The backhoe loader is one of the most common pieces of heavy equipment on any size job site. The fact that it features two useful tools in one machine makes the backhoe loader a must-have for all kinds of construction and repair projects.

The standard backhoe consists of a diesel-powered, four-wheeled vehicle with the operator’s cab in the middle and a tool on each end. On the front, it has a loader: a wide bucket on dual arms that is used to either pick up loose piles of material or to push dirt back into a hole when a job is finished. The rear end has a backhoe — a hydraulic-powered digging scoop on a three-jointed arm, designed to dig through hard earth. The operator needs only to turn around in his seat to switch from digging a hole to filling it back up.

Digging and refilling holes and trenches is commonly required for all kinds of construction, utility work, and landscaping. The ability to exchange the backhoe or loader bucket for a different attachment gives you even more flexibility: crushers, retractable-bottom buckets, grinders, and other tools can handle a variety of other tasks. The combination of power, relatively small size, two common tools, and flexibility makes backhoe loaders extremely useful for contractors and construction firms of many types.

This BuyerZone Backhoe Loaders Buyer’s Guide will explain what you should look for when choosing a backhoe loader, what features to expect, and how much you can expect to pay.

Part of backhoe loaders’ popularity is based on the fact that they fall in the middle of a range of digging and loading equipment, bringing more power than compact machines without the expense of full-sized excavators. You should consider whether a backhoe loader is the right choice for the bulk of your digging and earthmoving needs.

For smaller jobs and increased flexibility, the combination of a skid steer loader with a standard bucket and a mini excavator can sometimes work faster than a backhoe loader. It can be cheaper to buy the two smaller machines than one backhoe loader, but you’ll need an operator for each one and you’ll have more transportation and maintenance hassles. These mini machines are most valuable in very crowded conditions, and recent trends have many contractors replacing at least one backhoe with a mini excavator.

For high-end digging power, full sized excavators are the best choice. These massive tracked machines are only worthwhile if your application calls for ongoing digging: building foundations, for example. However, their size makes them less useful on cramped construction sites.

Backhoe loaders fill a very important middle ground, where having an excavator and loading bucket on one relatively compact machine is essential. They’re also much better at moving around large job sites or between sites — you can drive a backhoe on the road if need be, while excavators and skid steers have to be moved on trailers.

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Travelers Inland and its Risk Control unit announce that it has developed an innovative initiative with Celevoke, Inc. that will allow Travelers customers the ability to purchase Celevoke’s LunarEYE Wireless Asset Tracking and Control systems at a discount. Recognizing that stolen equipment causes costly delays and increased losses, Travelers Inland is pleased to be working with Celevoke to help reduce the likelihood and severity of losses for Travelers’ insureds. Increased security measures, such as asset tracking, protect the insureds’ significant investment in construction and other heavy equipment key to their operations.Additionally, Celevoke will develop a secure Website that will allow Travelers’ insureds to track, monitor and manage the equipment outfitted with Celevoke’s proprietary GPS devices on a daily basis. In the event of a theft, the ability to track equipment can lead to quick recovery.

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Thanks to recent equipment changes, Garth Mulroy opened with a 5-under 67 Thursday to take a one-shot lead at the $625,000 South Georgia Classic presented by First State Bank and Trust Co., the ninth of 30 official events on the Nationwide Tour.Hunter Haas, Ben Bates, Bryan DeCorso and Chris Nallen all fired 4-under 68s to sit just one shot behind Mulroy, while David Miller and Vance Veazey are two shots off the pace.

Playing with the same set of irons he used during the 2007 season — the set that helped him finish a career-best third at the Albertsons Boise Open — Mulroy turned in a nearly flawless round on Thursday. He posted a stellar 4-under 32 on the front nine and stood at 6 under through 15 holes before his only bogey of the day at the par-4 16th hole.

“I put in new clubs (this year) and they haven’t felt good,” said Mulroy. “I’ve been messing around with different sets of irons the last month or two and I haven’t been playing very well. Last week I switched back to the irons I used last year and I’m starting to hit it a little better now.”

