Dos and Don'ts of Equipment Hire for a Small Business
Owning a small construction business can be challenging when you are trying to juggle a budget for projects, marketing, and making sure that your projects are handled in a timely manner with a smaller crew. One thing you may look into to help with your business expenses is the option to use equipment hire over buying equipment. If you have never done this and are facing some larger projects that require higher grade equipment, you may want to consider the dos and don'ts of equipment hire.
Do Overestimate Your Scheduling Needs
When you start the equipment hire process, you will be asked how long you will need the equipment. Most companies will offer you as little as 48 hours to as much as a month for the hire contract. The problem with this comes in when you think the project will take a specified amount of time, and it turns out that it takes days or even weeks longer. For example, you may think that a simple landscaping job will only take one week. A sudden storm band moves in and now you are losing days to the rain and storm situations, which extends the amount of time you need for the project. For this reason, you should make sure that you can either extend the hire contract or that you overestimate the time frame you need for the hire contract.
Do Consider Certification Requirements
If you are bonded and insured, then you may face the need to prove the certification of the equipment operators. When you need larger equipment, this may become a bigger issue for you, especially if you don't have a certified operator on your team. In these cases, you can consider hiring out the operator along with the equipment hire. This gives you a certified operator and makes sure that the equipment is being used properly. Most companies will offer some sort of option, even if it means using a third party for the operator.
Don't Over Hire for the Job
There are times when you may not know how much of a single piece of equipment you will need for the job. For example, you may be handling a larger renovation project that requires the use of a scissor lift. You may be tempted, due to the size of the project, to hire more than one lift. Try to avoid this, and instead hire the equipment as needed. If you use the first lift and find that you need more in order to stay on schedule for the project, then hire out those pieces at that time.
Don't Assume Buying Is Better
One of the misconceptions is that if you have ongoing projects that require a certain piece of equipment, then buying is better. This is not always the case. Consider the fact that the job may actually be seasonal. Buying a piece of equipment that needs to be stored for several months or more may not be the best option over equipment hire for several months out of the year or during a season.
These are just a few of the considerations. If you still aren't sure if equipment hire is right for your business, consider a consultation with an equipment hire company to discuss your business situation and figure out what hire options may be best.
