Engineering vehicle
Encyclopedia
Heavy equipment refers to heavy-duty vehicle
Vehicle
A vehicle is a device that is designed or used to transport people or cargo. Most often vehicles are manufactured, such as bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircraft....

s, specially designed for executing construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...

 tasks, most frequently ones involving earthwork operations
Earthworks (engineering)
Earthworks are engineering works created through the moving or processing of quantities of soil or unformed rock.- Civil engineering use :Typical earthworks include roads, railway beds, causeways, dams, levees, canals, and berms...

. They are also known as, construction equipment, construction plant, earth movers, engineering vehicles, or simply equipment. They usually comprise five equipment systems: implement, traction
Traction (engineering)
Traction refers to the maximum frictional force that can be produced between surfaces without slipping.The units of traction are those of force, or if expressed as a coefficient of traction a ratio.-Traction:...

, structure, power train, control and information. Heavy equipment functions through the mechanical advantage
Mechanical advantage
Mechanical advantage is a measure of the force amplification achieved by using a tool, mechanical device or machine system. Ideally, the device preserves the input power and simply trades off forces against movement to obtain a desired amplification in the output force...

 of a simple machine
Simple machine
A simple machine is a mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force.In general, they can be defined as the simplest mechanisms that use mechanical advantage to multiply force. A simple machine uses a single applied force to do work against a single load force...

, the ratio
Ratio
In mathematics, a ratio is a relationship between two numbers of the same kind , usually expressed as "a to b" or a:b, sometimes expressed arithmetically as a dimensionless quotient of the two which explicitly indicates how many times the first number contains the second In mathematics, a ratio is...

 between input force applied and force exerted is multiplied. Currently most equipment use Hydraulic machinery
Hydraulic machinery
Hydraulic machines are machinery and tools that use liquid fluid power to do simple work. Heavy equipment is a common example.In this type of machine, hydraulic fluid is transmitted throughout the machine to various hydraulic motors and hydraulic cylinders and which becomes pressurised according to...

 as a primary source of transmission
Transmission (mechanics)
A machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a...

.

History

The use of heavy equipment has a long history; the ancient Roman engineer
Roman engineering
Romans are famous for their advanced engineering accomplishments, although some of their own inventions were improvements on older ideas, concepts and inventions. Technology for bringing running water into cities was developed in the east, but transformed by the Romans into a technology...

 Vitruvius
Vitruvius
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman writer, architect and engineer, active in the 1st century BC. He is best known as the author of the multi-volume work De Architectura ....

 (1st century BCE) gave descriptions of heavy equipment and cranes in ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 in his treatise
Treatise
A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject.-Noteworthy treatises:...

 De architectura
De architectura
' is a treatise on architecture written by the Roman architect Vitruvius and dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesar Augustus, as a guide for building projects...

. The pile driver
Pile driver
A pile driver is a mechanical device used to drive piles into soil to provide foundation support for buildings or other structures. The term is also used in reference to members of the construction crew that work with pile-driving rigs....

 was invented around 1500. The first tunnelling shield
Tunnelling shield
A tunnelling shield is a protective structure used in the excavation of tunnels through soil that is too soft or fluid to remain stable during the time it takes to line the tunnel with a support structure of concrete, cast iron or steel...

 was patented by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...

 in 1818.

From horses, through steam, to diesel

Until the 19th century
19th century
The 19th century was a period in history marked by the collapse of the Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Holy Roman and Mughal empires...

 and into the early 20th century
20th century
Many people define the 20th century as running from January 1, 1901 to December 31, 2000, others would rather define it as beginning on January 1, 1900....

 heavy machines were drawn under human or animal power. With the advent of portable
Portable engine
A portable engine is a small steam engine, mounted on wheels or skids, which is used for driving machinery using a belt from its flywheel. It is not self-propelled and is towed to the work site by horses or bullocks, or even a traction engine. Portable engines were used mainly for driving...

 steam-powered engines the drawn machine precursors were reconfigured with the new engines, such as the combine harvester
Combine harvester
The combine harvester, or simply combine, is a machine that harvests grain crops. The name derives from the fact that it combines three separate operations, reaping, threshing, and winnowing, into a single process. Among the crops harvested with a combine are wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn ,...

. The design of a core tractor evolved around the new steam power source into a new machine core traction engine
Traction engine
A traction engine is a self-propelled steam engine used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin tractus, meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any traction engine is to draw a load behind it...

