Gearing Up for Spring Construction

For most of North America, winter is the time of year when construction projects slow down. But for many that slowdown doesn’t last long. Once the calendar flips to a new year, construction companies, project managers, and contractors start their planning for the avalanche of work on the horizon. 

Spring is still months away, but now isn’t the time to sit back and relax. In just a few short weeks, competition for talent, supplies and equipment will increase dramatically. The more construction planning you do now will help you later. If you wait until spring arrives, that project you have planned may not break ground until late summer and may not be complete until winter is at your door once again. 

There are dozens of steps contractors go through before breaking ground on a new project – one in particular being the equipment needed to get the job done safely, effectively and efficiently.  

The place where many contractors start is by simply looking at their construction schedule and then determining what equipment they can use across multiple job sites. Then many will look to rent equipment needed to get the first construction projects of the spring underway. 

For those first jobs of the year, many contractors start by rounding up gear that protects other equipment from late season snowfall, freezing temperatures, and rain. This includes items like ground protection to keep vehicles entering your job site from getting stuck in the mud and storage containers to protect other vital equipment from the elements. 

Once that’s finished, many contractors will then take stock of the gear they have on hand, make sure they’re all in proper working order and, if they’re not, get that gear repaired, replaced, or rented if they are needed, but used infrequently. 

Other gear often in demand as construction season kicks off are pumps to remove standing water from rain and melted snow, ride-on or walk-behind sweepers for cleaning up sand, salt and general grime, hydronic or indirect fired heaters to help speed up the ground thawing process, generators to power lightingair compressors and more. 

There’s plenty of other equipment contractors may consider depending on their fleet and the scope of work. That may include earthmoving equipment, liftscompaction gear, and equipment used in concrete and masonry

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