Moving the Earth : Excavation Equipment, Methods, Safety, and Cost

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The industry-standard guide to earthmoving and machines―thoroughly revised to cover the latest advances


This fully updated resource covers every aspect of site preparation and management, and details the machines and vehicles needed to perform each task. Written by a team of excavation experts, the book helps you choose the right approach for any job, select appropriate equipment, and understand the related safety requirements. You will get clear explanations of the different types of excavation methods, including compaction, grading, blasting, structural excavation, and aggregate production. The text also provides examples of how to calculate machine production.


Moving the Earth: Excavation Equipment, Methods, Safety, and Cost, Seventh Edition, covers:


• Cost estimation and planning
• Soil and rock
• Machine fundamentals
• Dozers
• Land clearing
• Excavators and loaders
• Trucks and trailers
• Scrapers
• Structural excavation
• Trenching and trenchless technologies
• Compaction, stabilization, and finishing
• Compressors and drills
• Blasting 
• Aggregate processing

Robert L. Schmitt, P.E., is Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Platteville. He has worked as a consultant on major construction projects and served on technical committees for the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Associated General Contractors, and the Wisconsin DOT.

Clifford J. Schexnayder, P.E., has worked with major heavy/highway construction contractors as field engineer, estimator, and corporate chief engineer. He served as a consultant to the Autoridad del Canal de Panama and is a Member of the National Academy of Construction and the Beavers.

Aaron Cohen, CPC, is a product manager at InEight building estimating and project management software solutions and teaches courses on heavy construction methods at Arizona State University.  He was previously president of Apollo Trenchless, Inc., specializing in the trenchless construction of underground utility projects.

Herbert L. Nichols, Jr. (deceased), was a private excavation consultant and author of numerous books and manuals on the topic.

David A. Day, P.E. (deceased), was a civil engineering and construction consultant. He was a Life Member of the National Society of Professional Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers, where he helped to start the Underground Technology Conference.

Cliff Schexnayder (Tempe, AZ) Eminent Scholar Emeritus at Del Webb School of Construction, Arizona State University.