Construction Publications Archives - Construction Publications Blog

Telematics system helps owners use equipment data for more cost-effective practices

July 21, 2020 By Construction Publications, Inc.

Knowing where your machines are located and the number of hours on them are critical pieces of information when maintaining a fleet. Those capabilities were the original features of Komatsu’s remote monitoring KOMTRAX telematics system, which celebrates its 20th birthday in 2020. “After all of these years, those are still two important functions, although KOMTRAX has considerably more capabilities now,” said Steve Day, who served as Komatsu’s Director of Service in 2000, and was instrumental in the adoption and implementationRead More

Rigid-frame truck delivers more hauling cycles for increased production

July 7, 2020 By Construction Publications, Inc.

Mining, quarry and aggregate operations want to move large quantities of material as quickly as possible. Trucks with a tight turning radius, that are highly maneuverable when spotting to be loaded and positioning to dump, can provide an advantage in achieving those goals. With a turning radius of 33 feet, 2 inches, Komatsu’s new 1,140 net horsepower HD785-8 rigid-frame, off-highway truck helps users reach their objectives while delivering a payload capacity of 101.6 tons. The truck has a 7-speed, fullyRead More

Keep visual records of your jobsites for progress, legal purposes

June 23, 2020 By Construction Publications, Inc.

The first thing most contractors think about when it comes to records is retrieving copies of important documents such as contracts, invoices and pay applications. They don’t often consider photographing their work. They should do so, and no less than once weekly, not only of the sites where they are working but also of those areas that may impact their work or schedule. Case in point – a stucco contractor received a delay claim from the general contractor asserting thatRead More

High-tech dozers help reduce pad construction time

May 26, 2020 By Construction Publications, Inc.

Ranch owner Art Guttersen turned a blizzard into a business. “Nobody could get to work, and there were oilfield companies installing wells on the property. I leased a motor grader to move the snow and open the roads for them. I think I moved the same snow every day for three months,” he recalled. Guttersen saw an opportunity to provide additional resources to the oil and gas companies working the 32,000 acres that comprise Guttersen Ranch, and that was theRead More

Determining operating costs for more accurate bids

May 12, 2020 By Construction Publications, Inc.

Industry estimates put owning expenses at 25 to 30 percent of the total machine owning and operating picture. These costs, which include finance, interest, depreciation and tax, tend to be fairly straightforward. The remaining balance – 70 to 75 percent – includes labor, fuel, parts, repairs, operator expenses and other related items that make up the operating component, which is more variable and comprehensive. Calculating operating costs is the more difficult of the two because so many factorsRead More

Equipped for success: Excavator with waste package boosts productivity

April 28, 2020 By Construction Publications, Inc.

Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS) is one of the largest waste and recycling companies in the Chicago area. In order to process the massive amount of waste material that comes through its seven locations, LRS requires equipment that is dependable, versatile and durable. It found a solution with a fleet of 15 Komatsu PC210LC excavators outfitted with Komatsu waste packages. “Our PC210s run up to 20 hours a day – sometimes as many as 11 hours straight – which is vitalRead More

Completing More Jobs Faster

April 14, 2020 By Construction Publications, Inc.

Mark Ballard, President, R.A. Alexander & Sons Advantages immediately apparent “Augmenting our fleet with intelligent Machine Control equipment made us 40 to 50 percent faster, and we’re achieving accuracy within two-tenths of an inch,” stated Ballard. “Having a model that we can plug in and follow, speeds us up significantly. We save the most time on minor details associated with parking lots and streets. It’s also phenomenal on earthmoving projects with major grade changes. There’s no lost time with operatorsRead More

Drone use: Benefits are overwhelmingly positive

March 31, 2020 By Construction Publications, Inc.

Ninety-two percent of companies that use drones say the benefits of this innovation exceed the costs, according to the “State of Commercial Drone Use” report released by Blue Research, which contacted more than 1,700 medium and large businesses for its study. The findings noted that 10 percent of surveyed companies with revenues of more than $50 million currently use drones. For 88 percent of respondents that utilize the technology, return on investment was achieved in a year or less. AboutRead More

Embracing technology: expert advises a measured approach

March 17, 2020 By Construction Publications, Inc.

During the past two decades, the development and acceptance of construction technology has made huge strides. GPS-based grade control is a perfect example. It has evolved from masts and cables on the outside of machines to integrated systems that can automatically raise and lower dozer blades. Today, companies are increasingly accessing information about their machinery via mobile platforms such as smartphones and tablets, using Wi-Fi or cellular networks. Construction companies that fail to embrace these new strategies may fall behindRead More

Warranty, price prompt landfill to add Komatsu dozer to fleet

February 4, 2020 By Construction Publications, Inc.

The Midway Division of Waste Connections, Inc. serves the Chicago area through its Winnebago Landfill in Rockford, Ill. The 500-acre facility accepts 16 million pounds of solid waste daily, so having reliable equipment is paramount to the operation’s success. When his dozer fleet began experiencing earlier-than-anticipated component failures, Midway Division District Manager Lacy Ballard decided it was time to make a change. He turned to Komatsu and his local distributor to add a D155AX-7 dozer with a waste package, whichRead More