Preparing your site for the delivery of heavy plant is essential for ensuring a smooth and safe operation. So, to help out, we’ve put together a guide to get your site ready for when the big guns arrive.
1. Review Permits and Regulations
First thing’s first, you need to ensure you’re complying with local regulations. Get any of the necessary permits you need for operating heavy machinery before you start thinking about hiring it.
It’s also wise to check up on the area’s environmental regulations. If your site is near a protected area, this is an especially important step. Get this stuff done before moving onto the good bit.
2. Assess your site
Conducting a site assessment is an important step in preparing for plant. Survey the site and check its ground conditions, overall layout, and access points. This way, you’ll be able to identify and address obstacles that might prove troublesome when trying to operate heavy machinery. Trees, overhead wires and underground utilities could hinder the delivery of your plant.
Is the ground soft at your site? Ensure it can support the weight of the machinery. If it’s going to sink, you may need to troubleshoot or reassess your options.
3. Plan access routes
Think about the size of the machinery you’re hiring and make sure your site can accommodate its delivery. Clear, wide paths for the plant to enter and exit the site are essential, as well as routes through the site if the machinery needs to be moved or turned.
Reinforce any pathways or roads that the machinery will be on if it’s particularly heavy and you’re worried about whether the routes can support it.
4. Prepare the delivery area
Who doesn’t love delivery day? Especially when that delivery is a giant excavator. Unlike when you get a parcel through your door, however, you’ll need to prep for a delivery of this size.
Make sure the ground is level and stable to accommodate your plant hire, and mark your drop zones clearly for where you want the machinery unloaded and stationed. Lastly, secure the area and ensure it’s clear of debris and rubbish.
5. Coordinate with the delivery team
Now for the logistics. Agree on and schedule specific delivery times with us, your plant suppliers, and ensure you’ve got personnel on-site to actually receive the machinery when the time comes. Give us all the contact details we’ll need in case we have to give you a ring. If your hired machinery needs to get through busy or complicated site areas, please ensure you’ve got people on site who can help the delivery team out.
6. Safety is the priority
Heavy plant isn’t a toy, no matter how much it might look like it to your inner child. Get safety barriers set up to keep people away from the delivery zones unless they need to be there. Ensure there’s enough signage to direct the delivery vehicle, and use them to indicate hazards, too. Finally, emergency plans, including evacuation routes, should be drawn up, just in case of any unexpected issues.
7. Prepare for ongoing maintenance
If your project is going to last a while and you’ve hired plant to fit that schedule, then you’ll likely be refuelling the machinery. Set up maintenance areas for this, so you’ve got areas for refuelling and any regular maintenance the hired plant may require.
Smooth plant deliveries through Rockthorn
With trusted relationships built on years of work, we promise that the deliveries of our machinery will be smooth as rollered tarmac. To ensure everything goes off without a hitch, we’ll need your help, too. By setting up your site using the steps above, we can work together to make the delivery and retrieval of your heavy machinery easy as pie.
To find out what we offer and the friendly and efficient way in which we do it, give us a call on 0330 118 5030 and chat with one of our expert team. If you’re not into phone calls, use our easy online quote form.