The opening three holes were crucial to Mulroy’s successful day. He calmly drained a 12-foot par putt on the opening hole to ensure his day got off on the right foot. A 10-foot birdie putt on the par-5 second hole was followed by the shot of the day on the par-4 third hole with a 5-iron to just 12 inches from the hole.

“I got off to a nice start with a 12-foot par putt on the first hole,” said Mulroy. “Making that putt gave me a lot of confidence. Then the birdie on the third hole really got me going.”

Mulroy, a 29-year-old native of Durban, South Africa, began the season with high hopes after finishing No. 35 on the 2007 Nationwide Tour money list and recording nine top-25 finishes. But the season has been rocky for the former North Carolina State University standout — evidenced by four made cuts in seven starts and just one top-20 finish (tied for 11th place at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open).

“My season has not been good,” said Mulroy, who won 12 tournaments on the Tar Heel Tour and Triangle Tour in 2002-03. “I just want to play well again. It hasn’t been fun out here. I’ve been miserable.”

In addition to the recent iron switch, perhaps Mulroy’s misery will be a thing of the past due to a putter switch. After arriving at the Kinderlou Forest Golf Club with as many as five putters in his bag earlier this week — a collection of regular, belly and long putters — Mulroy eventually chose a long version in his attempt to conquer the Davis Love-designed undulating greens.

“I haven’t used the long putter since last year but I put it in the bag this week and it was obviously a good decision on my part,” said Mulroy. “I feel more comfortable with it because it helps me stand much taller. I think I see the line better with this one.”

Mulroy used the same putter the latter half of the 2007 season until it turned balky at the Final Stage of q-school, resulting in a mid-tournament switch to the belly putter (he went on to finish 9 under the final two days of the six-day event) that was used to start the 2008 campaign. This season has seen him alternate between a belly putter and a short putter, before switching to the long putter in Valdosta.

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With ConstructionEquipmentBay.com, you not only increase your reliability but you become famous in your area and across the continent which would help you to have a stronger hold on the sales market and even if you are planning to buy something for your business, there are online representatives on our site which would help you solve your doubts or any queries regarding the prospective buys of yours. The site has an easy layout which would help you to browse through it easily and smoothly without any tensions. Now no matter how much computer literate you are or even if you don’t have any computer knowledge just register with us and our self explanatory site would guide you to the right direction. There are quick search options which would help you browse the truck of your choice through different categories, just type the name or style or year for which you are looking the model and hit enter and you would be amazed to see the vast list of trucks, or trailers or equipments flashed in front of your screen.

Get into the world of amazing machinery where you would find unlimited machineries, equipments and related accessories best suited for your business. The number of dealers joining us are increasing day in and day out, now you can also join us by registering with us absolutely free of cost and listing your trucks all for free. Now increase the number of clients and make new contacts and grow your business by selling or buying various machineries and equipments and get the best deals available in the market today.

We are a huge resource helping our members to get nothing but the best for their businesses or for the sellers to get the best prices in the market for their vehicle. There are n numbers of sites over internet offering you each individual approach to browse but we are unique and would not let you down in any case. Our main aim is to be helpful to our clients in each and every possible way. There are various types of searches you can make to get the results of your choice. The various categories include, Asphalt Equipment, Dozer, Excavator, Dumper, Crawler Loader, Compaction Equipment, Air Compressor, Aggregate Equipment, Paving Equipment, Forestry Equipment, etc. Big brands are joining us each day with some of them being the leading names in the manufacture of equipments, the names are Bobcat Equipment, JCB Equipment, Grove Equipment, New Holland Equipment, Case Equipment, Komatsu Equipment, Volvo Equipment, etc.

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The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) is among the industry groups opposing a proposed IRS regulation that would extend highway excise vehicle taxes to off-road machinery.

The Chicago based group has joined with the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA) to file joint comments and to give testimony in Washington opposing the regulation.

