Equipment Management > Management Standards | For Construction Pros

“I’ve been using Bobcat equipment for years on my farm in Waco, and I can’t imagine working without it. My Bobcat machines have empowered me to bring some of my biggest ideas to life,” said Gaines.

Bobcat Hires Magnolia Co-founder Gaines

From tending gardens to managing goats, pigs, and horses, Gaines is already sharing the work he is accomplishing with his Bobcat equipment.

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Taking Off On A Runway Revamp at Albert J. Ellis Airport

Strategic planning and teamwork create smooth landing pad for $10.4 million pavement maintenance job.

Building Trades Recovery Week - Breaking Down Stigma and Creating Hope

Recovery Week: Breaking Down Stigma & Creating Hope

Hope, help, and healing come through recovery. The story behind Building Trades Recovery Week, how it started in Boston, and is now spreading throughout the New England construction industry.

The average age of an employee at Turner Mining Group, where virtually all recruitment is online, is 27.

How Social Media is Attracting Younger Workers to Construction

A steady drumbeat of engaging posts on the right social media platforms gets the attention of job seekers inside and outside the construction industry

The most important regular maintenance in an air-conditioning system applies where the refrigerant changes state. Air flow is essential in the condenser and evaporator, and it takes deliberate maintenance to keep these systems working on construction sites.

Air Conditioning Essentials That Keep Machine Operators Working Cool

Master essential housekeeping chores as well as clues to refrigerant leaking to ensure comfortable operators keep construction sites productive

Trimble’s SPS986 GNSS Smart Antenna can function as either a rover or base station. Rovers are common where machines are using GPS-assisted grade control, but their speed and accuracy in measuring site features makes them valuable even without grade automation on site.

How GPS Rovers Improve Construction Project Management

Technology’s ability to accurately measure projects with unprecedented speed offers contractors new ways to monitor progress and maintain quality control

“Reducing machine downtime” is critical because it keeps jobs moving. But AEMP members recognize it is also an issue dependent on mechanical knowledge – a skills box that many equipment managers recognize as a limit on their ability to contribute to their companies’ successes.

Eight Equipment Initiatives that Put Management on Your Side

New research by AEMP and ForConstructionPros.com identifies what many equipment professionals did to gain their bosses’ confidence

Hire Heroes

How Military Veterans Can Ease Construction Equipment Technician Shortage

Companies looking for loyal, disciplined, hardworking employees should check out the thousands of active-duty military members returning to civilian life every year

Sachse Construction Academy exposes 500 Detroit-area high school students to various skilled job opportunities while also allowing for hands-on training with skilled professionals.

Equipment Triangle Must Tackle Technician Shortage Together

Conditions are right for a motivated coalition of employers to reverse the construction-equipment technician shortage before it becomes completely debilitating

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How to Make Sure Batteries Start Equipment Reliably as Voltage Draws Grow

Here’s how your heavy-duty battery maintenance program can get consistent starts from continually improving battery technology

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Winter Kills Off Summer-Weakened Batteries

Winter weather is no doubt hard on equipment’s starting batteries but most of their death spirals likely started under excessive heat

The past 10 years has brought nearly 68% of equipment professionals surveyed to negotiate dealer service contracts with new machine purchases.

How the Recession Reshuffled Construction Equipment Buying Priorities

Surge in equipment buyers' use of rental, leasing and service contracts enlists dealers and manufacturers to share risk of machine ownership

Since putting in place standards for which tires to retread and establishing life expectations with its tire partners, Copart’s recap tire failure rate has plummeted from 10% to 1%.

Keys to Successfully Recapping Off-Road Tires

Construction equipment managers talk about how to know which off-road tires to retread, and when, to prevent failures and reduce costs

Superior Construction is a heavy civil contractor with expertise in bridge and road work normally working ten to 15 jobs from its Northwest Indiana headquarters, and 30 to 40 jobs in its southeast region.

Splitting Equipment-Triangle Value Three Ways Helps Everybody Prosper

Contractors who allow for their vendors’ success when negotiating equipment transactions tell how it’s improved their operations

“Safety dovetails between safety and operations,” says Clark's Kris Manning. “It starts with camaraderie on the jobsite and the genuine, shared concern for each other’s safety.”

How Contractors are Creating Safety Cultures that Beat Compliance Rituals

Some company leaders surpass safety priorities by building tools into their business DNA that empower all employees to include safety in whatever they see and do

Copart wheel loaders are heavy lifters, turning and straight-away driving, operators need training on how their techniques influence active fuel burn.

Equipment Managers Say Narrowing Telematics Priorities Drives Jobsite Cost Reductions

Equipment professionals discuss how carefully selecting the right work processes to improve with the right telematics data helps slash inefficiencies and cost on construction projects

A proposed rule change would allow drivers of single-unit vehicles to claim off-duty drive time as personal conveyance.

Should Contractors Signal SOS on Truck HOS?

Equipment managers struggle to abide by tighter DOT Hours of Service truck-driver restrictions in the face of relentless demand for mobile service technicians

To determine track tension, measure to the grouser tip from a straight edge or string stretched from the carrier roller to the idler or sprocket, whichever sags most. Check the manuals for the machine model at hand for the full procedure and specific sag prescription.

Track Chain Tension is Your Key to Cutting Undercarriage Costs

Maintaining track sag is harder to do than it is to say because tension is constantly changing, but check these tips to beat the odds

Branch Civil is a heavy-civil construction company with three Virginia offices and a fourth in North Carolina. Roughly 60% of the company's mixed fleet is telematics-equipped. The goal, through normal attrition over the next several years, is 100%.

How to Make Telematics a Tool for Managing Machine Life and Projects

With progressive goals and intentional planning, telematics can do so much more than find machines and make sure they’re fueled up

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Hiring & Onboarding Tips

How to make great hires and build outstanding teams. Insights from Gil Gilbert, CEM, CASS, fleet director for Henkels & McCoy's Pipeline Division.

Over the years, Skanska USA has developed a matrix method to negotiate performance guarantees across the United Sates.

Performance Guarantees Help You Buy Equipment Performance Over Price

Performance guarantees help Skansa USA balance risks associated with equipment ownership cost

Filtration suppliers are continuing to push the limits on newer technologies that offer tighter control on efficiency with reduced pore size.

Using Oil Analysis Data

Advancements in engine technology promise extended drain intervals, but only if the numbers back it up.

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Buy, Rent or Lease Construction Equipment?

Understand all of your options before you decide. Insights from Phil Picone, Regional Equipment Manager, Granite Construction.