How To Save Money On Plant Hire Equipment? An Honest Review
One of the biggest defining factors that we all base our business decisions on is cost. Cost dictates most of our investments, especially if you are trying to work to a strict budget. The value that is provided always needs to outweigh the cost to warrant investment. To help you understand how you can save money on plant hire equipment, we have devised this article to help you get started.
Location
The location of your supplier is always important, as long-distance hiring can attract additional delivery or logistic fees. Using a local supplier that offers the machinery you want at a reasonable price is always a safe option. Trusting potential prospects can be difficult, however with enough time and research, finding the right supplier can be a simple task. Always plan ahead… it will save you a fortune.
Do not be afraid to take time out of your day to properly vet your potential plant hire supplier. Understand what the cost is and what value you get. It will become very clear after a small amount of investigation which prospect will stand out to you the most.
In addition to this, you can also save money on plant hire equipment by choosing a supplier that has multiple depots or locations in your area. This gives you as a business owner, more flexibility and the ability to save on costs even more so.
Damaging equipment
Avoiding damaging the equipment, will save you a huge amount of money overall. If anything is to go wrong, you should always contact your supplier immediately to organise an exchange. Damaged or faulty machinery can impose a serious health and safety risk. Not just to operators, but to the public and your employees.
The truth is that no matter how experienced you are at operating plant machinery, accidents happen. Plant hire equipment is operated in a completely different manner from company-owned machinery. Therefore you should always thoroughly check your machinery before you operate it.
To document any damage to plant hire machinery, some suppliers will take photographs when it is delivered and collected. This can benefit the customer to guarantee that they will not be charged for any damages sustained during their hire period. It is useful to know that this service is not provided by all plant hire suppliers.
Plant hire machinery is not cheap to repair, therefore, avoiding damage will save you potentially thousands of pounds in the long run.
Nevertheless, if you are hiring plant machinery you should have…
Insurance
Another way to save money on hiring plant equipment is to insure it. Operating businesses may already have liability insurance including plant hire. Nonetheless, checking your policy before hiring machinery is important. Never assume that hire insurance is not something that comes standard with business liability insurance.
Additionally, make sure that you have the correct level of cover depending on the machinery. Speak to your plant hire specialist about the required levels of coverage you will need for your proposal. Choose your temporary insurance cover wisely, do not be lured into a cover that is not suitable for you.
Providing you insure the machinery, you can be assured to not receive any further charges. Temporary insurance that a lot of our WHC Hire customers use is provided by JCB Insurance.
Find out more here. WHC Hire is not affiliated with JCB Insurance.
Clean the equipment
Reading the fine print of your hire contract is always important. One factor, hidden away in that small print is cleaning the equipment. Customers can be charged for cleaning the machinery after use.
Decontamination processes of plant hire equipment can take hours. Literally hours. Therefore, to avoid any costly cleaning fees, take the time to wash the machinery yourself. The best way to maintain your hire machinery and to save money is to wash down the equipment every day after use. This will guarantee when you off-hire the equipment you can avoid being charged decontamination fees.
If you are not too sure about the decontamination process or require clarification, always speak directly to your supplier.
Keep track of your usage
Another way to save money on your hire is to keep track of your usage. This applies more so to companies that hire a larger amount of machinery, even so, can be applied to all hire contracts. If you opt to hire machinery for long term, then keeping track of its use is extremely important.
If you are not using the equipment, then to avoid further charges, off-hire it. Most suppliers will offer discounts for long-term hire rates, providing the client successfully opens a trade credit account.
To help customers and businesses stay on track of their usage, companies will submit an invoice every 30 days to their account clients. This will include their maximum hire value and settlement fees.
Return the machinery full
With the ever-increasing and fluctuating prices of fuel, there is no better time to save money. Returning your machinery full of fuel is a very fast and simple way to avoid any charges. To provide further transparency on this, it’s best to understand the current cost of fuel.
Plant hire suppliers that refill their machinery, will buy in an amount a large amount of fuel for their depots. This generally is charged at the rate they first purchased it, sometimes, even more, depending on the supplier and the market. This could mean you are paying more than you first once thought.
If you prefer the convenience of allowing your supplier to fill up the machinery, then speak to your supplier before off hiring. At this stage, they will be able to give you the latest up-to-date price they charge for fuel. Alternatively, you can choose to refill the machine before returning to avoid any fuel charges.
