CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT AND PLANTS

(PRODUCTIVITY OF EQUIPMENTS)
2. Chapter Outline:

2.1. Construction Equipments

1. Earth Work Equipments

2. Hauling and Hoisting Equipments

3. Foundation Equipments

4. Compaction and stabilization equipments-

5. Pumping Equipments -

6. Concreting equipment:

7. Drilling and blasting equipment

2.2. Construction Plants

8. Aggregate Production Plants
9. Concrete Batching Plants

10. Asphalt Mixing Plants

BY Bazezew A. (MSc in CEM)

May, 2021
 2.1 Construction Equipments

2.1.1. Earth Work Equipments

• Include: Hydraulic excavators and the member of the cable –
operated crane shovel family (Shovels, draglines, and
clamshells)
• Earthwork activities include: ‐Excavating, Hauling, Loading,
Placing (damp & spread), Grading, Compacting and Final
Finishing
2.1. Construction Equipments
2.1.1. Types of Earthwork Equipments

2.1.1. Crane Shovel Family

• Common Features
 Mounting
 Crawlers/Tracks
 Wheels
 Super structure or control room
 Front end attachment
2.1. Construction Equipments
2.1.1. Earth Work Equipments

2.1.1. Crane Shovel Family

crawler mounting:- provides excellent on – site mobility, and its low

ground pressure enables it to operate in areas of low

trafficability.

- are widely used for drainage and trenching work as well

as for rock excavation.

Truck and wheel mounting:- provide greater mobility between

job sites but are less stable than crawler mountings

and require better surfaces over which to operate.

2.1.1. Crane Shovel Family

A. Face Shovel
• Face shovel equipment is used mainly in quarries, pits
and on construction sites to excavate and load blasted
rock.
• These equipments are more effective for excavations
above the wheel or grade level.
• Optimum depth of cut: is a depth which produces the
greatest output and at which the dipper comes up with
full load without undue crowding.
 The depth of cut varies with the class of soil and
the size of the dipper.
 The output of a shovel is affected by numerous
factors, including the following: Class of material,
depth of cut, angle of swing, job conditions,
management conditions, size of hauling units, skill
of operator and physical condition of the shovel.
 2.1.1. Crane Shovel Family
B. Drag Line
• Draglines are used to excavate earth and load it into
hauling units or deposit it into levees, dams and spoil
banks near the pits from which it was excavated.
• These equipments are more efficient for excavation
below the grade level and have the longest reach of all
shovel equipments.
• A dragline can be used for dragging out sediments and
is efficient for under water construction. These
equipments are weak while excavating hard materials
and have a lesser productivity that a face shovels.
• The output of a dragline will vary with the following
factors: Class of material, depth of cut, angle of swing,
size and type of bucket, length of boom, job conditions,
management conditions, method of disposal size of
hauling units, skill of the operator and disposal, units,
physical condition of the machine.
C. Hoe/excavator
hoes are used primarily to excavate below the natural surface of the ground on which
the machine rests. They are adapted to excavating trenches, pits for basements, and general
grading work, which requires precise control of depths.
2.1.1. Crane Shovel Family
D. Clamshell
• They are specially suited to vertically lifting
materials from one location to another, as in
charging hoppers and overhead bins.
• Clamshells are used primarily for handling
loose materials such as sand, gravel, crushed
stone, coal, etc. and for removing materials
from inside cofferdams, pier foundations,
sewer manholes, sheet‐lined trenches, etc.
• The bucket size are large for digging medium
soil, medium, for digging general purpose
work and light bucket for handling bulk
material like sand and gravel.
 2.2 Heavy Earth moving Equipments
A. Excavators
Advantage of hydraulic excavators include:
 Faster cycle time,
 higher bucket penetrating force,
 more precise digging and easier operator control.
 many attachments can be made to increase the versatility of the equipments.
Some common attachments include:
 Augers: Drills holes for poles, posts, soil sampling, and ground improvement.
 Jack Hammer: vibratory hammer used to break up concrete and rock.
 Bucket Ripper: The bucket sides and bottom are lined with ripper teeth to break up hard soil or soft rock.
 Thumb Bucket: attached to bucket to provide a hook capacity.
 2.2 Heavy Earth moving Equipments

B. Loaders

• The loaders having bucket in the front, known as “front end

loaders” are very common.
• These are equipments used primarily to load excavated materials
to a hauling unit, excavate soft to medium materials, loading
hoppers, stockpiling materials, backfilling ditches, and moving
concrete and other construction materials.
2.2 Heavy Earth moving Equipments
 2.2 Heavy Earth moving Equipments
B. Loaders
• Types of Loaders
Loaders are of the following two types:
 Crawler loaders
 Wheel Loaders

Some models of wheel loaders are designed

as a combination of a backhoe and loader and
often called backhoe loader.

