Construction plant can be high cost and often may require specialist machinery and services. Groundwork specialist and YouTuber Dave Vickers gives some pointers on when to buy and when to hire.
Getting the right tools and plant, on time, in good working condition and at the right price is critical – it can keep you on schedule or severely put you behind. Sometimes specialist one-off tools might be a necessity, and some parts of the build schedule are heavier on equipment than others. Groundworks are notoriously the big unknown – until you dig you don’t know what’s needed; bigger excavators, piling, under-pinning. Site survey equipment with the latest technology is essential.
Housebuilders are one of the largest consumers of plant and tool hire and rely on local and national plant hire companies. Larger plant is overall cheaper to hire-in for specific jobs and short-term hires. It’s when a housebuilder looks at multiple job sites and continuously uses kit that the investment equation kicks in and it’s worth buying.
Hiring has massive benefits. It’s always good to work closely with local hirers to get that partnership on which you can rely. They will introduce you to new equipment and tools to try, they
can source specialist tools, always use their expertise. Another benefit is that you can try a machine out first.
On any typical housebuilding project certain equipment is only ever worth hiring. It’s infrequently used e.g. different sized shoring trench panels. For onsite health and safety, from noise reduction to dust control tools your local hire companies will always help. With the latest push for emission-free electric vehicles, hire fleets offer choice.
Investing in plant is always a big decision for any business. But having a core fleet can make economic sense. We have just decided to commit to investing in 13 tonne Takeuchi and Hitachi excavators, 6-9 tonne Thwaites dumpers, and ride-on Bomag rollers. We can see at least two years work ahead of us so scaling up is the next natural step.
When buying construction plant there are specialist finance firms geared to help with plenty of choices so shop around. They are familiar with leading construction brands and offer alternatives, such as lease, HP or lease-buy. Residual value on any investment can be key; what you can trade in a machine for in three to five years makes a big difference. There is always a ready-used equipment market and that sometimes might be the place to start when asset buying.
We started with smaller miniexcavators, dumpers and rollers; hiring in larger plant when needed. The moment we started hiring for longer periods, we made the move into purchasing equipment. Buying the best brands was key for reliability and residual value, and to reduce downtime on site with breakdowns. You really do get what you pay for.
Having won Operator of the Year in 2021, I champion good practice onsite, and am also keen to highlight the benefit of plant training for machine operators onsite. CPCS cards and NPORS cards both offer excellent training on plant and construction courses.
Good operators save time and money. Operators with plant maintenance knowledge always help when something won’t work and help your own plant and tools keep their value.
Groundworks can be potentially the largest cost and where the biggest pitfalls are in any housebuilding project. They can take up to 30% of the budget – more when unforeseen problems arise. Getting groundworks right is therefore key.
An excavator is often the first and last piece of kit onsite doing everything from early footings and groundwork, utilities infrastructure, access roads to precision grading and finishing for external works and landscaped gardens.
My favourite plant item is a 9-tonne excavator – remember machine power is also required for tracking and grading. Grading is often regarded as one of the key skills for groundworks and having a machine that can give a consistent flat finish is essential on housebuilding sites.
For larger (50-units+) plots, a wheeled excavator or backhoe provides real versatility. At the smaller end, the classic 1.6 tonne mini-digger is the most well-used and worth investing in. Very popular with housebuilders and utilities, it remains the most popular weight class.
Dave Vickers is a director at Clickers Construction and runs the Digging With Dave YouTube channel