Humans are so competitive. It doesn’t really matter what sort of work you do, there is always going to be some sort of competition and heavy equipment operators are no different. They have their own competitions to try and prove who is the best operator.

Most of the heavy equipment competitions involve precision. If your using a backhoe, how quickly can you dig a trench that is exactly four feet deep, four feet wide and twenty foot long – and as straight as possible? What about a front end loader, how quickly can you move a load of material from point A to point B leaving point A nice and clean the pile at point B neatly shaped. I could go on but I think you get the idea.

Precision is the key, however as heavy equipment operators become more proficient, speed has been added to the mix. These competitions have becomes very competitive and bring many spectators from outside the industry – why? It is actually a lot of fun watching these large machines go head to head in a race.

Believe it or not, the prizes for some of these competitions can be huge. There is a competition in the new year where first prize is a brand new excavator – now these machines are not cheap.

Of course, to compete at that level you need plenty of experience and before you can get that experience you need training. Get the best heavy equipment training to prepare you for work from the training provider that has all the experience and credentials – ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools. You may not win one of these competitions tomorrow – but we can get you started.

A mobile crane, by its very name, can normally be driven to the work site. It doesn’t need any special transport vehicles and if generally treated pretty much like a truck. However, as an operator/driver, there are some tasks that need to be undertaken prior to driving on the open road.

The open highway of course is open to all vehicles that meet requirements for registration. For this reason, crane operators need to ensure that all other vehicles and property are safe from the crane. Comedy movies may make fun at a swinging boom that knocks over pedestrians, shatters windows and causes all sorts of damage, however, in reality a driver that allowed that to happen would most likely wind up behind bars.

Cranes often have special legs to maintain stability while lifting big weights. The crane operator needs to ensure that these are retracted and locked away until required. Likewise, the crane arms need to be lowered and locked into place to prevent any unwanted movement.

Most cranes have a manual which describes how the cranes various components are locked down prior to moving to a new site. The operator needs to ensure there are no loose components that may fly off while traveling down the highway.

Being a crane operator is an interesting job with every load lifted being different and bringing it’s own challenges. ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools can provide comprehensive training in crane operations to give you a head start as a safe crane operator.

The construction industry has a huge appetite for heavy equipment operators, so much so it is fairly easy for a school leaver to go from classroom one day to operator the next. Of course, a little training is first required, but that is really a case of replacing one classroom with another.

Heavy equipment does not discriminate when it comes to age. There are obviously some legal requirements, but that is true with car licenses as well. What is required, rather than age, is competence. Either you can operate say a bulldozer, or you cannot. If cant operate the equipment, no one will want you on their construction site as a heavy equipment operator.

The key is the training you receive. Not all training is equal and some training organizations have excellent records whilst others are recognized for not delivering to an acceptable standard. Find the right training organization and their name alone will often be good enough to secure you a job.

Training providers like ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools work hard to build a reputation for supplying operators to the heavy equipment industry that are of a high standard. You can see this by the number of companies that are ready to employ graduates before they have even completed their training.

Find a training organization that has this quality reputation and, no matter how old you, if you meet the legal operating conditions you can almost be assured of smooth transition from school to the seat of a piece of heavy equipment.

The economy may be a little tight at present but there is still a demand for skilled heavy equipment operators. It can be a catch 22 – tight economy means little in the way of spare cash yet with the demand for operators high, a good job would provide that extra cash.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools has the solution for tight budgets. We offer several tuition financing options, each designed to make it easy and affordable to enroll in any of our training programs. You can apply for financing by filling out our online application.

You may qualify for state or federal grants to help them cover training costs. Students receiving unemployment benefits may be eligible to receive these benefits while in training. There are three other financing options available to prospective students.

The first loan option, each school in the network has relationships with national lending institutions which offer loans to students. The School can recommend a lender if you need help.

With the second loan option, you can approach USA Finance which may make a loan to an individual for tuition and in-school housing. The student makes a down payment upon starting class and the balance of tuition and housing can be financed. The down payment amount is determined after the USA Finance Credit Application is received and reviewed.

For the third loan option there are many banks that offer “Career Loans” to their customers. Students should talk with their local bank about a “Career Education” loan.

Rippers are one of the most interesting pieces of heavy equipment to watch. Some are stand alone machines, some are attachments to traditional machinery like backhoes. They can dig up the rockiest terrain ready for dozers or loaders to come in and removes the material.

The large heavy duty rippers are mean machines. They use their considerable weight as leverage along with a multi segment arm to which a sharp digging tool is fitted. The heavy weight of the ripper anchors it to the ground while the power of engine drags the ripping tool through the rock and earth. The are interesting observation in physics as the number of segments and the angle of attack is used to magnify the power of then engine. By using physics, heavy equipment like a ripper can leverage their power to perform incredible feats of strength.

