Tag Archives: heavy equipment

Construction of tunnels

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Construction work at many times can be quite challenging and it can be not everybody’s cup of tea. This means that the construction companies that are into building high rises may not find themselves comfortable with building dams or tunnels. They may have their expertise in one genre of the business and it definitely does not mean that they can’t try something else in the same industry but for projects that require experts to work, it is recommended that companies should stick to their genre of business and not move into the other genre. However, if they still want to try then they need to first gather enough details about the kind of work and also possess the required equipment to execute the project. Construction of tunnels is one such job that requires an expert to deal with. Companies dealing with construction work other than building tunnels may not understand how to begin and where to end the work. Therefore it makes sense for construction companies that have been dealing with construction of tunnels to dig their heads into it and execute the work with finesse.

Investigating the land is important:-

Investigating the ground condition is quite crucial to start with a major tunnel project. The company should first collect samples from boreholes by adopting geophysical techniques. Once that is done and everything seems to be ok, you can start with the excavation work. Now the investigation part is crucial because it will help the experts to foresee any possible dangers that might erupt once the construction work begins.

Availability of heavy equipment:-

Heavy equipment play a significant role during the entire process of construction of a tunnel. The company needs to have the best machine in place and also the best operator to control the machines. Now when we talk about heavy equipment, the most crucial is excavator. When you go about to construct a tunnel, you need to excavate the ground and rock to pave way. This work can be really dangerous if not done correctly and the operator needs to be very cautious when he is working on such a complex project. An experienced operator should be given the task to excavate the rock. Try not to involve a newbie in it. Once a way is paved the latter part of the excavation can be given to less experienced operators. Heavy equipment that are used in the project should meet international standards. Anything less than that can pose a risk to the lives of many involved in the project.

Groundwater control should be maintained:-

It is very crucial to maintain groundwater control. Any sort of water leaking or vertical shaft can largely reduce the stand-up time. This can lead to a risk of collapse if not checked in time. One can avoid the risk by installing dewatering pipes and pump the water out. Another technology that can be used is ground freezing. Ground freezing is an expensive option but quite effective. It freezes the ground and the soil surrounding the excavation until a permanent structure is built.

Get associated with a Repo company

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Guys who have big businesses today have started with something small at one point in time. They took help of other companies and incorporated their assistance in the work and simultaneously both grew. The thumb rule of success of any business is do not do everything on your own. Allow others to be a part of your business and take their assistance. The companies whom you will share your project with will provide you the necessary resources using which you can grow and make more money.

No company wants to utilize all of its finances to buy resources when it can easily incorporate another company to get the work done and simply share the profits. This is what the Repo companies also believe in. Not many Repo companies have a towing van to tow heavy equipment. Whenever they get an assignment from any banks or financial institutions they hire a towing vehicle from someone they know and get the work done. However, not all Repo companies follow the same modus operandi. Some believe in buying the van and keep it in standby so that whenever it is needed they can make use of it.

If you are a small time Repo company and you want to grow big, the first thing is you have to develop your contacts with financial institutions that lend money for heavy equipment or trucks or you get associated with another bigger Repo company who will give you assignments as and when it gets one. They will keep their share and give you the money of the work you have done. Ideally, they will only take the money for the information they have given to you and you get the money for the entire work. However, that is still better than having no work at all.

Get into an agreement with the Repo company:-

When you are getting associated with a Repo company, it makes ample sense to first get into an agreement with them where you will define your rate to them and they will pay you accordingly. Your rates should differ depending upon the kind of work you have to do. For instance if you are assigned to tow a mid-sized heavy equipment you can accept a lesser price for that work but that certainly does not mean that you have fixed your rate on towing all types of heavy equipment. To tow big sized heavy equipment you require specialized towing vehicle and if you do not have that vehicle you may have to borrower it from someone who will bill you more for it. So mention your rates on the basis of work that you will do.

Deal with many Repo companies at the same time:-

It makes less sense to hang around with just one Repo company with the hope that they will keep you busy for the entire week or month. You need to be associated with many other Repo companies at the same time. This will let you get more businesses which will further help you to grow in a short time.

