With ongoing construction activity and the demands created by industries like mining, paving, excavating and agriculture, the application and use of heavy equipment is constantly on the rise. Even by a cursory estimation there must be billions of dollars invested by different sectors in heavy trucks, tractors, excavators, backhoes, wheel loaders, graders, crawler tractors and other heavy equipment. With major dependence on such equipment for the successful and timely completion of projects, it is an imperative that these machines remain in peak working order with minimum downtime. It is absolutely unaffordable to have expensive and important machinery breakdown in the midst of operations with a project reaching an important milestone.

To ensure smooth and effective control of machine and equipment and keep them in top functional order to provide maximum efficiency at optimum cost, it becomes necessary to have qualified personnel for equipment management. Big projects require a variety of heavy machines to be available at different times to maintain proper speed for project completion. Project managers are burdend with a host of varied responsibilities and are hard put to shoulder equipment management responsibilities that form a specialized field and demand unwavering focus.

It is such exigencies that have created a niche for a career in heavy equipment management. Other than captive equipment bought by a company engaged in construction, mining etc. there are now numerous companies which have fleets of heavy equipment/machines for hiring out to such industries. It is a humongous task to keep the functional assets of such a company in proper order to be ready for being put to work at short notice.

The basic responsibilities of an incumbent pursuing a career in heavy equipment management is to improve productivity and efficiency, minimize equipment failure, reduce equipment downtime, improve equipment utilization and deployment, improve security, reduce costs and insurance expenditure and increase profits.

A heavy equipment manager is expected to be an expert in more than a dozen areas. Some of them are as follows.

. Parts management

. Preventive maintenance

. Shop and facilities management

. Benchmarking

. Lifecycle analysis

. Environmental requirements pertaining to fleet management

. Financial management

. Human resources/staffing

. Outsourcing

. Negotiations

. Safety

. Risk management

. Specifications

. Warranty and performance guarantees

. Technology

There is an increasing demand for qualified equipment managers in the heavy equipment industry. There are certification programs for equipment managers, which can lead to a highly paying and socially prestigious job as a certified equipment manager in big companies operating heavy equipment and machinery fleets as also to manage fleets of municipal/government machines. Apart from this, the heavy equipment industry is running short of managers and representatives equipped with current and up to date managerial, technical and communication skills that can fulfill the demands of the expanding and upgraded business environment of the industry.

There is a big scope of employment also at automotive dealerships and repair centers for service managers, parts managers, managers for leasing and general management and for sales and marketing of heavy equipment. Positions open also include those of fleet managers, aftermarket managers, trainers' etc.

A management career in the heavy equipment management has a vast scope of employment across a number of industries and can provide a career option that will prove very satisfying, both socially and economically, to a determined individual.