Even backhoes fitted with a ripper tool can use the principles of physics to dig up ground that is rock solid, and I do mean solid rock. The operation of heavy machinery like a ripper is based on similar principles to a backhoe. The point goes into the earth and is dragged toward the machine. This is similar to you sitting in a sandpit and using your hand to drag the sand towards you. It is far easier to use your own weight as a counter balance – trying to push away from you has the wrong angles and does not make use of your own weight.

Learning to operate a ripper, or backhoe is not difficult. ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools can provide all the training you need to becomes a backhoe operator. From there it is just a step up to a fully fledged ripper.

Hydraulic excavators are no to dissimilar to traditional excavators. They include the standard work unit which has a 360° swing mounted on an undercarriage used for travel. The front-end attachment can be exchanged to allow for a wide range of applications including digging and loading.

The hydraulic excavator is driven hydraulically in a manner completely different to a mechanically driven type. The engines mechanical energy is converted into hydraulic energy. The hydraulic energy is then passed along and then converted back into mechanical energy. In other words, travel, swing and dig is all done by hydraulic power.

A major feature of a hydraulic excavator is the full 360° swing along with the combined operations of digging, loading and swing ensuring high operating efficiencies and production. By exchanging the front-end attachments, a wider range of applications are available.

Whether it is a standard excavator or an hydraulic excavator, the basic operations are still the same and the same training is required. ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools can provide training to get you into a career as an excavator operator.

If you are looking for a career change but cannot make a decision, perhaps you should check out your options and perhaps try out one or two.

One of the real benefits of ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools is that you can try before you buy. They have a complete online training program that anyone can access – and it’s free. The free online training program is of course centered around heavy equipment and take you through the basics of heavy equipment operations and safety.

There are not to many careers, or in fact training providers, that will let you test your own skills, abilities and comfort levels when it comes to training for a new career. It is important. Undertaking a complete training program can be time consuming and expensive particularly when it comes to heavy equipment.

If your looking for a career change and don’t really know if heavy equipment operation is for you – check out our free online training options first.

Occupation descriptions, or job descriptions, come in many formats and some are quite deep in their requirements. Others can be brief and often make it sound like any one could apply for a vacancy.

An occupation descriptions is often broken into three or four parts. An overview, task description, required skills/training and personal attributes.

Description:

Operate mechanical boom and cable or tower and cable equipment to lift and move materials, machines, or products in many directions.

Tasks:

• Clean, lubricate, and maintain mechanisms such as cables, pulleys, and grappling devices.
• Determine load weights and check them against lifting capacities in order to prevent overload.
• Inspect equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving equipment.
• Using hand and arm signals for installing, handling, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things

.

If you don’t have those skills yet would like a career as a crane operator then perhaps you check out ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools to see when your next course begins.

The great outdoors has always been the bastion of the beer swilling loudmouthed male – even wives were frowned upon anywhere near the workplace. However, there has been one occupation where females have been accepted almost as readily males, and that has been in the trucking industry.

Times are changing. You can now see women driving bulldozers or front end loaders, however, when it comes to statistics, there 100 women truck drivers for every woman driving a earth moving equipment.

In fact, it is not just women, truck driving has been one industry where males and females, young and old and people from all walks of life have been employed and able to work together with minimal friction.

Because truck driving involves traveling, often from one side of the country to the other, it has been seen a little like driving internationally. As you cross state borders you are driving on someone elses turf – if they accept a female driver, so do you. If you accept 60 year old drivers, they will too.

It’s never too late to start a career as a truck driver. Many women, for example, start their truck driving careers once the kids have left the nest. It becomes their escape as well.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools doesn’t discriminate either. Whether your young, old, male, female, it doesn’t matter. If you want to be a truck driver then we will do our best to help you achieve that career goal.

We live in an age where space is reducing and the ability to use full size equipment is becoming difficult or even impossible. We see mini excavators and bob-cats working hard all day, perhaps what you don’t see or hear very much about is the compact grader. In fact, you have probably seen them in action and not given them another thought.

Compact graders are identical to their bigger brothers. As the name suggests they are compact, or smaller in size. The compact grader, as an example, has a turning circle of less than twenty feet compared to twice that for the larger machines.

Although shorter in length, and having a significantly smaller engine, these little graders perform just as well as the larger models. They can still do an adequate job of moving dirt, snow or any loose material.

The skills required to operate a compact grader are no different to those of the larger machines. At ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools we offer training on motor graders to provide participants with the skills to operate both large and small machines. Check us out for a training program suited to your needs.