The excise tax proposal would subject machinery- including mobile cranes, aerial lift trucks and perhaps mobile crushers-to motor vehicle taxes on fuel and tires, as well as other annual taxes. This equipment was previously exempt as it does not technically travel on highways unless mounted on a trailer.

The two groups argue that, unlike commercial highway vehicles that carry goods and passengers, mobile machinery vehicles are not productive when traveling on highways. Thus, while the operators of commercial highway vehicles attempt to ensure that their vehicles spend as much of their time as possible on the highway, the operators of mobile machinery vehicles try to maximize their productivity by maximizing their time at job sites. For such vehicles, highway time is nonproductive time, and they do not derive the same benefit from the public highways as taxable highway vehicles do.

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Conmex, the Middle East’s first exclusive trade exhibition for construction machinery, equipment, and vehicles, was inaugurated at Expo Centre Sharjah on November 25, 2006, by H.E. Sheikh Essam Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Ruler’s Office.

Present at the inauguration ceremony were Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Al Midfa, Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Mr. Saif Al Midfa, Director General of Expo Centre Sharjah, and officials of various government departments, and members of the diplomatic corps and trade associations.

The four-day exhibition, organized by Expo Centre Sharjah with the support of SCCI, is displaying the entire range of construction related machinery, equipment, and vehicles used in the construction process including plant and machinery, commercial vehicles, lifting and conveying equipment, construction equipment, tools and special systems, formwork and scaffolding, construction site facilities, spare parts and accessories, communication and navigation equipment, and safety equipment.

‘The Middle East region is currently experiencing a frenzy in construction activities, resulting in a huge consequent demand for related machinery, equipment, and vehicles,’ said Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Al Midfa, after the inauguration ceremony.

‘Despite the high demand, the region lacks a dedicated one-stop platform that can claim to be exclusively catering to the demand for this category of products from the construction industry. Conmex, with its very focused exhibit profile, will fill that void,’ he added.

The debut edition of Conmex is hosting over 250 brands and companies from 21 countries. Among the major international brands that are being represented at the event are COPMA, Caterpillar, Hyundai, Sennebogen, Kobelco, Liebherr, Potain, Alimak, Dynapac, Atlas Copco, Stetter, Sandvik, Vogele, Snowkey, Sany, Raimondi, Eicher, CGR, RKF, Scania, Daewoo, Hyster, Bobcat, Grove, Konecranes, Soilmec, Terex, and Belle.

Though just in its first edition, Conmex is occupying a massive exhibition space of 16,000 sq. m. including both indoor and outdoor display area.

The outdoor exhibition area is mainly being utilized for showcasing medium to heavy machinery and vehicles. It is for the first time that a construction industry trade event in the region is utilizing such a massive indoor and outdoor display area for exhibition purpose.

‘The Middle East construction industry is currently experiencing an unprecedented boom and in the process attracting astronomical investments,’ said Mr. Saif Al Midfa.

‘The demand for equipment, machinery, and vehicles, has shot up significantly in the last few years as a result of the heightened activities in the construction sector. Given the robust economies of the region, there is no indication that there will be any let up in the Middle East real estate and construction growth in the near future. The demand for construction related machinery, equipment, and vehicles will therefore further shoot up. Conmex is fully geared to meet the growing demands of the region’s construction sector,’ he added.

The impact of the region’s booming construction sector on the demand for related machinery and equipment can be gauged from the fact that in Dubai alone over 30,000 towering cranes are in operation. As per statistics available, there are 125,000 tower cranes operating worldwide. At present, the annual market demand just for used machinery in the Middle East is valued at over Dhs. 5 billion.

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For decades, one main safety issue that transportation company executives had to manage was the number of hours a driver spent behind the wheel. After laws were enacted in 2004 mandating that truckers have at least 10 hours of consecutive off-duty time before they qualify for a new work period, it was presumed that these sleep breaks would result in awake and alert drivers. But in recent years, sedentary lifestyle and increased obesity in this workforce has contributed to a growing epidemic of chronic drowsiness and fatigue.

