Heavy equipment

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Heavy equipment vehicles of various types parked near a highway construction site Tzama02.jpg
Heavy equipment vehicles of various types parked near a highway construction site

Heavy equipment, heavy machinery, earthmovers, construction vehicles, or construction equipment, refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. Heavy equipment usually comprises five equipment systems: the implement, traction, structure, power train, and control/information.

Contents

Heavy equipment has been used since at least the 1st century BC when the ancient Roman engineer Vitruvius described a crane in De architectura when it was powered via human or animal labor.

Heavy equipment functions through the mechanical advantage of a simple machine, the ratio between input force applied and force exerted is multiplied, making tasks which could take hundreds of people and weeks of labor without heavy equipment far less intensive in nature. Some equipment uses hydraulic drives as a primary source of motion.

The word plant, in this context, has come to mean any type of industrial equipment, including mobile equipment (e.g. in the same sense as powerplant). However, plant originally meant "structure" or "establishment" – usually in the sense of factory or warehouse premises; as such, it was used in contradistinction to movable machinery, e.g. often in the phrase "plant and equipment".

History

Wheel Loaders and other industrial trucks parked Topspot Heavy Equipment Inc. 03.jpg
Wheel Loaders and other industrial trucks parked

The use of heavy equipment has a long history; the ancient Roman engineer Vitruvius (1st century BCE) gave descriptions of heavy equipment and cranes in ancient Rome in his treatise De architectura . The pile driver was invented around 1500. The first tunnelling shield was patented by Marc Isambard Brunel in 1818.

From horses, through steam and diesel, to electric and robotic

horse-drawn Fresno scraper digging water-supply ditch Fresno scrapers Miocene ditch.jpg
horse-drawn Fresno scraper digging water-supply ditch
A portable engine; a precursor to modern engineering vehicles Steam lokomobile 2 (aka).jpg
A portable engine; a precursor to modern engineering vehicles
An early gasoline-powered tractor 1903 Tractor.JPG
An early gasoline-powered tractor
Heavy equipment circa 1922 Bell telephone magazine (1922) (14569641579).jpg
Heavy equipment circa 1922

Until the 19th century and into the early 20th century heavy machines were drawn under human or animal power. With the advent of portable steam-powered engines the drawn machine precursors were reconfigured with the new engines, such as the combine harvester. The design of a core tractor evolved around the new steam power source into a new machine core traction engine, that can be configured as the steam tractor and the steamroller. During the 20th century, internal-combustion engines became the major power source of heavy equipment. Kerosene and ethanol engines were used, but today diesel engines are dominant. Mechanical transmission was in many cases replaced by hydraulic machinery. The early 20th century also saw new electric-powered machines such as the forklift. Caterpillar Inc. is a present-day brand from these days, starting out as the Holt Manufacturing Company. The first mass-produced heavy machine was the Fordson tractor in 1917.

The first commercial continuous track vehicle was the 1901 Lombard Steam Log Hauler. The use of tracks became popular for tanks during World War I, and later for civilian machinery like the bulldozer. The largest engineering vehicles and mobile land machines are bucket-wheel excavators, built since the 1920s.

"Until almost the twentieth century, one simple tool constituted the primary earthmoving machine: the hand shovel – moved with animal and human powered, sleds, barges, and wagons. This tool was the principal method by which material was either sidecast or elevated to load a conveyance, usually a wheelbarrow, or a cart or wagon drawn by a draft animal. In antiquity, an equivalent of the hand shovel or hoe and head basket—and masses of men—were used to move earth to build civil works. Builders have long used the inclined plane, levers, and pulleys to place solid building materials, but these labor-saving devices did not lend themselves to earthmoving, which required digging, raising, moving, and placing loose materials. The two elements required for mechanized earthmoving, then as now, were an independent power source and off-road mobility, neither of which could be provided by the technology of that time." [1]

Container cranes were used from the 1950s and onwards, and made containerization possible.