, that can be configured as the steam tractor
Steam tractor
A steam tractor is a vehicle powered by a steam engine which is used for pulling.In North America, the term steam tractor usually refers to a type of agricultural tractor powered by a steam engine, used extensively in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.In Great Britain, the term steam tractor...

 and the steamroller
Steamroller
A steamroller is a form of road roller – a type of heavy construction machinery used for levelling surfaces, such as roads or airfields – that is powered by a steam engine...

. During the 20th century, internal-combustion engines became the major power source of heavy equipment. Kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...

, ethanol
Ethanol fuel
Ethanol fuel is ethanol , the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. World ethanol production for transport fuel tripled between 2000 and 2007 from 17 billion to more than 52 billion litres...

 and gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...

 engines were used, but today diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...

s 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.

The first commercial continuous track vehicle was the Lombard Steam Log Hauler
Lombard Steam Log Hauler
The Lombard Steam Log Hauler, patented 29 May 1901, was the first successful commercial application of a continuous track for vehicle propulsion. The concept was later used for military tanks during World War I and for agricultural tractors and construction equipment following the...

 from 1901. Tracks became extensively used for tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...

s during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, and after the world they became commonplace for civilian machinery such as the bulldozer
Bulldozer
A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...

.

"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
Wheelbarrow
A wheelbarrow is a small hand-propelled vehicle, usually with just one wheel, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles to the rear, or by a sail to push the ancient wheelbarrow by wind. The term "wheelbarrow" is made of two words: "wheel" and "barrow." "Barrow" is a...

, 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 ignorant 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."

Types

  • Aerial work platform
    Aerial work platform
    An aerial work platform, also known as an aerial device or elevating work platform, is a mechanical device used to provide temporary access for people or equipment to inaccessible areas, usually at height...

     / Lift table
    Lift table
    A lift table is a device that employs a scissors mechanism to raise or lower goods and / or persons. Typically they are used to raise large, heavy loads through relatively small distances. Common applications include pallet handling, vehicle loading and work positioning...

  • Air-track
  • Attachments
  • Agricultural tractors
    Tractor
    A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...

  • Articulated hauler
    Articulated hauler
    An articulated hauler is a type of dump truck used to transport loads over rough terrain. The vehicle usually have all-wheel drive and consists of two basic units, one generally called the tractor and the rear section, called the hauler or trailer section, which contains the dump body...

  • Articulated truck
  • Asphalt paver
  • Asphalt plant
    Asphalt plant
    An asphalt plant is a plant used for the manufacture of asphalt, macadam and other forms of coated roadstone, sometimes collectively known as blacktop....

  • Backhoe loader
    Backhoe loader
    A backhoe loader, also called a loader backhoe, digger, or colloquially shortened to backhoe, is a heavy equipment vehicle that consists of a tractor fitted with a shovel/bucket on the front and a small backhoe on the back...

    , Backhoe
    Backhoe
    A backhoe, also called a rear actor or back actor, is a piece of excavating equipment or digger consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. They are typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader...

  • Ballast tamper
    Ballast tamper
    A ballast tamper or tamping machine is a machine used to pack the track ballast under railway tracks to make the tracks more durable. Prior to the introduction of mechanical tampers, this task was done by manual labour with the help of beaters...

  • Boomtruck
  • Bulldozer
    Bulldozer
    A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...

  • Cherry picker
    Cherry picker
    A cherry picker , is a type of aerial work platform that consists of a platform or bucket at the end of a hydraulic lifting system.- Design :...

  • Cold planer
    Cold planer
    A cold planer is a construction machine used to remove bituminous pavement or asphalt concrete from roadways, resulting in a somewhat rough, even surface that can be immediately opened to traffic...

  • Compact excavator
    Compact 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....

  • Concrete batch plant
    Ready-mix concrete
    Ready-mix concrete is a type of concrete that is manufactured in a factory or batching plant, according to a set recipe, and then delivered to a work site, by truck mounted transit mixers . This results in a precise mixture, allowing specialty concrete mixtures to be developed and implemented on...

  • Construction & mining tractor
  • Construction & mining trucks
  • Crane
    Crane (machine)
    A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...