Construction of manufacturing units and factories

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When we talk about construction, it need not necessarily be of huge buildings or condominiums. The word in itself is quite elaborative. When you are in the construction business you deal with building anything and everything. Although you take time to learn the industry and the different ways by which you can acquire projects. You also take time to understand how to complete a project within the stipulated timeframe. Well you learn these things from experience and as and when you get to deal with them. Construction companies make enormous profits when they get into a project that is pertaining to building manufacturing units and factories. When you are into construction of manufacturing units or factories, you are catering a particular genre of client and therefore you got to pay special attention to their demands. Their demands are quite specific and you got to channelize your resources based on their specifications.

Understand what kind of factory you have to construct:-

While constructing a factory, you need to understand that the requirements are quite different for every factory. So for instance, if you have loads of experience in constructing factories or manufacturing units, you can’t be sure that you know what your current client need from you. You may definitely have an edge over others if you are experienced in constructing manufacturing units but it is advisable that you sit along with your client and try to understand their needs. Check out the kind of set up they want and on that basis you can frame the designs.

Show the progress at regular intervals:-

It is imperative that you keep updating your client on the progress of work. Remember, while constructing manufacturing units, you have very less scope to alter things once they are been built. You should ask your client to visit the site on a monthly basis and check the progress of work on their own. You should try to stick to the design so that if there requires any alteration in the actual building you do not have to do it out from your pocket. Your client should ideally pay for it. However, it is not mandatory for the client to pay for any alterations. If it is a mild one where you know it will not affect the costing of the company massively, you can alter the stuff without charging extra. This will eventually make your customer happy.

Use top notch equipment:-

You always have an option when it comes to using equipment to work on a project. It is always preferred to use top notch equipment. It will ease the process of work and will also take comparatively lesser time. With top notch equipment, one should not imply using brand new machines and accessories. It simply implies using mechanisms that are scientifically proven to be an easy tool to work.

Construction of manufacturing units and factories gives enough scope to construction companies to earn good sum of money. However, the construction companies should be ready to take such projects and complete them in time.

Line boring heavy equipment

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Drilling a hole to lay a foundation is quite an intrinsic part in the construction sector and the holes dug for the foundation has to be precise as designed by the civil engineer. You can’t mess up with such an important stuff because if you do then it directly affects the quality of the construction. It is therefore crucial to select the right type of heavy equipment and also the right kind of cutting tool. The cutting tool needs to be attached to the heavy equipment and then begin the process to bore the ground. Now the cutting tool can be a single point or can have multiple heads. Each type of tool is used for different kind of boring. As no 2 boring is the same, you can’t use the same cutting tool for every type of boring. While fitting the boring bar one must ensure that both the ends are firmly supported and it works only in case of a through hole.

The challenge that people encounter while boring is that there are immense chances of the boring bar to get disconnected from the machine. Though both the ends of the heavy equipment has caught the bar firmly there are still lot of chances of it coming out during the process of boring. This is the reason why it is considered to be more challenging than turning. Other than this the clearance angle requirement has been increased which has made things more difficult for the operator. It actually limits the kind of support that should be given to the cutting edge and makes it more vulnerable. You can use a line boring tool in almost all kind of heavy equipment. Be it a dozer or an excavator or a backhoe loader, it goes with all kinds of heavy equipments.

Operators who are working with line boring need to be highly expertise in their respective domain. Since the holding capacity of the heavy equipment is not that great it can pose good deal of problems to inspect the work already done which includes understanding the size of the hole and the surface roughness. Therefore the need of expert operators arises. The operators need to know his matters well. Apart from laying foundation which is one of its core work area, line boring it extensively used for many other purposes and this is why the guy needs to be really sharp with his skills.

With the advent of portable boring, life has become a bit simpler for people who take boring contracts at far-fetched places. They do not have to load the boring bar in a truck or a big vehicle. All they can do is put it in back of their car and port it to the next destination. The reviews of portable line boring tool have been awesome. It is just that the hole need timely repairs. Line boring cutting tool can be bought directly from a dealer or online. Do some research on the pricing before you go to buy one.

How to choose the right Heavy Equipment for Storm Clean-up

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Climate is not in human control and natural calamities can strike in at any point, without any prior indication. However, nowadays, due to technological advancements, weather and climate changes can be predicted well in advance, and this gives us some scope for prevention or at least precaution. But, in front of huge natural calamities like tornado, hurricane and other storms, there is nothing that we could do.

