Construction Plants and

Machineries
Why use plants and machineries?

• Increase rate of output

• Reduce overall building costs for large
contracts
• Carry out activities which cannot be done
manually or to do them more economically
• Eliminate heavy manual work thus reducing
fatigue and increase productivity of manual
workers.
Why use plants and
machineries?
• Maintain a planned rate of production where
there is a shortage of skilled or unskilled labour
• Maintain the high standards often required by
present-day design and specifications.
Manual rodding, sometimes the
only way to get the job done,
takes a lot of time and requires
awkward postures and
repetitive, high-pinch forces, as
this worker is demonstrating.
Popoff Inc. workers use a
self-propelled laser screed,
requiring minimal pushing
and pulling while producing
a higher quality finish in less
time.
Choice of Plant and Machineries

The importance of making the right

choice:
• Increase efficiency and
• profitability of the construction
operation.
Selection
Selection depends on:
1. Size of operations
– How much excavation, how much concrete,
how high the lifting
– If proposed structure occupies the whole of
site it could eliminate the use of large batch
concrete mixers, dumpers and cement
storage silos.
Selection
2. Type of operations
– New work or restoration.
3. Construction method
– Prefabricated or on site work.
4. Time allowed
– Contract period and finishing date.
.
Selection
5. Staff availability
– Competent person to select type of plant
– Plant operator must be a trained man
– Trained person for maintenance and
schedule for the plant maintenance must be
followed.
Selection
6. Soil conditions
– Wet sites require plant with caterpillar tracks
– Dry sites are suitable for track and wheeled
vehicles.
7. Access to site
– Congested town sites limit use of many types of
machineries and plant
– Allowable weight and height of machineries to be
transported to site.
Selection
8. Safety
– Governed by law eg Health and Safety at work
– Construction regulations
9. Noise emission
– Under health and safety at work provision is made
for the protection of workers against noise
– Local authority requirements
• The type of machineries prohibited
• Hours during which works may be carried out
• Level of noise permitted during specific hours.
Decision on Buying or Hiring
• Advantage of buying
– Plant is available when required
– Cost of idle time caused by inclement
weather, work being behind planned
programme or delay in deliveries of
material will generally be less on owned
plant than hired
– Builders can apportion the plant costs to
the various contracts using the plant.
Decision on Buying or Hiring
• Advantage of hiring plants
– Hired as required and for short periods
– Hire firms are responsible for repairs and
replacements
– Contractor is not left with expensive plant after
completion of contract
– Hire rates can include operator, fuel and oil.
Economic Proposition
– Large items of plant need to be employed
continuously and not left idle for
considerable period of time
– Careful maintenance
• Increase working life
• Plant failure cause serious delays and
disruptions of programme
 Construction Plants Classifications
Construction
plants
and machineries

Small powered Earthworks Transporting

plant plant plant

Lorries, Trucks,
Electric hand tools, Excavate, Fill,
Dumpers, Fork lift
Vibrators, Compact,
Elevators,
Pumps Transport
Cranes
Earthworks Plant and Machineries
• Process of earthworks:
– Excavate existing land
to suitable
formation/reduced
level (cut)
– Formation of
embankments (fill)
– Disposal of the
products of excavation
– Compaction
Excavation
Factors for consideration:
• Type of excavated material
• from soil investigation