Nowadays such is the importance of this machinery, some transport companies have developed specific equipment to transport heavy construction equipment to and from sites.

Most of the major equipment manufacturers such as Caterpillar, [2] Volvo, [3] Liebherr, [4] and Bobcat have released or have been developing fully or partially electric-powered heavy equipment. Commercially-available models and R&D models were announced in 2019 and 2020. [5]

Robotics and autonomy has been a growing concern for heavy equipment manufacturers with manufacturers beginning research and technology acquisition. [6] A number of companies are currently developing (Caterpillar and Bobcat) or have launched (Built Robotics) commercial solutions to the market.

Types

These subdivisions, in this order, are the standard heavy equipment categorization.

Tractor

Grader

Excavator

Backhoe

Timber

Pipelayer

Scraper

Mining

Articulated

Compactor

Loader

Track loader

Skid-steer loader

Material handler

Paving

Underground

Hydromatic tool

Hydraulic machinery

Highway

Images

Implements and hydromechanical work tools

Traction: Off-the-road tires and tracks

Continuous track (circa 1909) Hornsby.jpg
Continuous track (circa 1909)
Caterpillar track (circa 2009) Caterpillar track shingle.JPG
Caterpillar track (circa 2009)

Heavy equipment requires specialized tires for various construction applications. While many types of equipment have continuous tracks applicable to more severe service requirements, tires are used where greater speed or mobility is required. An understanding of what equipment will be used for during the life of the tires is required for proper selection. Tire selection can have a significant impact on production and unit cost. There are three types of off-the-road tires, transport for earthmoving machines, work for slow moving earthmoving machines, and load and carry for transporting as well as digging. Off-highway tires have six categories of service C compactor, E earthmover, G grader, L loader, LS log-skidder and ML mining and logging. Within these service categories are various tread types designed for use on hard-packed surface, soft surface and rock. Tires are a large expense on any construction project, careful consideration should be given to prevent excessive wear or damage.

Heavy equipment operator

A heavy equipment operator drives and operates heavy equipment used in engineering and construction projects. [7] [8] Typically only skilled workers may operate heavy equipment, and there is specialized training for learning to use heavy equipment.

Much publication about heavy equipment operators focuses on improving safety for such workers. The field of occupational medicine researches and makes recommendations about safety for these and other workers in safety-sensitive positions.

Equipment cost

Due to the small profit margins on construction projects it is important to maintain accurate records concerning equipment utilization, repairs and maintenance. The two main categories of equipment costs are ownership cost and operating cost. [9]

Ownership cost

To classify as an ownership cost an expense must have been incurred regardless of if the equipment is used or not. These costs are as follows:

Depreciation can be calculated several ways, the simplest is the straight-line method. The annual depreciation is constant, reducing the equipment value annually. The following are simple equations paraphrased from the Peurifoy & Schexnayder text:

m = some year in the future

N = equipment useful life (years)

and Dn = Annual depreciation amount

Dn = purchase price / N

Book value (BV) in year m

BVm = purchase price – (m x Dn)

example:

N = 5

purchase price = $350,000

m = 3 years from now

BV3 = $350,000 – ( 3 x $350,000/5) = $140,000

Operating cost

For an expense to be classified as an operating cost, it must be incurred through use of the equipment. These costs are as follows: [10]

  • tires
  • 3rd party service contract
  • replacement of high-wear items

The biggest distinction from a cost standpoint is if a repair is classified as a major repair or a minor repair. A major repair can change the depreciable equipment value due to an extension in service life, while a minor repair is normal maintenance. How a firm chooses to cost major and minor repairs vary from firm to firm depending on the costing strategies being used. Some firms will charge only major repairs to the equipment while minor repairs are costed to a project. Another common costing strategy is to cost all repairs to the equipment and only frequently replaced wear items are excluded from the equipment cost. Many firms keep their costing structure closely guarded[ citation needed ] as it can impact the bidding strategies of their competition. In a company with multiple semi-independent divisions, the equipment department often wants to classify all repairs as "minor" and charge the work to a job – therefore improving their 'profit' from the equipment.