  • Cure rig
  • Dragline excavator
    Dragline excavator
    A dragline excavator is a piece of heavy equipment used in civil engineering and surface mining.In civil engineering the smaller types are used for road, port construction, and as pile driving rigs. The larger types are used in strip-mining operations to move overburden above coal, and for...

  • Dredging
  • Drilling machine
  • Dump truck
    Dump truck
    A dump truck is a truck used for transporting loose material for construction. A typical dump truck is equipped with a hydraulically operated open-box bed hinged at the rear, the front of which can be lifted up to allow the contents to be deposited on the ground behind the truck at the site of...

  • Excavator (wheel)
    Bucket-wheel excavator
    Bucket-wheel excavators are heavy equipment used in surface mining and mechanical engineering/civil engineering. The primary function of BWEs is to act as a continuous digging machine in large-scale open pit mining operations...

  • Excavator
    Excavator
    Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, stick, bucket and cab on a rotating platform . The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. A cable-operated excavator uses winches and steel ropes to accomplish the movements. They are a natural progression from the...

     (bagger, digger)
  • Feller buncher
    Feller buncher
    A feller buncher is a type of harvester used in logging. It is a motorized vehicle with an attachment that can rapidly cut and gather several trees before felling them....

  • Forklift
  • Fresno scraper
    Fresno Scraper
    The Fresno Scraper is a machine used for constructing canals and ditches in sandy soil.It was invented in 1883 by the Scottish immigrant and entrepreneur James Porteous who, having worked with farmers in Fresno, California, had recognised the dependence of the Central San Joaquin Valley on...

  • Front shovel
  • Grader
    Grader
    A grader, also commonly referred to as a road grader, a blade, a maintainer, or a motor grader, is a construction machine with a long blade used to create a flat surface. Typical models have three axles, with the engine and cab situated above the rear axles at one end of the vehicle and a third...

  • Harvester
    Harvester (forestry)
    A harvester is a type of heavy forestry vehicle employed in cut-to-length logging operations for felling, delimbing and bucking trees. A forest harvester is typically employed together with a forwarder that hauls the logs to a roadside landing.- History :...

  • Highway 10 yard rear dump
  • Highway bottom dump (stiff), pup (belly train), triple
  • Highway end dump and side dump
  • Highway transfer, Transfer train
  • Highway transit-mixer
  • Knuckleboom loader (trailer mount)
    Grapple truck
    Grapple truck is a term used to described a truck that has a grapple loader mounted to its frame which is used for loading and sometimes hauling bulky waste...

     & Knuckleboom loader (trailer mount)
  • Loader
    Loader (equipment)
    A loader is a heavy equipment machine often used in construction, primarily used to load material into or onto another type of machinery .-Heavy equipment front loaders:A loader A loader is a heavy equipment machine often used in construction, primarily used to load material (such as asphalt,...

  • Lowboy (trailer)
    Lowboy (trailer)
    A lowboy or dolly in Australia is a semi-trailer with two drops in deck height: one right after the gooseneck and one right before the wheels. This allows the deck to be extremely low compared with other trailers...

  • Military engineering vehicles
  • Pile driver
    Pile driver
    A pile driver is a mechanical device used to drive piles into soil to provide foundation support for buildings or other structures. The term is also used in reference to members of the construction crew that work with pile-driving rigs....

  • Pipelayer
  • Pneumatic tire compactor
    Road roller
    A road roller is a compactor type engineering vehicle used to compact soil, gravel, concrete, or asphalt in the construction of roads and foundations, similar rollers are used also at landfills or in agriculture.In some parts of the world, road rollers are still known colloquially as steam...

    , Compactor
    Compactor
    A compactor is a machine or mechanism used to reduce the size of waste material or soil through compaction. A trash compactor is often used by homes and businesses to reduce the volume of trash....

  • Reclaimer
    Reclaimer
    A reclaimer is a large machine used in bulk material handling applications. A reclaimer's function is to recover bulk material such as ores and cereals from a stockpile...

     & Soil stabilizer
    Soil cement
    Soil cement is a construction material, a mix of pulverized natural soil with small amount of portland cement and water, usually processed in a tumble, compacted to high density...

  • Roadheader
    Roadheader
    A roadheader, also called a boom-type roadheader, road header machine, road header or just header machine, is a piece of excavating equipment consisting of a boom-mounted cutting head, a loading device usually involving a conveyor, and a crawler travelling track to move the entire machine forward...