Backhoe loader features

 Very common piece of equipment
 Many subcontractors own/lease
 Very versatile
 Easily transported
 “Low” maintenance costs
 Operator “friendly”
 Easily rented
B. Loaders
Operations

Loaders are used to carry out the following main operations;

A. Loading
o Loading operation is the main operation performed by the loaders.

o Loading consists of scooping, lifting, turning and dumping materials such as sand, gravel, and crushed
materials from stockpiles, bank or construction site into the hauling units.
B. Hauling
o Wheel loaders are excellent for moving loose materials over short distances to dump into hauling units,
hoppers, conveyors, or any other place of work in the construction site.
C. Excavating
o Crawler loaders and heavy duty wheel loaders are excellent for many excavation jobs.
o These loaders can excavate soft and medium materials as well as lift the excavated material and dump it into
trucks or on the stockpiles

D. Clearing
o Loaders can scoop up and load the debris of demolished buildings into hauling units.

o Loaders are the first equipment to prepare the site for building and construction operations; and also the last
equipment in order to backfill, spread, level and top with selected good soil.
2.2 Heavy Earth moving Equipments

Dozers

• Dozers are machines designed primarily for cutting and pushing the material
over relatively short distance.

• They consist of a tractor equipped with a front–mounted earthmoving

blade controlled by hydraulic cylinders to vary the depth of cut.

• A dozer moves earth by lowering the blade and cutting until a full blade
load of materials is obtained. It then pushes the material across the ground
surface to the required location.

• Rear mounted hydraulic scarifiers and rippers can be fitted to loosen hard
material prior to dozing.
Dozers
Dozers

Dozer Blades

• A heavy blade of slightly concave profile is attached in the front of the tractor.

• The blades has a replaceable cutting edge, which wears out with the use of the blade.

• The dozer blades are available in sizes from 2m to 7.5m wide and 0.8m to 1.5m height.

Blades types

• Dozer blades are of the following types:

A. U-Blade: Used for moving big loads over longer distances; curved shape and side and top extensions
reduce the spillage of loose material; best suited for lighter materials.

B. Straight Blade: Used primarily for shallow surface removal, land clearing; designed to push dirt for
short distances, versatile, lightweight and maneuverable, handles a wide range of materials.

C. Angle Blade: It is designed to move material towards the sides of a cut, backfilling or cutting ditches,
and sustainably reduces the amount of direction.

D. C (cushion Blade): Used primarily with scrapers for ‘‘on the go’’ push loading; can be used for lighter
excavation and other general tasks.

E. Land fill Blade: These blades are specially designed to handle refuse and/or fill material.
Dozers
Dozers
Dozers
Dozers
Application of Dozers

The following are the main dozer application

Clearing land of timber and stumps,

Opening up pilot roads through mountains and rocky terrain,

Moving earth for the haul distances up to approximately 100m,

Spreading earth fills,

Backfilling trenches,

Side hill cuts

Clearing construction sites of derbies, and etc.…

Dozers
Rippers

• Crawler-tractor, mounted with ripper is finding increasing use in

construction, mining and quarrying.

• Characteristic of material to be ripped influence the selection of ripper

type; number of shanks required, ripping speed and amount of ripper
penetration.

Types of Rippers

A. single-shank ripper: used for comparatively simple ripping

operations.

B. multiple-shank ripper: These are used where there are many boulders,
or where the quality of rock is not consistent.
Types of Rippers
2.3 Grading Equipments

Graders
• Grading is the process of bringing earth work to the desired shape and elevation
(grade).
• Motor graders are used for leveling and smoothening the earthwork, spreading and
leveling the base course in the construction of roads and air fields.
• Motor graders can be used for the following types of works:
 Gravel road repairing

 Road shoulder reshaping, bank cutting and reshaping

 Ditch filling or digging

 Leveled or slopped ground finishing

 Base course spreading and leveling

 Material mixing, hard surface cutting

 Land clearance, frozen top soil and asphalt breaking
Comparison with dozers

• A grader is restricted to making shallow cuts in medium-hard

materials.

