Construction Tools & Equipment

When a severe natural disaster occurs, a city's major infrastructure can be severely damaged or, as in the case of the Haitian Capital this past January, nearly completely destroyed. Besides the establishment of emergency shelters, hospitals, food and water distribution facilities, one of the primary tasks is to remove debris in order to locate survivors who might be trapped underneath. This life-saving job not only requires heavy construction equipment, the ticking clock necessitates that it be made immediately available.

Without an emergency preparedness program that includes immediate access to both heavy equipment and operators, innocent lives can be lost. While construction equipment suppliers and rental outfits have a long history of providing equipment and services on an emergency basis (along with the military), a recent trend among these equipment professionals has been to offer complete pre-emergency planning services packages.

What's included in these packages? All the essentials, including aerial lifts, emergency lighting, all-terrain forklifts, power equipment, air compressors, welders, generators, earth movers, cooling/heating equipment and more. What's more, these packages include immediate transportation even over impassable roads. They also provide trained operators and maintenance staff.

But does a viable global market exist for pre-emergency planning services?

One New York/New Jersey equipment rental company specializing in emergency service response thinks there is. According to their website, they provide "a huge fleet of diesel generators from 20kW to 2000kW for preplanned or emergency usage to get you up and running, supporting your operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year." That's the kind of response that one should expect from a rental company providing emergency support in a time of natural or man-made disaster.

As a heavy equipment operator, supplier or rental agent, have you given consideration to initiating an emergency response program?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Construction Tools & Equipment, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Construction Tools & Equipment today.