As per the guide lines of the finance minister, Banks must shift benefit of rate cuts to all borrowers including corporate customer and this monetary transmission may create better demand of machineries.

Infrastructure is not complete without considering machines, faster growth of infrastructure depends on new technology advancement and innovation in the same.

As construction industries is facing constant challenges and changes, scarcity of skill labours, high competition, difficult to maintain profit margin and huge pressure of work due to short and time bound project duration; it will force to use the high advance machineries and technologies which provide good returns in very short time.

Heavy equipment is essential for construction jobs of almost any size, from home building to large-scale commercial and civil projects. Earth-moving equipment covers a broad range of machines that can excavate and grade soil and rock, along with other jobs. Earth movers and other heavy equipment help to speed not only earth work but also materials handling, demolition, agriculture, mining,pipeline work, railroad work, fire-fighting or other disaster response applications and construction.

Selection of most appropriate earth moving equipment has always been a preliminary importance and it is not an easy task as heavy equipment is costly and needs significant investment during the selection, there is a need for the most rational criteria that have a positive impact on operational efficiency, productivity, cost minimization and as well as environmental and human wellbeing.

There are few basic things that are considered in selection of suitable equipment.
Cost : It is a strong consideration and it must limit the equipment options to meet cost requirements. The total cost of installation including time, material, infrastructure, and opportunity costs must be evaluated.

Suitability: Tight specifications is must while selection of equipment. Machinery must be appropriate to their application / requirement and job application, it must be having all required functions to perform the job in very smooth and fast way without compromising the integrity of the built structure.

Powerful mechanics leads to high productivity: A powerful diesel engine at the heart and amazing hydraulics are also a must in an equipment. The diesel engine creates power while the hydraulics amplifies it. Presently major project are awarded with incentive on timely completion and penalty on delay in project completion. Machines with higher productivity or output should be evaluated on deliverables that are tangible.

Low maintenance cost and fuel efficiency: It is also important to consider the maintenance cost. The lesser the cost, the better it is and this is very much possible with the modern machines in the segment.

Life of equipment: The money invested on plant as an investment must be recoverable with a profit during the useful life of the equipment.

Matching Concept: Selection of equipment is typically made by matching equipment in a fleet with tasks. Such matching accounts for equipment productivity, equipment capacity, and cost It usually involves the selection of the best option among many alternatives based on criteria and method that can be used for the decision making process.

Service Supports from manufacturers: Generally we take advantage of good machinery by using its maximum capacity to achieve our targets and timely completion of jobs and therefore we need to make preventive maintenance at right intervals and quick response at the time of breakdown. Proximity, capability and parts availability near the site of application is must.

Effortless operations and control: Another key consideration when buying is making sure that the operator has the right controls. Select a machine where the operator can adjust the controls to be more productive.

Versatility: The machine selected should, if possible, be able to do more than one function and should be inter-convertible wherever possible.

Adaptability for Future Use: If the machine is required to work for only a part of its useful life then possibility on of disposing it off or its employment some other job should be considered. Obsolescence of the machine should not be overlooked.

Experience and reputation of the equipment manufacturer: This aspect examines the potential of sourcing partners for equipment. Engineers, owners, and contractors have preferred partners. These manufacturers have gained favor through positive experiences.

Going ahead the construction sector is likely to get major boost from the government’s focus on development of infrastructure in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s drive to bring in more investments into the infrastructure sector has raised hope for stalled infrastructure development in India. With political stability, sharper focus on infrastructure development and improvement in the economy, key focus on current running projects, new project announcements are likely to pick up.

Recently, our new finance minister Nirmala Sitharamanhas announced BS-IV vehicles to remain operational entire life and enjoy 15 per cent additional depreciation, total 30 per cent till March 2020 this is good news of Automobile industries. They also added high level monitoring of delayed payments by government and PSUs towards infrastructure work and around 100 lakh crore plan for infrastructure to be activated.

As per the guide lines of the finance minister, Banks must shift benefit of rate cuts to all borrowers including corporate customer and this monetary transmission may create better demand of machineries.

All this comes as good prospects for construction equipment manufacturers, who are witnessing a stressed growth, this industry is reviving after a gap of five years, faster growth in the turnover of construction equipment company requires more awarding projects of power, port, airport, irrigation, roads, bridge, metro rail, railways and urban infrastructure and needs more funding to infrastructure projects.

Our government reiterated the need to open up economy further through necessary reforms in order to attract more investment to fill up the infrastructure deficit in the country at a faster pace. There is a strong need for new / innovative structures and credit enhancement mechanism, which reduce the risk in infrastructure project.

Our new finance minister recently informed government will infuse 70,000 crore in PSBs and it will enable banks to disburse for various corporates.

Ultimately, government Policy has been the main growth driver for the Infrastructure development. Construction Equipment Manufacturer’s offers limited finance option and payment terms to 1st customers are usually unfavorable and resulting in to loose many prospective buyers.

In short, due to use of very innovative and versatile equipment in construction and Infrastructure engineering business we can save our time, Cost and leads to safety, convenient in use, quality output and complex work perform easily, quality of work life, learning, empowerment & retention of employee etc.

Authored By
Pankaj Udeshi
Asst. General Manager Procurement
Supreme Infrastructure India Ltd