Excavation:

In this category machines are included which are used in digging excavation.
Operation involving digging material from ground can be called as excavation.
Equipments which are maneuver are listed below.
Machines like backhoe loader or tractor loader are the main excavating equipment.
Backhoe loader
Also known as tractor backhoe or loader backhoe is a vehicle with heavy
equipment consisting of a tractor fitted with a bucket at the front and a small
backhoe attached at the back. Due to its ease of mobility and small size this
equipment is very common used in various urban construction projects. They travel
on rubber tires making them accelerate at speeds between 25/40 mph.
It can dig small trenches at depths between 14ft and 17ft deep inside ground by
using the bucket or loader attached on the front of the machine and move material
like sand or gravel and also can be used to load trucks.The loading bucket capacity
ranges from 0.76m3 to 0.96m3 and the bachoe capacity is ranged between 0.21m3
to 0.35m3 . Cost of hiring is R.O. 7 to R.O. 5.5 per hour depending on the type
capacity of the equipment and work load.

Fig 1. back hoe loader

Dredging
It is the activity of excavating sediments located at the sea bottom and then
disposing them at a different location. This is often done in order for reclamation
of land and making way for water at navigable points. Dredgers are of several
types, one such type is
Cutter suction dredger

It is mainly used where the ground is too hard and is mainly used for constructing
and navigating sea channels and expansion of ports. In this process land is
reclaimed by pumping the sediments ashore through a pipeline.Cutter section
dredgers are categorized into their subdivisions excavating minimum depth from
9.5m to 31m deep inside.The pipe discharching out the sediments and soil has
diameter from 250mm to1000mm.These are equipments are not usually hired but
are available for sale having price of $1,400,000.
Suction dredgers are categorized into two types:
- Cutter suction dredgers which are stationary
- Dredgers with self propelled engine seagoing dredger with cutter suction.

fig 2.Cutter suction dredger.

Tracked excavators
They are also known as track hoe comprising of a dripperstick, boom ,bucket and a
drivers cab placed on a rotating platform. Movement is possible with tracks or
wheels placed below the cab undercarriage.The 360 degree movement is facilated
by the help of hydraulic fluid running through hydraulic cylinder and motor.The
tracked excavator is more convenient due to its better traction characteristics than
the wheeled one. They create trenches at a designed depth. It is useful in
forestry,minning and pipeline industries.The standard size of the buckets varies
depending on the type of work having minimum width of 900mm to 1750mm and

capacity from 921kg to1850kg.Time of hiring this equipment locally ranges from
R.O. 8 to R.O 12 per hour.

fig 3 Tracked excavator