Intermediate Equipment Handbook
Intech Associates
3.2
37 Essential Questions to ask BEFORE procuring ANY
equipment
3.2.1 INITIAL SELECTION
Q1 Have I owned and operated one of these machines before for at least 5
years, do I know its performance and ALL costs? If not, be extremely
careful!
If you have been owning and operating a similar machine for some time and
have adequate records of utilisation and costs, you will have a good basis for
assessing the workload and costs of another. If not, you will be making a
large number of assumptions, which may be quite incorrect or unjustifiable.
Q2 Am I competent to decide what I need and procure it ? (Do I need advice?
Where can I get it)?
Do I really have the knowledge and experience to make procurement
decisions unassisted? Have my past decisions on procurement been good?
Should I talk to other contractors/authorities about their experiences with this
machine type? Where can I obtain objective, impartial advice?
Contractor’s associations, international road associations, specialist
international organisations, or professional bodies such as the UK Institutions
of Agricultural or Mechanical Engineers may be able to put you in touch with
an expert with APPROPRIATE experience with a particular type of
equipment. They may be able to direct you to relevant reports, evaluations or
trials.
Q3 Do I really need this machine or can I manage without it?
Q4 What is the task, will this type of machine do it satisfactorily?
Define the work that the machine will do, the quantity of work, the required
daily output. Consider other ways of doing the same task (other equipment
types or with just labour).
Q5 What are the TOTAL costs of procurement and delivery to my depot?
Include the price to be paid minus any discount. Include costs of freight,
transport, insurances, taxes, duties, levies, dealer’s charges, inspection fees,
quality assurance fees, delivery to the depot.
Q6 Do I have the cash resources to procure the equipment? Do I need to
October 2012
82