Engineering vehicle

A Combat engineering vehicle, based on a tank chassis and equipped with a bulldozer blade and a demolition gun.

A wheeled front loader at work. This wheeled tractor is equipped with a large bucket, which can be raised or lowered by hydraulic arms.

Caterpillar D9 armoured bulldozer. Heavy bulldozers are powerful tools, equipped with a hollow steel blade, making them highly suitable for military applications and large earthmoving projects.

A drilling machine at a construction site with a concrete pump and a barely visible concrete mixer-truck. The tops of foundation piles with re-inforcing iron rods sticking out, are visible at the bottom of the photo. This is an image of a very specialized auger which has a pipe all the way down its axis, permitting concrete to be pumped down while the auger is withdrawn.

Attachments tools

Off-the-road tires

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 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.

Equipment Cost

On any project using equipment it is important to maintain accurate records concerning utilization, repairs and maintenance. The two main categories of equipment cost is ownership cost and operating cost. Ownership Cost For an expense to be classified as an ownership cost it must be incurred regardless of if the equipment is used or not. These costs are as follows:

• Purchase expense
• Salvage value
• Tax savings from depreciation
• Major repairs and overhauls
• Property taxes
• Insurance
• Storage

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 D_n = Annual depreciation amount

D_n = purchase price / N

Book value (BV) in year m

BV_m = purchase price - (m x D_n)

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:

• Fuel
• Lubricants, lube oils, filters, and grease
• Repairs
• Tires
• 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 exstension in service life while a minor repair is normal maintenence. Major repairs are charged to the equipment and minor repairs are charged to the job. It is advantagious 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.

Applications

• agriculture
• civil engineering
• combat engineering
• construction
• earthworks (engineering)
• excavations
• forestry
• mining
• waste handling

Models

Main article: Model construction vehicle

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.

Manufacturers

The leading global manufacturers of construction equipment (in order):

1. Caterpillar Inc.
2. Komatsu
3. Terex
4. CNH Global (CASE, New Holland, Kobelco)
5. Volvo Construction Equipment
6. Deere & Company
7. Doosan Group (Bobcat Company)
8. Hitachi Construction Machinery
      (a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd.; inc: Euclid Trucks)
9. Bell Equipment
10. Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe)

Other manufacturers:

• Atlas Copco
• Demag
• Doosan Group (Doosan Infracore)
• Fiat-Allis
• Hyundai Heavy Industries
• Navistar International Corporation
• Ingersoll Rand
• Koering
• Kubota
• The Liebherr Group
• Madill
• Orenstein and Koppel GmbH (O&K)
• Pierce Pacific
• Poclain
• Rototilt
• Skaggit
• ST Kinetics

Operator training

US

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers provides effective safety training materials for operators of rough terrain forklifts and operators of industrial and agricultural mowers. The National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools provides American national certification for heavy equipment operator apprentice. The International Union of Operating Engineers has equipment schools where apprentice operators are trained. Currently there is not an international association of heavy equipment schools.

See also

• International Union of Operating Engineers
• Civil engineering
• Hydraulic machinery
• Mechanical advantage
• Simple machine

References

• Caterpillar Performance Handbook. Peoria, Illinois: Caterpillar Tractor Company. Serial Publication.
• Peurifoy & Schexnayder "Construction Planning Equipment, and Methods" McGraw Hill 6th edition ISBN 0-07-232176-8