Models

Die-cast metal promotional scale models of heavy equipment are often produced for each vehicle to give to prospective customers. These are typically in 1:50 scale. The popular manufacturers of these models are Conrad and NZG in Germany, even for US vehicles.

Notable manufacturers

The largest 10 heavy equipment manufacturers in 2022 [12]

No.CompanyCountrySales (billion USD)Share of total
1 Caterpillar Flag of the United States.svg  United States 37,516.3%
2 Komatsu Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 24,710.7%
3 XCMG Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 13,45.8%
4 John Deere Flag of the United States.svg  United States 12,55.4%
5 Sany Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 11,95.2%
6 Volvo Construction Equipment Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 9,94.3%
7 Liebherr Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 9,94.3%
8 Hitachi Construction Machinery Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 9,24.0%
9 Sandvik Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 7,83.4%
10 JCB Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 7,03.0%


Other manufacturers include:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military engineering vehicle</span> Battlefield support vehicle

A military engineering vehicle is a vehicle built for construction work or for the transportation of combat engineers on the battlefield. These vehicles may be modified civilian equipment or purpose-built military vehicles. The first appearance of such vehicles coincided with the appearance of the first tanks, these vehicles were modified Mark V tanks for bridging and mine clearance. Modern military engineering vehicles are expected to fulfill numerous roles, as such they undertake numerous forms, examples of roles include; bulldozers, cranes, graders, excavators, dump trucks, breaching vehicles, bridging vehicles, military ferries, amphibious crossing vehicles, and combat engineer section carriers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tractor</span> Engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort

A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commonly, the term is used to describe a farm vehicle that provides the power and traction to mechanize agricultural tasks, especially tillage, and now many more. Agricultural implements may be towed behind or mounted on the tractor, and the tractor may also provide a source of power if the implement is mechanised.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skid-steer loader</span> Compact heavy equipment with differential steering

A skid loader, skid-steer loader, SSL, or skidsteer is any of a class of compact heavy equipment with lift arms that can attach to a wide variety of buckets and other labor-saving tools or attachments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Excavator</span> Type of construction equipment

Excavators are heavy construction equipment primarily consisting of a boom, dipper, bucket and cab on a rotating platform known as the "house" - although the largest form ever, the dragline excavator, eliminated the dipper in favor of a line and winch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulldozer</span> Mobile machine which uses a frontal blade to push large volumes of material

A bulldozer or dozer is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous tracks, though specialized models riding on large off-road tires are also produced. Its most popular accessory is a ripper, a large hook-like device mounted singly or in multiples in the rear to loosen dense materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loader (equipment)</span> Heavy equipment machine

A loader is a heavy equipment machine used in construction to move or load materials such as soil, rock, sand, demolition debris, etc. into or onto another type of machinery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Backhoe</span> Type excavating equipment (vehicle)

A backhoe—also called rear actor or back actor—is a type of excavating equipment, or digger, consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. It is typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader, the latter forming a "backhoe loader". The section of the arm closest to the vehicle is known as the boom, while the section that carries the bucket is known as the dipper, both terms derived from steam shovels. The boom, which is the long piece of the backhoe arm attached to the tractor through a pivot called the king-post, is located closest to the cab. It allows the arm to pivot left and right, typically through a range of 180 to 200 degrees, and also enables lifting and lowering movements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Backhoe loader</span> Heavy equipment vehicle

A backhoe loader, also called a loader backhoe, loader excavator, tractor excavator, digger or colloquially shortened to backhoe within the industry, is a heavy equipment vehicle that consists of a tractor-like unit fitted with a loader-style shovel/bucket on the front and a backhoe on the back. Due to its (relatively) small size and versatility, backhoe loaders are very common in urban engineering and small construction projects as well as developing countries. This type of machine is similar to and derived from what is now known as a TLB (Tractor-Loader-Backhoe), which is to say, an agricultural tractor fitted with a front loader and rear backhoe attachment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grader</span> Construction machine

