PHOTO BY TUDOR VAN HAMPTON / ENR While fleet managers are replacing aging machines, the rate of purchases is slowing down. This dip is mainly due to a lack of confidence in construction starts, which are expected to remain flat next year. While mining, oil and gas projects could be bright spots for big equipment next year, general construction, well, not so much.Even so, most fleets are still in need of fresh iron. During the recession, contractors, rental companies and truckers have stretched their machines far beyond their typical useful lives. At some point, fleets need to be upgraded to
TOP PHOTO: Komatsu America Corp., BOTTOM PHOTO: Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. How Green? Komatsus hybrid excavator, which the firm says is 25% more fuel efficient than the standard model, is one of two machines to be tested. If you are working out West and have been thinking about trying a hybrid construction machine, now is the time to take advantage of nearly $1 million in incentives available from the University of California, Riverside. The catch? Your new machine could take part in a statewide study designed to find out how “green” hybrids really are.Working under a $2-million grant from the
Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. New tool tests fluorescent bulbs and ballasts, in some cases, without a ladder. The electrician who walks around the office all day with a cart full of bulbs may be eager to try out Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp.'s new fluorescent-lighting tester, which combines bulb and ballast diagnostics in one handheld tool.Because few options exist to test fluorescent bulbs before replacing them, lighting technicians “have adopted a replace-and-hope strategy,” says Jon Morrow, director of product marketing for Milwaukee's testing and measurement line. “There is no meter out there to test and diagnose lights,” he
Photo by Greg Aragon for ENR Komatsu's 22-ton PC200LC-8 Hybrid Excavator, which went on sale earlier this year, is the first hybrid of its kind in the U.S. Related Links: How John Deere's New Hybrid Wheel Loaders Get Their Juice CARB, AGC Agree to Delay Emission Rules Until 2014 The California Air Resources Board is studying the effects of two pieces of hybrid construction machinery, the Caterpillar D7E bulldozer and Komatsu PC200LC-8 excavator, under a $2-million grant at the University of California, Riverside.The two-year project aims to analyze the emissions profiles of the hybrid machinery and develop incentive programs for
LinkedIn remains the most popular social media site for architecture and engineering firms, according to a recent survey by Knowledge Architecture. Related Links: Hashtag This: Social Media Risks and Rewards in Construction VHB/Eng-Wong, Taub and PB: Building Client Relationships with Social Media Corps Finds Facebook Excels for Flood Emergency Communications Social Media Reshape Job Hunting and Recruitment at Smith Group, CH2M Hill Water Social Networking Site Matches Water Providers With End Users Writing the Social Media Policy Handbook at Burns & McDonnell, HOK Construction companies are becoming active users of social media, but much of the chatter is hidden from
Upstaging Adler & Sullivan's rock-solid Auditorium Building in downtown Chicago is a glassy new landmark for Roosevelt University. The school's “vertical campus,” set to open next March, has faced difficult obstacles—tight laydown and delivery zones, delicate underground work, tough hoisting logistics, to name a few—but the building team is handily making the grade on the $118-million project. The first challenge to overcome had to do with fire safety. In 2004 the city adopted a new code requiring pre-1975 high-rises to be equipped with automatic sprinklers. That meant Roosevelt University would have to retrofit its 19-story Herman Crown Center, a residence
Related Links: Watch the Super Witch in Action (YouTube) Every time Don Pemberton fires up the Super Witch, people stop what they are doing and pay attention."I'm the operator, the only operator," says Pemberton, 55, who for years has sat behind the wheel of the super-powered trenching machine, which regularly makes the rounds at construction trade shows. "You have to have ear protection—this thing is pretty loud."Often dubbed a "showstopper" or "male magnet," the chromed-up Super Witch has survived five generations and countless rebuilds, making it one of the longest-running attractions at ICUEE, a biennial utility-equipment show. The next ICUEE
The National Building Museum has cancelled a Sept. 14 public ceremony to honor Caterpillar Inc. with this year's Henry C. Turner Prize after a U.S.-based Middle East peace advocacy group demanded the award be rescinded. At issue is the Israel Defense Forces' alleged use of Caterpillar bulldozers to destroy Palestinian settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. Civilians were killed during the operation. The museum declined the group's request to rescind.Cat has “been on notice that these bulldozers are used for human-rights violations,” says Craig Corrie, head of the Olympia, Wash.-based Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice, which protested
Photo Courtesy of Sany America Inc. Sany America is now outfitting a new $60-million factory near Atlanta. It is the first Chinese producer to build a plant on U.S. soil. Chinese manufacturers are on track this year to become the second-largest global exporters of construction equipment, but it will take some time for them to pose a threat to established suppliers.“They are moving faster than we expected,” says Stephen Joske, director of China forecasting for the Economist Intelligence Unit and author of the EIU report, “Heavy Duty: China's Next Wave of Exports,” released last month.Last year, the U.S. led construction
