If you’re planning a major construction or agricultural project, you’re going to need machines—a lot of them. Trenchers, bulldozers, and diggers are just some of the steel creatures in the bestiary that is construction equipment. That’s the benefit of equipment hire—you get the benefit of having access to these large machine without the high cost of buying them. But be warned: the world of equipment hire is one that can be fraught with bad service, hidden costs, and shoddy equipment. That’s why it’s important to be well informed on the subject. By following this guide, you’ll have the benefit of having the right tools to navigate the equipment hire process.
Know the Territory
First off, you shouldn’t consider equipment hire until you possess a deep understanding of what your project is, the location of the construction site, and the needs of your project. Doing this involves understanding your work site—its size, the steepness of the terrain, the soil type, and the type of jobs needed. Gather these facts into a list so that you fully understand the needs of your construction site. This will make the process of speaking to equipment hire companies and collecting quotes easier, as you’ll already have a strong idea of what kinds of machines you will need.
Machine Inspection
The phrase caveat emptor rings especially loudly for machine hire. Due to the whole business being about hiring out machines, the people hiring them don’t always take the best care of them, and in response, businesses don’t take the adequate measures to fix and maintain their equipment between rental periods. If you’re working with a brand new machine hiring business, we recommend doing an in-person inspection of their offerings. Bring someone along who’s an expert in construction machinery if you aren’t one yourself already so they can assist the quality of the equipment. If doing an inspection isn’t possible, see if you can find reviews or contact other people who have worked with the company. This will reveal the quality of the machines and of the business in general and whether you should trust them.
Delivery or Pick Up
Most equipment hire places will offer to deliver the equipment to you, but not all of them. Make sure to examine the service description of each of the companies you’re thinking of hiring with. You don’t want to find yourself accidentally signing a contract for equipment you have to arrange to travel and pick up yourself. Another thing to consider is the distance between yourself and the equipment hire site. If you’re choosing between two businesses, the one closest to your work site could be the cheapest due to a lower delivery cost for the trenching or equipment.
Labour Hire
When you’re doing equipment hire, especially for very specialised jobs or machines, you always run the risk of having to use machines that no one in your team knows how to use. And while there are labour services that claim to be familiar with operating a wide quantity of machines, you can only see on the day how well they manage them.
To remedy this conundrum, check if any of the equipment hire businesses also offer labour hire. While it may come at a slightly higher cost, it will have the benefit of being operated by someone who is familiar with the specific model, even the specific machine, you’re hiring.
Read the Fine Print
Once you sign on with a company, you’re going to be handed a big contract and terms of conditions, and you’re going to have to read it all before you sign. Sorry. While it may feel like an inconvenience, it’s absolutely vital that you do this. You’re going to be looking for insurance coverages, rental durations, upkeep duties, and any hidden costs. For example, some contracts might stipulate that you perform regular maintenance on your equipment, others have minimal rental periods—some might provide their own equipment maintenance services within the cost of the hire. It’s also vital that you read what charges you might incur for returning equipment late or broken.
Machine Equipment Hire Right at Your Fingertips
Congratulations! You now know the main things to watch out for when you’re scheduling your next machine hire service. If you’re based in Australia, you’ll be pleased to know that we at Sunstate Pipelines also provide excellent service hire services all over the country. We offer trenchers hire, excavators, water trucks, dozers, padders, and much, much more. We even offer labour hire for our machines, meaning you can trust our skilled workers to operate our machines in a safe and skilled manner. Talk to us and tell us about your next construction project so you can get started as soon as possible.