CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT

MANAGEMENT
By
Dr. B S Patil
CONTENT

➢ Introduction

➢ Types of construction equipments and its Selection

criteria

➢ Factors behind the selection of construction

equipments

➢ Plant and equipment acquisition

INTRODUCTION
● Good project management in construction must
vigorously pursue the efficient utilization of labor, material
and equipment.
● The use of new equipment and innovative methods has
made possible wholesale changes in construction
technologies in recent decades.
● The selection of the appropriate type and size of
construction equipment often affects the required amount
of time and effort and thus the job-site productivity of a
project.
● It is therefore important for project/site managers and
construction planners to be familiar with the
characteristics of the major types of equipment most
commonly used in construction
TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENTS AND ITS SELECTION
CRITERIA

● EARTHWORK EQUIPMENTS

● CONCRETING EQUIPMENTS

● HOISTING EQUIPMENTS
TYPES OF EARTHWORK EQUIPMENTS

❖ Backhoe
❖ Front Shovel
❖ Dragline
❖ Clamshell
❖ Dozers
❖ Roller Compactor
❖ Scraper
❖ Dumper
❖ Grader
Backhoe
Backhoes are mainly used to clean up construction areas,
to dig holes in the ground, to smooth uneven ground, to
make trenches, ditches and to help remove deep roots
from trees.
FRONT SHOVEL
● Front shovel are mainly used for excavation purposes
above its own track or wheel level.
● They are suitable for heavy positive cutting in all types of
dry soils
DRAGLINE
They are used for bulk
excavation below its track level
in loose soils, marshy land and
areas containing water.
CLAMSHELL
It consists of a hydraulically
controlled bucket suspended
from a lifting arm. It is mainly
used for deep confined cutting in
pits and trenches.
A Clamshell is a one-piece container consisting of two
halves joined by a hinge area which allows the structure to
come together to close.
Earth cutting and moving Equipments

1. Bulldozers
2. Scrapers
3. Dumper
4. Grader
DOZERS

They are used for moving earth up to a distance of about

100m and act as a towing tractor and pusher to scraper
machines. They can be track-mounted or wheel-mounted.
Roller compactor is mainly used for compaction of earth and
other materials in large works of highways, canals and airports.
SCRAPER

They are used for site levelling, loading, hauling over

distances varying between 150m-900m. They may be towed,
two-axle or three-axle type.
DUMPER

It is used for horizontal transportation of materials on and off

sites. Large capacity dumpers are used in mines and
quarries.
GRADER

● It is used for grading and finishing the upper surface of

the earthen formations and embankments.
● They usually operate in the forward direction.
SELECTION CRITERIA FOR EARTHWORK EQUIPMENTS

❖ The selection of earthmoving equipment is mainly

dependent on the following factors:

● Quantities of material to be moved

● The available time to complete the work the job conditions
● The prevailing soil types, the swell and compaction
factors, etc.
● The job conditions include factors such as availability of
loading and dumping area, accessibility of site, traffic flows
and weather conditions at site.
In order to plan the number of Earthwork Equipment
needed, the planner first determines the following:
● The suitable class of equipment for earthwork-for
example, if the soil to be excavated is loose and marshy,
and bulk excavation is involved In the project, one may
opt for a dragline.

● The appropriate model of equipment based on different

characteristics such as payload of bucket and speeds
required.

● The number of equipment needed for the project to carry

out the given quantity.

● The number of associated equipment required to

support the main equipment
TYPES OF CONCRETING EQUIPMENTS

❖ Concrete batching and mixing plant

❖ Concrete mixers
❖ Concrete transit mixers
❖ Concrete pumps
CONCRETE BATCHING AND MIXING PLANT

● They are mainly used for

weighing and mixing large
quantity of concrete
constituents.

● Capacity: 20cum/hr-250cum/hr
CONCRETE MIXERS
● They are mainly used for mixing small quantities of
concrete constituents.

● Capacity: 200 lt/batch (small mixers)

200-750 lt/batch (large mixers)
CONCRETE TRANSIT MIXERS

● They are mainly used for transporting concrete from

batching plant.

● Capacity: 3cum-9cum
CONCRETE PUMPS
● They are used for horizontal and vertical transportation
of large volumes of concrete in short duration.

