Common Heavy Construction Equipment
Heavy Construction Equipment Is a Common Sight
Common heavy construction equipment that most of us are familiar with and would spot quite often in our daily travels are bulldozers, loaders, backhoes, and excavators. If you are passing by a building construction site of a high rise building, you are also likely to spot some cranes which do the job of lifting heavy girders and concrete to the top of the building at whatever level it is. Heavy construction equipment defined would be hoisting equipment, excavating equipment, and transporting equipment for the excavated materials. Operation of all these heavy construction machines requires specialized training and licensing.
Image source: Wikimedia: Excavator
Hoisting Heavy Equipment
Hoisting equipment is mainly meant to take up materials or lower these materials to higher levels or from them. Cranes, as they are called, have now been standardized and most construction sites would opt for these standard models, based on the maximum weight that has to be lifted and the distance horizontally and vertically that the loads need to be carried. Cranes are also designed which can continuously change positions both horizontally and vertically, which adds to their versatility. Very heavy lift cranes are used on port, bridge, and other projects. These are quite often based on barges and can travel all over the world to perform specialized tasks of lifting and shifting.
Excavating Heavy Equipment
Excavating equipment can include dredges, excavators, and tunnel boring machines. The functions performed by these fairly common heavy construction devices greatly speed up construction. Some of the equipment is, however, so huge that it is built for specific purposes and may be meant for a particular project only, in stationary use. Companies that opt for such equipment would do their costing to amortize the entire cost of the equipment with the project itself. If they are later able to sell this equipment or even lease it out, this will then be a bonus. Quite a lot of such heavy machinery is also available on hire from specialized companies all over the world.
Transporting Heavy Equipment
Transporting heavy construction equipment can be self-propelled, rubber-tired dump trucks to shift earth or even ore from mines. They are mainly designed to work off road and in tough conditions. Some of these dumper are so huge that normal transportation on roads is not allowed. Some dump trucks in use have tires that are as high as a two storied house. Ready mixed concrete is also carried by special movable mixers.
Image Source: Wikimedia : Transporters
Other Common Heavy Construction Equipment
Road building nowadays is a very highly mechanized operation and would have graders to level the earth. They would also have sheep foot rollers to achieve proper compaction of the sub base and of course a number of excavators, backhoes, bulldozers, etc, to assist in the operations to create the needed embankments. Other common heavy construction equipment used in road building would be asphalt and concrete pavers.
Drilling equipment like pavement breakers and rock drills are used for removing rock or creating holes for blasting. Other heavy equipment can be mainly associated with foundation work and this can involve devices such as pile hammers, compactors, augers, and pile drilling equipment.
Leasing Is the Preferred Form of Obtaining Common Heavy Construction Equipment
Road building these days is a very highly mechanized operation and would have graders to level the earth. They would also have sheep foot rollers to achieve proper compaction of the sub-base and, of course, a number of excavators, backhoes, bulldozers, etc. to assist in the operations to create the needed embankments and level of grade. Other common heavy construction equipment used in road building would be asphalt and concrete pavers.
Drilling equipment like pavement breakers and rock drills are used for removing rock or for creating holes for blasting. Other heavy equipment can be mainly associated with foundation work and this can include pile hammers, compactors, augers, and pile drilling rigs.
References
Highbeam Business - Construction Equipment Rental and Leasing
Project Management for Construction: Construction equipment
Related Reading
Soil Compaction Methods by this author.
