Construction - Plant Hire and Equipment Cost Management

Specify the equipment type, on-site date, expected hire duration, and the job it relates to. Record against the job before booking so the cost is attributed from the outset.

Issue RFQs to approved plant hire suppliers with equipment specification, hire start date, expected duration, and site access details. Compare on rate, availability, and delivery costs.

Raise a PO for the approved hire specifying the agreed rate, hire period, and delivery or collection charges. Link the PO to the job so costs flow through automatically.

Record the delivery against the purchase order when plant arrives. Confirm actual delivery date, equipment condition, and operator assignment for operated hire.

Set a review point before the expected return date. Arrange extensions before the original term expires to avoid penalty rates or off-hire disputes.

Arrange collection, confirm return date, note any damage assessments, and close out the PO against the final hire invoice. Full plant hire cost is now visible against the job.

Plant hire periods drift beyond the planned dates and nobody triggers the return, leaving weekly hire charges accumulating on jobs that are nearly finished.

Hire costs are not coded back to the right job, so the job costing report understates real spend until the supplier invoice arrives weeks later.

There is no single record of what plant is currently out on hire, who ordered it, or when it was due back - so project managers rely on memory or scattered emails.