● Capacity: 30cum/hr (ordinary construction)

120cum/hr(specialized construction)
SELECTION CRITERIA FOR CONCRETING EQUIPMENTS
Selection of concreting equipment can be complicated
and difficult. The decision will involve many issues that
have to be analysed.
The following factors are noteworthy:
➔ Site characteristics such as boundary conditions, noise
limitations and other restrictions.
➔ Equipment availability-local availability of
equipments,whether the contractor owns that equipment
➔ Continuity of operation
➔ Effect of permanent work
➔ Weather conditions
➔ Temporary works
➔ Time restrictions
➔ Concrete specifications
SELECTION CRITERIA FOR CONCRETING EQUIPMENTS

Concrete-mixing equipment selection will depend on

factors such as the
● Maximum and the total output required in a given time
frame
● The method of transporting the mixed concrete
● The requirement of discharge height of the mixer.
Concrete-placement equipment selection depends on
the factors such as the
● capacity of the vehicle
● the output of the vehicle
● the site characteristics
● the weather conditions
● the rental costs, and the temporary haul roads.
TYPES OF HOISTING EQUIPMENTS

1. Hoists - Boom hoist

Chain hoist
Electric hoist

1. Cranes - Derrick Crane

Mobile Crane
Tower Crane
HOISTS
Hoists are used on construction sites to vertically transport
materials and/or passengers. They are most commonly
powered by diesel engines or electric motors that rotate a
drum around which a wire rope is wound. Hoists may also be
hydraulically powered, and may use chains as the lifting
mechanism rather than wire rope.
BOOM HOISTS
● Boom hoists are used to lift weights on the hooks that
are attached to the special metal ropes designed to
bear maximum loads.

● Boom hoist is mostly used as industrial machine where it

loads the weight on containers.
CHAIN HOIST
Chain hoists are quite
common example of hoist
system and it can be seen
at most of the construction
and industrial purposes.
Basically, chain hoist
consists of chain rope and
pulley that is used to move
the load from up to down.
TRUCK HOIST

Truck hoist consist of a boom that is attached with base of

truck and a hook with rope is installed on this boom that
can operated through driver controls.
CRANES

● Cranes are considered to be one of the most important

equipment used in construction due to their key role in
performing lifting tasks all over the construction site.

● Plenty of crane models are available in different

shapes and sizes, though, they usually fall into three
categories,

1. Derrick Cranes
2. Mobile Cranes
3. Tower Cranes
DERRICK CRANES
•Preferable for high-rise and apartment buildings.
•Can be used for both long term and short term projects.
•Cheaper than mobile and tower cranes.
•Not considered to be safe.
•Used when clearance is inadequate for the other units
and sufficient space is unavailable for the erection of a
tower foundation.
MOBILE CRANES
•Adequate for all types of structures (up to 107 m)
•Used for shorter projects duration (less than 4 months).
•Not considered to be very safe due to lack of safety devices
•Limited switches to prevent overloading.
•Can operate in muddy terrain but requires good ground
conditions.
•Needs adequate operating clearance.
TOWER CRANES

•Preferable for high-rise (over

107 m).
•Used for longer project duration.
•Considered to be very safe due
to the presence of limit switches.
•Can operate where ground
conditions are poor.
•Does not need adequate
operating clearance.
ADVANTAGES OF UTILIZING THE CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENTS

➢ Increase the rate of output through work progress with

the best effective and efficient methods.
➢ Reduce the overall construction costs especially for
large contracts.
➢ Carry out activities which cannot be done manually or to
do them more economically and much faster.
➢ Eliminate the heavy manual work by human thus reducing
fatigue and eliminates various other hazards and health
issues.
➢ Maintain the planned rate of production where there is a
shortage of skilled or unskilled labor.
➢ Maintain the high quality standards often required by
present-day design and specifications
FACTORS BEHIND THE SELECTION OF CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENTS

❏ Economic Considerations
❏ Company-Specific
❏ Site-Specific
❏ Equipment-Specific
❏ Client And Project-Specific
❏ Manufacturer-Specific
❏ Labour Consideration
ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS

● The economic considerations such as owning costs,

operating labour costs and operating fuel costs of
equipment are most important in selection of
equipment.