A grader, also commonly referred to as a road grader, motor grader, or simply blade, is a form of heavy equipment with a long blade used to create a flat surface during grading. Although the earliest models were towed behind horses, and later tractors, most modern graders are self-propelled and thus technically "motor graders".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheel tractor-scraper</span> Type of heavy equipment used for earthmoving

In civil engineering, a wheel tractor-scraper is a type of heavy equipment used for earthmoving. It has a pan/hopper for loading and carrying material. The pan has a tapered horizontal front cutting edge that cuts into the soil like a carpenter's plane or cheese slicer and fills the hopper which has a movable ejection system. The horsepower of the machine, depth of the cut, type of material, and slope of the cut area affect how quickly the pan is filled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Case Construction Equipment</span> American construction machine manufacturer

Case Construction Equipment is an Italian manufacturer of construction machinery. Along with CASE IH, Case Construction Equipment is a brand of CNH. Case produces construction equipment including excavators, motor graders, wheel loaders, vibratory compaction rollers, crawler dozers, skid steers, and compact track loaders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BEML</span> Indian heavy equipment manufacturer

BEML Limited, formerly Bharat Earth Movers Limited, is an Indian public sector undertaking which manufactures a variety of heavy equipment, such as that used for earth moving, railways, transport and mining. It is headquartered in Bangalore. BEML is Asia's second-largest manufacturer of earth moving equipment. Its stock trades on the National Stock Exchange of India under the symbol "BEML", and on the Bombay Stock Exchange under the code "500048".

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compact excavator</span> Small construction excavator

A compact or mini excavator is a tracked or wheeled vehicle with an approximate operating weight from 0.7 to 8.5 tonnes. It generally includes a standard backfill blade and features independent boom swing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euclid Trucks</span> Former American heavy equipment manufacturer

The Euclid Company of Ohio was a manufacturer which specialized in heavy equipment for earthmoving, particularly dump trucks, loaders and wheel tractor-scrapers. It operated in the US from the 1920s to the 1950s, when it was purchased by General Motors. The firm was later bought by Hitachi Construction Machinery.

A bucket is a specialized container attached to a machine, as compared to a bucket adapted for manual use by a human being. It is a bulk material handling component.

GPS when applied in the earthmoving industry can be a viable asset to contractors and increase the overall efficiency of the job. Since GPS satellite positioning information is free to the public, it allows for everyone to take advantage of its uses. Heavy equipment manufacturers, in conjunction with GPS guidance system manufacturers, have been co-developing GPS guidance systems for heavy equipment since the late 1990s. These systems allow the equipment operator to use GPS position data to make decisions based on actual grade and design features. Some heavy equipment guidance systems can even operate the machine's implements automatically from a set design that was created for the particular jobsite. GPS guidance systems can have tolerances as small as two to three centimeters making them extremely accurate compared to relying on the operator's skill level. Since the machine's GPS system has the ability to know when it is off the design grade, this can reduce surveying and material costs required for a specific job.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiatallis</span>

Fiatallis, was a brand of heavy equipment, such as loaders, bulldozers, backhoes, scrapers, and graders. It began in January 1974, when Allis-Chalmers's construction equipment business was reorganized into a joint venture with Fiat SpA, which bought a 65% majority stake at the outset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CNH Industrial</span> Italian-American multinational corporation

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Associated Training Services, commonly known as ATS is a heavy equipment training institution based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1959 by Robert Klabacka as the National Institute of Concrete Construction. The institute offers training programs in heavy equipment, mobile cranes, construction-related trucks, rigging, signaling, and commercial motor vehicles. ATS is one of the oldest training institution in United States of America has been an accredited sponsor providing accredited crane operator certification through the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER), in Alachua, Florida since 2003, and the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO)

References

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