Eng. J.

Kimarai
CONSTRUCTION PLANT & EQUIPMENT
Lesson 2
TBD 2212: CONSTRUCTION PLANT & EQUIPMENT
SELECTION OF CONSTRUCTION PLANT & EQUIPMENT

Before Construction managers set out to execute the construction phase of the
project, critical decisions regarding the types of equipment that best fit the
designed phases of the project execution are made.
The use of the different construction plant and equipment in a construction
project requires a selection method accompanied by the specific criteria that the
construction managers need to adopt.
As a result, the contractor and construction manager encounter big problems as
they plan to construct encompassed in the selection of the most suitable
equipment to be use.
Beginner contractors cannot spend all the money on one contract or a particular
investment. Again, a contractor cannot afford to own all types and sizes of
equipment needed to carry out a project execution from the start to the end.
However, a contractor does not have to pay for the construction equipment but
it must pay for itself for itself through earning the contractor more money that it
costs. Hence, after obtaining the equipm3ent to execute the construction project.
FACTORS AFFECTING THE SELECTION OF EQUIPMENT
The selection of the construction equipment follows analyzing different factors
before choosing what equipment to use. These factors include:
 Standard Type of Equipment
Equipment used in the construction industry lack the standard definition due to
variance in the preference by the contractor and the construction company.
An equipment might be standard to standard to one contractor but may not be
standard to the other, or it can be standard towards a specific type of work to be
executed as per the norms of the construction project but not standard to another
project phase.
The operation of a contractor or company based on the preferences would
determine the construction equipment that would be suitable for selection.
 Special Equipment
A special equipment is the one that has been manufactured for use on a single
project or a specific/special type of operation.
 Eng. J. Kimarai
CONSTRUCTION PLANT & EQUIPMENT
The construction of projects involves different phase and activities to be
executed from the start of the project to the end. For instance, the excavation
designs one of the phase or special operation that dictates specific equipment to
be used to ensure an effective execution. As a result, special equipment would
be undersigned towards achieving this operation.
 Replacement of Parts
One factor that affects the selection of a construction equipment is the
availability of the replacement parts.
Every operating equipment requires maintenance and replacement of different
parts during the operation process. When buying equipment, spare parts must be
readily available or could be easily purchased from the different accessible
markets. This availability will define the progress of the operations carried out
with the purchased equipment.
For instance, a truck with a broken axle is useless until the axle is replaced. A
contractor should know where to obtain spare parts of its equipment lest
different operations might fail to be executed or might be delayed during the
search of parts that require being replaced in case they get worn out or broken
during the construction process of the project.
When a contractor owns an equipment without knowing where to obtain
replacement parts from, it would be better top rent or purchase another
equipment that might not bring delays in the construction b process in case of
needs of replacement parts.
 Cost of Owning and Operating Construction Equipment
There is no exact method of determining the probable cost of owning
Equipment used in the construction of projects. Experienced contractors,
however, hold a big advantage in estimating the costs that construction
equipment would a project require.
Carefully kept records should give information as a guide as to the type of
equipment contractors need to purchase to ensure they cover the project
construction. The number and the kind of projects that a contractor is involved
in should indicate what kind of equipment to purchase.
 Economic Life of the Construction Equipment
The value that a construction equipment offers to a construction company or
contractor of a project depends on the economy of the equipment. The owner of
 Eng. J. Kimarai
CONSTRUCTION PLANT & EQUIPMENT
the construction project should be highly interested in the lowest possible cost
per unit of production during a project execution process. In order to
accomplish this objective, the contractor must follow an informed program of
equipment replacement and the costs incurred during the setting up of these
useful equipment.
The economy of the equipment will first be determined by “the number of years
that the equipment will be used.” Every investment that would be made to
acquire an equipment would be determined by the number of years of service to
be offered. The maintenance costs of the equipment will warrant the operations
that the selected equipment will offer to a company and the duration it might
last. As a result, when the maintenance cost of the equipment would be high, the
contractor would be disposed into thinking whether should they purchase or rent
other equipment to cover the required operations within the economics of the
project.
The owner must consider all the costs related to the ownership and operation of
the operation. The costs to be considered are; depreciation and replacement,
investment, maintenance and repairs, downtime, obsolescence, losses due to
inefficient operations, and overheads.
An analysis of the effects which hours of usage will have on each of these costs
will establish the time at which the machines should be replaced.