  • Roller
    Road roller
    A road roller is a compactor type engineering vehicle used to compact soil, gravel, concrete, or asphalt in the construction of roads and foundations, similar rollers are used also at landfills or in agriculture.In some parts of the world, road rollers are still known colloquially as steam...

     (road roller, roller compactor), Compactor
    Compactor
    A compactor is a machine or mechanism used to reduce the size of waste material or soil through compaction. A trash compactor is often used by homes and businesses to reduce the volume of trash....

  • Rotary tiller (rototiller, rotovator)
  • Scraper
    Wheel tractor-scraper
    In civil engineering, a wheel tractor-scraper is a piece of heavy equipment used for earthmoving.The rear part has a vertically moveable hopper with a sharp horizontal front edge. The hopper can be hydraulically lowered and raised. When the hopper is lowered, the front edge cuts into the soil or...

  • Skid steer loader
  • Skidder
    Skidder
    A skidder is any type of heavy vehicle used in a logging operation for pulling cut trees out of a forest in a process called "skidding", in which the logs are transported from the cutting site to a landing. Here they are loaded onto trucks , and sent to the mill...

  • Skip loader (skippy)
  • Slipform paver
  • Soil stabilizer
    Soil stabilizer
    The name soil stabilizer can refer to:*Soil cement, a mix of pulverized natural soil with small amount of Portland cement and water*Cellular confinement, a honeycomb-like plastic soil stabilizer....

  • Steam shovel
    Steam shovel
    A steam shovel is a large steam-powered excavating machine designed for lifting and moving material such as rock and soil. It is the earliest type of power shovel or excavator. They played a major role in public works in the 19th and early 20th century, being key to the construction of railroads...

  • Stomper:concrete drop hammer
  • Street sweeper
  • Suction excavator
    Suction excavator
    A suction excavator or vacuum excavator is a construction vehicle that removes earth from a hole on land, or removes heavy debris on land, from various places, by powerful suction through a wide suction pipe which is up to a foot or so diameter...

  • Telescopic handlers
  • Track harvester
  • Track loader
    Track loader
    A track loader is an engineering vehicle consisting of a tracked chassis with a loader for digging and loading material. The history of track loaders can be defined by three evolutions of their design. Each of these evolutions made the track loader a more viable and versatile tool in the excavation...

  • Track skidder
  • Track-type tractors (Bulldozer
    Bulldozer
    A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...

    )
  • Tractor
    Tractor
    A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...

  • Trencher (machine)
    Trencher (machine)
    A trencher is a piece of construction equipment used to dig trenches, typically for laying pipes or cables, or for drainage. Trenchers may range in size from walk-behind models, to attachments for a skid loader or tractor, to very heavy tracked heavy equipment.-Types:Trenchers come in different...

  • Tunnel boring machine
    Tunnel boring machine
    A tunnel boring machine also known as a "mole", is a machine used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross section through a variety of soil and rock strata. They can bore through anything from hard rock to sand. Tunnel diameters can range from a metre to almost 16 metres to date...

  • Underground mining equipment
  • Venturi-mixer
  • Vibratory compactor
    Road roller
    A road roller is a compactor type engineering vehicle used to compact soil, gravel, concrete, or asphalt in the construction of roads and foundations, similar rollers are used also at landfills or in agriculture.In some parts of the world, road rollers are still known colloquially as steam...

    , Compactor
    Compactor
    A compactor is a machine or mechanism used to reduce the size of waste material or soil through compaction. A trash compactor is often used by homes and businesses to reduce the volume of trash....

  • Water wagon
  • Wheel dozers – soil compactors
    Waste compaction
    Waste compaction is the process of compacting waste. Compaction means to compress, condense or consolidate. It is often used to reduce the size of waste material. Garbage compactors and waste collection vehicles compress waste so that more of it can be stored in the same space...

  • Wheel forwarder
    Forwarder
    A forwarder is a forestry vehicle that carries felled logs from the stump to a roadside landing. Unlike a skidder, a forwarder carries logs clear of the ground, which can reduce soil impacts but tends to limit the size of the logs it can move...

  • Wheel loader
    Loader (equipment)
    A loader is a heavy equipment machine often used in construction, primarily used to load material into or onto another type of machinery .-Heavy equipment front loaders:A loader A loader is a heavy equipment machine often used in construction, primarily used to load material (such as asphalt,...