In a recent study published in Sleep Diagnosis and Therapy (April - May 2007), the authors found that as many as 50 percent of transportation workers studied had undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a potentially life-threatening breathing-related sleep disorder that often goes undiagnosed and untreated. The study findings were accompanied by a second article that analyzed the legal ramification of OSA in the transportation industry. The legal article emphasizes the responsibility drivers now have to ensure they are fit for duty to be socially responsible, avoid tort liability, and possibly even jail time, if they cause an accident. It also identifies steps that employers and clinicians can take to reduce the likelihood of paying punitive damages if a driver has an accident due to OSA.

“Parties in the trucking industry have not paid sufficient attention to the risk of undiagnosed OSA,” stated Donald L. Carper, a professor emeritus in the College of Business at California State University, Sacramento and co-author of the study. “Drivers, their employers and clinicians all have potential legal exposure resulting from undiagnosed OSA. The overall awareness of OSA, its seriousness and attendant risks has reached the point that ignoring this problem will undoubtedly carry a high price in the future.”

The prevalence of undiagnosed OSA has increased within the transportation industry. During the past twelve years, studies have shown significant awareness of OSA within the trucking industry — from employers and employees. This recent study, conducted by Advanced Brain Monitoring, found no significant differences in the prevalence of undiagnosed OSA among pre-hires or transportation managers. Results in both groups were similar to those obtained by researchers at Stanford University during the 1990s. The research suggests the high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea, combined with an increasingly older and heavier commercial driver population, requires specific and actionable steps to preserve the safety of the US motoring public.

“When it comes to responsible motoring, there is more at stake then just the truck driver’s license,” says Dr. Philip Westbrook, past-president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Chief Medical Officer of ABM. “The simple truth is OSA is a relatively easy and inexpensive disease to diagnose and effectively treat. Immediate cost savings are recognized a result of improved driver health, more than enough to cover the cost for diagnosis and treatment within six months. Doing nothing is the only inappropriate action given our knowledge of how many undiagnosed OSA drivers are on the road and the increased accident risk they pose.”

Apnea Risk Evaluation System (ARES(TM)) Technology

ABM has developed significant and cost-effective technologies to assist the transportation industry address this potential OSA epidemic. The company has developed and validated the ARES Screener, a questionnaire and statistical analysis that provides an inexpensive and accurate means to identify drivers with the likelihood of having mild, moderate or severe OSA. Specifically:

–For those at-risk of OSA, the ARES Unicorder is worn in the home during sleep to obtain the information necessary for a physician to diagnose OSA. The ARES can be conveniently self applied and worn while the driver is sleeping even in the cabin of a truck. It has been validated in the largest study ever conducted which compared the accuracy of in- home vs. laboratory sleep studies. –ABM has launched a web-based initiative targeted to the needs of the transportation industry. Drivers can complete the ARES questionnaire on-line to determine if they are at risk for OSA and order an ARES sleep study. Study results can be made available online for download by the driver’s primary care, occupational medicine, or sleep medicine physician. –The ARES can identify drivers likely to be successfully treated with oral appliances, an alternative to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment. “Loud snoring during sleep combined with daytime drowsiness is an indicator of those who may have undiagnosed OSA,” stated Dr. Westbrook. “Research suggests that anyone suffering from hypertension, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, or depression should have a sleep study to determine if they have undiagnosed OSA.”

