Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Heavy Equipment- 5 Hidden Costs You Should Know About Before You Buy!

By Darren Slaughter

With the steady increase in construction projects nationwide year after year, it’s no wonder the average price of the typical piece of heavy equipment is over $135,000. Let’s face it; we wouldn’t be able to get our jobs done if we didn’t have these behemoths available. But there are some hidden costs within their benefits.

Technology --

The technology used in heavy equipment is far beyond anything we have seen in the past and the costs to hire someone to operate a particular piece of equipment is skyrocketing. The national average for a heavy equipment operator is in the $60,000 range.

Maintenance --

Powerful heavy equipment is useless if there is no around to fix it. Working with heavy equipment is no easy task. If your company has purchased some type of machinery that has no maintenance agreement included, one major repair jobsite can wipe out the profit you had built into the project.

Theft --

Every year, millions of dollars worth of heavy equipment is stolen from the job site. Heavy equipment is tempting for thieves. The stolen heavy equipment is either parted out or taken to another area where it is sold or used by another business.

Underutilization --

When heavy equipment is underutilized your costs of acquisition skyrocket and your loss in value is occurring unnecessarily. Heavy equipment is not a cheap undertaking and you should find ways to maximize the value of your machinery. One thing to consider is renting or leasing your equipment when it is idle.

Worker injury --

Construction equipment is inherently dangerous to work around, especially for employees on foot. While heavy equipment is being operated, potentially dangerous materials may be present, electric circuits may be live, flammable or noxious liquids or gases and other potential dangers will exist. How are you prepared for these events should one occur? Remember: The best policy around heavy equipment is to take no chances.

As you see there are other things you need to consider as your fleet of heavy construction equipment grows and there are no easy answers. Talk to others in your area about how they manage their inventory and how they maintain, operate, move, and utilize their equipment.





What You Need to Know About Machinery Equipment

By Jitesh Arora

Construction equipment should be durable and reliable to withstand challenges in any part of a project. Challenges could include weather conditions, heavy loads, time of use, and other demands in the construction industry. Heavy machinery equipment are known to be Godzilla's in the field of construction.

But for a construction company, it is enough for machinery equipment to accomplish a task? The answer would be, "NO". These heavy machines should accomplish odds and be present for a longer period of time for a company to earn a good return of investment. There are machinery equipment that do not last for long and are considered a waste of investment. This is the reason why buyers should consider purchasing reliable and durable machines.

These machines are not easily found and transported. Most of these machinery equipment are imported from countries known to be producers of heavy equipment. Among these countries are from Asia including China and Taiwan. Heavy equipment imported from these countries are widely used in constructions all over the world. There are also western countries manufacturing machinery equipment that are imported on several countries through out the globe.

Among the major users of heavy machinery equipment are the drilling companies. The drilling industry is in great demand for machines that can withstand the test of nature. Well known company such as Caterpillar is among the great contributors of the success of the industry. They are using wide collections of heavy machinery including backhoes, compactor, crane, dozer, loader, and several other heavy machines.

Machinery equipment are also widely used in mining and farming. These activities require heavy machinery to accomplish tasks. Mining is a fast growing industry and have employed millions of workers around the world. Most employees of mining companies are heavy machinery operators who are very skillful in controlling, driving, and using these monstrous size machines.

If you are looking for more information then feel free to visit Machinery Equipment and Caterpillar Equipment.