HEAVY EQUIPMENT

A. Excavators – are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, dipper (or

stick), bucket and cab on a rotating platform known as the “house”. The house sits
atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels.

Types of Excavators:

a. Crawler Excavators – Unlike other large

excavators that run on wheels, crawlers run on
large two endless tracks, crawlers are often
used in mining and heavy-duty construction
jobs. Also known as compact excavators, these
excavators use hydraulic power mechanisms to
lift heavy debris and soil.

b. Wheeled Excavators - it is like the crawler

(standard) excavator, but, like the name
suggests, it has wheels instead of tracks.
Because the wheeled excavator has less
traction than the standard, it's best used on
asphalt or concrete. While the wheeled
excavator is not suited for sites with soft soil or
hills and slopes, it's faster than a crawler when
operated on a smooth, hard surface. It's also
easier to maneuver.

c. Dragline Excavators - The dragline excavator

is a larger excavator that operates with a
different process. The equipment utilizes a hoist
rope system that attaches to a bucket via a hoist
coupler. The other side of the bucket is affixed to
a dragline that runs from the bucket to the cab.
The hoist rope raises and lowers the bucket,
while the dragline pulls the bucket toward the
driver.

d. Suction Excavators – Also known as vacuum

excavators, these excavators feature a suction
pipe capable of letting air providing up to 400
horsepower. The excavator first releases a
water jet to loosen the ground. The pipe, which
contains sharp teeth at the edge, then creates a
vacuum that carries away soil and debris up to
200 miles per hour. A suction excavator is ideal
for delicate underground applications, as it can
reduce the chance of damage by more than 50
percent.
e. Skid Steer Excavators - Unlike standard
excavators, skid steers have booms and buckets
that face away from a driver. This orientation
allows the attachments to reach over the cab
instead of around it, making them useful in more
narrow areas and maneuvering tricky turns. They
are often used for digging pools, site cleaning,
residential work, and debris removal, where
space is more limited and objects are spread out
apart.

f. Long Reach Excavators – As its name

suggests, a long reach excavator features a
lengthier arm and boom sections. The design
allows for better operation in hard-to-reach
locations. The excavator’s extendable arm can
reach over 100 feet horizontally. These
excavators are best used for demolition projects
like structural crumpling and breaking down walls
and applications that are over a body of water.
Different attachments can be affixed to the arm
to perform additional jobs such as shearing,
crushing, and cutting.

g. Hydraulic Shovels – Also called power shovels,

the hydraulic shovel is the most powerful type of
excavator. While it's most commonly used for
mining projects, the hydraulic shovel is suited to
handle any job that requires heavy lifting and
hauling of large rocks, minerals and other heavy
objects or materials.

Types of Attachments:

 Buckets – are the most common attachments

seen on excavators. These steel attachments
have teeth-like edges that can provide digging
and scooping capabilities. Buckets come in
different varieties. The most common are
ditching buckets — which are designed for
grading stones — and trenching buckets, which
are used to dig trenches.

 Auger – Attaching an auger allows you to bore

into the ground. Powered by hydraulic circuits,
these helical attachments have the ability to
reach over objects and drill deep holes. Augers
come in different specifications and sizes for
 various digging conditions and terrains — they range from 4 inches to 50 inches in
length and can dig up to 32 feet.

 Breaker – it is similar to jackhammers but are

much larger in size. With the ability to provide up
to 1000 pounds of impact energy, these
attachments are used to break into tougher
surfaces like stone and concrete.

 Clamp – it allows excavator operators to pick up

large materials such as tree stumps and concrete
that is too oversized for a bucket. The
attachments can be used with buckets or as
pieces in a grapple. Clamps are easy to attach
and detach from excavators.

 Coupler – it allows you to quickly switch between

tools and attachments without a crew. This is
handy when you are moving between different
tasks and processes on a job site.

 Thumb – it works well for items that are too large

for a bucket—like a tree stump or slab of
concrete, for example. They're easy to attach and
detach.

Uses:

 Digging of trenches, holes, foundations

 Demolition
 Material handling
 General grading/landscaping
 Brush cutting with hydraulic attachments
 Forestry work
 Lifting and placing of pipes
 Mining, especially, but not only open-pit mining
 River dredging
 For loading of the trucks
B. Loader – a heavy equipment machine used in construction to move aside or load
materials such as asphalt, demolition debris, dirt, snow, feed, gravel, logs, raw
minerals, recycled material, rock, sand, woodchips, etc.

