Things To Know Before You Hire An Excavator
Posted on: 12 October 2015
If you are a newcomer to the construction business, and you've decided that buying an excavator for projects is too expensive, you can hire an excavator for your work site. So to help you navigate the process of renting this heavy piece of equipment, here are the essential things you need to know.
You Will Need Your Own Insurance -- Excavators are massive pieces of equipment that have the capability of causing damage if one of your workers loses control of the machine. That's why excavator hire companies carry their own liability insurance, but that insurance doesn't extend to paying for any damage that you cause if your workers have an accident while using the excavator. That's why you will need to buy damage insurance from a third party or from the excavator hire company itself. Damage insurance will cover any property damage that results from an accident or malfunction of the excavator, and in fact most excavator hire companies won't rent you the machine unless this coverage is in place.
You May Need To 'Rent' An Operator -- Another important thing to consider is whether you need to find an excavator hire company that provides an experienced operator who will come to your work site and either operate the excavator on your behalf, or train any of your workers who are not experienced at using an excavator. This will cost you an additional fee, but it may be worth it because you will have someone who can supervise the safe operation of the excavator, which can help prevent accident or injury.
You Don't Need A Licence -- Work safety regulations once required that all excavator operators obtain an LE licence, but that requirement is no longer in force, so you won't be asked to show any type of permit or licence when you hire an excavator. However, some excavator hire companies may ask you whether you have an experienced operator and offer one of their own operators to mitigate any potential issues with the use of the excavator.
You Must Understand What Happens If the Excavator Fails -- Before hiring the excavator, make sure you completely understand the procedures that will happen if the excavator suffers a mechanical breakdown. You may want to only deal with a hire company that offers a same-day replacement guarantee for an excavator that fails on the job, or you will lose valuable labour hours waiting until the next day.
Share