How to choose right construction equipment 

for your project?

Most of the construction projects involve laborious work which is to be handled by men and the
equipment designed for doing the work undersigned. It is difficult for workers to accomplish all
things in a project and so there comes the need for machines particularly the construction
equipment (machinery) that is widely used nowadays almost everywhere in the world.
For speedy and economic construction of a project, proper choice of equipment is of preliminary
importance for civil engineers. The versatile range of equipment available commercially involves
the decision of people. There are few basic things that are considered in selection of suitable
equipment. They are as follows:

1. Use of Available Construction Equipment:

Where the full utilization of new equipment for its entire working life is not foreseen, or its
utilization on further projects is uncertain, it may be desirable to use existing old equipment even
if its operation is somewhat more expensive. The depreciation cost of the new machine is likely
to be high, and this would raise the owning cost of the equipment and thus the unit cost of work.

2. Suitability for Job Conditions:

The equipment chosen should suit the conditions of the job, soil, valley, working conditions and
climate of the region.

3. Uniformity in Type:
A minimum number of types should be acquired so that there is uniformity in the type of
equipment on a job. A common type of engine should be selected for the different types
machines such as excavators, dump trucks, tractors and scrapers that are on the project.

4. Size of Construction Equipment:

Larger equipment gives higher output on full load, but its cost of production on part load is
usually greater than that of smaller units working on full load. Larger equipment needs
correspondingly larger size of matching units, and shutting down of one primary unit may render
several other large units idle.
Transportation to works is generally difficult and costly. Servicing, maintenance and repair
facilities have to be greater for larger units. However, larger machines are usually more sturdy
and suitable for tough working conditions. It is desirable to have equipment of same size on the
project. With standbys, the cost of larger size standby equipment is more than that of smaller
size.

5. Use of Standard Construction Equipment:

Standard equipment is commonly manufactured and is available. Such equipment is
manufactured in large numbers and so readily available and moderately priced. Spare parts of
standard equipment are easily available and are less costly. After the work is over, disposing off
standard equipment and its spare parts is generally easier than disposing off non-standard or
specialized equipment.

6. Unit Cost of Production:

The economics of equipment is one of the most important considerations in the selection of
equipment.
When calculating owning cost, all items of expenses, like freight, packing and forwarding,
insurance, erection, commissioning, etc. should be included with the price paid to the supplier.

7. Country of Origin:
For imported equipment, it is preferable to import from a soft currency rather from a hard
currency area, to save foreign currency reserves.

8. Availability of Spare Parts:

The availability of spare parts at reasonable costs during the entire working life of the equipment
should be ensured while selecting a particular type or make of equipment, especially of imported
equipment. Downtime due to shortage of spare parts commonly accounts for long idle periods
during the working life of equipment. If specialists are needed, their availability should also kept
in mind.

9. Versatility:
The machine selected should, if possible, be able to do more than one function and should be
inter-convertible wherever possible.

10. Selection of Manufacturer:

It is good to have equipment of the same manufacturer on a project as far as possible and to have
minimum number of different makes of equipment. The quality and commitment of local dealers
is important. They should be sincere and capable of extending prompt after sales service.

11. Suitability of Local Labour:

The locally available operators and technicians should be able to handle the equipment selected.
A special equipment may have excellent performance but it may be difficult to handle it through
available know-how.

12. Adaptability for Future Use:

If the machine is required to work for only a part of its useful life then possibility on of disposing
it off or its employment some other job should be considered. Obsolescence of the machine
should not be overlooked.
Selection of Construction Equipment
One of the problems encountered by a contractor as he plans to construct a project is the
selection of the most suitable equipment to be used. For a beginner contractor, he cannot spend
all the money for equipment in a particular investment. A contractor can never afford to own all
types and sizes of equipment. A contractor does not have to pay for the construction equipment
but it must pay for itself by earning for the contractor more money than it costs.

Factors Affecting the Selection of Construction Equipment

1. Standard type of Equipment. There is no such definition of standard type of equipment. An
equipment maybe standard to one contractor but may not be to another. It depends on the
operations of a contractor/company.

2. Special Equipment. One definition of special equipment is one that is manufactured for use
on a single project or a special type of operation

3. Replacement of Parts. One factor in the Selection of branded equipment is the availability of
replacement parts. When buying equipment, spare parts must be readily available or could be
easily purchased. A truck with a broken axle is useless until the axle is replaced. A contractor
should know where to obtain spare parts for his equipment, if not, then it may be wise to
purchase or rent another equipment.

4. Cost of Owning and operating construction equipment. There is no exact method of

determining the probable cost of owning equipment. Carefully kept records should give
information as a guide as to the type of equipment you need to purchase. The number and the
kind of projects a contractor is involved in should indicate what kind of equipment he has to
purchase.

5. Economic life of construction equipment. The owner of the construction equipment should
be interested in obtaining the lowest possible cost per unit of production. In order to accomplish
this objective, he must follow an informed program of equipment replacement. How many years
will he use his equipment?? Do his maintenance costs warrant the operation of the equipment or
is there a need to dispose the equipment and buy another on?? The owner must consider all the
costs related to the ownership and operation of the equipment. The costs to be considered are:
depreciation and replacement, investment, maintenance and repairs, downtime, obsolescence. An
analysis of the effect which hours of usage will have on each of these costs will establish the
time at which a machine should be replaced.