• They should not be used for heavy excavations.

• A grader can move small amounts of material but cannot

perform dozer-type work because of the structural strength
and location of its moldboard.

• Grader are capable of progressively cutting ditches to a depth

of 3 ft or 90cm.
Graders
Basic parts of grader
The components the grader that actually do the finishing are:
 Scarifier
Blade (Moldboard)
Rippers
Graders
Scarifier
• Scarifier is a special tool attached with the motor grader for
loosening the hard soil and has a set teeth mounted on
adjustable shanks.
• This attachment digs up hard ground like asphalt, old
pavement, frozen surface and hard soil with vegetation and
brushes which can not be removed by the blade.
• The teeth are replaceable, and the number of teeth can be
varied to suit the ground hardness.
Scarifier
Ripper
o The ripper is used to break up materials too hard to cut with
moldboard blade.
o The depth of cut is controlled by hydraulically operated
ripper control level.
o Type of material to be ripped will determine position of the
ripper shank.
Graders

Various Operations

A. Grading:

 Grading in road construction means flattening and smoothening the road

surface and others by the scrapping action of the blade, includes working

operation like, surface skimming, leveling, spreading.

B. Spreading:

 Gravel together with binding material is spread by the motor grader.

 For spreading the cutting angle is set at 60 nearly.

 Cutting edge of the blade is set above the ground at a distance equal to the

depth to which the material is to be spread.

Various Operations

C. Finishing and Leveling:

 In final finishing and leveling, surface have to be finished to fine limits.

 In such cases make the finishing pass with the blade only slightly angled and

set to skim the surface.

D. Ditch Digging:

 The front end of the blade is tilted down and the rear end is tilted up above the

road surface. The front end cuts into the ground.

 This is used to dig drainage ditches and road side ditches.

E. Cutting:

 For the purpose of cutting in soft dirt, set the blade to an angle b/n 40- 55

degree, while in hard dirt an angle of 30-45 degree is proper.

THANK YOU!
 Productivity of earth moving equipments
• The basic relationship for estimating the production of all earthmoving

equipments is:

 Production = volume per cycle * cycle per hour……………………equation 2.1

Where:
• Volume per cycle: average volume of material moved per equipment cycle.
This is the normal capacity of the excavator or haul unit must be modified by
the appropriate fill factor based on the type of material and equipment
involved
• Cycle per hour: must include any appropriate job efficiency factor, so that it
represents the number of cycles actually achieved (or expected to be
achieved) per hour.
 Cost per unit production = ………………………equation 2.2
 Job efficiency estimation
• There are two principal approaches to estimating job efficiency

determining the number of cycle per hour to be used in equation 2.1.

Approach 1

• To use the number of effective working minutes per hours to calculate the

number of cycle achieved per hour. This is equivalent to using an effective

factor equal to the number of working minutes per hour divided by 60.

Approach 2

• Is to multiplying the theoretical cycle per 60-min hour by a numerical

efficiency factor. A table of efficiency factors based on the combination of

job conduction and management condition is presented in table 2.1.

 Excavator production
• To utilize equation 2.1 for estimating the production of an excavator, it’s necessary to know the

volume of material actually contained in one bucket load.

• The method by which excavator bucket and dozer blade capacity rated is given in table 3.1

below.

• Plate line capacity: - is the bucket volume contained within bucket unit following the outline of

the bucket side.

• Struck capacity:- the bucket capacity when the load is struck of flush with the bucket sides.

• Water line capacity:- assumes a level of material flush with the lowest edge of the buck(i.e. the

material level corresponding to the water level that would result if the bucket were filled with

water).

• Heaped volume: - is the maximum volume that can be placed in bucket without slippage

based on a specific angle of repose of materials in the bucket.

• Better estimate of the volume of material in one bucket
load will be:

Volume of material in one bucket load = normal bucket

volume (heaped volume)* bucket fill factor....equation 2.5

• The bucket fill factor for excavator is in table 3.2.

• If desired the bucket load may be converted to bank

volume by multiplying its loose volume by soils load
factor.
Example 2.1
Estimate the accurate bucket load in the bank cubic meter for a loader
bucket, whose heaped capacity is 3.82m 3, the soil’s bucket fill factor, is 0.90
and its load factor is 0.80
Given
• heaped capacity = 3.82 m3
• bucket fill factor = 0.90
• load factor is 0.80
Required
• Estimate the accurate bucket load in the bank cubic meter for a loader
bucket
Solution
• 1st, change the loose (heaped volume) to bank volume
• Bank volume = heaped volume *bucket load factor
• Bank volume = 3.82 m3 *0.80 = 3.05 m3
• Bucket load = 3.05 m3 *0.9 = 2.75 m3
 Production estimating for hydraulic excavator

• Production is estimated as follows, together with table 3.3 and 3.4.

