One of the more important jobs on a construction site is that of the rigger. A rigger does a lot of work that reduces the risk of injury to others working on that construction site. Riggers also work closely with crane operators to ensure the safe movement of materials by that crane. Because safety has become an important issue in all workplaces, steps were taken to ensure that all riggers meet a minimum standard of training and knowledge. To comply with these regulations, riggers are now required to complete a training program, or at least demonstrate their skills and knowledge and to be issued with a compliance card that verifies their skills and knowledge.

That is the very minimum requirement. Some employers look for a wider range of skills and knowledge, preferring to employ those who have become certified riggers. Certification is a longer, more in depth training program and is often the minimum requirement for those in positions of authority.

The ATS OSHA rigger training programs are designed to meet these minimum standards. You can either go through the certification program or opt for the shorter compliance card program, depending on your requirements. For employers, group training has many cost benefits, especially if undertaken in the workplace. Downtime is reduced, and all employees receive the same training – and that includes any modifications that may be required to suit your workplace.

If your employees do not meet the minimum requirements under OSHA regulations, then you can be fined. If someone is hurt or killed in a workplace incident and your workers don’t meet these regulations, then the cost could be much higher than a simple fine.

When considering any career change, it’s important to look at the bigger picture, and this includes employers. If you’re looking to enter the field of heavy equipment operations, one key element is job vacancy – what, exactly, is an employer looking for? It may sound very simplistic, and it is in terms of social skills – for example, reliability. However, you need to look a little closer.

If you look back over the job vacancies that have been posted on these pages each Saturday, and on our jobs website, there is one characteristic that should stand out – employers are looking for heavy equipment operators. They are not looking for bulldozer operators or road grader operators – they are asking for multi-skilled operators. Sometimes they will list the range of equipment that an operator could be required to operate, however, it stills boils down to a requirement for a multi-skilled operator.

That doesn’t mean you cannot specialize in one piece of heavy equipment. It does mean that opportunities may be limited if you do specialize. Sometimes, the key to specialization relies in the old-fashioned ‘foot in door’ theory. Get a job with an employer who is looking for multi-skilled heavy equipment operators, then work your way into becoming their main bulldozer operator, or grader operator (or whichever equipment you want to specialize in).

Like all careers, undertaking training that meets the needs of employers is the first step to success. Being willing to meet those needs in the short term will help to further your career. Once you have the experience and reputation, you can then start to dictate the direction of your career. Your first step is to find a heavy equipment operator training program that exposes you to a wide range of heavy equipment. The wider the range, the better your chances of a successful career.

As the winter chill sets in the number of job vacancies for heavy equipment operators often drops off just a little. Many operators find work in snow removal and road clearing whilst others look to the warmer states where construction continues – in fact, it often increases at this time of the year. This month’s jobs have been varied and included a visit by Schneider representative talking to and signing up new truck drivers. If you are looking for work as a truck driver, crane operator or heavy equipment operator, then take a moment each day to visit our jobs website. There you’ll find the latest offers by employers.

Heavy Equipment Operators
Decorah, IA
Employer taking job applications for heavy equipment operators for projects in IA and MN (also requires truck drivers with CDL-A).

Truck Drivers
Decorah, IA
Employer taking job applications for truck drivers with CDL-A for projects in IA and MN (also requires heavy equipment operators).

Equipment Operator Fuels
Pardeeville, WI
Alliant Energy is currently recruiting for an Equipment Operator. We are a publicly traded energy holding company with over 4,000 employees. Alliant Energy is committed to providing an inclusive work environment for all our employees and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. In this challenging role you will operate fuel-handling equipment and performs related coal yard and plant tasks at a steam generating station.

Truck Driver
Madison, WI
Capitol Warehouse needs a tanker driver for mostly WI and surrounding state runs, home most nights.

Truck Drivers
Marshfield, WI
Roehl at Marshfield hiring CDL-A drivers for Dairy Tankers runs, WI and MN

Heavy Equipment Operators and Laborers
Nationwide Contracting – Oklahoma
Heavy Equipment Operators and Laborers Experience required. Must have valid D.L., be able to work ex­tended hours.

Heavy equipment operator careers are lucrative and in demand, and that demand is going to grow over the next five years. If you are interested in a career as a heavy equipment operator, truck driver, or crane operator, then contact us for information on training programs that have been designed to get you into work, not just cover the basic skills.

No pun intended here when I say a commercial drivers license can take you a long way. Obviously, behind the wheel of a truck, you can go a ‘long way’. However, that’s not my meaning in today’s post. Rather, a commercial drivers license can be the start of a long career that has a wide range of opportunities. There are many truck drivers who are still in the industry, yet they are no longer ‘truck drivers’.

Almost every trucking company in the country was started by a truck driver. These are drivers who saw opportunities to buy their own trucks, and over time add more trucks to their fleet. Eventually they have so many trucks that, rather than driving for a living, they need to spend their time managing the fleet – and the work contracts that keeps the cash flowing in.

Owning your own business is not everyone’s dream of course, and there are other opportunities to be found in the industry. Large trucking companies rely on a team of individuals who plan loads and routes and who then allocate these loads to drivers. Logistics requires a lot of skill, and former truck drivers often excel in this area of transportation. Truck driving can also open the door to further training in fields such as mechanics and engineering.

