Operating a crane is a piece of cake these days compared to a couple of hundred years ago. The modern crane looks nothing like those earlier devices. Today’s cranes can comfortably sit in the field of heavy equipment, back then there was nothing heavy about the crane at all.

The medieval crane must have been something to see. There were several different ways to operate them, the main one being using human power, running inside a giant wheel. Of course, as time progressed, horses were brought in to do some of the work load. Daily accidents and deaths were a standard part of a working day.

Today’s cranes are far more complicated and yet, at the same time, less complex. They are certainly a lot safer, yet they can lift far more than their earlier counterparts. The cranes of that era, particularly the simpler ones were often a lot easier to transport; but then, all you had was a large piece of reinforced timber. You could always find a fulcrum somewhere near the job site.

When you look at some of the ancient castles, you have to be amazed at how they managed to erect them using such primitive cranes – yet they did and those building still stand today.

Fortunately we don’t have to rely on those old cranes. Our mechanical cranes do the job in a fraction of time using far less manpower. The manpower that is used needs, however, far more training. That is where ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools comes in. We prepare our students for work in the heavy equipment field so they than can get the job done quickly and safely. Join the crane operators of today with effective heavy equipment training.

Heavy equipment is used in a wide variety of situations. From the mine to the forest, our ports and roads, and construction of everything from a home to a high rise building. The requirement for heavy equipment operators seems to ebb and flow. However, there always seems to be vacancies for skilled operators.

Our free job placement service can help you find employment operating a wide range of heavy equipment related to the training you undertook. This heavy equipment includes:

• Wheel loaders
• Backhoes
• Excavators
• Scrapers
• Bulldozers
• Road Graders
• Swing & Fixed cab mobile cranes
• Equipment Transporting
• Dump Trucks

Job placement assistance is a priority with us. All our graduates are eligible to receive job placement assistance at no extra cost. There is a demand throughout the country for heavy equipment operators.

As a graduate, you are able to access our job placement database by calling the School or on the internet. The job placement department assists in locating potential employers in your community.

To put these services into affect, you must have graduated from ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools. Contact us for no obligation information and DVD.

A dumper is often a diesel powered vehicle used to carry loads and material around, often on building sites. Older dumpers steer by turning their back wheels. They had no electric or hydraulic parts and thus has not much that can easily go wrong. The skip was secured by a catch near the driver’s feet which, when released, allowed the skip to tip under the weight of its contents.

Modern dumpers often steer by articulating at the middle of the chassis. They have a host of electric and electronic components with hydraulics and are more expensive to make and operate.

Their skips have power tipping and often lift as they tip. In the 1990s dumpers with swivel skips, which could be rotated to tip out sideways, became popular, especially for working in narrow sites such as road works.

Dumpers are specialized equipment that may require specialized training. However, the basic training required is often no different to that of a truck driver or dozer operator. To gain training in all aspects of heavy equipment contact us at ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools.

The modern heavy equipment cab is almost luxury compared to those of ten and twenty years ago. One question I heard was why? Why have they made modern cabs so comfortable?

Older heavy equipment was heavy in all aspects. Even the steering was heavy. It often took a lot of strength to turn the steering wheel, pull on the levers and push down on the pedals. Add to that the heat and dust and the poor supply of fresh air and the role of a heavy equipment operator was quite taxing. Most operators finished the day mentally and physically exhausted.

It was a known fact that most accidents occurred in the later part of a working shift. This was because workers were tired, less vigilant and their reflexes much slower. Some reports put heavy equipment operators on the same level of those who were intoxicated.

Over time, different areas of the operators cab were refined. One of the first was the introduction powered steering. This took a lot of strain of the operator particularly when hydraulics where also improved to make the movement of levers and pedals much easier. The physical strain on the body was immediately reduced.

Add to this the inclusion of comfortable seats, climate (and dust) control and wide wrap around windows and suddenly the heavy equipment operator’s life became easier. We call them luxury cabs, those who operated the old machinery call them safety cabs.

Learn to operate heavy equipment yourself through ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools.

As the name suggests, all terrain fork vehicles can operate across a range of terrains and can often be found around mines and on some large construction sites. Their role in the heavy equipment world is to load and unload trucks and to move heavy equipment around the mine or construction site.

All terrain fork tend to be larger than a standard fork lift truck and are included in the heavy equipment category. They operate using a set of two or more ‘forks’ at the front of the truck. The forks are placed under the material to be moved, then raised until the material is well clear of the ground.

All terrain fork vehicles can be quite nimble and can move around a site fairly quickly, even with a heavy load. Operating a fork requires a sense of balance along with good eyesight and the ability to navigate a vehicle that often has a load that is much wider than the vehicle itself.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools can deliver training across a wide range of heavy equipment including Backhoes, Wheel Loaders, All Terrain Fork Vehicles, Rollers/ Compactors, Off-Road Dump Trucks, Scrapers, Bulldozers, Excavators, Motor Graders. To get your career off to a flying start give us a call.

