According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 56% of the 69,296 private construction companies that started operations in 2001 made it to the third year! What’s more shocking is that only 26.6% were operational after ten years, and 17.2% were open for business twenty years later. That’s a whopping 82.8% failure rate! Let that sink in for a second.
But it’s not all groom and doom in the business world. This article will discuss what all established construction businesses have in common. Keep reading to understand why such firms have stood the test of time. Let’s start!
Lifts
According to the Electronic Library of Construction Occupational Safety and Health, lifts and elevators kill 30 people and injure a further 17,000 annually. For this reason, any established construction firm understands that lifts must enhance passenger safety. Half of these deaths are typically workers on lifts or working near escalators. So, companies must install safety features on scissor lifts like non-slip surfaces, guard rails, and emergency stop buttons.
Typically, the lift system serves as the support structure while building a high-rise building. Therefore, you must ensure it’s in good shape even after construction. Essentially, you must involve professionals in your lift development plan, such as the structural developer, traffic flow specialist, engineers, and architects, to finalize the design criteria of lift service in the high-rise building.
Traffic flow is critical when designing the lift system. Established construction companies understand the need to verify facts like the height of the building, building population distribution, and the number of stairs before commencing construction. You should also ensure the lift has proper handling capacity. During the lift designing phase, you must measure the expected movement of passengers on the lift, intervals between arrivals, and the waiting time. Such facts aid in constructing a lift system that can handle maximum traffic flow to serve its purpose safely and efficiently.
Excavation
The height of a tall building wows anyone. While many measure the strength of the building by its height, you must know that the engineering marvel of any skyscraper happens below the ground. Established construction companies understand that you must first build down before building up. Therefore, for a building to stand tall, you must hire professionals, like excavating contractors, to work on the building’s foundation.
Before excavation, it’s essential to understand that your site location’s environmental factors will significantly influence the construction style and the excavation depth. Typically, excavation highly depends on factors like the type of soil, the depth of the bedrock, and environmental threats like earthquakes and strong winds.
Also, it would be best to identify whether your site area is prone to flooding, which can lead to foundation fissures and affect the lateral strength your building needs against wind loads. Don’t stop there. Conduct a site assessment to determine your excavation and foundation needs. The findings from the evaluation influence the expected building height, weight, and structural designs.
Trackhoes
Construction companies understand that you must use trackhoes for clean and timely excavation. However, most construction equipment are generally capital-intensive, and you may not have the budget to purchase new equipment. The prudent option for a well-done excavation job is approaching a trackhoe rental company. According to Statista, 62% of established construction experts rented construction equipment due to their flexibility.
Trackhoes are typically best for long-term projects where mobility and road damage aren’t a big concern. Also, established construction companies understand that only trackhoes can manage to move heavy construction materials, are suitable for tracking up steep slopes, and can easily manage low center of gravity.
Typically, you can operate a trackhoe at any angle and direction, an advantage over other earth-moving equipment like bulldozers and wheel loaders. Therefore, it’s easy for operators to be selective in their digging and moving of dirt. Also, trackhoes boast vertical and horizontal movements, enabling contractors to remove dirt where precision is mandatory as a safety measure.
Welding
Welding is a vital component in the construction industry. When done wrongly, it will lead to faults that may force you to demolish the whole construction, which can be damn expensive. Therefore, during the planning phase of any construction, contractors understand that they must also plan for quality welding. As a quality assurance measure, hiring workers who have undergone intensive welding apprenticeship programs and have the necessary certifications to prove their craftsmanship is essential.
Quality welding heightens the safety of your structure. Therefore, established construction businesses understand poor welding services mean risking the structure’s inhabitants’ lives. So, they must ensure that the welding materials, such as the welding gases, equipment, and supplies, meet the ISO-certified standards.
When property inspectors visit your structure, assessing the welding quality will be among the first items on their inspection list. If your structure doesn’t meet its quality standards, you will incur extra costs to reinforce the job – or worse, demolish your structure. So, to avoid unnecessary losses, you must ensure your welding structure is high quality.
Welding services are a long-term investment. For this reason, contractors must guarantee quality welding services to heighten the structures’ durability. Most times, you may be forced to spend more on quality materials and skilled craftsmanship for quality results. Even so, you’ll ensure your structure lasts longer, saving unnecessary long-term repair costs.
Dozers
Let’s agree. Dozers are necessary in any construction – and all established construction firms understand this. However, buying a new dozer isn’t cheap, and most times, for a business to have healthy finances, they must consider opting for dozer rentals rather than buying new equipment. Most times, wrong decisions may lead to business closure.
Typically, the specifics of your project, such as the job site conditions, the size of the workspace, and the materials that need moving, will determine the ideal dozer for the job. Therefore, you must get the equipment necessary for specific tasks before renting a dozer.
The small dozer is ideal for light construction work. Usually, it has an operating weight of about 20,000 pounds, sometimes less. They are speedy and can operate optimally on smaller job sites with tight spaces.
