What You Should Know About Theft of Construction Equipment

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People often think that it’s basically impossible for construction equipment to be stolen, since it would be pretty noticeable if someone started driving a crane down the street. But, many construction equipment thefts are easy to conduct for quite a few different reasons. It’s actually really easy to get away with, and has become commonplace in countries such as the US, Canada, Japan and Europe. People should, therefore, be made aware of such thefts going on in their areas.

Because construction equipment doesn’t come with doors or locks, they are easy for burglars to break into. Thieves feel that hi-jacking construction vehicles is a piece of cake compared to most other types of vehicles. And people won’t be able to tell if the equipment being driven is being operated by a thief or construction worker. Most people wouldn’t recognize a piece of construction equipment if it was camouflaged somehow.

Thieves find it beneficial to steal this kind of equipment because it can command a high price on the black market. Forklifts alone can fetch a price of $12,000 to $50,000, and thieves could sell a generator for $150,00 a pop. Because constructions sites often have lots of these kinds of equipment, it’s easy money for clever thieves. Criminals are very fond of stealing construction vehicles for these reasons, not to mention the fact that most construction sites are unsecured and the vehicles are left out in the open with no protection.

The problem has become too severe to be ignored any longer. According to statisticians in Japan, roughly 450 pieces of construction equipment was stolen in 2008 alone. While in the united states, the National Insurance Crime Bureau found that nearly a billion dollars in construction equipment is stolen and sold each year on the black market.

To date, numerous government agencies and manufacturers of construction equipment have tried their best to prevent this theft from continuing. In the UK, construction equipment registration systems make it easier for the police and the companies who own the equipment to recover their stolen goods.

The Importance Of Construction Quality Control To Avoid A Bad Home Builder

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In any project or endeavor, whether it is for business or for personal reasons, quality of work, product or materials is a very important aspect that will give you the assurance of getting the best results. This is true even on a home renovation or home remodeling project, whether your project is located in Boston, Massachusetts or somewhere else like Alaska or Hawaii, and applying good quality control can help you avoid a bad home builder.

A bad home builder will not only ruin a perfectly great project concept or idea, but he could also ruin existing structures and furnishings as well particularly if the home remodeling job or work is being built around a previous construction. This could spell irreparable damage or defacement in your home that would not only cause additional cost for the homeowners but it would also cause considerable inconvenience on their part.

The only way to avoid such a predicament is to implement good construction quality control before, during and after the home remodeling project. According to custom-building experts from Divisions Unlimited Incorporated, a good home builder should take his work as a vocation and would go out of their way or even take the extra mile just to provide excellent and high-quality work and results for their clientele.

A Homeowner’s Woes with a Bad Home Builder

According to consumer reports as far back as 2004, 15 percent of new homes that were built during that period where discovered to have at least two major construction flaws or defects. Translate that to the total number of homes built, the figures would amount to approximately 150 thousand homes that have serious defects of some kind. In other reports, home inspectors have confirmed that at least 85 percent of complaints lodged by homeowners where confirmed as legitimate quality concerns.

These figures reflect bad home builders that are either incompetent with their line of work or those who are trying to defraud their customers. In some cases, the home builder hired for a particular work like a bathroom remodeling or a kitchen remodeling project is competent and provides good quality work. However, he may have hired a subcontractor to do additional work for him or work that he is not totally familiar with, and the subcontractor provided a sub-par work. Hiring a subcontractor is allowable however the main contractor should be responsible for the work of the people he hires.

Understanding Construction Quality Control

A good home builder does not take any shortcuts in his work, except in making it more productive without sacrificing any quality. A good contractor takes full responsibility with their work and would replace any item or section that is damaged from his work. This should also hold true if the contractor made a mistake and would have to rework. It is for this reason why general contractors have a general liability insurance policy.

In home renovation or home remodeling, work by new contractors would be done over or within a completed job performed by another home builder. In this case, the contractor should implement construction quality control practices that would ensure that no damage to existing goods, fixtures and surfaces would be incurred. Blemishes or damages to existing items are totally unacceptable and the home builder should be totally liable for these damages.

As in everything else, communication is the key and this also applies to maintaining good construction quality control. The homeowner and the home builder should agree on the quality standard that is expected of the project before commencing so everything would in black and white to avoid any disagreements later on.

Steel And Pipe Used For Anything From Cars To Construction

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There are probably as many different Stainless steel pipe products on offer in the market as there are different uses for them – and with steel used in almost anything from construction to packaging, it’s hard to keep track of all the different types.

While steel manufacturers have different specs for steel and pipe on offer, there are some broad categorizations to help users make informed decisions.

