Ask the Experts: The Jobsite Standby

Tony Hamilton

Vice President, Construction Administration & Owner, EHC 

As a site construction company working on a wide range of earthwork and infrastructure projects from highways to corporate headquarters to residential communities, we require a full “team” of equipment. We use the equipment to move dirt, rock and aggregate. We dig holes; we push dirt; we haul dirt; we crush big rock into smaller, usable rock; we pound the dirt to a specified density; and we smooth the dirt surface to a fine grade for the application of concrete, asphalt, landscaping or other final site finishes. No one piece of equipment can do the entire job, but there is one piece of equipment that is typically present: the front end loader. We have numerous loaders in the EHC equipment fleet, and generally have more rented as fill-in loaders as needed. We commonly use this versatile machine to move dirt and rock from one place to another. However, it can be used by roadwork, grading, rock crushing, mass excavation, land clearing and various EHC crews for many activities. This important member of the equipment “team” is sometimes shared between crews, but at least one front end loader is present on every one of our jobsites. 

Kevin Fox

President, Independent Equipment Dealers Association 
Owner, DeWitt Equipment Co. 

The most important piece of equipment in a construction fleet is the one that pays for itself quickly. For most contractors, that is going to be a machine that can perform a variety of tasks, such as a tool-carrying excavator or a wheel loader. Other factors that can determine how quickly a machine pays for itself is how often it breaks down or needs to be serviced, how much a contractor purchased it for and how quickly he/she sees a return on that investment. For most contractors, buying a quality, used machine is the best choice. Since the company’s initial out-of-pocket investment is much lower on a used machine, it will be able to recoup costs faster. Also, when a company buys a machine that is just a few years old, it will get many of the same features found on new machines without ever sacrificing productivity or performance. This all adds up to significant savings.