Tag: plant hire in Chiswick

It’s often more economical to hire plant equipment than to buy your own, as each project will have different requirements. However, picking the right tools for the job can sometimes be more complicated than first meets the eye. Here are some of most important points to take into consideration before the project gets underway.

Check availability

At the moment, construction is booming and demand for plant machinery hire is running high. This means it’s best to check in with your chosen rental hire company several weeks in advance of your start date, to find out if the plant you need is available, and what their delivery times are.

Pick the right size

Consider the site access first of all. If there are unmoveable obstacles such as permanent fencing or walls, then the machinery can only be as big as the width of the gates. Even if access isn’t an issue, using the wrong size equipment can cause hazards and slow down productivity.

If you need plant that can be operated in tight spaces, look for equipment such as zero tail swing excavators, which can rotate at the base and have a compact radius. This minimises the risk of damaging other structures while working in a small area.

The smallest diggers start at around 1.5 tonne, and would be useful for a garden landscaping project, for example. if you need a bit more power for heavy lifting, then an 8 tonne mid-sized digger may be a good option.

Do you need a wheeled or a tracked vehicle?

Wheeled vehicles are more versatile for transporting materials and driving between different areas on site. They are able to lift heavier loads than tracked vehicles, if they are fitted with stabilisers. However, they have less off-road traction, and a higher undercarriage, which can be a disadvantage for digging equipment.

If the site has a lot of steep or uneven terrain, then a tracked machine is the best option, as they are more stable than wheeled vehicles.

Make sure workers are qualified to operate it

As well as a standard drivers licence, workers will need a CPCS (Construction Plant Competence Scheme) licence to operate many types of plant machinery, such ass dumper trucks. Even if a piece of equipment doesn’t require a licence, there may be mandatory minimum training and supervision requirements to meet, such as for forklift trucks.

Plant that is operated by unsuitable or poorly trained workers is a hazard to site health and safety, and will lead to inefficient and unsafe working practices. If an accident does occur and is deemed the fault of an unqualified or untrained operator, the company or individual may be held liable for damages, and/or criminal prosecution.

Therefore, it is vital to have suitably trained and qualified operators. If you need to hire such workers, look for a plant hire company which can provide you wit the option to hire fully trained team members who are skilled and experienced operators of your chosen plant.

Is the equipment safe and well maintained?

The safety of the site is of the highest priority, and obviously a large part of this is making sure the plant is fit for purpose. Ask your chosen hire company what age their stock is, and what their maintenance and service schedule is.

Make sure you hire enough machinery

If you are hiring an excavator or digger, do you also need to hire a dumper truck to remove and transport the rubble? Would a backhoe loader, a skid steer loader, or a crawler excavator be most suitable for the job? Excavators are commonly used for digging trenches, mining, landscaping, demolition, and site grading.

Backhoe loaders are more of a general purpose wheeled vehicle. The cab resembles a tractor, while the front has a shovel, and the back has a smaller bucket attachment which can be used for digging. They are a great versatile choice for smaller construction jobs, and can be used for earth moving, digging trenches, and backfilling.

For a larger site clearance project, a bulldozer may be a more sensible option. They are powerful pieces of equipment which can be used for breaking and heavy earth and rubble moving.

People can sometimes hire the right earth moving equipment, but overlook the need for materials handling equipment. If you are unloading and placing a lot of heavy materials, do you need a telehandler or a forklift to move it safely?

If you need plant hire in Chiswick, please get in touch today.

According to the UK Green Building Council, the UK construction industry uses around 400 million tonnes of materials every year. New eco-friendly building techniques such as modular construction have been predicted to play a key role in helping the sector reduce its carbon footprint and improve its sustainability credentials.

With a new report, Deploying Modular Housing in the UK, urging the government to embrace modular construction and modern methods of construction (MMC), we have a look at how modular can help shape a more sustainable future.

Modular construction has made headlines and received universal acclaim for bringing much-needed medical facilities onstream in record time in the past year, shining a light on the modular sector and initiating a shift to off-site technology, which has slowly gained prominence in the construction industry.

The volumetric modular approaches have been revolutionary and helped reduce build times by around 50 to 60 per cent, while also increasing quality, productivity, and safety.