Firstly, all steel and pipe are alloys in which iron is mixed with carbon and other elements. Steels are therefore described as mild, medium- or high-carbon steels, depending on the percentage carbon they contain. The higher the carbon content, the harder the steel will be.

Metals such as nickel and chromium can also be added to produce alloy steels, for example stainless steel, which is used in high-end, quality steel products. Galvanized steel is coated with zinc to prevent corrosion, for example for the use of roof sheeting.

Galvanized pipe is also mainly used in construction, while corrugated steel pipes will be used more often for drainage, sewer and transportation. Seamless pipe, made from high-quality steel, is used for steam boilers and pipelines.

Steel products can be divided into two groups – flat and long products. Flat steel is used in the manufacture of cars, electrical products, sheeting, coils and pipes. Long products, on the other hand, are mainly used in construction.

Steel and pipe buyers will also come across the terms hot rolled and cold rolled steel. This refers to the heat treatment given during the production process, and has an impact on the qualities of the product. Cold rolled products are normally harder and more brittle, while hot rolled steel and pipe will be softer.

In addition to the different qualities of steel and seamless pipe products, they are also available in a wide variety of different sizes and thicknesses.

Requirements Of Structural Steel Detailing Shop Drawings In Construction Industry

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Structural steel detailing can be defined as a process for producing detailed drawings for builders, contractors and steel fabricators. These drawings cover detailed plans, documents and related information. Structural steel detailing dealing with shop drawings are used to determine the requirements for manufacturing each steel member and are mainly used by steel fabricators to manufacture these members.

Structural steel detailing usually has information on specifications, dimensions, sizes, materials needed and other similar information. Steel detailing drawing requires skills in drafting, logic, reasoning, spatial visualization and communication. A basic knowledge of general engineering principles and the methods of structural and steel fabrication are essential to the practice of this discipline. A computer-aided detailer also requires skills in using computers and an understanding of the specific CAD software he has to use.

Structural steel detailing is a specialized process and requires expert professionals to implementation. Structural steel detailers are the right option to go for steel detailing. They are skilled engineers and have depth knowledge of steel detailing concepts. It is definitely wise to use steel detailing in construction projects and steel detailers can explore the maximum from it.

Structural detailing requires input from expert engineers, architects and general contractors if it is to be successful. A good steel detailer is expected to work closely with a wide range of professionals so that they can provide his client with a superior product. At the present time structural drawing process is not only limited for building construction but it is widely used in tunnels, ships, aircrafts and mines construction. This thing increases its importance in development of any kind of structure.

Detailed structure is usually treated with two types of drawings, assembly drawings and shop drawings. Assembly drawings are used by steel manufacturers to determine the type and location of the steel components. They often contain very detailed information on all processes involved in the presentation of the steel members.

Please visit http://www.structuraldesigningindia.com for more information.

Construction phase health and safety

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In the construction industry, the health and safety of the workers is really important because they are the instruments needed to complete construction projects. Implementing a construction phase health and safety plan is one way to ensure that you create a safe working environment for full and part time employees, trainees and even clients, neighbours and other members of the public.

As far as main contractors are concerned, there are 3 actions that they must carry out by law. These actions are project management, contractor appointment and personnel appointment. Under project management, the contractor will need to plan, manage and supervise each construction phase in order to ensure that it is performed safely and the worker’s health is not at risk. Under the contractor appointment, this involves providing directions and information and at the same time monitoring coordination and cooperation between contractors. Personnel appointment entails ensuring that the labour force is being informed, trained, inducted and consulted on the company’s construction phase health and Safety plan.

There are a lot of advantages that can be gotten from taking care of your workers’ health and safety. If your workers are happy, their innovation and productivity will triple! You will also be able to tackle the nuisance of absenteeism as well. By simply implementing and enforcing a construction phase health and safety plan, you will be able to keep your staff safer and also prevent project delays and compensation claims.

A company’s workplace healthy and safety program must be well planned and also documented. It is mandated by law to create a site safety plan prior to commencing work for high risk projects in the construction industry. A lot of successful companies have proven many times that focusing on work place health and safety increases productivity by a considerable amount. It is important to know that those who took short cuts in enforcing construction phase health and safety plan compromise the safety and health of their workers.

It is can never be overemphasized that THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO SHORT CUT in safety and health! This is because safety and health in the work environment is governed by regulation and laws in every state in Australia and territory. Those who violate safety laws will pay colossal fines. Employers have to be able to guarantee their workers’ health and Safety on the job.

No employer can actually boast of being able to control a lot of things that go wrong in the world. But they can control how they run their own businesses and ensuring that they implement a construction phase health and safety plan which is one way to ensure that they lower the company’s expenses.