     (front loader, integrated tool carrier)
  • Wheel skidder
    Skidder
    A skidder is any type of heavy vehicle used in a logging operation for pulling cut trees out of a forest in a process called "skidding", in which the logs are transported from the cutting site to a landing. Here they are loaded onto trucks , and sent to the mill...

  • Wheel tractor-scraper
    Wheel tractor-scraper
    In civil engineering, a wheel tractor-scraper is a piece of heavy equipment used for earthmoving.The rear part has a vertically moveable hopper with a sharp horizontal front edge. The hopper can be hydraulically lowered and raised. When the hopper is lowered, the front edge cuts into the soil or...

  • Yarder
    Yarder
    A yarder is piece of logging equipment which uses a system of cables to pull or fly logs from the stump to the landing. It generally consists of an engine, drums, and spar, but has a range of such as the Swing yarder.-Early Yarders:...



Implements and Hydromechanical Work Tools

  • auger
    Auger
    An auger is a drilling device, or drill bit, that usually includes a rotating helical screw blade called a "flighting" to act as a screw conveyor to remove the drilled out material...

  • backhoe
    Backhoe
    A backhoe, also called a rear actor or back actor, is a piece of excavating equipment or digger consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. They are typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader...

  • bale spear
  • broom
    Broom
    A broom is a cleaning tool consisting of stiff fibers attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a variety of brush with a long handle. It is commonly used in combination with a dustpan....

  • bulldozer blade
  • clam shell bucket
  • cold plane
  • demolition shears
    Demolition
    Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....

  • equipment bucket
  • excavator bucket
  • forks
    Fork (disambiguation)
    A fork is a utensil for eating and cooking.Fork may also refer to:-Implements:* Broadfork, for breaking up the soil* Garden fork, a pronged tool designed for digging* Heretic's fork, a historical torture device...

  • grapple
    Grapple (tool)
    A grapple is a hook or claw used to catch or hold something. A ship's anchor is a type of grapple, especially the "grapnel" anchor.A throwing grapple is a multi-pronged hook that is tied to a rope and thrown to catch a grip, as on a parapet or branch of a tree...

  • hydraulic hammer
    Breaker (hydraulic)
    A breaker is a powerful percussion hammer fitted to an excavator for demolishing concrete structures or rocks. It is powered by an auxiliary hydraulic system from the excavator, which is fitted with a foot-operated valve for this purpose...

    , hoe ram
  • hydraulics
    Hydraulics
    Hydraulics is a topic in applied science and engineering dealing with the mechanical properties of liquids. Fluid mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for hydraulics, which focuses on the engineering uses of fluid properties. In fluid power, hydraulics is used for the generation, control,...

  • hydraulic tilting bucket (4-in-1)
  • landscape tiller
  • material handling arm
  • mechanical pulverizer, crusher
  • multi processor
  • pavement removal bucket
  • pile driver
    Pile driver
    A pile driver is a mechanical device used to drive piles into soil to provide foundation support for buildings or other structures. The term is also used in reference to members of the construction crew that work with pile-driving rigs....

  • power take-off
    Power take-off
    A power take-off or power takeoff is a splined driveshaft, usually on a tractor or truck, that can be used to provide power to an attachment or separate machine. It is designed to be easily connected and disconnected...

     (PTO)
  • quick coupler
    Quick coupler
    Quick couplers are used with construction machines to allow the rapid change of buckets and attachments on the machine. They remove the need to use hammers to manually drive out and insert the mounting pins for attachments...

  • rake
    Rake
    Rake may refer to:* Rake , a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines* Rake or hay rake, a farm implement* Rake or castor angle – various fork offset angles in bicycle and motorcycle geometry...

  • ripper
  • rotating grab
  • sheeps foot compactor
  • skeleton bucket
  • snow blower
    Snow blower
    A snow blower or snow thrower is a machine for removing snow from an area where it is not wanted, such as a driveway, sidewalk, roadway, railroad track, rink, runway, or houses...

  • stump grinder
    Stump grinder
    A stump grinder or stump cutter is a power tool or equipment attachment that removes tree stumps by means of a rotating cutting disk that chips away the wood.Stump grinders can be the size of a lawn mower or as large as truck...

  • stump shear
  • thumb
    Thumb
    The thumb is the first digit of the hand. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position , the thumb is the lateral-most digit...

