Construction & Plant Hire
Machines on hire are earning or costing. Nothing in between.
Plant hydraulics take more abuse than almost anything else we work on. Hoses get dragged over spoil, crushed by tracks, cooked next to an exhaust and pulled tight every time a boom goes to full reach.
What actually fails on site
Boom and dipper hoses lead by a distance, because they flex constantly and run where they can catch. After that it is attachment lines, particularly on machines where breakers and grabs get swapped daily and the couplings take the wear.
Track motor hoses fail less often but cost more when they do, because a machine that cannot track has to be recovered rather than driven onto a low loader.
Why plant hire has a different problem
A hire machine changes operator every few weeks. Nobody has watched that hose slowly wear through over three months, because nobody has seen the machine for three months.
That is the argument for going through machines between hires. It is a quiet hour in your yard rather than a callout to a site forty minutes away, and it catches the hoses that are visibly on their way out. See hose inspection for how that works.
Getting to you
Most of the construction work we do is around Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country, which is also where the sites are. Compounds, highway schemes and yards are all normal. If the machine is somewhere awkward, on a verge, in a basement or up a farm track, say so when you call and we will bring what that needs.
Machines we work on
- Excavators, 1.5 tonne micro up to 30 tonne
- Telehandlers and rough terrain forklifts
- Site dumpers and forward tipping dumpers
- Rollers and compaction plant
- Breakers, crushers, grabs and other attachments
- Skid steers and tracked loaders
Common questions
Can you attend a live construction site?
Yes, and it helps to know what the site expects before we arrive. Induction, permits, PPE requirements and whether plant can be isolated all affect how long the visit takes. Tell us on the phone and we will come prepared rather than sitting in the gate queue.
Do you work for hire companies as well as end users?
Both. For hire fleets the useful work is usually preventative: going through machines between hires, when a hose change costs an hour rather than a lost day and an unhappy customer.
A hired machine has a hose down. Who pays?
That is between you and the hire company and depends on your terms. What we can do is give you a clear invoice describing exactly what failed and what was fitted, which is what usually settles the argument.
Machine down? We can usually be with you the same day.
Tell us the machine, the hose and where you are. We will tell you honestly whether we can reach you and what it will cost before we set off.