Skid Steer Machinery Is The Jack Of All Trades For Speeding Up Construction Progress & Reducing Labour Hours
By | Anna Melnikova
A skid steer is undoubtedly one of the most admirable machines there is apart from the excavator. Both the excavator and skid steers are machines that could be considered the super heroes of the construction realm. The advances of technology of course had a lot to do with this transformation especially within the realm of hydraulics due to the various extended tool or attachment options. Extended tools are basically additional components that allow skid steers to perform tasks such as drilling, demolishing and sawing among others apart from regular lifting, digging and moving materials about.
Any project that requires earthmoving, wrecking, demolishing or even landscaping could be performed more efficiently and cost effectively by getting a skid steer for hire in Melbourne. However, this does not mean that any skid steer of any size or any attachments would suit any task – there is no ‘one size fits all’ option here. Specifics such as skid steer size, power, attachment and mobile mode all matter and must be taken into consideration delicately based on the jobs required to be executed for the projects in question.
In order to do this in a practical and relevant manner, it is firstly imperative that the project coordinator, engineer or manager in charge to understand these machines well enough to make the right decisions on the required configuration of the machine.
Although it is true that skid steers are extremely versatile and quite similar to excavators, but the size of the machine is integral towards being efficient and cost effective and wasteful. Smaller sized skid steer for instance would not do well if the task at hand involves road building or road works which requires milling quite a bit of asphalt and similarly a large skid steer would not be a good choice for home improvement projects as the machine would not even fit into the back yard.
What project decision makers need to know is that skid steers are gauged by their operational capacity and this in turn is dependent on the size class of the machine established by the Associated Equipment Manufacturers Association or AEM. The general class sizes are as follows:
- Zero to approximately 500KGs.
- 500 KGs to 600 KGs
- 600 KGs to 700 KGs
- 700 KGs to 800 KGs
- 800 KGs to 1000 KGs
- 1000 KGs to 1500 KGs
- 1500 KGs and above
From the above, the most popular size among them are skid steers that range approximately 700 KGs because these machines have the most appropriate amount of horsepower to get most jobs done. Apart from this, the type of attachments that are required for jobs must also be considered carefully. It is imperative that the project manager has a good grasp on job specifics such as the dimensions of project sites, obstacles and the amount of power required in order for work to get done.
The worst possible scenario about getting things wrong is when the construction equipment taken on hire does not fit the job specifics causing downtime and increases in cost. These are all about getting the hang or understanding the physical limitations of not just the hired machines, but also the limitations of the work area. Even elements such as lifting height or height requirement for dumping and hydraulic capacity are required and essential details that must be known for coupling and using extended hydraulic tools.
Once all of the above information has been processed and measured up to the tasks that are required to be accomplished, only then should the hiring process be initiated. It is also advisable to have a discussion with a consultant from the hiring company with details of the project prior to hiring a skid steer.
These hiring companies will be able to provide better insight on the machine requirements that project managers might miss out.