6. Sources of Construction Equipment. Contractors are frequently concerned about whether to

purchase or lease construction equipment. Under certain conditions, it is financially
advantageous to purchase whereas under the conditions it is more economical and satisfactory to
rent it.
       Three Methods by which a contractor may secure the use of equipment

        1. Purchase
        2. Rent (Lease agreement)
        3. Rent to own

A. Advantages of owning equipment 

1. it is more economical if the equipment is used sufficiently.

2. It is ready available or immediately at the disposal of the owner.
3. It is better maintained and better in mechanical condition.

B. Disadvantages of owning equipment

1. It is more expensive than renting.

2. Substantial investment is required.
3. The ownership may influence the contractor to continuously use the equipment in lieu of more
modern equipment.
4. The ownership may influence to do the kind of work using his equipment but that which may
require different equipment.
5. The ownership may influence the contractor to use equipment beyond its economical life
FACTORS BEHIND THE SELECTION OF CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENTS

The selection of the appropriate construction equipment is an important part of job planning. The
contractor has many different options to choose from, which makes the selection even more
complicated. A planner has to choose the alternative that provides the best value from a cost and
schedule perspective.

Selection of equipment for construction projects generally involves two classes of factors or
considerations-hard factors and soft factors. Examples of hard factors include technical
specifications of the equip- ment, physical dimensions of the site and constructed facility, and
cost calculations. As can be noticed, hard factors are tangible in nature. On the other hand, soft
factors are mostly intangible, qualitative and informal in nature. Some examples of soft factors
are safety considerations, company policies regarding purchase/ rental, market fluctuations and
environmental constraints. The soft factors influence decision-making to a large extent.

A number of researchers have worked to develop a method to assist in equipment selection and,
consequently, different models have evolved over the years. For example, there are optimization
model, graphics model and database-centred models to select tower cranes. Different expert
systems have also been developed to assist in equipment selection. Finally. there are artificial
intelligence-based models. Harris and McCaffer (2001) have developed their equipment
selection model based on multi-attribute decision-making. Dynamic programming-based models
have also been developed for equipment selection. A number of computer programs have been
developed to assist in the equipment-selection process.

Similarly, commercial software is available that offers solutions for the selection and location of
a specific crane model and for lift planning (Meehan 2005). Examples are Compu-Cranc and
LPS (NCI 2006).

Cranimation and Tower-Management (Cranimax 2006), LiftPlanner (LiftPlanner Software 2006)

and MethoCAD (Progistik 2006). These software packages, commonly used by engineering and
construction firms, address mainly the technical aspects of crane location and lift planning.

In the following paragraphs, we discuss some of the factors that govern the equipment-selection
decision. It may be difficult to come up with a set of decision variables that are applicable for the
selection of all types of equipments used in construction, and hence, only a few common
decision variables are discussed. The specific decision variables for a particular class of
equipment selection are discussed subsequently.

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. The economics of equipment selection and replacement issues are dealt with in
detail in later parts.
Company-specific

The selection ofcquipmcnt by a company maybe 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. This may explain the situa- tion of a construction company opting for two 30
m3/h batching plant owned by the company and currently idle, instead of the required one 45
m3/h batching plant that it can get on rent. It is clear that the company wants to deal with the 30
m3/h batching plant keeping future projects in mind, even though going for the 45 m3/h batching
plant option at present may have been economical.

Further, if the company project forecast says that there will be considerable number of projects
involving a particular type of construction equipment, say X, for the next couple of years, then
the decision would be to buy only this type of equipment.^construction company specializing in
a particular type of construction, such as tunnelling, will have a tendency to procure only those
equipments that are used in tunnel construction. The equipment-selection decision also depends
on the amount of outsourcing the company does to execute its projects. A company opting to
subcontract a majority of their project work will tend to keep low equipment asset.

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 equip- ment 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. Similarly, climatic conditions such as the presence of strong winds, visibility level
and noise level may affect equipment-selection decision. Further, the access leading to the site
may also affect the decision. Heavy traffic congestion near a site may lead to a decision to
produce the concrete at site and, hence, selecting a concrete batching plant rather than relying on
ready. mix concrete. Similarly, if there is only a narrow road leading to the site, it may have a
bear- ing on type of transportation equipment selected for the site.

Equipment-specific

Construction equipments conic 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.

It is a general tendency to go for such equipments that can bring in'uniformity' in the type of
equipments that are already available with the company. For example, a company would like to
go for a uniform type of engines for different machines such as excavators, dumvers and tractors.

The size of equipment selected is also an important consideration. Although the unit production
cost may be cheaper for equipments of large size. it is also true that large equipments require
correspondingly larger sizes of matching equipments. Thus, downtime in one primary unit may
lead to downtime in dependent equipments also.^trade-off between unit production costs versus
size must be obtained. and as far as possible, equipments of similar sizes should be selected for
the project.

Besides the above factors, the versatility (whether it can perform more than one function) of
equipment, the adaptability for future use, the past experience with the equipment, and the
interaction with other equip- ments are also to he noted.

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. Long association may not only result in cheaper price, but it also
ensures prompt services by the manufacturer with regard to the company.

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. The company may not be inclined to select
some sophisticated equipment if it finds that there is limited availability of manpower to operate
the same.

In the following sections, we briefly describe some common construction equipments that can be
seen in most of the construction sites these days.