Types of Loader:

a. Backhoe Loader – A compact machine

consisting of a loader shovel or bucket on the
front and backhoe boom with an attachment on
the back, these highly productive machines are
capable of digging, trenching, back-filling and
material handling in an extensive range of
applications.

b. Bulldozer or Dozer Loader – is a crawler

equipped with a substantial metal plate known as
a blade which is used to push large quantities of
soil, sand, rubble, or other such material during
construction or conversion work and typically
equipped at the rear with a claw-like device
(known as a ripper) to loosen densely
compacted materials.

c. Multi-terrain Loader – This type of loader is

designed to deliver extremely low ground
pressure and features a rubber track system
capable of traveling over challenging terrains
and underfoot conditions. Benefits include
exceptional flotation, traction and stability for the
flexibility to work in all different types of material
handling task and environments.

d. Skid Steer Loader – Available as a crawler or

four-wheel-drive machine, skid steer loaders
feature a unique lift-arm design and sturdy, rigid
frame to deliver exceptional power in a small
package. Skid steers are used in agriculture,
construction, landscaping, road work and many
other industries that benefit from its efficiency
and versatility switching between work tools and
attachments.
e. Track-type Loader – Among the most powerful
and durable types of loaders in construction,
tracked models are utilized in the toughest jobs
and most rugged ground conditions. The stability
of the tracked chassis is ideal for working on
uneven terrains, while the power generated from
the hydraulic system provides high-output
digging and earthmoving on hard ground. You’ll
find a broad range of sizes and configurations of
track loaders, including ship-hold, port handling
and waste handler models.

f. Wheel Loader – is four-wheel-drive earthmoving

machines used primarily to load loose materials
with a front-mounted bucket. A lift-arm assembly
raises and lowers the bucket. Available in
compact, small, medium and large sizes, wheel
loaders improve the speed and efficiency of
 material handling on paved roads and hard and aggressive surfaces. Used in
industries such as sand and gravel, quarry and mining, industrial waste, forestry and
many others, this loader type is designed to carry hefty loads. When outfitted with
the appropriate attachments, wheel loaders are also used for job site preparation
work, digging and moving and placing materials.

g. Front end loader – is handy for digging, dirt

moving, loading and carrying material with your
tractor. A front-end loader is easy to attach and
remove, plus delivers leading lift capacity and
height to help you get more done around your
farm or acreage. The quick attach mounting
system enables you to use a variety of
attachments, including a grapple, pallet fork,
combination bucket and more. It’s equipped with
float functionality to follow ground contours as
you work.

h. Swing loader – is a rigid frame loader with a

swinging boom. The boom can swing 180
degrees or more. Swing Loaders are primarily
used by the railroad industry to lay rail. Like other
loaders many attachments can be attached to
the boom such as magnets, forks, and buckets.
Smaller swing loaders are used in farming
applications for loading out. A swinging boom is
advantageous where space is limited. The loader
is able to lift on all sides and dump off on all
sides.

i. Bucket Loader – also known as “front loader”, it

is an earthmoving machine with a hydraulic
scoop in front for lifting and loading earth or
rubble. It’s a wide square bucket that tilts to
capture the dirt or to dig out an area. The bucker
is a removable attachment so you can also use it
as a forklift. You can also use a clamshell-type of
bucket that opens to grab whatever you are
working on in its jaws. Loaders are used for snow
removal, dirt removal, farming, & construction
sites.

Uses:

 This equipment is widely used for loading materials into a vehicle.

 They are also used for clearing the rubble and the construction area removing all
the waste materials.
 They can also be used in laying pipes.
 They are used in digging too, but they cannot dig very deep below the surface.
 It is usually used for removing a pile of waste materials from a particular place to
the dumping site or into a dumping truck.
 Front-loaders can be used to remove snow.
C. Grader – also commonly referred to us a road
grader or a motor grader, is a construction
machine with a long blade used to create a flat
surface during the grading process.

Overall, motor graders are versatile, powerful machines suitable for large projects. They
may be used to complete any of the following tasks:

 Create the base for paved roads

 Set the foundation for a large building
 Create inclines
 Create drainage ditches
 Remove snow
 Mix and spread materials
 Finish grading
 Ditch cutting
 Scarifying
 High bank cutting

Motor graders are most commonly used in the following types of projects:

 Road construction
 Road maintenance and repair
 Snow removal

Some of the advantages of working with a motor grader include:

 Fast and efficient performance

 Precise capabilities cause less disturbance to the soil
 Articulated frame graders can maneuver in tight spaces
 Can drive over roads and do not need to haul between job sites
 Great for larger projects