The Arguments for Immediate and Widespread OSA Diagnosis and Treatment is Overwhelming

In the commentary, the authors suggest that recent developments have changed the potential legal landscape for those involved in the transportation industry. Specifically:

–Evidence indicates that commercial drivers suffer from a disproportionately higher prevalence of OSA than is currently being diagnosed or recognized. –A Joint Task Force which included representatives from the American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the National Sleep Foundation made recommendations that placed drivers, employers and physicians on notice about this problem and proposed specific steps that should be taken to reduce preventable accidents attributed to OSA. –Schneider National, a national trucking concern based in Wisconsin, recently reported that treating drivers for OSA provides health care savings that more than covers the cost of implementing a program. –Inexpensive, accurate and convenient methods to diagnose OSA are now available. –Treatment options exist that can reduce the debilitating symptoms associated with OSA. –Existing case law exists to frame an argument for punitive damages for employers and physicians and criminal convictions for employees if OSA problems are ignored or hidden resulting in truck collisions causing death or other serious harm.. A complete copy of the published articles, “Assessment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Risk and Severity in Truck Drivers: Validation of a Screening Questionnaire” and “Assessment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Risk and Severity in Truck Drivers: Commentary on the Legal Implications for Ignoring a National Safety Concern,” are available at http://www.b-alert.com.

About Advanced Brain Monitoring

Advanced Brain Monitoring markets patented instrument systems that combine laboratory-level accuracy with the portability, ease of use, and low cost of consumer electronics. These systems can be used to diagnose sleep and neurological disease, and to assess alertness, memory, and other cognitive states. Our expertise is in the design and integration of novel sensors and miniature hardware, and the development of automated algorithms for signal analysis. Advanced Brain Monitoring has been awarded over 30 grants or contracts totaling over $14.2 million from the National Institute of Health, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and Office of Naval Research.

About ARES

The ARES, winner of the Frost and Sullivan’s 2006 Product Innovative Award, is convenient and easy to use, allowing patients to be studied in the comfort of their home. The cost of an ARES study is half of that of a laboratory sleep study.

The ARES was recognized by the Institute of Medicine, a component of the National Academy of Sciences, as a technology capable of expanding the adoption of portable monitoring for OSA.

The ARES was recently selected by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and six other components of the National Institute of Health (NIH) for the Hispanic Community Health Study. As many as 16,000 participants will be enrolled in a study designed to identify the prevalence and risk factors for a wide variety of diseases, disorders and conditions, including obstructive sleep apnea.

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Present day industrial scenario, heavy industrial machinery is an important part of time and cost efficient construction. Industrial and heavy machines such as hydraulic cranes, earthmovers, generators, construction equipment, oilfields pieces, transport and other related accessories are very important in constructing big structures. These enable various construction companies and organizations to complete their targeted task in an easy way. These heavy machines help in reducing the manual labor and also the risk factor, that is usually a constant worry. It becomes very important to check the latest arrivals in order to meet the industrial needs. Well, if you are an industrial organization looking for genuine industry equipments and spares, Heavykit is the best online store that provides quality industrial tools and machinery in order to make your work easy. Heavykit offers some highly sophisticated and advanced machinery. It is the seller and buyer of quality industrial items and accessories such as hydraulic cranes, foundries and mills, iron and steel scraps, high capacity compressors and generators, welding equipments, marine equipments such as ships, tug boats, drills, rigs, diving bells, oilfield pieces and barges. However, due to the high level wear and tear in industrial equipments, it is very important that the machinery is provided quality and genuine spare parts that will add durability and aid proper functioning. Therefore, in order to provide you with genuine spare parts, Heavykit offers genuine accessories for heavy industrial equipments so that your work continues efficiently and continuously. Heavykit is committed to provide you with the best and high quality industrial machinery. All care is taken to provide the quality industrial equipments and accessories.

Heavykit offers both new and used machines that will provide you an affordable means of working on your projects. Heavykit provides a common platform to all buyers and sellers where customers can choose the best and most useful equipments from among a variety of industrial items which is usually impossible for many clients. As Heavykit provides all equipments under one roof, you can check all the wares in a relaxed way. This will help you in finding all the industrial parts and accessories. Heavykit is also a medium through which various heavy industrial goods manufacturers showcase their products. Both buyers and sellers get a chance to interact among each other. This ensures continuity of smooth and effective completion of industrial projects. Given the importance of heavy machinery, it is becomes an indispensable part of the completion of work. These are durable and heavy-duty machines that make work a lot more easy and manageable.

