Engineering vehicle

Engineering vehicles, known by the other terms: construction equipment, earth movers, heavy equipment or just plain equipment, are machines, specifically designed to execute civil engineering and construction engineering tasks. The scope of the specialized manufacturing industries covered by the previously mentioned engineering fields is broad, encompassing in no order: construction, logging, mining, waste management, military engineering and agriculture. These machines are most often associated with earthworks (engineering). These engineering vehicle machines, in the most basic form, are "compound machines" composed of simple machines. These components make up the five equipment systems: implement, traction, structure, power train, control and information [C. B. Tatum et al., J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt. 132, 987 (2006) [http://scitation.aip.org/getpdf/servlet/GetPDFServlet?filetype=pdf&id=JCEMD4000132000009000976000001&idtype=cvips&prog=normal] ] . Through the mechanical advantage of a simple machine, the ratio between input force applied and force exerted is multiplied. ["Machine." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 22 May 2008, 20:01 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 25 May 2008 .] Currently most equipment use hydraulics as a primary source of transferring power. The use of heavy equipment has a long history. Vitruvius a 1st century B.C. engineer gives detailed descriptions of Roman heavy equipment and Roman cranes in his treatise De Architectura. ["Vitruvius." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 19 May 2008, 02:08 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 25 May 2008 .]

Types

Control and Information

:"The control and information systems. These systems enable the operator to direct and control all the other systems and provide information to guide operations or to monitor the performance and health of the equipment." [C. B. Tatum et al., J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt. 132, 987 (2006) [http://scitation.aip.org/getpdf/servlet/GetPDFServlet?filetype=pdf&id=JCEMD4000132000009000976000001&idtype=cvips&prog=normal] ] "

Equipment operators

"* see Heavy equipment operator"

operator training

The International Union of Operating Engineers has equipment schools where apprentice operators are trained.

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers provides effective safety training materials for operators of rough terrain forklifts and operators of industrial and agricultural mowers.

The National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools provides American national certification for heavy equipment operator

Currently there is not an international association of heavy equipment schools.

Equipment Cost [Peurifoy & Schexnayder "Construction Planning Equipment, and Methods" McGraw Hill 6th edition ISBN 0-07-232176-8, 2002.]

On any project using equipment it is important to maintain accurate records concerning utilization, repairs and maintenance. The two main categories of equipment cost is ownership cost and operating cost.

Ownership Cost

For an expense to be classified as an ownership cost it must be incurred regardless of if the equipment is used or not. These costs are as follows:

The biggest distinction from a cost standpoint is if a repair is classified as a "major repair" or a "minor repair". A major repair can change the depreciable equipment value due to an extension in service life while a minor repair is normal maintenance. Major repairs are charged to the equipment and minor repairs are charged to the job. It is advantageous for projects to classify all repairs as major while the equipment department will desire to classify all repairs as "minor" and charge the work to a job.

Models

Die-cast metal promotional scale models of heavy equipment are often produced for each vehicle to give to prospective customers. These are typically in . The popular manufacturers of these models are Conrad and NZG in Germany, even for US vehicles.

Manufacturers

The leading global manufacturers of construction equipment (in order): Fact|date=May 2007

#Caterpillar Inc.
#Komatsu
#Terex
#CNH Global (CASE, New Holland, Kobelco)
#Volvo Construction Equipment Fact|date=May 2007
#Deere & Company
#Doosan Group (Bobcat Company)
#Hitachi Construction Machinery
(a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd.; inc: Euclid Trucks)
#Bell Equipment
#Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe)

Other manufacturers:

References