Archive for the ‘Heavy Equipment Safety’ Category

In today’s workplace, safety is the responsibility of everyone; employees, employers, workplace visitors and government agencies included. When it comes to earth moving equipment, heavy equipment safety training is a necessary requirement in all work places. The question then is, do you undertake that training as part of your heavy equipment training program or expect a future employer to deliver the training?

Most employers are running on thin margins in today’s economic climate. Given a choice between employing an individual who has already completed a heavy equipment safety course and someone who hasn’t you know who the employer is going to select. It makes sense then to ensure that when buying a heavy equipment training program you check first on whether or not it includes a safety component.

Entering the heavy equipment workforce can be a tough undertaking so you need to have every possible box ticked. Employers are picky when it comes to new recruits, and they are taking a big gamble on someone who has little experience apart from that received during training. So what boxes do employers want ticked?

• Training provided by a well known and respected organization
• Training that follows national guidelines
• Training that includes hands on experience
• Training that includes heavy equipment safety as a core component

In fact, if your training is delivered by a well known and respected organization then the chances are all the other boxes will get the automatic tick - that is why some training schools are more respected than others. As a student, it is still up to you to check on what is offered prior to signing on to the course. Heavy equipment training is a serious undertaking - heavy equipment safety is even more serious.

We live in a world where there seems to be an ever increasing rate of government interference in the work place. While taxes and the like often make the news, other areas such as workplace safety rarely do until there is an accident - then it’s front page. Work sites that go 200-300 days without an incident are rarely reported - yet that is often the norm. Government regulations now have fairly explicit safety requirements - and one of these requirements involves training.

Heavy equipment safety training covers a broad range of workplace activities. Training generally includes safety inspections of the equipment prior to use; awareness of others and property around the area to be worked in; awareness of objects such as power lines; and safe working procedures. Personal areas looked at may include drug and alcohol use and workplaces and working attitudes. Gone are the days when wild mavericks could roar into a work site, almost shoulder everyone aside as they completed their work, then roar out again. Working as a team is now an important issue as is working to plans - accurately.

If you are considering a career as a heavy equipment operator, be sure your training includes, at the very least, the basic requirements for workplace safety. Employers don’t really want to employ an individual if the employment process includes having to train the new recruit in safety procedures. Employers now expect a certain level of knowledge before engaging heavy equipment operators. Are you work safe?

One of the major pushes in heavy equipment operations is that of safety and there is good reason for this - when heavy equipment is involved in an incident, it is normally something major; rarely is it a minor event. To achieve a safer workplace, heavy equipment safety training is becoming a mandatory factor when employing workers. If a prospective employee hasn’t had any workplace safety training, it is now up to the employer to ensure they receive it prior to commencing work - often at the employers expense.

For employers, the easy way around paying for workplace safety training is to only employ those individuals who have already completed some form of heavy equipment safety training. As a prospective heavy equipment student, the obvious course is to select a training organization that offers heavy equipment safety. Choose the right training organization, and your training should be to national standards. This means you don’t have to redo any training should you move interstate, or if you are coming from interstate to undertake training.

ATS has a number of training schools in a wide range of locations, each offering training in either truck driving, crane operations or heavy equipment operations - some of our schools will offer all three. Workplace safety is included in all training programs as part of the nationally accredited training program. It is not an expensive added extra - or expensive compulsory extra.

For heavy equipment, our training programs run for three weeks and includes both in-class and in-the-cab training. Heavy equipment training is not restricted to the classroom, it includes in-cab tuition and observations making the operator aware of everything that is happening around them. Heavy equipment training is designed to make the workplace safer for everyone, the operator included.

If I had a crystal ball that could see into the future there is one thing I know I will see - tougher heavy equipment safety requirements. In fact, I can see a day when all operators will require certification of some type. We have it in the form of licenses for truck drivers for decades; from July, it seems that all crane operators will need certification with the NCCCO one of the preferred certification bodies; and with recent workplace accidents, including the mine explosion this week, it will only get tougher for general heavy equipment operators.

You may look at the Montcoal mine explosion and wonder why that will impact on heavy equipment safety. It won’t directly - but it will impact on all workplaces over time. Workplace safety is becoming a fairly large issue so whenever there is a major incident, all workplace practices come under scrutiny. If there is a workplace incident that involves heavy equipment in the near future, it too will suddenly come under the microscope.

Workplace safety is important and for heavy equipment this has been recognized by including safety training in all accredited training programs. In fact, a heavy equipment training program cannot now become accredited unless there are safety training components included. The subject is not one we take lightly at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools. Our heavy equipment training programs are all accredited to national standards.