  • tiltrotator
    Tiltrotator
    A tiltrotator is an hydraulic attachment/tool used on most excavators, and backhoes between 3-30 tons in the Nordic countries...

  • trencher
    Trencher (machine)
    A trencher is a piece of construction equipment used to dig trenches, typically for laying pipes or cables, or for drainage. Trenchers may range in size from walk-behind models, to attachments for a skid loader or tractor, to very heavy tracked heavy equipment.-Types:Trenchers come in different...

  • vibratory plate compactor
    Vibrator (mechanical)
    A vibrator is a mechanical device to generate vibrations. The vibration is often generated by an electric motor with an unbalanced mass on its driveshaft.There are many different types of vibrator...

  • wheel saw


Traction: Off-the-road tires and Tracks

  • see caterpillar track
    Caterpillar track
    Continuous tracks or caterpillar tracks are a system of vehicle propulsion in which modular metal plates linked into a continuous band are driven by two or more wheels...

    s


Heavy equipment requires specialized tire
Tire
A tire or tyre is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground...

s for various construction applications. While many types of equipment have continuous tracks
Caterpillar track
Continuous tracks or caterpillar tracks are a system of vehicle propulsion in which modular metal plates linked into a continuous band are driven by two or more wheels...

 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 earth moving 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.

Structure

"This system connects components, transmits loads, provides attachment points for implements, and allows the machine to travel over uneven ground. The machine’s frame, articulation, and steering for wheeled equipment are the major parts of this system."

Powertrain

  • internal combustion engine
    Internal combustion engine
    The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...

  • transmission
    Transmission (mechanics)
    A machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a...

  • steering
    Steering
    Steering is the term applied to the collection of components, linkages, etc. which will allow a vessel or vehicle to follow the desired course...

     (tracked equipment)
  • brakes


Control and Information

"The control and information systems. These systems enable the operator to direct and control all the other systems and provide information to guide operations or to monitor the performance and health of the equipment."

Equipment operators

* see Heavy equipment operator
Heavy equipment operator
A heavy equipment operator drives and operates heavy equipment used in engineering and construction projects.-Operator training:*The International Union of Operating Engineers has equipment schools where apprentice operators are trained....



operator training

The International Union of Operating Engineers
International Union of Operating Engineers
The International Union of Operating Engineers is a trade union within the AFL-CIO representing primarily construction workers who work as heavy equipment operators, mechanics, surveyors, and stationary engineers who maintain heating and other systems in buildings and industrial complexes, in the...

 has equipment schools where apprentice operators are trained.

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers
Association of Equipment Manufacturers
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers is a trade association for companies that manufacture equipment for industries such as agriculture, construction, mining, and utility. AEM is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.-Hall of fame:...

 provides effective safety training
Effective Safety Training
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has written voluminous workplace safety standards and regulations that affect employers and employees in the United States. It is the employer's legal responsibility to educate employees on all workplace safety standards and the hazards that their...

 materials for operators of rough terrain forklifts and operators of industrial and agricultural mowers
Mower
A mower is a machine for cutting grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g...

.

The National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools
National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools
The National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools founded 2005, is an association of heavy equipment operator training schools in the United States...

 provides American national certification for heavy equipment operator
Heavy equipment operator
A heavy equipment operator drives and operates heavy equipment used in engineering and construction projects.-Operator training:*The International Union of Operating Engineers has equipment schools where apprentice operators are trained....



In the USA haul trucks are typically operated by Teamster
Teamster
A teamster, in modern American English, is a truck driver. The trade union named after them is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters , one of the largest unions in the United States....

s, who they are included on this page as equipment but have a differing apprenticeship and education system.

Currently there is not an international association of heavy equipment schools.

Equipment Cost

  • purchase expense
    Price
    -Definition:In ordinary usage, price is the quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services.In modern economies, prices are generally expressed in units of some form of currency...

  • salvage value
  • tax savings
    MACRS
    The Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System is the current tax depreciation system in the United States. Under this system, the capitalized cost of tangible property is recovered over a specified life by annual deductions for depreciation. The lives are specified broadly in the Internal...

     from depreciation
  • major repairs and overhauls
  • property taxes
  • insurance
    Insurance
    In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...

  • storage

Depreciation
Depreciation
Depreciation refers to two very different but related concepts:# the decrease in value of assets , and# the allocation of the cost of assets to periods in which the assets are used ....