Damages are also huge as caused by these storms. Not just these cyclones and tornadoes, but the snow storm can also cause great disaster. Even earthquakes can strike in anytime and the results are disastrous. What is a common consequence of any of any of these natural disasters is the huge amount of debris that needs to be cleared, after the calamity.

Heavy Equipment in Cleaning Up:

From uprooted trees to broken down buildings, roofs, damaged roads with concrete and mud, dust and dirt everywhere, it becomes absolutely difficult to get back to the daily lifestyle. Even after a snow storm, the amount of snow that is deposited on the roads, block the roads completely. Hence, to clean them up, the heavy equipment plays a huge role.

Types of Heavy Equipment Needed for Storm clean-up:

The damages that take place after a storm vary to a great extent. The houses, concrete buildings, might structures and even the huts collapse. In case of the roads, they are severely damaged by the amount of downpour that follows the storm. The pitch, bitumen and asphalt, come out of the road. The trees are uprooted and they block the roads and this makes it even more difficult to communicate. To clean the debris and to make everything just as usual, there are a few types of heavy equipment that must be needed. These would include –

  • Excavators
  • Track loaders
  • Dozers
  • Cranes
  • Wheel loaders
  • Backhoes
  • Dump trucks.

Each of these would serve a special purpose while performing the cleaning task after storm damage.

Choosing the right equipment:

Now that you have known about the different types of heavy equipment that you need to choose in order to clean-up the storm damages and debris, you must know the factors that you need to consider while buying or hiring them.

  • Type of damage:

This is the most important factor that you must consider. The type of damage that has been caused by the storm is the most important thing. You need to decide, whether you need to clean the snow or remove the tree logs or clean the debris.

  • Own or hire:

The next most important thing is whether you need to own the heavy equipment or hire them. If the storm attacks your area frequently, you can choose to own the equipment. Or else, you can even hire them as you require. Owning might charge you high initially, but it will reduce the hiring cost every time. You can even rent it out, when you are not in need of it. It will be an added income to you.

Since the use of the heavy equipment is diverse and versatile, they are always in demand.

Only the best salesman can sell heavy equipment

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We all are in some way or the other are into the profession of a salesman. Some try to sell their qualification to get a job, some try to sell their capabilities to get more business. In a way we all are into the selling mode and still many of us feel that selling is not our cup of tea. Well, selling a specific product may require some sort of skill and perhaps this is the reason why many get jittery when they know that their work demands them to sell stuffs. Frankly, selling a product can prove to be quite stressful for a person who does not have the knack to sell things. In the end he might get frustrated when he finds that he is failing to sell the stuff and that might lead him to quit the job. Therefore, before you end up in a profession where you need to sell products check how good you are in convincing people. If you are really good at it then perhaps you should pursue it or else simply do not take it up.

When it is about picking salesman to sell heavy equipment, the heavy equipment companies prefer to have the best men with them. They understand the level of stress a salesman will have to go through while selling expensive items. This is reason they want to employ salesman who has experience in selling heavy equipment and also enjoys his work. It is quite natural that a person who enjoys doing what he does will excel in his career. No matter how difficult the work is, as long as he is content with what he is doing there is nothing that can work as a barrier for him.

Selling heavy equipment is an art:-

We all know that selling products is an art and so is selling heavy equipment. As everything has an extent, it is believed that selling heavy equipment falls in the upper category when it is related to the art of selling. The reason is that it is an expensive product and people specific to an industry will want to buy it. This means that the salesman can’t sell his product to everybody. He has a specific market where he can move around and he will also find many other salesmen within that limited market who are also selling similar products like him. This is why if he is really excellent in the art of selling, then he may find his place in selling heavy equipment.

Know your products well:-

In order to become one of the best salesmen in the heavy equipment industry, it is crucial that you should know your products well. Do as much research as you can on the machine that you are selling. Knowing heavy equipment is not an easy thing. It requires tremendous effort on the part of the people who are involved with the machine. Right from an operator to the guy who gives signal to the salesman who sells the machine, they all need to know as much as they can. If you know your product well then perhaps you will not find much obstacle in your journey to become an accomplished heavy equipment salesman.

