Types of Construction Equipment You Should Know

Whether it is constructing a road, a bungalow, or a sixty-storied skyscraper, construction is an activity that involves tasks that are not always executable using purely human labor without the aid of tools and machines. For instance, a human being can’t carry a bucket of fresh concrete from the ground to the twenty-second floor Even though someone could carry the bucket up to the top flow, it would require thousands of trips just to cast a single slab which would be inefficient and financially illogical.

It is for this reason that it is necessary to supplement human labor with construction equipment for the project to run smoothly. Construction equipment are used to: make deep excavations, transport bulky construction materials, raising materials and people to higher altitudes among others. The level of mechanization depends on the size of a project.

There are many types of construction equipment used on job sites. Some of the most common are bulldozers, backhoes, cranes, and dump trucks. Each piece of equipment has a specific purpose and is used for different tasks. They are categorized in different ways depending on the function they perform.

Earthmoving equipment: This category consists of equipment mainly used for excavating and shifting earth from one place to another. They include excavators, graders, bulldozers, and backhoes among others. This equipment is meant to make the process of extraction and movement of the earth around the site easier. They come in handy, for instance, during preliminary activities like leveling a site before construction or shifting earth from one place and using it as backfill in another. A bulldozer and grader for instance can extract and shift huge chunks of soil with speed and efficiency.

Material handling equipment: This consists mainly of equipment used for handling and transporting various materials from place to place at a construction site. They include Cranes, conveyors, hoists, and forklifts among others. Such equipment is meant to make the process of moving material from one place to the other as seamless and efficient as possible. They also aid in moving material to hard-to-reach areas of the site. For example; transporting steel bars from the ground to the top of a thirty-storied tower.

Concrete and asphalt equipment; This consists of equipment mainly used for handling concrete. They aid in apportioning, mixing, and transporting from the mixing station to where the concrete is to be cast. They include mixers, shovels, concrete batching containers, and in some cases, piping systems to channel the concrete to higher levels. They also include equipment for vibrating and curing concrete. Vibration and curing are two very crucial processes when dealing with concrete. Vibration ensures that the concrete aggregate is evenly distributed so that the concrete can be set evenly. Curing is the process of spraying concrete with small amounts of water throughout the setting process so that it sets evenly without cracks. In this case, it is mainly a horse pipe which is used to spray the concrete.

Finishing equipment; This is the equipment used during the finishing process of the construction. The finishing process includes processes like painting, plastering, smoothing, and evening out rough edges. Such equipment includes: trowels, rollers, sandpaper, painting brushes, rendering machines, and surface polishing machines among others.

Steelworks equipment; This includes equipment used for steel works. This includes steel bending, cutting, twisting, and binding among others. Steel makes up a significant part of the construction. It is mainly used as reinforcements when casting reinforced concrete structures. Steelworks equipment include Steel benders, grinders, welding machines, and cutting disks among others.

Carpentry equipment; These are equipment used for woodwork. just like steel works, wood works are an entirely separate sub-sector of utmost significance during the construction process. Wood is mainly used to make temporary structures like formwork, hoardings, scaffolding, support props, and access structures during construction. Equipment used in woodworks includes: sows, hammers, and tape measures among others.

Protective equipment; These are equipment used for the safety and protection of the manual labor and any other people that might access the site. These include; helmets, gloves, safety boots, and shades for welders among others. This is to protect people from workplace hazards that might occur from falling debris, handling sharp materials like iron sheets, or stepping on something sharp like a nail.

Quality control equipment; These include equipment used to check the quality of work or materials being used for construction. quality control can be done by measuring the flatness of a slab, straightness or soundness of a column, and consistency of a concrete mix among others. These equipment includes corn for a concrete slump test, and a dumpy level for a column alignment test, among others.

Conclusion; In conclusion, knowing the different types of construction equipment is important for anyone working in the construction industry. It is also important for people who are interested in a career in construction. As you can see, there are many types of construction equipment that are used to build and maintain roads, bridges, and other structures. Each type of equipment has its own unique set of features and benefits. If you are interested in learning more about construction equipment, be sure to visit your local dealer or online store. Thanks for reading!