1. Bulking factor = volume after excavation

volume before excavation

volume after compaction

2. Shrinkage factor =
volume before excavation

• Diggability – ease of digging

Excavation
– Diggability
• classifies soil into digging scales:
– E Easy digging - Loose free running soils
eg sands, fine gravels
– M Medium - Denser cohesive soils eg
clayey gravel, low PI clays
– M-H Medium to Hard - Eg broken rock, wet
heavy clay, gravel with boulders
–H Hard - Material requiring blasting and
hard high PI clays
Excavation
– Trafficability
• Sands/Gravels
– Free Draining. Tend to have few problems.
• High PI Clays
– Low permeability will prevent water ingress so the
surface becomes dangerous but not in the long term.
• Silts/Low PI Clays
– These cause the most problems. Permeability allows
ingress which softens the soils thus weakening them.
Material Bulk Bulking Shrinkage Diggability
Density Factor Factor
Mg/m3
Clay (Low PI) 1.65 1.30 M
Clay (High PI) 2.10 1.40 0.90 M-H
Clay and Gravel 1.80 1.35 - M-H
Sand 2.00 1.050 0.89 E
Sand & Gravel 1.95 1.15 - E
Gravel 2.10 1.050 0.97 E
Chalk 1.85 1.50 0.97 E
Shales 2.35 1.50 1.33 M-H
Limestone 2.60 1.63 1.36 M-H
Sandstone 2.50 1.60 - M
(Porous)
Sandstone 2.65 1.61 1.34 M-H
(cemented)
Basalt 2.95 1.64 1.36 H
Granite 2.41 1.72 1.33 H
Excavation
Types of excavation

•The excavation technique is largely

determined by plant availability and subsoil
composition.

•Convenient classification includes:

1. Hand tools
2. Mechanical plant
Excavation
Hand tools
• Excavation using spades, hand augers,
picks and other manual implements is
virtually obsolete.

• The exceptions are:

i. very small buildings, e.g. garage, or
house extension;
ii. where the site is inaccessible to
excavating plant;
iii. where archaeological remains are
discovered and particular care is
necessary.
 Excavation
Mechanical plant and equipment
• Mechanical plant and equipment save
considerable man-hours, and are standard
features on all sites.
• The type of plant varies with the nature of
work and the different construction stages.

• Plant is most commonly used for:

i. site clearance and light demolition;
ii. topsoil stripping;
iii. trench excavation;
iv. pits and boreholes;
v. site transport.
Site clearance
• Removal of hedges, trees, existing buildings
and undulations is the -first of site
operations, to achieve a clear uninterrupted
work space.
• Most tractors with face-shovel attachments
will be capable of pushing out trees and
shrubbery.
• A back-hoe attachment is useful for digging
out stumps and roots.
• Chains or wires secured to a tractor for
pulling out trees is also successful for
moderately-sized growths.
 Bulldozer
• Small buildings can be levelled with a dozer or
tractor with dozing attachment.

• Levelling, land clearance and stripping of the

topsoil are all easily achieved with a bulldozer.

• The bucket or blades vary with the type of soil

composition and are usually dished to
encourage the soil to roll off rapidly.
 Bulldozer
• Primarily for land
clearing and
excavation up to a
depth of 400 mm
• Pushing soil, levelling,
stripping of top soil
• Generally tracked
• Incorporate hydraulic
attachments
With the blade lowered and angled, slopes may
be cut, and the surplus spoil used to fill or level.
This is particularly useful for terracing sloping
sites.
Bulldozer
 Scrapper

• Very large sites, airfields or motorways are

more effectively levelled with motorised
scrapers

• Scraper containing a large bowl with lowered

cutting edge for obtaining precise formation
levels.
− As the bowl fills, a hydraulic ram displaces
the spoil.
Scrapper
Scrapper

– Excavate
– Transport soil
– Capable of
producing very
smooth and
accurate
formation level
Skimmer

– Excavation
where great
accuracy is
required
 Grader
• Grader
– Used to level out
deposited fill
– Cannot excavate
Backhoe
Excavator
• Excavating
basement and
trenches
 Face shovel

– Excavating into
face of
embankment
 Trench excavation
• Most trench excavation for services and
foundations is with a back hoe or backacter.

• Small machines are wheeled tractors, and

larger versions are tracked.

• They span the proposed trench and the

toothed bucket and hydraulic boom extend out
and excavate towards the cab.

• Most spoil is retained for backfilling.

