Excavators
Micro and mini machines are the mainstay of highway and footway work, because most of it happens in confined space beside live traffic. A micro excavator will pass through a standard gateway and work within a coned-off lane; a larger machine would do the digging faster and could not be got to it, or could not slew within it.
Brand matters to the people operating them, for reasons of reliability, parts availability and residual value rather than badge loyalty. Where machines are hired, the specification names what is acceptable rather than leaving it to whatever is in the yard.
Dumpers
A forward-tipping site dumper moves spoil out and stone in. On highway work the one-tonne class is the common size. Small enough to work within a lane closure and to travel a footway, large enough to keep an excavator working rather than waiting.
Compaction
The most important plant on the job and the least noticed. Three classes cover nearly all of it:
| Plant | Used for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Trench and pedestrian rollers | Backfill to trenches, narrow strips, edges | Fits where a ride-on cannot, and compacts right up to a vertical face |
| Plate compactors | Confined areas, around ironwork, small reinstatements | Manoeuvrable in spaces a roller cannot enter at all |
| Ride-on tandem rollers | Sub-base and asphalt over any real area | Static and vibrating passes; enough mass to achieve density before asphalt cools |
Rolling asphalt is a race against temperature. Once the material falls below its working range no amount of further rolling will achieve density, and a surface that was never properly compacted is porous, and will ravel and fail early.
Ancillary equipment
Breakers, floor saws and disc cutters for cutting out; whackers for confined compaction; lighting for winter working; traffic management equipment; and pumps, because excavations in this country fill with water.
Owned and hired
Plant is hired for the job where hiring makes sense. Which for specialist or occasional machines is nearly always. Hire is arranged in us's own name and against the specification the work requires, and the machine goes back when the job is done.