Equipment and plant
Register owned and hired plant, deploy it to a site, log working, idle and breakdown hours each day, and see what each machine costs and how well it is used.
A machine lives on the company's plant register. To be charged to a job it is deployed to that project, and each day on site it gets a log. The log is what posts the hire cost — there is no approval step for plant.
📷 Screenshot spot — the project Equipment tab with two machines on site, the Log hours form open, and the Utilisation panel below
Save as static/img/screenshots/site-equipment.png and replace this box with 
Register a machine
The plant register is under Workforce › Equipment. Project Managers and Company Admins register machines, because registering sets a hire rate.
- Click New machine.
- Enter a Code (unique in the company, such as
EX-01), the Name and a Category such as Excavator. - Pick the Ownership: owned, rented or subcontractor supplied. Rented and subcontractor plant must name its Vendor.
- Add Make, Model, Registration, Capacity, Fuel type and Fuel / hour (L) if you have them.
- Pick the Rate basis — hourly, daily or monthly — and fill in the matching rate. The rate for the chosen basis is required, otherwise every log would be free.
- Click Register machine.
The register shows each machine's Status (available, deployed, under maintenance, idle, retired) and On site — a link to the project it is on, or yard. You can set the status by hand only while the machine is in the yard; deploying and releasing set it for you.
Rates (Hourly, Daily, Monthly) are only shown to Project Managers and Company Admins. Site Engineers, Safety Officers and QS / Estimators see the machines without rates.
Deploy plant to a site
- Open the project and go to the Equipment tab.
- Click Deploy plant.
- Choose the Machine. Only active machines that are not on another site are offered.
- Set From (the date it arrived). Optionally pick the worker who drives it (from the worker register) and the Phase.
- If you see rates, you can set the Rate basis and Agreed rate (₹) for this job. Leave them blank to use the machine's own rate.
- Click Deploy.
The agreed rate is fixed on the deployment. Changing the machine's rate on the register later does not change what this site is charged.
A machine can be on one site at a time. Trying to deploy it again gives … is already deployed to another project since … Release it before sending it on.
Log the day
Log each machine at the end of the day — a deployment costs nothing until hours are logged against it.
- On the machine's row, click Log (or Log hours at the top and pick the machine).
- Check the Date — today by default, never a future date. The machine must have been deployed here on that date.
- Enter Hours used, Idle hours and Breakdown hours. Together they cannot pass 24; the form shows N of 24 hours accounted for.
- Add Meter start and Meter end, Fuel (litres), and Remarks if useful. Leave the driver and Phase blank to use the deployment's.
- Click Save log.
The cost posts the moment you save. To correct a day, log the same machine and date again: the earlier log and its charge are replaced, and the Posted column shows a revision number such as r1.
What a day of plant costs
| Hours | Charged to the project? |
|---|---|
| Hours used | Yes |
| Idle hours | Yes — plant standing on site is a real cost |
| Breakdown hours | No — that is the plant department's cost |
How the rate applies depends on the rate basis:
| Basis | A logged day costs |
|---|---|
| Hourly | (used + idle hours) × hourly rate |
| Daily | One day's rate if there were any used or idle hours; nothing for a pure breakdown day |
| Monthly | The monthly rate ÷ 26 for each day logged, whatever the hours |
Fuel is charged on top as litres × the fuel rate. Only roles that see rates can enter a Fuel rate (₹/litre); a log without one charges no fuel.
A machine with ownership subcontractor supplied is logged for hours and utilisation, but posts no cost here. Its cost reaches the project on the subcontractor's bill — charging it here as well is the commonest double count in plant accounting. Its logs show not charged.
For example, an excavator on ₹1,200 an hour that worked 6 hours, stood idle 2 and was broken down 1 costs (6 + 2) × ₹1,200 = ₹9,600 for the day.
Release a machine
- On the machine's row, click Release.
- Pick the date it left site.
- Click Confirm.
The release date cannot be before the deployment started, or before the last day logged here. The machine goes back to available in the yard. You can still add a late log for a day inside a released deployment.
Read utilisation
Project Managers and Company Admins see the Utilisation panel for the month to date: hours used, idle, breakdown, fuel and cost per machine.
Utilisation = hours used ÷ (hours used + idle hours). Breakdown is left out, so a week in the workshop is not blamed on the site. Machines under 50% show in red and are counted in the Under 50% used tile — consider releasing them.
Who can do what
| Job | Who |
|---|---|
| Register a machine, set rates | Project Manager, Company Admin |
| Deploy, log hours, release | Site Engineer, Project Manager, Company Admin |
| See rates, charges and utilisation | Project Manager, Company Admin |
| See machines, deployments and hours only | Site Engineer, Safety Officer, QS / Estimator |
Labour & Plant Productivity reads the plant logs and shows idle-time cost and machines that keep breaking down.
Related
- Daily progress reports — plant on the DPR is for the record; it posts no cost.
- Costs — where plant charges land.
- Subcontracts — where subcontractor plant is paid for.