 Trench excavation
Figure below shows typical range dimensions for
an average tractor-based machine.
Backhoe-loader
• Versatility and compact
make it the most popular
urban construction
machines
Tasks:
• small demolitions
• light transportation of
building materials
• digging holes
• breaking asphalt
 Dragline/Grabcrane Excavator

• Where the volume is large the crane-mounted

dragline is preferred.
• The bucket is swung forward to penetrate the
subsoil and dragged back towards the cab.
• Discharge of spoil is to one side by forward
tilting of the bucket.
• Deep excavation into granular soils is more
effective with a grab or ‘clamshell’ operating by
gravitational penetration.
Dragline Excavator

– Excavation below
level of machine
– For loose and soft
soil
– Bulk excavation
where fine limits
are not important
Dragline Excavator
Trench Digging Machine
Safety in Excavation
• MS 282:Part 2 code of practice for safety and health for
excavation work
• The location of underground utilities and other hazards
should be determined before starting an excavation
• The sides of excavation must be properly shored or
sloped to the angle of repose (self supporting angle) to
prevent cave-ins
• Shoring must be provided if depth of excavation is over
1.2 m
• When workers are required to enter a trench excavation
1.2 m or more in depth a safe mean of egress eg
stairway, ladder, ramp must be provided
Safety in Excavation
• Avoid the operation of equipment near the top edge of an
excavation because this increases the chance of slope
failure
• No material deposited within 1.5 m of the trench edge
• Ensure that workers are not allowed under loads being
handled by excavators or hoist
Safety in Excavation
• Watch out for buried lines and containers when
excavating. Possible hazards include:
– Toxic and flammable gases
– Electricity
– Collapse of side slope caused by sudden release of liquids
• Daily inspection of excavations by a competent person to
ensure safe working conditions
• A fence a barrier around all excavations over 2 m deep
Trench Excavation
and Safety
Features

Examples of angles of
repose:
Dry clay – 46 º
wet clay – 16 º
dry sand – 40 º
wet sand – 22 º
Compaction
• To increase density of soil
• To increase bearing capacity of soil
• Reduce soil compressibility
• Reduce water penetration
• Reduce the possibility of soil erosion
Compactor
• Gasoline
driven
vibratory
compactor
• Construction
of side walk
 Compactor

Single drum vibratory Single drum pad foot

compactor vibrator
Transporting Plant
• Movement of material around and within
building site
– Lorries and trucks
– Dumpers
– Fork lift trucks
– Elevators and conveyors
– Cranes
 Site transport
Transportation of most materials and light
equipment, the site dumper is ideal.
 Site transport

• The site dumper has been the site ‘workhorse’

for a considerable period, and modern
improvements enhance its adaptability.
• These include two- or four-wheel drive
variations, with skip (rotational if required)
capacities from 0.3 to 3 m.
• The dumper’s versatility has been challenged in
recent years by the site fork lift machine shown
in the next figure
 Site transport
• The dumper’s versatility has been challenged in
recent years by the site fork lift machine

• These are similar to the factory versions, but

have larger wheels.

• Fork lifting is practical because many materials

are delivered on pallets. and the lilting facility
can be used for direct loading onto a scaffold
frame.
Site transport
Fork Lift
Site transport

• Site haulage lorries are seen at an early stage

of site preparation for removing surplus spoil
and demolition materials.

• Capacities range from 5 to about 20 tonnes

and they all feature a tipping body
Site transport
Dump Trucks

– Transferring material
from one part of the
site to another
– Wheeled vehicles
– Lack of traction
– Always the first to get
stuck
 Elevators

Material
elevator
Cranes
Classification
• Mobile cranes
• Static or stationary cranes
• Tower cranes
Mobile
Cranes
Mobile
Cranes
Static Crane
Tower Crane

Tower crane
• Fix to the ground
• Combination of height and
lifting capacity –
• Construction of tall building
Tower Crane
Tower Crane
Tower Crane
 Safety

Poor set-up account to

many crane tip-overs
Who that Pokémon?!
Who that Pokémon?!