If you just landed your first purchasing and procurement job in construction, you might wonder why everything your employer purchases costs more than the typical item. Take the windshield on your company’s backhoes or bulldozers, for example. It costs a bit more than the windshield for your car. That’s because the windshields used on heavy-duty equipment require a hearty glass than the ones you use on a consumer’s car or truck.
The heavy-duty equipment used in construction work must meet inspections. At these vehicle inspections, the glass also undergoes inspection. This is why your employer regularly checks the equipment for cracks and chips.
While they may patch a small chip in the glass, a break signals it is time to purchase new glass. These chips and cracks can easily occur despite the added thickness and toughness of the windshields and window shields. Gravel, loose rocks, nails, or bolts can all fly up into the windshield at high velocity. This dings the glass. A tiny chip made early in the morning on Monday could turn into a long crack by Friday if not immediately addressed.
Tractors and excavators also remain at risk. All of these items take a beating from the elements, too. Hail or sleet can easily damage a windshield.
These thicker, reinforced windshields provided added protection from flying debris, over and above the safety glasses that heavy equipment operators wear.
The best choices for these windshields include flat, tempered, or laminated glass. That’s because a repairperson can recut and resize laminated glass. If the damage that occurred was too large to repair, heavy-duty glass replacement can be done on-site at your convenience.
Your employer might ask you to order a backup windshield for each piece of equipment. They would want to have at least one of each type of windshield on hand for good reason. Any work stoppage costs them money and puts the project behind schedule. Repairs or glass replacements take time and having the glass on hand lets the company finish their work more quickly.
Whether repaired or replaced, the damaged glass must meet Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. If it doesn’t, the worksite could receive a fine or get temporarily shut down. Without an appropriate windshield, the construction company cannot use the piece of equipment.
If you have a background in procurement but just made the move to the construction industry, now you know why, in construction, they purchase a backup of windshields, especially when working on a remote site.
Downtime is the bane of the construction industry. It costs much more to close a working construction site for one or two days than it does to have a few parts on hand.
Contact HEG Cabglass to learn your glass options. Let us help you keep your worksite safer.
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