 Production (m3/h) = C*S*V*B*E…………………………………..equation 2.7

Where:

• C = cycle per hour (table3.3)

• S= swing depth factor (table 3.4)

• V= heaped bucket volume (m3)

• B= bucket fill factor (table 3.2)

• E= job efficiency

Note:- in trench work a fall in factor should be applied to excavator production to account for the

work required to clean out materials that fall back into the trench from the trench wall.

• Normal excavator production should be multiplied by the appropriate value from table 3.5 to

obtain the efficiency trench production

Example

• Find the expected production in loose cubic meter per hour of a small hydraulic excavator.
Heaped bucket capacity is 0.57m3. The material is sand and gravel with a bucket fill factor of
0.95. Job efficiency is 50min/hr. average depth of cut is 4.3m. Maximum depth of cut is 6.1m
and average swing is 90.

Given

• Heaped bucket capacity = 0.57m3

• Material type = sand and gravel

• Size of excavator = small hydraulic excavator

• Bucket fill factor = 0.95

• Job efficiency = 50min/hr

• Average depth of cut = 4.3m

• Maximum depth of cut = 6.1m

• Average swing = 90
Required

• Find the expected production in loose cubic meter per hour of a small hydraulic excavator

Solution

• Productivity = C*S*V*B*E

• 1st, find C (cycle per hour) from table 3-3, it’s possible to get cycle per hour for small

excavator for sand and gravel i.e. 250cycle/hr or 250/60min

• 2nd , find S(swing depth factor) from table 3-4, but before calculating swing depth factor, its

important to calculate the % of maximum depth cut by dividing average depth cut by

maximum depth cut and express in percentage. i.e. % maximum depth cut = 4.3m/6.1m*100

= 70. Then, take this number and go to table 3-4 with swing angle and its possible to obtain

the swing depth factor, i.e. 1.00

• 3rd, change job efficiency to min, i.e. 50/60 = 0.8333

• Productivity = 250/hr*1.00*0.57m3*0.95*0.833= 113m3/h

 Shovels productivity estimating

• Production for hydraulic shovels is estimated as follows, together with

table 3.6

Production (m3/h) = C*S*V*B*E……………………..equation 2.8

Where:
• C = cycle per hour (table3.6)

• S= swing depth factor (table 3.6)

• V= heaped bucket volume (m3)

• B= bucket fill factor (table 3.2)

• E= job efficiency
Example

• Find the expected production in loose cubic meter 2.3m3 hydraulic shovels equipped with a front-dump bucket. The

material is common earth with a bucket fill factor of 1.0. The average angel of swing is 75° and job efficiency is 0.80.

Given

• Volume lose cubic meter = 2.3m3

• Bucket fill factor = 1.0

• Material type = common earth

• Average angle of swing = 75°

• Job efficiency = 0.80

Required

• Find the expected production in loose

Solution

• C= 150/hr (table 3.6)

• S = 1.05 (table 3.6)

• Production = 150/hr*1.05*2.3m3*1.00*0.8 = 290m3/hr

 Productivity estimation of Dragline

• To estimate the dragline production use table 3-7 and 3-9.

• Determine the ideal out put of the dragline for the machine size and

material from table 3-7, and then adjust this figure by multiplying by a swing

depth factor (table 3-9) and job efficiency.

Expected production = ideal output*S* job efficiency…..equation 2.9

• To use table 3.9, it’s necessary to determine the optimum depth of cut for

the machine and material involved from table 3.8, then divide the actual

depth of cut by the optimum depth and expressed the result as a

percentage. The appropriate swing depth factor is then obtained from table

3.9, interpolating as necessary.