 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
Book value
In accounting, book value or carrying value is the value of an asset according to its balance sheet account balance. For assets, the value is based on the original cost of the asset less any depreciation, amortization or Impairment costs made against the asset. Traditionally, a company's 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:
  • F.O.G.
    • fuel
      Fuel
      Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...

    • lubricants, lube oils, filters (oil, air, fuel, hydraulic), and grease
      Grease (lubricant)
      The term grease is used to describe semisolid lubricants. Although the word grease is also used to describe rendered fat of animals, in the context of lubrication, grease typically applies to a material consisting of a soap emulsified with mineral or vegetable oil...

  • repairs
    • repair parts
    • repair labor
  • 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
    Service life
    A product's service life is its expected lifetime, or the acceptable period of use in service. It is the time that any manufactured item can be expected to be 'serviceable' or supported by its manufacturer....

    , while a minor repair is normal maintenance
    Maintenance, Repair and Operations
    Maintenance, repair, and operations or maintenance, repair, and overhaul involves fixing any sort of mechanical or electrical device should it become out of order or broken...

    . Major repairs are charged to the equipment, and minor repairs are charged to the job. It is advantageous for projects to classify all repairs as major, while the equipment department will desire to classify all repairs as "minor" and charge the work to a job.

    Models

    Die-cast
    Die-cast toy
    The term die-cast toy here refers to any toy or collectible model produced by using the die casting method. The toys are made of metal, with plastic, rubber or glass details. Wholly plastic toys are made by a similar process of injection moulding, but the two are rarely confused...

     metal promotional scale model
    Scale model
    A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...

    s of heavy equipment are often produced for each vehicle to give to prospective customers. These are typically in 1:50 scale
    1:50 scale
    1:50 scale is a popular size for diecast models from European manufacturers such as Conrad, Tekno, NZG, WSI and LionToys. Typically they produce scale models of construction vehicles, tower cranes, trucks and buses. These are often the official models distributed by the manufacturers of the real...

    . The popular manufacturers of these models are Conrad
    Conrad (company)
    Conrad GmbH is a German manufacturer of diecast scale models primarily in 1:50 scale for use both as toys and promotional models by heavy equipment manufacturers...

     and NZG in Germany, even for US vehicles.

    Notable Manufacturers

    • Atlas Copco
      Atlas Copco
      Atlas Copco is a Swedish industrial company that was founded in 1873. It manufactures industrial tooling and equipment.The Atlas Copco Group is a global industrial group of companies headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Revenues for 2009 totaled 63 billion SEK. The Group employs more than 33,000...

    • Bharat Earth Movers Limited (India)
      BEML
      Bharat Earth Movers Limited now known as BEML is an Indian Public Sector Undertaking, with headquarters in Bangalore. It manufactures a variety of heavy equipment, such as that used for earth moving, transport and mining....

    • Bobcat Company
    • CASE
      Case CE
      Case CE, also Case Construction Equipment or simply Case, is a brand of construction equipment from CNH Global. Under this brand name, CNH Global is the fourth largest manufacturer of construction equipment behind CAT , JCB and Komatsu -History:The origins of Case can be traced back to 1842, when...

    • Caterpillar Inc.
      Caterpillar Inc.
      Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...

    • CNH Global
      CNH Global
      CNH Global N.V. is a global, full line company operating in both the agricultural and construction equipment industries. CNH's scope includes integrated engineering, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of equipment on five continents...

    • Deere & Company
      Deere & Company
      Deere & Company, usually known by its brand name John Deere , is an American corporation based in Moline, Illinois, and the leading manufacturer of agricultural machinery in the world. In 2010, it was listed as 107th in the Fortune 500 ranking...

    • Demag
      Demag
      Demag or Demag Cranes AG is a German heavy equipment manufacturer now controlled by US based Terex. The roots of Demag date back prior to its formation, but became Märkische Maschinenbau-Anstalt, Ludwig A.-G in 1906 as the biggest crane building company in Germany employing 250-300 people...

    • Doosan Group
      Doosan Group
      Doosan Group is a South Korean conglomerate quoted on the Korea Stock Exchange. Doosan has been placed 471st in the Fortune 2009. It has been included in the Forbes Global 2000 companies from 2007. It had recently acquired SKODA power thus making it a full swing in power plant global competitors...