Medium dozes are flexible and more expansive. Their operating weight ranges from 20,000 to 60,000 pounds. They are more potent than smaller dozers and push bigger loads of materials. Large dozers have an operating weight of 60,000 pounds and beyond. Some have an operating weight of up to 200,000 pounds! They offer more strength, ideal for heavy-duty projects and tasks that require more power.
Hauling
Hauling is essential in any construction project. Established construction firms understand that seamless equipment hauling will help meet deadlines quickly. Moving essential construction types of equipment from one site to another quickly enables faster and smoother workflow in your construction site. Hence, hauling ensures the maximum use of any construction equipment. However, it would help if you used the right hauling equipment for specific tasks and efficiently move particular materials or construction equipment.
Cranes are equipped with sheaves, ropes, and a hoist. They are typically used to move and lift supplies and materials at the construction site. Also, they can be used to demolish structures and buildings to pave the way for construction. There are two kinds of cranes: Fixed and Mobile. Mobile cranes have trusses mounted onto mobile platforms like flatcars, whereas fixed cranes have increased stability and lift heavier loads.
You can also use loaders for loose materials like gravel, sand, or dirt and load them to a machine like a dumpster or conveyor belt. The destination machines are typically positioned higher than the material’s location. You can also use loaders to transport machinery. Other hauling types of equipment include shovels, tractors, and trucks. Generally, different hauling types of equipment are designed to perform specific tasks.
Injury Symptoms
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021, the construction industry reported 46.2% of all fatal trips, slips, and falls. This means 1 in 5 workplace fatalities was affiliated with the construction industry. The statistics indicate that the construction industry is prone to accidents. Therefore, established construction companies are aware that they must put the necessary measures in a construction site to ensure the safety of their workers.
To enhance workers’ safety, contractors must ensure that all workers wear the necessary personal protective equipment (PÉAN) to minimize exposure to specific hazards on site. Typical PPE wear includes helmets, boots, goggles, ear muffs or plugs, high visibility suits, and vests.
Construction work typically involves tasks that may require heavy physical activities. For this reason, construction workers must undergo regular health checkups. Naturally, checkups will help detect injury symptoms early. For instance, when a worker has lower back injuries, a checkup will determine whether they’ll need lower back pain therapy before the pain advances to a more severe illness.
Contractors must also keep the site tidy. They must make sure that there are no loose nails, debris, or stagnant water from excavations. Such faults quickly lead to accidents that sometimes lead to loss of life.
Scaffolding
Any established construction firm understands the importance of a local scaffold service. It’s a valuable and life-saving structure that makes construction work more manageable.Scaffolding makes the construction site more accessible. Typically, it provides easy access to areas that are difficult to reach. Most areas can seem impossible to access while working on a tall building. However, scaffolding enables workers to access such impossible areas quickly and safely.
Also, scaffolding provides a better position to work on tall structures’ ceilings, outdoor spaces, walls, and windows. It offers a solid and sturdy construction support that would have been impossible using a ladder.Safety is one of the significant scaffolding benefits. All construction workers need to be safe while on duty. Scaffolding keeps them out of danger, which gives workers peace of mind while on duty.
Towing
Typically, most constructions must use heavy materials and machinery. However, most construction equipment can’t drive on the road. They require heavy equipment towing to move from one place to another.
The weight of each construction piece of equipment varies and most easily exceeds the mass of an average vehicle. For example, a large excavator weighs 60,000 lbs or more – 23 times the mass of a typical vehicle. As a rule of thumb, the heavier the construction piece of equipment, the heavier the load capacity. For this reason, your car can’t tow a piece of construction equipment. It would be best to use specialized equipment to do the job.
All established construction businesses understand that different pieces of equipment need towing depending on their mass. For light towing, a truck can only manage about 11,000 lbs. Above that, it may require hiring a professional tow company for safe towing services.
Clearing Lots
Lot clearing is the first essential step for site preparation in any construction process. It involves clearing trees, bushes, shrubs, and other blocks when preparing land for development. Typically, the process enhances the usability of the land, making it valuable and ideal for building houses, parking lots, and other structures.
Typically, lot clearing minimizes potential construction site hazards. Also, efficiently cleared lots enhance construction efficiency by preventing unnecessary delays from ground complications. It prioritizes environmental balance by ensuring that development coexists with nature.
Lot clearing also allows easy movement on the construction site. The process provides ample space for vehicles, machinery, and materials to move across the site seamlessly. Also, it gives construction workers enough space to work comfortably, maximizing efficiency.
While it’s true that the failure rate of the construction business is high, some construction companies have mastered the art of staying in business. To survive in the construction industry, you must ensure that your projects are safe and high-quality. For instance, for high-rise buildings, you must prioritize the safety of lifts. Also, your workers need to work in a secure environment by maximizing the use of scaffolding and ensuring the scissor lifts have all the safety requirements. Additionally, construction companies must use the right equipment, such as trackhoes, to deliver quality construction outcomes. Please visit our website for construction valuable insights. As a construction business, it’s important for you to understand all the above.