Example

• Determine the expected dragline production in loose cubic meter per hour based on the following information

• Dragline size= 1.53m3

• Swing angle = 120°

• Average depth of cut = 2.4m

• Material type= common earth

• Job efficiency= 50min/hr =50/60=0.833

• Soil swell = 25%

Solution

• Ideal output = 176m3/hr (table 3-7)

• Optimum depth of cut= 3.0m (table 3.8)

• Swing depth factor = 0.9 (table 3.9), i.e. actual depth/optimum depth cut= (2.4/3)100 = 80

• Volume change = 1+0.25 =1.25

• Productivity = 176*0.9*0.833*1.25 =165m3/h by using equation 2.9

Production estimation for Clamshells

• No standard production tables are available for the clamshell. Thus production estimation

should be based on the use of equation 2.1. The procedures for calculating the production of

clamshell are as follow

Example

• Estimate the production in loose cubic meter per hour for a medium weight clamshell

excavating loose earth. Heaped bucket capacity is 0.75m 3. The soil is common earth with a

bucket fill factor of 0.95. Estimated cycle time is 40sec. job efficiency is estimated at 50min/h

• Given

• Heaped volume = 0.75m3

• Type of soil = soil is common earth with out attachment and machine size

• Bucket fill factor = 0.95

• Estimated cycle time is 40sec

• Job efficiency is estimated = 50min/h = 50/60 = 0.833

Required

• Estimate the production in loose cubic meter per hour for a medium

weight clamshell excavating loose earth

Solution

• Use equation 2.1 as a reference

• Productivity = volume per cycle*cycle per hour with additional factors.

• Therefore, productivity can be calculated by multiplication of volume per

cycle, Bucket fill factor, estimated cycle time and estimated Job efficiency.

• Productivity= 0.75m3*0.95*0.833*3600/40 = 53 m3/h

Productivity of Dozers
• The basic earth moving production equation (Equation 2 – 1) may be applied in estimating
dozer production.
• This method requires an estimate of the average blade load and the dozer cycle time.
• There are several methods available for estimating average blade load, including the blade
manufacturer’s capacity rating, previous experience under similar conditions, and actual
measurement of several typical loads. Blade volume can be computed by using equation 2
– 10
 Blade Load (Lm3) = 0.375*H (m) *W (m)*L (m)……. equation 2 – 10:

• Total dozer cycle time is the sum of fixed time and variable cycle time.
• Cycle time = fixed time + variable time
• Fixed time= represents those components of cycles time other than travel time. It includes
spot time (moving the unit into position to began loading), load time, dump time, changing
gears, start loading. Table 4-4 may be used to estimate doze fixed cycle time.
Variable time= represents the travel time required for a unit to haul
material to un loading (doze) site and return.
• Table 4-5 provides typical operating speeds for dozing and return.
Some manufacturers provide dozer production estimating chart for their
requirement.
Example 2‐3

•A power shit crawler tractor has a rated blade capacity of 7.65 Lm3. The dozer is excavating a

loose common earth and pushing it a distance of 61 m. Maximum reverse speed in third range

is 8 km/hr. Estimate the production of the dozer if the job efficiency is 50min/hr .

Given

•A power shit crawler tractor has a rated blade capacity of 7.65 Lm3

•Type of soil, common earth

•pushing it a distance = 61 m

•Maximum reverse speed in third range = 8 km/hr

•job efficiency = 50min/hr

Required

•Estimate the production of the dozer

Solution
Production = volume of lead capacity *cycle time
• Cycle time = fixed time + variable
 Fixed time = o.05min (table 4-4)

 Variable time = dozing + reverse

• Dozing speed = 4km/h (table4-5)

• Dozing time = = 0.91min

Note 1km/h =16.7min

• Return time = = 0.45min

• Cycle time = 0.05+0.91+0.45 = 1.14min

• Production = 7.65m3* = 335.5m3/h

Estimating loader production
• Loader production may be estimated as the average bucket
load multiplied by the cycle per hour equation 2.1.
• Table 4-6 presents typical values of basic cycles time for wheel
and truck loaders.
• typical travel-time curves for wheel loader are presented in
figure 4.15.
Example
• Estimate the hourly in loose volume 2.68m3 wheel loader excavating
sand and gravel (average ) materials)From a pit and moving it in to a
stockpile. The average haul distance is 61m, the effective grade is
6%, the bucket fill factor is 1.00 and job efficiency is 50min/h.
• Solution
• Bucket volume = 2.68m3
• Basic cycle time = 0.50min (table 4.6)
• Travel time = 0.30min (figure 4.15)
• Cycle time = 0.50+ 0.30 = 0.80min
• Productivity = 2.68* = 168 m3/h
Productivity of Graders
• Grader production is usually calculated on a linear basis (kilometers
completed per hour) for a road way projects and on an area basis (square
meters per hour) for general construction projects. The time required to
complete a roadway may be estimated as follows:

Time (hr) = *
Example
A 60 km gravel road requires reshaping and leveling. It is estimated
that six passes of a motor grader will be required. Based on the
operator skill, machine characteristics, and job condition, estimates
indicated two passes at 14 km/hr, two passes at 21 km/hr and two
passes at 25km/hr. If the job efficiency is 0.80, how many grader hours
will be required for this job?
Solution:
• Time (hr) = *

• Time (hr) = + + = 23hr

2.4.1 Hauling Equipments
2.4.1 Hauling Equipments

Determining the number of haul units needed

• There are some steps used to determine the
number of haul units needed, these are:
determining of equipment cycle time
 estimating the theoretical required number of
trucks and
expected production.
Estimating Equipment cycle Time
Cycle time = Fixed time + Variable time
• Fixed time represents those components of cycle time other than travel time.
 It includes spot time (moving the unit position to begin loading), load time, maneuver time, and
dump time.
• The fixed time (spot, maneuver and dump) may estimate by the use of table
4.9.
• However, load time can be calculated :

or

• Variable time represents the travel time required for a unit to haul material to
the unloading site and return.
 The number of trucks theoretically required

The expected production may be calculated by.

Example : given the following information of a
shovel/truck operation, calculate the number of
trucks theoretically required and the production
of this combination
Shovel production @ 100% efficiency = 283BCM/h
Job efficiency = 0.75
Truck capacity = 15.3BCM
Truck cycle time, excluding loading = 0.5h
 Group assignment
• Hoisting Equipments
• Compaction and Stabilization Equipments
• Pile – Driving Equipments
• CLASSIFICATION OF PUMPS
• Asphalt Mixing Plants

• Submission date:
 CHAPETR III
CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENTS MANAGMENT

• Construction Mangers are provided with

resources such as
 labor,
equipment, and
materials
• Those resources are expected to build a
facility within the allocated budget, time and
required quality.
Construction Equipment Ownership

• Equipment resources play a major role in any

construction activity and thus an access to
such resources will be vital.
• There are three basic ways of securing
construction equipments. These are:
 Buying (Direct Ownership),
Renting or
Leasing.
Direct Ownership

• Direct Ownership has the advantage of guarantying use and control of

equipment when ever demanded but requires continuity of work for it to

payback its cost because such equipments are very expensive. Beside,

their maintenance services require adequate attention.

Rental Services

• Rental Services are short term provisions of construction equipments from

• renting organizations for the purpose at hand.

• This is particularly advantageous if the job is of short duration and a

construction company do not foresees continuity of similar works.

• Companies can also use rental services for testing and selecting

construction equipments before direct ownership.

• Rental charges are higher than normal direct ownership expenses.

Besides, there could be shortage during peak work seasons.

Responsibility for maintenance is usually indicated in the rental contract.

Lease

• Lease is a long term agreement for the use of an asset.

• Lease rates are applied mainly to recover the capital costs of the

equipment for its periodic replacement plus overhead and profit if

servicing of equipment lies on the lessee partner.

Construction Equipment Cost
Generally, Equipment costs are divided into three major parts. These are:
Ownership Costs

Operation Costs

Overhead and Markup Cost

I. Ownership Costs

• Cash flows for purchase expenses salvage value (SV), Tax savings from

depreciation,

• major repair and Overhauls, Insurance, Interest and Tax Costs, and

Storage expenses for construction equipments constitute the

significant components of Ownership costs.

Construction Equipments Maintenance
• Equipment maintenance is the servicing, adjusting, and repairing of equipment.

• Proper preventive maintenance procedures and an efficient repair system will minimize equipment failures

and their consequences.

• Maintenance can be divided into several levels or categories. The categories that will be used here are

preventive maintenance, minor repair, and major repair.

Preventive Maintenance

• Preventive maintenance (sometimes referred to as PM) is routine periodic maintenance and adjustment

designed to keep equipment in the best possible operating condition.

• It consists of a number of elements that may be compared to links in a chain.

• The primary links in the PM chain are the skill of the operator, the manner in which the equipment is used,

proper fuel handling, proper equipment lubrication, and correct periodic adjustment. If any of this chain

fails, the result will be premature equipment breakdown.

Equipment Maintenance and Repair

• While the subject of specific maintenance and repair procedures is beyond the scope of this course, a

relatively recent development in this area is of interest.