    • Fiat-Allis
    • Hitachi
      Hitachi
      Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...

      - Hitachi, Ltd.
      Hitachi, Ltd.
      is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies...

    • Hyundai Heavy Industries
      Hyundai Heavy Industries
      Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. is the world's largest shipbuilding company, headquartered in Ulsan, South Korea. The company is a subsidiary of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group...

    • Ingersoll Rand
      Ingersoll Rand
      Ingersoll-Rand plc is a $13 billion global diversified industrial company founded in 1871. The Ingersoll Rand name came into use in 1905 through the combination of Ingersoll-Sergeant Drill Company and Rand Drill Company...

    • JCB
      J. C. Bamford
      JCB is a global construction, demolition and agricultural equipment company headquartered in Rocester, United Kingdom. It is the world's third-largest construction equipment manufacturer. It produces over 300 types of machines, including diggers , excavators, tractors and diesel engines...

    • Kubota
    • Kobelco
      Kobelco Construction Machinery America
      Kobelco Construction Machinery America, LLC. is a manufacturer of excavators based in Calhoun, Georgia, United States, and is subsidiary of CNH Global....

    • Komatsu
    • Liebherr Group
      Liebherr Group
      The Liebherr Group is a German manufacturing complex established in 1949 by Hans Liebherr. The Liebherr Group's holding company is Liebherr-International AG in Bulle, Switzerland, which is entirely owned by members of the Liebherr family...

    • Madill
      Madill
      Madill can refer to:* Frank Madill, a Tasmanian politician* Madill, Oklahoma* A brand name logging machinery , particularly shovel logging, and yarding machinery....

    • MARAIS
      Marais
      Marais means "marsh" in the French language.Marais may also refer to:* Marais , a manufacturer of wheel trenchers, chain trenchers and micro-trenchers based in Durtal, France* Marais des Cygnes...

    • Navistar International Corporation
    • NCK
      NCK
      NCK , started as a subsidiary of Newton, Chambers & Company, a large engineering company based in Sheffield, England. They produced the range of NCK agricultural equipment, skimmers, excavators, cranes and draglines that were renowned for high quality and long life, typically over 20 years...

    • New Holland
      New Holland Construction
      New Holland is a global full liner manufacturer of construction machinery.The company was founded in 1895 in New Holland, Pennsylvania; in 2005 New Holland Construction Brand was created with a global full-liner product offering...

    • Terex
      Terex
      Terex Corporation is an American-based diversified global manufacturer of a broad range of heavy equipment for a variety of industries, including construction, infrastructure, quarrying, recycling, surface mining, shipping, transportation, refining, utility and maintenance...

    • Track Marshall
      Track Marshall
      Track Marshall was a brand of earthmoving equipment who were active during WWII building tanks. Later, they produced a range of crawler tractors, based on the wheeled tractor Field Marshall brand...

    • Orenstein and Koppel GmbH
      Orenstein and Koppel GmbH
      Orenstein & Koppel was a major German engineering company specialising in railway vehicles, escalators, and heavy equipment. It was founded on April 1, 1876 in Berlin by Benno Orenstein and Arthur Koppel....

       (O&K)
    • Poclain
      Poclain
      Poclain is a family company founded by Georges Bataille in France in the 1930s, then developed by his sons Pierre and Claude Bataille, with help from Jacques and Bernard Bataille....

    • Rototilt
    • SANY Group Company Ltd.
      SANY Group Company Ltd.
      SANY Group Company Ltd. is a heavy construction equipment manufacturer located in Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China. Founded in 1989, it is one of the largest heavy equipment manufacturers in China, and employs over 40,000 people worldwide....

    • ST Kinetics
    • Takeuchi Manufacturing
      Takeuchi Manufacturing
      was established in 1963 as an environmental equipment manufacturer. In 1971 Takeuchi introduced the first compact excavator. The company has wholly owned subsidiary facilities in the United States , United Kingdom , France and China...

    • Volvo Construction Equipment
      Volvo Construction Equipment
      Volvo Construction Equipment is a subsidiary and business area of AB Volvo. Volvo Construction Equipment develops, manufactures and markets equipment for the construction and related industries.- Overview :...

    • Zoomlion
      Zoomlion
      Zoomlion, or Changsha Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Development Company Limited, is a Chinese manufacturer of construction machinery and sanitation equipment, listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange...



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