The plant hire industry is an essential part of the success of many construction projects. Contractors benefit significantly from the opportunity to rent heavy equipment anytime, which is required for a specific job.
Since buying is often outside a company’s capital allocation, hiring is the next best thing and usually ends up as the better choice. But choosing the right plant hire company can be somewhat complicated. There are vital factors to consider in order to ensure that you are getting the best value for your investment.
1. The available fleet of equipment:
Every project has unique machinery requirements. If you have a preferred Lancashire plant hire company, you need to contact them beforehand to check the availability of the equipment you need.
Not all suppliers will have an extensive inventory of machinery for hire and allotting enough time to inquire. You will also have to rent in advance will prevent possible inconveniences associated with last-minute transactions.
In addition to adequate planning, it is also best to rent all the equipment you need from the same company so that you can prevent the inconvenience of dealing with multiple companies. Hiring from different companies may cause a shift in the quality of the equipment and that can affect productivity to a lot extent.
2. Project location and delivery time:
Construction projects are time sensitive and dealing with a rental company that causes you to delay is the last thing you will want to deal with. Hiring locally is typically the better option, but if not possible, look for a company with a good reputation concerning delivery time.
Sometimes, the delivery time is extended which causes a huge loss to the workers and the owner. Hence it is only viable that you hire locally to avoid such embarrassment.
3. Age and maintenance of machinery:
The ideal situation is to look for a company that rents out a relatively new plant. You will need to enquire and inspect first hand if the equipment is well-maintained. If the company keeps a record of their maintenance schedule, ask about parts replacements and when the last repair was conducted. The age of the machine determines the time the project will take to finish, so you can level with the time if you put a little extra cost for new equipment or well-maintained machinery.
Specifications also differ depending on the make and model of the machine. Newer equipment will cost more, so it is best to check whether features like GPS or UTS are necessary or not.
4. Wet or dry hire:
Wet hire means the rental company provides the operator for the machine, which will likely cost more than dry hire. However, there are instances when the contractor does not have experienced employees that can operate complicated pieces of machinery.
You also need to compare the cost and convenience of hiring operators only for a specific project and allowing the rental company to include an operator as part of the rental terms.
5. Rental terms:
Rental terms vary from one company to another which is why it is essential to look at every detail of the contract before you sign on the dotted line. Rental companies will require a certain level of upkeep and maintenance while the equipment is in your custody. You also need to check the extent of your responsibility in case the machine gets damaged.
In case there is downtime, check with the rental company if they have dedicated support, technicians, and engineers they can deploy to the project site to help in fixing problems and ensuring that the machine is up and running in no time. Always look for companies which are also equipped with digital facilities. It is so that you can contact them anytime.
