’t afford them? Well, money should never be a problem when you have the skills and are committed in delivering to your clients. This is perhaps all you need to become a good and successful businessman. Rest all are just things which supports your cause and should never become a hurdle for you. There are many big construction houses which had once started in a small office and now have an inspiring story for the beginners. You can also form one such story by taking up the challenges and meeting them with all your might and intelligence. As far as heavy equipment thing is concerned, you have options to deal with it.

Firstly, you need to decide the machines you need to get your work done. After having analysed the kind of machines you require, you may chalk out the company which produces the best of those machines. Well, to make this easy, there is one such company by the name John Deere who is committed to produce quality machines for their customers. Unarguably, the machines are quite expensive and for a beginner it would be a hasty decision to buy a brand new piece. In such a scenario, it would be recommended to take the machine on rent and use it until you can afford to buy a new one. Once you have your business rolling, there might be no looking back for you and you would be in every position to purchase a new metal for your business.

There are few alternatives from where you can get a good deal. You can try to browse the net and check things there. You might get astounded to see plenty of people having listed their heavy equipment for sale or to lease them for a period of time. You can take this opportunity to contact the person who has listed the item and try to have an appointment. You also have the chance to compare the stuff with other seller and can find the best deal for yourself. However, before you have an appointment, it’s highly recommended that you go through the specifications of the model you want to take on rent and also check out the features of it. If possible, have a chat with the lessor first, checking if the machine had any accidents or any of its parts were recently changed or fixed for having caused some problems. If only you’re convinced by the lessor, you may go ahead and book a meeting with him.

Once you go there to check the machine, it’s better that you take an expert with you who can probably do a test on the machine to know if it will work smoothly till the contract ends. The experts would be in a position to tell you if you should be going for the deal or should continue your hunt.

Ideally, John Deere machines don’t have many issues with them. However, that also depends on how it was maintained by the person using them. In the end, if you find a good deal, John Deere heavy equipment would never let you complain.

How important is appraising value of heavy equipment

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How important is appraising value of heavy equipment

When you are in a construction business, you have those big machines that were bought by spending huge dollars. You used it for many years and then you feel like selling it off as it may have grown too old and you thought you should be replacing it with new ones. This is when you see the need of appraising the heavy equipments so that you can know the right value of those machines in the present terms. There are several companies who work as appraisers and their job is to check the number of years the machine has worked and what could be its value if you want to do away with it. Getting the heavy equipments appraised on an annual basis is very important as it gives you the value of the stuff every year and by this you know at what rate is the value of the equipments getting reduced year after year.

Here, we would be talking about the role of an appraiser and on what basis does he appraise the worth of equipment.

Who is an appraiser?  An appraiser is the person who can analyse the worth of the equipment you have been using for years. He can help you to determine the estimate value of the machinery using some calculations. There are good numbers of companies who are certified to do the work of an appraiser and the figures that they have evaluated are accepted throughout the country.

Why does one have to appraise their equipment:  Normally, there are three major reasons for getting your stuffs appraised. It starts with knowing the cost of your equipment, to find out its market value and to determine the income. All these factors play a crucial role in determining how an appraiser takes up the work. At times, the business owner also approaches the appraiser to simply know the worth of his machines. He perhaps may be looking to compare it with a brand new stuff available in the market and thus by appraising his machine with the one available in the market, he can get an estimate of how much more he needs to spend in order to get the new stuff. The appraiser on the other hand has to be very careful while evaluating the worth of the machine. They need to do their part of the job by maintaining proper standards set upon them by their regulatory body.

Criteria of appraising the equipment:  There are many important parameters that an appraiser has to follow while appraising the heavy equipment. In order to provide a good estimate of the worth of the machine, they do a thorough research of the items history. They also need to check the present value of similar items which can be compared with the item they are appraising and then can come to an estimate. Another important criterion is to get information from the client whose machines are getting appraised. You can hope the information you get from them are true and in any case you see any discrepancies, you can cross check it and bring that in your report.