For civil contractors, productivity is ultimately measured in what gets moved, what gets completed and whether a project stays on programme. For RCE Earthmoving & Civils, the addition of a Volvo EC220 excavator to its fleet is delivering results well beyond initial expectations.
Operating on large-scale civil infrastructure projects across South Africa, RCE Earthmoving & Civils works in an environment where equipment performance has a direct impact on daily production and project delivery. “It's mostly about efficiency and production per day,” says Zahur Ebrahim, Owner of RCE Earthmoving and Civils. “If we don't have that, you could run weeks on end and still be behind. With Volvo, we manage to meet our targets consistently.”
That focus on productivity, together with fuel efficiency and technology, played a central role in the company’s decision to invest in the Volvo EC220, supplied and supported by Babcock. But even RCE’s expectations for the machine were quickly surpassed once it arrived on site.
More than doubling planned production
On its current project, RCE had planned around daily production of 700 to 800 m³. During box-cut excavation, however, the EC220 achieved between 1,500 and 1,750 m³. “We've more than doubled that,” says Ebrahim. “And it's largely due to the fleet.” The impact extends beyond a single day's production figures. According to RCE, the site has effectively been run using two machines, with the increased productivity having a significant effect on the overall project programme. “A site that's supposed to take us five months is going to be completed in two and a half months.”
For a civil contractor, that kind of productivity can have implications well beyond machine performance alone. Completing work faster can help improve utilisation of resources, reduce pressure on project schedules and allow equipment and teams to move on to the next job sooner.
A machine operators want to operate
The EC220 has also won over the people spending their working day in the cab. While features such as air conditioning and Bluetooth contribute to operator comfort, RCE says it is the machine's productivity that has really made an impression. “The operators love it,” says Ebrahim. “This current operator comes from a different machine, and he makes sure that he's the earliest one on site so that he never loses his place.” It is a light-hearted observation, but one that points to an important consideration for contractors: productive equipment still depends on the people operating it. A comfortable working environment, combined with a machine that performs consistently, can make a meaningful difference on site.
Moving from older equipment to greater cost certainty
RCE's fleet journey has evolved over time. The business initially operated second-hand, older machines, making the move to newer Volvo equipment a significant step. Alongside the performance of the EC220 itself, Babcock's service agreements have helped give the company greater predictability around maintenance costs. “Babcock has supported us with service agreements, which makes this entire process so much easier, because basically we have fixed costs,” says Ebrahim. For RCE, this is particularly important in an industry where unexpected equipment costs and downtime can quickly affect the economics of a project.
The company's previous experience with Volvo equipment also influenced its latest investment decision. “We've had Volvo machines, and the least problematic machines have been the Volvo machines. With the service agreement that Babcock has offered us, it made it a very easy decision.”
Support that continues beyond the sale
RCE's experience also highlights the importance of the relationship surrounding the machine. Babcock's support extends from the initial equipment selection and acquisition process to after-sales service, parts availability and operator training. RCE says regular contact from both sales and after-sales teams means support is available when it is needed, whether the customer simply needs technical guidance or requires someone to attend to the machine.
“It's been brilliant. Parts availability is amazing,” says Ebrahim. “Whether it's during the day or the evening, I have someone that I can call who can give me some insight, whether we want to get it done ourselves for efficiency or whether they send someone out for us. They're always there to support.”
Babcock has also provided operator training, helping RCE's teams better understand the equipment and get more from the machine in operation. That support has been backed by a longer-term approach to RCE's fleet requirements, including service and trade-back arrangements that have assisted the contractor in moving into newer equipment.
For RCE, the combination of machine performance, predictable support and an established relationship with Babcock has created a platform for further fleet investment. “We're looking forward to acquiring even more machines from them in the future.”
Productivity where it matters
Ultimately, RCE's experience with the Volvo EC220 comes back to the measure that matters most on a civil construction site: productive work completed. From a planned 700 to 800 m³ per day to production of as much as 1,750 m³ during box-cut excavation, the machine has demonstrated the impact the right equipment can have on a project's progress. And with a five-month project now expected to be completed in approximately half that time, the result for RCE is not simply a more productive excavator. It is a fleet helping the business deliver more, sooner.
