Plant Hire Tips

5 Types Of Civil Engineering Projects That Require Plant Hire

Civil engineering projects of all kinds require the use of plant and equipment at various points to make light work of otherwise heavy-duty tasks. By working with a reliable and trustworthy plant hire supplier, civil engineers can be assured of having the right equipment delivered to site at the right time and of being able to complete the job in hand on time and in budget.

Here we look at some of the common civil engineering groundworks projects that require plant and equipment.

Project types and plant requirements

  1. Demolition – this is required where a site features buildings or other structures that need to be removed before the new building project can begin. Small buildings can be demolished using large hydraulic equipment, such as excavators or bulldozers. Larger buildings may need to be taken apart by a wrecking ball or the more modern method of rotational hydraulic shears and silenced rock-breakers that are attached to excavators and used to cut through wood, steel, and concrete.
  2. Site clearance – a key part of any civil engineering project is to prepare the ground by removal of any walls, hedges, ditches, trees and other vegetation and services from the site. Most importantly, the surface layer of soil (topsoil) must also be removed, as it is unsuitable to build on. A range of equipment, such as excavators, breakers, loaders and dumpers, will be needed at this stage of a project to both knock down, pull up and remove obstacles, and to scrape up the topsoil and remove it from the site altogether or to take it to an area where it can be stored for later use.
  3. Building foundations – digging trenches for the footings and foundations of a new building is the next crucial phase and while some manual work will be necessary, it is widely recognised that this is safer and more efficient and cost effective when mechanical equipment is used. Most commonly this task will be performed by a digger or excavator that is suited to the size of the trench that needs to be created.
  4. Drainage and cabling – as with building foundations, trenches are required for drainage works and where cables need to be laid and so the same principles of safety and efficiency apply, making the digger or excavator a required piece of equipment. Additionally the excavator or digger can be fitted with claws or grabber accessories to move and place drain pipes and cable.
  5. Landscaping – in the same vein as site clearance, major landscaping projects require a lot of preparation at the start to get the site ready. This may involve the removal and replacement of existing turf and soil, the digging of various pathways, trenches and other features, as well as the shaping of the land itself. The variety of tasks involved in a landscaping project inevitably requires the use of a wide range of plant and equipment.

One-stop-shop solution

Operating an extensive range of plant equipment, which can be provided with qualified operators, Rabbit Group is able to supply contractors working on a variety of civil engineering projects. Our fleet consists of:

  • Self-drive diggers, mini diggers, dumpers and skip loaders
  • Excavators (micro, mini and midi-tracked 360 with 0.8 to 14 tonne capacities)
  • Dumpers (straight and swivel, with 1.5  to 6 tonne capacities)
  • Skip loaders and tracked barrows
  • Hydraulic breakers, rollers and tracked dumpers.

We also operate a fleet of 8-wheel, self-loading grab lorries, operated by qualified and experienced drivers, to make light work of removing up to 18 tonnes of waste in a single load, which ends up in our energy from waste plant.

To find out how Rabbit Group’s plant hire services could benefit your business contact us on 01903 851957 or IanBrown@rabbitgroup.co.uk .