The backhoe loader a vehicle which consists of a tractor, front shovelbucket and small backhoe in the rear. Due to its small size and versatility, backhoe loaders are very common in urban engineering and small construction projects such as building a house, fixing roads and general maintenance. They are versatile work horses of the construction industry.

Backhoe-loaders are very common and can be used for a wide variety of tasks including construction, small demolitions, light transportation of building materials, powering building equipment, digging holes/excavating, breaking asphalt, and paving roads.

The backhoe bucket can often be replaced with other tools such as a breaker for smashing concrete and rock. Some loader buckets have a retractable bottom, enabling it to empty its load more quickly and efficiently.

Operating a backhoe loader still requires training including how to operate and the general safety issues associated with heavy equipment.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools can provide training for a wide variety construction equipment. Check out he training available today for a career in heavy equipment operations.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools have gone out of their way to provide individuals considering a career in the heavy equipment industry with all the information required to make a decision – and it is all at your fingertips.

To begin with, their is full featured video on heavy equipment as a career. This is a full motion presentation that is available online at the click of a button. The video will provide much of the information you require to make a career changing decision.

If you want the information in your hand, or you have problems viewing the online video, then you can request a brochure and a copy of the dvd. You can review these in the comfort of your own home at your own leisure.

Once you have decided that a career as a heavy equipment operator is right for you, you can fill in our online application form.

If your impatient to get started, then you can working through our free online training program. This will provide you with some of the basic knowledge required to get started as a heavy equipment operator.

As you can see, it all there at your fingertips – well at the click of a mouse button anyway.

When I talk about compact heavy equipment, I am not necessarily talking about small, today I am referring to the compactor. This equipment ranges in size from the pair of size 12’s up to to huge heavy machines.

I don’t feel like stomping along a 20 mile stretch of highway to compact the base so let’s forget the size 12’s. I don’t feel like pushing a hand held compactor along that road either so it’s time to call in the heavy equipment.

Of course compactors have one major role to play in life. They compact the surface to make a firm stable base. Compactors normally use a combination of weight and vibration. The vibration basically shakes the the base material around so that the heavy weight can force it together tightly.

Compactors are one of those heavy equipment machines that don’t necessarily require training. What is often required is training on a standard heavy equipment machine such as a tractor or bulldozer. In fact tractors are often one the machines used to tow compactors around as they perform their duty.

Of course, other aspects of heavy equipment training such as safety are equally important. ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools offer a broad range of training options that may provide a base of skills required to operate a compactor. Request a free brochure or view our online videos to see what we can offer you.

Cranes are not just cranes, yet when it comes to their operations, cranes are just cranes. Cranes are classed as heavy equipment but of all the heavy equipment, cranes have the highest number of equipment types.

There are around a dozen different types of cranes in use around the country now and they range in size from small sit on the back of a truck type to the huge heavy construction type. The different types of cranes include:

• Railroad Crane – this sits on a rail carriage flat bet
• Mobile Crane – often wheeled although there are some tracked
• Telescopic Crane – a type of crane whose boom consists of a number of tubes fitted one inside the other
• Tower Crane – tower cranes often give the best combination of height and lifting capacity and are used in the construction of tall buildings
• Truck Mounted Crane – a crane mounted on truck flat bed
• Rough Terrain Crane – crane with four rubber tires that is designed for off-road and “rough terrain” applications
• Crawler Crane – a crane mounted on a set of tracks that provide the stability and mobility of the crane
• Loader Crane – hydraulically-powered articulated arm fitted to a trailer
• Gantry Crane – a large installation used in container ports and rail freight terminal
• Overhead Crane – suspended crane often found in factories
• Stacker Crane – crane with a forklift type mechanism used in automated warehouses
• Floating Crane – mounted on barges and used mainly in bridge building and port construction
• Aerial Crane – aerial cranes usually extend from helicopters to lift large loads

If you are looking for a career as a crane operator then I think you will agree there are plenty of options available. Your first option is to find the right training and at ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools we help you there.

There are a lot of individuals who are wanting to undertake heavy equipment training but get confused by the number of training schools around. To help determine which training provider is right for you, there are several questions you can put to them.

There are of course the obvious questions. How much will it cost me? How long does the training take? Those questions are fairly straightforward and you can make easy comparisons. However, simply comparing price can be a big mistake if don’t also include the following assessment of their services:

Is the training accredited and if so, through whom? – be sure the accreditation is through a recognized body and that the training provided is recognized nation wide.

Is there any job placement service available? – there are many providers that will train heavy equipment operators like a production line – in one door, trained, out the other door, goodbye. If they offer a job placement service then the training is going to be targeted towards employment, not getting you out the door.

Is there financial assistance available? – training providers that can offer financial assistance are generally on a sound financial footing themselves. They are not living day to day using your money to pay for last months training – a road to ruin, with your money.

Do they have successful students willing to vouch for the training? – happy customers are always one of the best indications of quality service. If there are heavy equipment operators who are willing to speak well of their training, then you can relax in the knowledge of receiving quality training.

At ATS Heavy Equipment Training School we encourage any questions like those above. Quality training to help you into the workplace is our aim. Our record speaks for itself with previous students happy to speak about their accredited training and subsequent employment within the industry.