What is plant equipment and what is it used for?

What is plant equipment?

Plant is the term used to describe equipment, machinery and apparatus used in industrial activities. When people refer to plant machinery, they are usually referring to heavy and large machinery used on construction sites. An example of this could be cranes, excavators and bulldozers. Construction plant equipment is most commonly used to build property, railways, roadworks and more. 

One of the primary uses of plant machinery is to move heavy parts of materials from one place to another, with different machines moving different materials. For example, a bulldozer could push earth to different parts of the site, whereas a crane could lift heavy materials up high. Without this use of plant equipment, it would be extremely difficult to get construction work done at the speed we can today. 

What is plant equipment worth? A lot. Construction plant equipment is one of the most expensive forms of machinery, with the industry bringing in a whopping £4 billion to the UK economy. Being very expensive, many businesses either buy their plant machinery second hand or hire plant machinery. You can hire plant machinery at Wasteaway.

In this blog, we will discuss what plant equipment is, what it is used for and some examples of the most common forms of plant machinery. 

What is plant equipment used for? A few examples.

Excavators– You can get many different types of excavators. To name a few, there are hydraulic, trenching machines, draglines and multi-purpose. The main use of this equipment is to excavate and load soil. Although this is their main function, they are also used to dig trenches and holes, dredge rivers and more.

Roller– This is a vehicle that can compact soil, asphalt, gravel, stone and more. Their primary use is to flatten the ground and make firm foundations, but they are also used for many other purposes. When they make the firm foundations, their aim is to make a sub-base layer, ready for the construction work to begin. There are many different types of rollers; cylinder rollers, vibratory rollers, rubber tyre rollers, tamping rollers, Padfoot rollers and more. 

Dumpers– Dumpers are used to carry bulk material, most commonly on construction sites. A dumper is usually a 4-wheeled vehicle with a loaded skip in front of the driver. The skip on the vehicle has the function to then tip and dump the materials inside, hence why it has the name ‘dumper’. There are some different types of dumpers, some including high skip dumpers, high swivel skip dumpers, heavy-duty front tip dumpers and tracked dumpers. 

Breakers– A breaker is built for breaking hard rock and concrete structures. It is designed as a percussion hammer fitted to an excavator and is powered by the auxiliary hydraulic system. Breakers are also commonly known as hammers, peckers, hoe rams or roe hammers, made popular by workers in the industry. 

Loadall– Loadalls are again, used to move construction materials around. They can function as a skid steer loader, wheel loaders and forklifts all in one. This makes the loadall perfect for most occasions. This type of machinery can be used to lift heavy loads and attach to different forms of labour-saving tools or attachments. 

Fuel tanks/bowsers– A bowser is a trailer fitted to a tank that has the ability to carry water, diesel, AdBlue, kerosene, aviation fuel or petrol. These machines will carry fuel on construction sites, but can also be used for dust suppression, flower watering, animal feeding, accommodation/welfare units, event management and agricultural applications.

Thank you for reading our blog ‘what is plant equipment and what is it used for?’. If you’re in need of construction plant machinery, you can hire our equipment here at Wasteaway.