Avoid incorrect or banned fuels
Before you hire your plant hire equipment you need to make sure to check the type of fuel of the machine. A common error that users perform, is to replenish the fuel tank with the incorrect type of combustible.
Most plant and tool hire equipment will use either petrol or diesel fuel. It is easy enough to mix them up if you have multiple different machines on-site at the same time. So always take care when refuelling a machine. Incorrect fuel can damage the machine engine and require repair costs for drainage and change of fuel filters. All of which can be avoided by adhering to the machine’s correct specifications.
Since the removal of rebated diesel in April 2022, plant hire companies have had to resort to changing their whole fleets to alternative fuels. If plant machinery is caught using rebated diesel, it is classed as a criminal offence. This means that at no time during the machine’s hire can banned construction fuels be used in the machine.
To avoid additional charges, you should always consult your plant hire specialist. The use of rebated diesel engines is a chargeable offence. Customers would be typically charged extra for fuel drainage, new filters and labour. Avoid it at all cost!
Hire for long periods
Another way to save money on plant hire equipment is to hire your machinery for long periods. Long-term hire rates are normally offered to account customers. This is normally determined by the length of time that a piece of equipment is required. Working closely with a local supplier that can offer you a range of different equipment will save you time, stress, and overall cost. It is not uncommon for long-period hires to extend to months at a time.
Order the right size equipment
Ordering the right equipment can save you a huge cost when it comes to saving money. Finding the right balance of cost and efficiency is key. Choosing machinery that is too small, will require a longer hire period, meaning more cost. Machinery that is too large could lead to an additional risk of damaging either the equipment or the area that you’re working on.
If you are not too sure which machines to hire for a particular project, then always speak to a plant hire specialist to discuss your requirements. Plant hire specialists will be able to advise you on the best solution based on your needs. No matter your experience of using a certain piece of plant machinery, a hire specialist will have the latest up-to-date machinery information on the equipment that they have to offer. This most often includes more affordable solutions.
Choose reliable new equipment
Choosing a plant hire specialist that offers new equipment has proved to save money in the long run. New, younger fleets offer affordable rates and far fewer running costs. Manufacturers are constantly trying to produce plant hire machinery that is more efficient, effective, and reliable.
Choosing a plant hire supplier that operates a young fleet, reduces the chance of breakdowns happening. Breakdowns lead to a loss of time and money for customers. Sometimes, it is worth spending just a little bit more if a supplier can offer a better level of equipment and support service. As a rule of thumb, you should consider how much “bargain for your buck” you recieve from a particular supplier.
How to off-hire
Off-hiring machinery is another term for letting a provider know that you wish to terminate your hire with them. This could be when you have completed your project, or no longer have use for the machinery. Each supplier with has its terms and conditions on how to correctly off-hire. The procedures could range from calling the depot it was dispatched from. Sending an email to request collection, or to return the machinery directly yourself. (Size dependant).
The correct method to off-hire your plant machinery should be stated in your terms of hire contract between you and your supplier. Failure to follow your suppliers’ terms could lead you to be charged for additional use.
As soon as you off-hire your machinery, you can no longer use it. The latest plant machinery is fitted with location and hour trackers. This means that suppliers have a clear indication if the machinery has been used after the time it has been off-hired. This is a chargeable offence of an additional day rate.
When and only when you are completely finished with the machinery should you off-hire it. Deceitful, un agreed use will ultimately incur additional costs.
Prepare a plan of how you are going to use the equipment
Saving money on your plant hire equipment all stems from having a strong plan of how it is going to be used. Producing a work plan for the machinery can allow you to maximise your efforts once in your possession.
This could be to arrange several projects during the time of hire, or identify which tasks can specifically be allocated to an individual piece of equipment. Having a strong method statement for each piece of hire equipment will enable you to work far more effectively, thus saving you money on your hire overall.
How to save money on your plant hire equipment in Tewkesbury
WHC Hire Services have been delivering the highest quality plant and tool hire machinery to businesses, civil engineers, utilities and DIYers for over 20 years. With an extensive fleet of excavators, specialised dumpers, telehandlers and more, our service can be tailored to any size project or contract.
Recently receiving brand new excavators from Kubota and JCB, our fleet continues to grow to our customer’s requirements. With constant investment in our staff and equipment, we can help you get the job done right the first time around. Find out more by viewing our vast selection of equipment from our online catalogue. Or discover and contact your local depot here.