Steps taken to prevent early ageing of heavy equipment

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There is no denying the fact that the heavy construction equipment come for quite an expensive price. However, they are very vulnerable to damage and premature ageing, especially when they are mishandled and not taken care of properly. Hence, if you want to make sure that there is no early ageing of heavy equipment, you need to take some preventive steps.

  • Add and Test Lubricants Frequently:

Lubricants play a very important role in any machinery function. It reduces the friction. When you use the good quality lubricants, it will work as a maintenance for the equipment and increase its life-span and performance.

You must also be careful about checking the oil and grease deposition on the pistons of your heavy equipment machinery. Always follow the recommendations and guidelines regarding the choice of lubricant.

  • Keep the Heavy Equipment Clean:

One of the most important steps that you need to take in order to increase the life of the heavy equipment and prevent its ageing is to keep it clean. The heavy construction equipment almost always works in a dusty and dirty environment, being exposed to mud, concrete, cement etc. these need to be cleaned off properly. Otherwise, it can deposit on the equipment or the machinery and make it weary. The machinery might be jammed and stop working.

  • Check for Signs of Wear:

What makes it easy to maintain the health and condition of your heavy equipment is that it will give you signs of wear. You should be careful about –

  • Any sort of vibration that comes from belts and gears
  • Any sort of sudden and high temperature increase
  • Any sort of shock in the machinery.

These can be the result of poor alignment, poor operating technique and poor use of lubrication. As soon as you experience any of these, you need to take special care of the equipment and get rid of these problems as soon as possible. What most people make the mistake about is that they continue using the equipment in that condition, until it completely stops working. And that is too late for the equipment to be saved.

  • Take for Regular Servicing:

Just as the private vehicles and commercial vehicles need maintenance and service for better performance, it is also important for the heavy equipment and construction machinery to be taken for service. Servicing will make sure that the machinery is cleaned, lubrication is proper and every single part of the equipment is in perfect working condition.

When you take the heavy equipment for service, they will take care of the –

  • Power transmission
  • Pulleys and V-belts
  • Seals, bearings, gaskets and other friction materials
  • Do a torque check on the bolts?

These are just a few of the many maintenance services that they will run.

  • Always have Trained Professionals:

The last but not least important step that every heavy equipment owner must be careful about is that only trained operators run the equipment. It is because; trained operators would know how to run the equipment and when to report a problem. This is crucial for the life of the machine and for preventing it from early ageing.

Buy and sell heavy equipment online

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E-commerce has evolved majestically during the last 2 decades. Almost every company in today’s time is in some way or the other engaged in the online business. It means they either buy or sell their products online and this being their core business they tend to make good money from it. Probably a couple of decades ago, nobody must have thought that the E-commerce business will become such a big thing in the global market. However, now we are all in some way or the other are connected to it. We use all sorts of applications to buy and sell things online and this has been the trend of the day it seems. Taking this trend as the opportunity, the owners of heavy equipment have also plunged into the business and now want to sell heavy machines online. The buyers also prefer to buy it from an internet platform.

Connects you quickly to a lot of prospects:-

When you use an online platform to sell heavy equipment you are exposed to a lot of people who have similar needs for their business. They check your listing and if they find the machine valuable for their business they buy it online. The payment is also done through an internet gateway and once the seller receives the money, the item is shipped across. Unlike the conventional method where you do not get much exposure and hardly anybody get to know if you are selling a machine, the online platform just works the way you want it to. Remember that you are also exposed to international businesses and you should make it very clear on your listing if you are ready to ship the machine internationally. A seller needs to follow a lot of legal process to ship the item outside US. So before you take the call to go international, make sure that you are prepared to deal with the government procedures.

Buyers get multiple options:-

The buyers in turn have a lot to get by buying heavy equipment online. They get multiple options at their disposal and can make their choice from the given options. They can also review the ratings of the seller and accordingly can take a call if they would like to deal with that seller. Ideally, at the end of a transaction every seller is given a rating on the basis of how effective and transparent the transaction was. The buyer leaves a feedback mentioning his experience with the seller. So if the buyer had a good experience he can give him a good rating or else he can mark it as “Poor”. This will help others to know if the seller is at all worthy to be dealt with and the can accordingly decide on what they should do. So the buyer always has the option to check the listing of another seller and can also expect a better price as compared to the earlier guy.