If you are considering a career as a heavy equipment operator then do make sure your training includes workplace safety components. If in doubt, contact us here at ATS, we will happily supply you with information related to our accredited training programs and the heavy equipment safety standards included in that training.

Have you heard the joke about the heavy equipment operator that refused to do any safety training? No? Neither have I! In fact, it really isn’t a joking matter. Heavy equipment safety is serious, deadly serious you might say, since, as an operator, you have the lives of a lot of people in your hands.

Bulldozers can do a lot of damage. Have you seen the footage of the person who stole a bulldozer and drove through a suburb with police giving chase. He certainly destroyed a lot of property - it was very similar to the person who stole an army tank and went on destruction mission. Another operator who had lost half his house in a property dispute with his ex-wife, drove his backhoe through the front door and proceeded to cut the house in half - what a mess.

As you can see, heavy equipment can be quite destructive. Off course, those operators went out of their way to be destructive. Operators that fail to follow safety procedures can do just as must damage just through sheer negligence. On many of today’s construction sites, operators are not allowed on site unless they have completed some form of accredited heavy equipment safety training.

All nationally accredited training programs now include heavy equipment safety components. This is to ensure that, over time, all operators in the nation are working to the same set of standards. This all means that all operators know what they can expect from other operators or workers who are working nearby. If everyone is following the same set of safety precautions then work is more predictable and less accidents likely.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools delivers nationally accredited training that includes heavy equipment safety training. If you are looking to undertake training in this field, make sure the company delivering the training is also accredited. Better yet - just contact us.

Heavy equipment safety is important these days and as the title suggests, it does keep you employed. However, that can seen from a couple of different angles - the employers, the governments and from the employee’s perspective.

Employers and Heavy Equipment Safety

Employers are now recognizing many of the benefits of workplace safety, particularly when it comes to heavy equipment safety. Accidents cause stoppages and stoppages cost money. That’s the bottom line for big business - money. Of course, accidents cause damage, which is another cost and could result in fines from government agencies - more money. However, stoppages also affect a businesses reputation. If they cannot complete projects on time, they will soon find that contracts are hard to come by. Are employers interested in heavy equipment safety? If they care about their bottom line they most definitely do, so these days they only employ those that have had the training.

Governments and Heavy Equipment Safety

Governments have a particular interest in heavy equipment safety for a number of reasons. Pressure, particularly from lobby groups, always raises its head whenever there is a workplace incident that costs lives. Governments also see it as their duty to interfere wherever possible (in this case with positive results) so having employers work to certain regulations, and then fining them when they fail, is the result. I may sound a little cynical, but governments never seem to act until there is an incident. However, all that aside, there are strict regulations in place that do include safety training. Fail to meet those regulations and the fines can be huge. In some states, allowing a worker on site who hasn’t completed an accredited workplace safety training program is illegal.

Heavy Equipment Safety and the Operator

I could put this very simply - heavy equipment safety training helps to keep you safe and alive. If you’re injured or dead, you won’t be employed. It does go beyond this, however. If you enter a worksite with no workplace safety training and your negligence results in serious injury or death of another, there is no guarantee you won’t face criminal charges. Workplace health and safety is serious business these days so don’t ignore it if you want to keep your job.

The bottom line is very simple. When undertaking a heavy equipment training program, be sure it is accredited and includes workplace safety components. ATS has long been an advocate of safe workplaces. Our heavy equipment training programs all include workplace safety components designed to ensure you can not only secure a job, but also ensure you can keep your job.

Heavy equipment safety has become an important issue and many states now insist on operators having some form of safety training. Employers themselves are now starting to see the worth of safety training. Consider the two sides of the issue. Accidents mean stoppages, injuries, inquiries, possibly fines, and the job finishing behind schedule. No accidents means - well, the opposite. No injuries, no inquires, no stoppages, a happier workplace and jobs finishing ahead of schedule.

Southern Industrial Constructors are a classic example. They have just celebrated a full year with zero accidents in the workplace. You may think “so what?.” However, consider this: they employ 750 employees at sites spread around the country. This means safety is a prime concern, not in one place, but in multiple places. As one of the nation’s biggest employers of construction workers and heavy equipment operators, this is a record to be proud of.

How have they managed to achieve this record? Safety training, including ongoing training on a regular basis, has formed an important part of their safety platform. Workers are rewarded for working within safety guidelines. More importantly, using crane operators as an example:

(…source)The company advocates nationally for industry safety standards requiring its crane operators to be certified by the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO).