● Besides, the resale value, the replacement costs of

existing equipment, and the salvage value associated
with the equipment are also important.
COMPANY SPECIFIC

● The selection of equipment by a company may be

governed by its policy on 'owning' or 'renting’.

● While emphasis on 'owning' may result in purchase of

equipment keeping in mind the future requirement of
projects, the emphasis on 'renting' may lead to putting too
much focus on short-term benefits.
SITE SPECIFIC

● Site conditions-both ground conditions as well as

climatic conditions-may affect the equipment-
selection decision.

● For example, the soil and profile of a site may dictate

whether to go for a crawler-mounted equipment or a
wheel-mounted equipment. If there is a power line at or in
the vicinity of site, one may go for a fixed-base kind of
equipment rather than a mobile kind of equipment.
EQUIPMENT SPECIFIC

● Construction equipments come with high price tags.

While it may be tempting to go for the equipment with
low initial price, it is preferable to opt for standard
equipments.

● Such equipments are manufactured in large numbers by

the manufacturers, and their spare parts are easily
available, which would ensure minimum downtime.
Besides, they can also fetch good salvage money at the
time of their disposal.
CLIENT AND PROJECT SPECIFIC

● The owner/client in a certain project may have certain

preferences that are not in line with the construction
company's preferred policies as far as equipment
procurement is concerned.

● The schedule, quality and safety requirements demanded

of a particular project may in some cases force the
company to yield to the demands of the client.
MANUFACTURER SPECIFIC

● A construction company may prefer to buy equipment

from the same manufacturer again and again, and
that too from a specific dealer.

● This may be to bring in uniformity in the equipment fleet

possessed by the company or because the company is
familiar with the working style of the manufacturer and
the dealer.
LABOUR CONSIDERATION

● Shortage of manpower in some situations may lead to

a decision in favour of procuring equipment that is
highly automated.

● Further, the selection of equipment may be governed by

the availability or non-availability of trained manpower.
PLANT AND EQUIPMENT ACQUISITION

A construction company can acquire a construction plant and

equipment through

➢ Cash or outright purchase

➢ Renting
➢ Leasing
WHEN IT’S BEST TO BUY

● Buying or financing equipment is most sensible if the

equipment is essential to your core fleet and expected
to provide reliable service for a long time.

● If you decide it's worth the large outlay of funds to buy or

finance equipment, you'll find owning equipment can
provide long-term tax benefits--principally from deduction
of interest expense and depreciation of equipment.
WHEN IT’S BEST TO RENT

Renting entails a short-term agreement or contract to use

capital equipment weekly or monthly, with the rental rate
decreasing as the term lengthens.

Following are some other popular reasons for renting

equipment:
•To fill in for peak periods, special projects, or broken
machinery
•To try out equipment before buying or leasing it
•To lessen the risk of purchasing costly equipment that won’t
be needed later
WHEN IT’S BEST TO LEASE

● Leasing can be an attractive option if you use the

equipment frequently but don’t have the resources to
purchase equipment outright or make an adequate
down payment.

● However, leasing carries higher interest rates and

contractors usually are responsible for the insurance and
personal property taxes on the equipment being leased.
EQUIPMENT LIFE AND REPLACEMENT ALTERNATIVES

● Once a piece of equipment is purchased and used, it

eventually begins to wear out and suffers mechanical
problems. At some point, it reaches the end of its useful
life and must be replaced.

● The Equipment replacement decision involves

determining when it is no longer economically feasible
to repair.
● Equipment Life
● Replacement alternatives
Construction equipment life can be defined in three
ways.

➢ Physical life: Age at which the machine worn out and

can no longer reliably produce.

➢ Profit life: The life over which the equipment can earn
a profit.

➢ Economic life: Time period that maximizes the profit

over the equipment life.
REPLACEMENT ALTERNATIVES

The owners have to take replacement decision in correct

time to avoid losses. As there are many factors involved,
adopting the most appropriate method is also important. In
determining the optimum replacement timing some analysis
minimum cost, maximum profit and payback period are to be
consider.
CONCLUSION

● The selection of the appropriate type and size of

construction equipment and its operation, maintenance
affects the required amount of time and effort and thus
the job-site productivity of a project.

● It is therefore important for project/site managers and

construction planners to be familiar with the
characteristics of the major types of equipment most
commonly used in construction.
QUERIES?