Construction Equipment Review: Construction Industry Goes Green

In the turn of the 21st century, the issue on environmental awareness has evolved. The challenge on how to defeat environmental concerns such as climate change, depletion of resources, pollution and many others have hit hard on everyone even on the construction industry. Nowadays, project managers, engineers and people in the industry have thought of ways to incorporate their business into various environmental campaigns.

Buildings put a tremendous strain in the environment, being responsible for a significant share in pollution and other related issues and concerns that may affect our environment. Continuing the advocacy for healthier world poses great challenge to many construction agencies and businesses but it does not hinder their cause. They have built their equipment in response to the demands of Mother Nature. Their environmental friendly designs include:

Cleaner Equipment

Hitachi Construction Machinery introduced the ZW series equipped with clean but powerful engine to comply with Tier 3 and stage III A. Engine emission regulations effective in the U.S. EPA and European Union from 2006. Exhaust gas is partly re-combusted to reduce particulate matter (PM) output and lower nitrogen oxide (NOx) levels.

John Deere's new fixed chamber baler, on the other hand, is a great example of Deere's efforts to progressively lower the environmental impacts of its products. Deigned to reduce its impact on the field and more efficiently use resources, the baler delivers up to 24% better fuel efficiency is significantly faster than previous designs due to rotor feeder design.

Recyclable Machine

With a recycling-oriented society in mind, Isuzu upholds 4R practices throughout product-life cycles, as Isuzu increases recycling rates and reduces our environmental impacts. Recycled materials made from resin bumpers collected from end-of-life vehicles were used for four kinds of interior components including a console box. It became possible to use over 40% of bumpers from end-of-life vehicles by using new technology. Isuzu will be proactively committed to expanding use of some parts made from recycled materials.

For Hitachi, approximately 95 % of the ZW Series can be recycled. The resin parts are marked to facilitate recycling. The machine is completely lead-free. The radiator and oil cooler are made from aluminum and all wires are lead-less. In addition, bio-degradable hydraulic oil is available for jobsites where special environmental care is required.

Quieter Machine

Volvo Equipment also has its own share of low-emission level equipment. Their crawler excavator’s high breakout and crowding force is supported by an advanced hydraulic system that enables smooth, responsive digging and lifting.

Some people think that going green can be costly or difficult venture, especially in the construction industry but somehow, someone proved it to be possible. Construction companies like Axis Capital Group based in Singapore, are striving to pursue its eco-friendly campaigns, introducing only legit equipment and strengthening campaigns against fraud and scam that can further harm resources. Capital construction cities in Asia like Jakarta in Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Hong Kong continue to research and venture into more possibilities of further merging industrialization and nature.