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools along with ATS Crane Operator Schools have long promoted safety in the workplace. All nationally accredited training includes safety components as laid down by the relevant national bodies for each equipment type. For our crane operators, we offer training that has been accredited and graduates can be assessed at our training centers for accreditation by the NCCCO. Heavy equipment safety training is helping to reduce workplace accidents - just ask Southern Industrial Constructors.

Heavy equipment safety has become one of the most important components in an accredited heavy equipment training program. There is good reason for it as well. Over the years, heavy equipment accidents have resulted in deaths, serious injuries and millions of dollars in damages to properties. In most states, all employees need to be following a work place safety plan and businesses can be fined large amounts for breaches in safety procedures.

Unfortunately, heavy equipment safety is very much an attitude issue. In the past, heavy equipment operators were seen as rough, tough, heavy drinking loudmouths that worked with a break or who have a break-through type attitude. We still see this stereotype as heavy equipment operators, but that mentality is no longer the dominant force in this industry.

It may seem strange, but heavy equipment safety needs to become a subconscious act, not a conscious act. Sure, you need to be thinking safety, but your subconscious is what is always watching what is taking place around you. Some people call it a sixth sense. The term doesn’t matter - heavy equipment safety just needs to become second nature.

We do it in our cars as we drive around. We are not constantly thinking about safety, we just do it. The same is true when it comes to heavy equipment safety. This all starts with your attitude and the type of training you receive. Your heavy equipment training should be accredited and should include heavy equipment safety training components (if it’s accredited it will - it’s part of the accreditation process).

Here at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools we have a well earned reputation for providing industry with well trained graduates who are ready for employment. This means they have been trained to national standards including heavy equipment safety. If you are looking to become a heavy equipment operator - train with the best to ensure that your skills and knowledge are what employers are looking for.

It may be winter and the ground may be frozen solid, but if a trench is needed, the excavator is the machine for the job. Frozen ice may be too hard for the bucket, but excavators come with a range of tools that can used, including ground breaking picks. They say that backhoes are versatile, but so too are excavators.

Backhoes are versatile machines and often a lot easier to use when it comes to tight spaces. However, for every attachment that a backhoe has, an excavator has an equivalent. Where the excavator often excels is in in pure power. Size for size, the excavator can often exert a lot more grunt so when it comes to icy ground - call in the excavator, they are muscled up and ready.

Excavator operators are often multi-skilled as well. If you can operate an excavator then you should be able to transfer some of those skills to the backhoe. The reverse is true also. If your original training is undertaken through an accredited training company then there is a good chance you have been trained on both - and the loader as well.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools train their students across a range of heavy equipment that includes excavators and backhoes, loaders, bulldozers as well as graders. These are the main machines used in excavating, construction and mining, the major users of heavy equipment operators. For those looking to enter the field of heavy equipment, we have new heavy equipment training programs starting all the time so the wait for the next course is always minimal.

If you are looking for a job operating an excavator - you need the training first. Contact us and we can discuss your training options and what is needed to become qualified.

Heavy equipment safety training has two aspects and they are both covered by workplace safety laws. Those working as heavy equipment operators have a responsibility to themselves and to everyone and everything around them. Those working on the ground have exactly the same responsibility. Heavy equipment safety often covers both in the cab and on the ground safety aspects.

Communication is one area that is common to those both in the cab and on the ground. Whether it’s via hand signals or through the use of two-way radios - being able to clearly understand what is being communicated is important.

For those on the ground, and for operators, jumping on and off moving equipment is considered a dangerous act and should not be attempted. If you are on the ground, you should wait until the equipment has come to a stop before attempting to get on. For the operator, if someone is wanting to get on board, the obvious step is to make your equipment safe so they can get on.

Safety laws include the wearing of safety equipment such as hard hats, footwear and specialist equipment such as hearing protection. Both ground and cab personnel need to be aware of what safety clothing is required and to be using them on the job.

Observation is another key area for both heavy equipment operators and ground workers. For the operators, this includes equipment inspections prior to starting work. For those on the ground, being aware of and reporting unusual noises and/or vibrations coming from the heavy equipment can help to prevent serious accidents, or serious equipment breakdowns.

Heavy equipment safety involves everyone on a work site whether you are an operator or part of the ground crew. Heavy equipment safety covers a broad spectrum of issues - what is important is that these are fully understood. A lack of understanding can lead to serious accidents often resulting in death - sometimes that of the operator. Heavy equipment safety training - it’s more important that you realize.