Heavy equipment

Heavy equipment, heavy machinery, earthmovers, construction vehicles, or construction equipment, refers to

, and control/information.

Heavy equipment has been used since at least the 1st century BC when the

when it was powered via human or animal labor.

Heavy equipment functions through the

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

The use of heavy equipment has a long history; the

in 1818.

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

Until the 19th century and into the early 20th century heavy machines were drawn under human or animal power. With the advent of

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

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.

Images

• 
  The

  tracked-type tractors and is characterized by a steel blade attached to the front that is used to push other equipment and construction materials, such as earth

  .
• 
  The bucket excavator Komatsu PC210-LC.
• 
  The wheel trencher

  MARAIS

  SMC 200 R.
• 
  Iron bar reinforced foundation piles are driven with a drilling machine, concrete pump, mixer-truck, and a specialized auger that allows pumping concrete through its axis while withdrawn.
• 
  Fixed crane in a coal mine in Germany
• 
  Caterpillar D9L bulldozer, excavators and other heavy equipment vehicles parked near a quarry in Israel
• 
  Bucket wheel excavators in Garzweiler surface mine, Germany
• 
  Wheel loader
• 
  Grader cleaning and leveling
• 
  Heavy duty excavator with large bucket equipped.
• 
  Landfill compactor (tamping tip)
• 
  Komatsu Dozer pushing coal on the job site
• 
  A wheeled front loader tractor equipped with a large bucket elevated by hydraulic rams.
• 
  Folded

  conveyor

  on a tracked grinder

• Military engineering vehicles
• 
  The militarized Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer allows for earthmoving projects in a combat environment. In the picture: IDF Caterpillar D9R.
• 
  The militarized Huta Stalowa Wola backhoe loader in Poland which is subsidiary of LiuGong China
• 
  Military scraper
• 
  PiPz Dachs

  armoured engineering vehicle of the German Army

  (2008)
• 
  Temporary roads deployment complex during the "Armiya 2021" exhibition

Implements and hydromechanical work tools

Traction: Off-the-road tires and tracks

Heavy equipment requires specialized

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

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]

F.O.G. fuel lube oils, filters (oil, air, fuel, hydraulic), and grease

repairs repair parts[11] 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

] 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

Main article:

Model construction vehicle

in Germany, even for US vehicles.

Notable manufacturers

The largest 10 heavy equipment manufacturers in 2022[12]

No.	Company	Country	Sales (billion USD)	Share of total
1	Caterpillar	United States	37,5	16.3%
2	Komatsu	Japan	24,7	10.7%
3	XCMG	China	13,4	5.8%
4	John Deere	United States	12,5	5.4%
5	Sany	China	11,9	5.2%
6	Volvo Construction Equipment	Sweden	9,9	4.3%
7	Liebherr	Switzerland	9,9	4.3%
8	Hitachi Construction Machinery	Japan	9,2	4.0%
9	Sandvik	Sweden	7,8	3.4%
10	JCB	United Kingdom	7,0	3.0%

Other manufacturers include:

See also

• Construction equipment theft
• Non-road engine
• Associated Equipment Distributors, the trade association for heavy equipment distributors

References

External links

• Media related to Heavy equipment at Wikimedia Commons