It is not just heavy equipment but also ancillaries are sold on online platform. So if you want to buy an attachment or a part of the machine has gone faulty, you know where you can find them.

 

Negligence of any form can turn out to be fatal in the construction business

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Right from our childhood we have the tendency to neglect things and feel that we can do it later. We just skip things for now and believe that someone else will do it for us or we will get it done some time later. We grow with the same tendency and then it starts getting costly to us. We can’t have the same approach that we had during our childhood days in our professional lives. It can have a nasty impact on our businesses and can hamper it big time. We need to take special care of things that are pending for a while and need to know the reasons why they are not done yet. Negligence of any form is fatal for any industry but when it comes to construction industry; it can become more damaging than ever. Here if you neglect important things there is every chance that it will back fire you and you end up paying a heavy price for it.

Negligence towards heavy equipment:-

Negligence of work can be of many forms. One can even be negligent towards heavy equipment. For instance, every machine do give some sort of signals become breaking down completely. Now, it is not a rocket science to comprehend those signals. One can easily understand those signals and work accordingly to fix the stuff. But if you are negligent towards fixing the machine and feel that you will do it later then there will come a time when you will not be able to get that thing to work. That will be followed by calling up a mechanic who might diagnose problems that can be fixed only if you change certain vital parts of the machine. In other words, it means that you now need to be ready to shell good sum of money on something that could have been managed effectively at the very moment you realized something wrong with it.

Negligence on part of stock keepers:-

Stock keepers are the ones who keep a stock of raw materials and whenever they feel that they may go short of materials they give an order to the suppliers who in turn transport the stuff to them. Negligence has been found by stock keepers who for some reason fail to provide orders of raw materials in time which leads to no work for a day or two. One needs to understand that the suppliers may also run out of stock and this is why it is important that you order the stuff in advance so that the suppliers have ample time to send it to you. In case of any eventuality, you do not run out of stock and the work continues. One can’t ever afford to be negligent during monsoon and winters as during these two seasons we experience numerous issues related to road blocks and accidents which can delay the delivery of raw materials. Keeping these things into consideration one must pro-actively order materials in advance and don’t fall into unnecessary chaos.

How does Auction Companies work for heavy equipment? What do they charge?

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When you do not need the services of your heavy equipment, you got to get rid of them. There is no point in keeping the machines with you and see them getting rusted during different seasons. Now there is a smarter way to get rid of heavy equipment and that is by selling them in auction. So while you put them up for auction, you generally give them the minimum price to start and it takes up from there. People will place their bids on the item and the guy with the highest bid will eventually become the new owner of the machine. It is no big deal to locate a company that is into selling heavy equipment through auction. In fact, you will come across many companies that see this business with huge potential and with larger margins for profit. So finding a company who can help you to do away with your old heavy equipment is no problem.

Get all machines at one place:-

Auction of heavy equipment is more like an exhibition. It is not just your machines that will be slated to get auctioned on a particular day but heavy equipment belonging to many other people will be put on sale on that day. So these companies if they are selling it offline then they advertise about the mega event where they rent a huge place to put up your construction equipment and invite people who belongs from the construction or mining industry. The invitation happens through ways of advertisement, cold calls and online registration. So once people gather at the venue, the auction begins and they bring each equipment at a time. The possibility of a construction equipment not getting sold exists but the larger possibility is that it may get sold off quickly out there than any other forum.

Online auction companies:-

There is also good number of auction companies who deals exclusively on the internet. They make members by asking them to register on their site and then use the site for buying and selling heavy equipment. So a person who is a buyer can also become a seller using the same User ID. He need not change any of his details to sell anything especially when his prior transactions were restricted to only purchases.

Different auction company charges differently:-

The seller has to pay good chunk of money to the auction company to sell his machines. Firstly, some auction companies charge money for registration. It may vary from few hundreds to thousands of dollars. It also covers the listing cost. For offline auction, they do charge for using their services to auction the machine. The amount may be minimal for putting the machine on auction but if it sells of, they may charge from 2% to 10% of the sales price. Sellers take advantage of both the platforms to sell their heavy equipment. Online auction companies charge not only for listing the item but also for enhancements like making the description part look more attractive or to just put a star on the listing which makes it a bit catchy. Any additional feature will cost the seller more and therefore one needs to first understand the costing before going for it.