19 August 2017
 Categories: , Blog

When it comes to renting work equipment, construction contractors have to make a choice between two equipment hire agreements — dry hire and wet hire. If you are looking for equipment hire for your construction jobs, you should size up the advantages and downsides of both hire agreements before deciding what closely suits you. Keep reading on below to educate yourself in this regard:

Dry Hire

Dry hire involves hiring equipment without complementary personnel to operate and maintain the equipment. In other words, you will have to meet all staffing requirements associated with the use of the equipment. Dry hire is usually the best choice when your company already has an in-house team of personnel and the equipment required to service construction equipment, or has done the math and found a more cost effective alternative, like a cheaper third party provider.

Some top benefits that may make dry hire an appealing equipment hire option include: greater potential to save on labour costs, greater control over work schedule, and less staff to supervise your operations. The most daunting aspect of dry hire is that you will need to be able to thoroughly assess your labour requirements before you can decide whether to maintain an in-house team of operators or hire operators from a third party.

Wet Hire

Wet hire involves hiring equipment together with complementary personnel required to operate the equipment. Generally speaking, you will be provided with not only equipment operators but also everything you will need to facilitate full operation of the equipment for the whole period of hire. Perhaps the greatest advantage of wet hire is that it is convenient and hassle-free — there are no worries about servicing and repairing the equipment, as well as the provision of extras not available to your business. Plus, equipment renters get a comprehensive quote including all cost expectations.

For construction contractors intending to hire operators from a third party provider because they have no qualified employees within the business, wet hire may rule out concerns over operator compatibility with the rented equipment. The main reason why construction contractors may shy away from choosing wet hire is the higher price tag that comes with it. But like it is often said: you get what you pay for. If you want full service, you will need to pay more.

Feel free to contact a business that hires out construction equipment to discuss what hire agreement is best for your business.