ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some of the effects of soil type and job site conditions on equipment performance. It examines the earthmoving principles that are used to determine equipment productivity. Earthmoving is the process of moving soil or rock from one location to another, and in some cases, processing it to meet contract specification requirements. Earthmoving construction tasks include excavating, loading, hauling, spreading, compacting, and grading. A contractor is planning to use a tracked dozer to clear and grub a construction site. A contractor is planning to use a tracked dozer with a four-cycle naturally aspirated engine to remove the topsoil on a construction site. A contractor plans to use elevating scrapers to construct a 3-foot compacted fill that that will support the concrete slab foundations for a warehouse complex. The power available to move a wheeled piece of equipment, for instance a scraper, and its load is called rimpull.