But these are not the only benefits, as in an industry where annual construction waste is expected to reach 2.2 billion tonnes by 2025, modular construction provides a solution for helping reduce landfill waste.

The offsite factory settings for modular manufacture allow better control for optimising materials use, and surplus materials are recycled or reused for future projects, significantly reducing construction waste.

Off-site construction means that materials are protected from moisture and extreme weather conditions, which reduces the risk of water ingress and damage.

It is known that modular construction can potentially reduce construction waste, but it is not often known that it can reduce up to 90 per cent of the waste generated by traditional construction methods.

A key advantage of modular construction is the quality benefits that come from working in a controlled factory environment. By producing buildings in a factory setting, the quality of elements such as insulation can be better assured.

Digitally connecting teams

Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) protocols and Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology allows for the optimal configuration of modular solutions by digitally connecting multi-discipline teams right from the very start of concept design through to the development process and beyond.

DfMA means that modular buildings are designed to be manufactured off-site and to be assembled on-site, and BIM minimises the risk of errors by eliminating the time-consuming process of translating engineering information into cutting lists and assembly drawings.

The designs for modular buildings are digitally constructed and virtually tested before the manufacturing phase, which again eliminates error and waste, and help to achieve highly acquire and airtight building envelopes that are designed to meet sustainability requirements such as BREEAM and Passivhaus standards.

Eco-friendly sustainability gains

Not only is modular construction greener, but the modules themselves are also more energy-efficient, and reduce heating requirements and in-use carbon emissions for the lifetime of the completed building.

Off-site factory manufacture means it is easier to manage energy use than on an open construction site. On average, 67 per cent less energy is required to produce a modular building, and 50 per cent less time is spent on-site compared to traditional methods, resulting in 90 per cent fewer vehicle movements, which is better for the environment and the local community.

Modular technology brings a host of benefits to the construction industry, contributing to healthier, safer and more cost-efficient environments but often the sustainability gains are overlooked.

The ‘Deploying Modular Housing in the UK’ report, the result of work between Places for People and the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Housing and Planning Research, outlines a joint vision for viably accelerating the use of modular construction in the UK.

It makes a range of recommendations and calls for the government to provide support through grants and subsidies for developers using modular technologies, through planning policy initiatives.

It also calls for industry standards and warranties similar to traditional builds, to ‘provide certainty and confidence’ not only for housebuilders but for end-users and traditional lenders.

The report suggests that the systematic data capture and evidence collection by housebuilders to help created a strong portfolio of evidence of the benefits of off-site housing construction and MMC, would help combat consumers’ mistrust, overcome risk aversion, and help boost confidence among lenders.

The report also addresses the skills shortage in the UK sector, with traditional and modular building skills varying greatly.

Innovation champions

It is also recommended in the report to develop ‘innovation champions’ among housebuilders and developers, recognising individuals and organisations who actively use modulate and off-site approaches and MMC, to help boost their efforts and promote the benefits of MMC

Other recommendations include proposals for the standardisation of materials and having a ‘kit of parts’ to be used across the industry by different.

If you’re looking for plant hire in Chiswick, get in touch today.

In a speech announcing how Boris Johnson and his government plan to help the UK recover from the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, the prime minister has put the construction industry front and centre.

He revealed that the government will bring forward £5 billion of spending plans to get the economy moving again, with a raft of construction and infrastructure schemes announced.

As Building reported, they include £1.5 billion for hospital maintenance work, £100 million to be spent across 29 road projects, and £900 million to be set aside for local, shovel-ready schemes.

Boris Johnson has also pledged to carry out the biggest overhaul of the UK’s planning rules since the second world war to enable the UK to build “faster, greener and better”, Sky News reported.

Among the most significant changes on planning regulations will be that commercial buildings can be changed to residential use without requiring a planning application and a fast-track approval process to allow property owners to build additional space above their properties, subject to neighbour consultation.

The government will also allow builders to demolish and rebuild vacant or redundant buildings, both residential and commercial, without a normal planning application, provided they are rebuilt as homes, the news provider added.

One of the main aims of this proposal is to enable land and commercial properties in town and city centres to be turned into housing more easily.

The new planning rules are set to come into force in the UK in September of this year, Sky noted.

If you need plant hire in Chiswick for a construction or infrastructure project you’re involved in, contact us today to find out more about our services.