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Spring 2010

Working Inside

Bobcat System helps Saskatoon contractor complete work indoors

JPS Excavation compact track loader

A Bobcat compact track loader owned by JPS Excavation removes excess dirt from an underground construction site, replacing manual labor, shovels and wheelbarrows.

Working inside an established building doesn't mean Bobcat® equipment needs to be left at the door. In many cities, once-neglected neighborhoods are being revived, with buildings such as warehouses converted into offices, lofts and retail space.

Such is the case in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where contractor Peter Comben lives and works. Comben's business, JPS Excavation Inc., completes excavation, grading and other tasks through all phases of commercial construction, including building renovation.

In many cases, the interior of a building is gutted but the shell is preserved for architectural reasons. The transformation of the building into a new type of use involves installing new plumbing and electrical and a new floor.

Indoor use

JPS Excavation uses a Bobcat 435 Zero House Swing compact excavator and T200 and T250 compact track loaders because the size of the machines allows them to work inside buildings. Often, Comben uses the Bobcat System — a Bobcat loader and compact excavator working together as a team — when digging a footing or a trench for plumbing or electrical. It's often necessary to remove the spoil from the work area, because space is already constricted. The excavator places the spoil directly into the loader bucket, and the loader removes it from the work area.

Rotate 360 degrees

The rear and the front left and right corners of the 435 excavator house stay within the width of the tracks, giving the excavator greater rotation to provide almost unlimited spoil placement, especially when working next to a wall, support post or other obstruction. "It's great when working inside because we work by and around a lot of columns and walls," Comben says. "You know you're not going to hit the wall if the track is right beside it."

Fits through doorway

Sometimes, the only access to a jobsite is through a doorway, and the larger compact track loaders can't get to the work area. That's when Comben turns to his MT52 mini track loader.

With a width of just under 36 inches, the MT52 can fit through doorways. At 94 inches long (with bucket), the mini track loader can work in tight areas, mechanizing tasks that were formerly done by hand. During one renovation project, Comben used the MT52 with a hydraulic breaker attachment to demolish concrete and then used the machine with a bucket to remove the concrete from the warehouse.

Able to work inside of the buildings, Bobcat equipment saves labor by doing work that would otherwise have to be done by hand. It keeps projects on schedule by quickly completing multiple tasks because of all of the attachments that are available.

Visit the construction page to learn more about Bobcat products for construction jobsites.

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