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What are earth movers? Are they considered heavy machinery?

‘Earth mover’ is a bit of a misleading term as it has come to encompass any heavy machine that is used in construction, engineering and agricultural projects, from mining and excavating to bulldozing, farming and combat engineering.

Specially designed for construction and engineering tasks, earth movers are also called engineering vehicles and construction equipment, specific terms that fall under the broader category of heavy machinery.

What are some examples of heavy machines that are earth movers?

There are many examples of heavy machinery, or earth movers; all you have to do is look at a construction site and you’ll see various types of heavy machines, though you won’t necessarily know their names. Well known types of earth movers include: backhoes, bulldozers, cranes, skid-loaders, forklifts, tractor and combat engineering vehicles like tanks.

Less well-known heavy machines are excavators, scrapers, pavers, front loaders, feller bunchers, rotary tillers, drag line excavators, forwarders, harvesters, drilling machines, skidders, road rollers or roller-compactors, graders and more. The list of heavy machines and earth movers could go on, but you get a general idea of the types of engineering vehicles referred to as ‘earth movers.’

What tools do they use, if any?

Earth movers use a number of attachments and tools to make the operator’s job easier. These tools range from special attachments for knocking down buildings to shovels, tracks and wheels.

Specific tools used by heavy machinery like the earth movers mentioned above include blades, buckets, backhoes, jackhammers, hydraulics, tracks, wheels and other specific attachments that allow the heavy machines to do their jobs quicker and more efficiently.

What are earth movers and other heavy machines used for?

They are used for a number of applications, from agriculture and farming to drilling and mining. Specific areas of use include civil engineering, combat engineering, construction, earthworks, excavations, mining, waste and forestry.

Who makes heavy machines and earth movers?

A number of manufacturers and companies make heavy machines like earth movers, from the well known Deere & Co. to Caterpillar and Bobcat. Some major players in the field of heavy machinery manufacturing include JCB, Komatsu, CASE, Ingersoll Rand, Hitachi, Atlas, Daewoo, Volvo, Demag, Koering, Pierce Pacific, Poclain, Skaggit, Kubota, The Liebherr Group, O &K, Terex, Timberjack and Madill. Many others exist as well, and the heavy machine engineering industry continues to boom throughout the US and the rest of the world.

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Those who have never forgotten a childhood dream of operating heavy equipment for a living can make that dream a reality with accredited heavy equipment training. There are lots of great schools across the U.S. and Canada that can teach you everything you need to know to operate bulldozers, cranes, dump trucks, wheel loaders, excavators, and much more.

All across Northern America, there are thousands of constructions sites in need of well-trained, certified operators. In as little as 4-8 weeks, you could gain training in heavy equipment operation that will give you the confidence to work as a respected member of a heavy construction team. Generally, these courses will cover topics such as inspection and safety, electrical systems, controls, math, blueprint reading, map reading, demolition, land clearing, landscaping, quarry operations, mining, and safety.

Of course, the main goal is to teach you to safely operate, maintain, and perform basic repairs on heavy equipment such as backhoes, front-end loaders, and skid steer loaders. You will learn how to use construction-related machinery for demolishing older buildings, digging ditches, laying pipes, creating architectural landscaping. You could work with a team to build bridges, roads and highways.

This type of training is readily available through trade schools, vocational schools and community colleges. But, before enrolling in any school, make sure your choice of schools is accredited by the National Center of Construction Education and Research (NCCER). This will ensure that your training in operating heavy equipment will be comprehensive and well-regarded by future employers.

Upon graduation, you should receive a professional certificate or a technical diploma. This credential will allow you to apply for a commercial drivers license (CDL), a requisite for all heavy equipment operators. You should be able to count on your school to help you find a good position and get started on an exciting, respected career.

If you would like to learn more about training in an operation, why not start today? Submit a request to a few top schools on our website and get the information you need to make a good, solid decision for the future.

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