Construction Vehicles
What are construction vehicles?
As their name implies, these are a set of specialized vehicles used for various tasks before, during, and after construction. They are also referred to as construction machinery, though this term is broader and may include machines that are not considered vehicles. To be considered a vehicle, a machine must be capable of carrying people or cargo.
What types of construction vehicles are there, and what are they used for?
According to their purpose, construction vehicles can be classified as follows:
- Hauling: These are used for loading and moving materials. These vehicles have a very high load capacity of several tons. The loading surfaces of these vehicles are designed in different ways depending on the type of material they are used for (platforms, containers, tanks for liquids, concrete mixers, etc.). The most common hauling vehicles are trucks.
- Excavation: These are used for open-pit excavations. They generally consist of the body of the vehicle plus extensions for digging. Some examples of these machines are:
For underwater excavations, a dredge is used.
- Preparing terrain: These are used for different types of tasks that allow for preparing the terrain for construction. These include motor graders and steamrollers.
- Hoisting: These are used for lifting materials or instruments in the air (like a wrecking ball, for instance) during the construction process. One example of this type of vehicle is the crane truck.
Who can operate construction vehicles?
Construction vehicles require special certifications due to their characteristics. These depend on the vehicle and the country where it is being operated; however, anyone who aspires to operate construction vehicles and machinery must have qualities such as:
- Communication and teamwork skills.
- Good coordination.
- Physical strength.
- Manual skills.
- Endurance to stay in the same position for long periods of time.
- Observational and problem-solving skills.
- Responsibility to observe all security measures.
How do you decide which vehicles are used for a construction project?
Construction vehicles are used for transporting materials and waste but also for executing specific jobs within a construction project, so they are part of a project from beginning to end. During the planning phase of a construction process, the vehicles needed to carry that project out are determined, as are the time periods and costs associated with their use.
Depending on the type of vehicle and the task performed within a project, there are different types of formulas to calculate the fuel consumption and time needed to complete the tasks of hauling, transporting, digging, and so on. If two or more machines are working together, the processes and formulas must be coordinated so that the work is carried out efficiently.