It only takes a few weeks of truck driver training to gain the skills necessary to gain a commercial drivers license (CDL). With a CDL in hand, you can commence work as a truck driver gaining experience, perhaps seeing the country, and certainly gaining new friends – not to mention the skills and lucrative income. From there, you can control your future using your experience and skills to gain entry to many other transport-related careers. A CDL will take you a long way – both on the highway and in life.

One of the most common accidents on a construction site is where heavy equipment comes into contact with a worker. With backhoes and excavators, this can often be the bucket striking an individual as it is being swung around. Other accidents include running into workers, particularly when reversing, and crushing workers between the heavy equipment and a stationary object – often another vehicle, or the side of a building.

To avoid accidents, one of the skills an operator must learn is awareness, and that process should start with their heavy equipment training. Heavy equipment operators need to be able to see clearly around them, and when there are obstructions, to call on the help of other workers to guide them. This is common practice with crane operators. If a crane operator cannot see the load, they will use a rigger or signal person to guide them and warn them of any dangers. The same process is available to heavy equipment operators in situations where vision is impaired for any reason.

All vehicles (including ordinary passenger cars) have ‘blind spots’. These are areas close to, and often behind, the equipment that an operator cannot see. Modern heavy equipment technology does have reversing monitors in place, however, they are only of use when the vehicle is actually reversing. Heavy equipment often also utilizes a warning system when reversing, a system that provides an audible beeping to warn other workers about the heavy equipment’s presence.

Workplace safety is everyone’s responsibility, and work colleagues do owe you a little respect as well. They are as much responsible for their actions around heavy equipment as the operator is. That being said, the heavy equipment operator is the person in control of the equipment, and they are in a position to stop or prevent an incident should someone impinge on their work area. Heavy equipment safety is vitally important – obviously from a human life perspective but also from a cost perspective. Accidents can bring a whole work site to a standstill until investigators have completed their investigation into the causes. Think safe, work safe, and you’ll protect yourself as well as your work colleagues.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools ranks heavy equipment safety highly and includes comprehensive training modules in workplace safety. When looking for a heavy equipment training school, be sure they rank workplace safety highly as well – employers will consider your application for employment.

In an era where job uncertainty remains a big factor, having a skill that is still in demand is like pure gold. Truck driving, crane operations and heavy equipment operations are three skill areas that remain strong despite the economy. Whilst legislators around the nation are looking to cut expenditure wherever possible, services such as schools, hospitals, roads and bridges still remain as priorities. More importantly, there are some sectors of the economy, particularly mining, that are growing, and their need for these skilled workers is growing – sometimes outstripping supply. The jobs that have come into our jobs website this month include:

Equipment Operator Fuels
Pardeeville, WI
Alliant Energy is currently recruiting for an Equipment Operator. We are a publicly traded energy holding company with over 4,000 employees. Alliant Energy is committed to providing an inclusive work environment for all our employees and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. In this challenging role you will operate fuel-handling equipment and performs related coal yard and plant tasks at a steam generating station.

Truck Driver
Madison, WI
Capitol Warehouse needs a tanker driver for mostly WI and surrounding state runs, home most nights.

Truck Drivers
Sun Prarie, WI
Schneider will be hiring CDL-A drivers at DDS on 01/15/2013 at 4PM

Truck Drivers
Marshfield, WI
Roehl at Marshfield hiring CDL-A drivers for Dairy Tankers runs, WI and MN

Heavy Equipment Operators and Laborers
Nationwide Contracting – Oklahoma
Heavy Equipment Operators and Laborers Experience required. Must have valid D.L., be able to work ex­tended hours.

If you are looking for a career that has strong demand despite the ills of the economy, consider heavy equipment operations, truck driving and/or crane operations. Our training website has details on training programs that will prepare you for the workplace – and a career that is well paid and always in demand.

The life of a crane operator can be a dangerous one. It becomes more so for those working at the top of new buildings in the city. Yesterday’s collision between a helicopter and crane in London is a good example – although thankfully not one that happens regularly. Mobile crane operators can be grateful for one thing – they have their feet firmly planted on the ground, and it would take a very low flying helicopter to cause them any problems. In fact, mobile crane operators are more at risk of colliding with overhead power lines than anything else.

Mobile crane operators lead a fairly interesting life. Because they are mobile, they are able to travel very quickly between jobs. A mobile crane is nothing more than a specially built truck that has a crane mounted at the rear. The truck is driven like any other truck following normal truck driving road rules. The crane has its own operating cab – in effect, an operator is skilled as both a truck driver and crane operator, and that often includes the requirement for a commercial drivers license.

There will be times when a mobile crane operator is required to work at the one site for days or weeks at a time. At other times, they may well find themselves at two or more different sites each day, with each site requiring completely different jobs. Variety is certainly a big factor in the life of a mobile crane operator.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools provides training in both mobile crane operations and truck driving. Our training will prepare you for certification as a crane operator and complete the requirements to be issued a commercial drivers license. If you’re interested in a job that has a lot of variety requiring multiple skills, then mobile crane operations not only provide those also a career that is well paid and always in demand.

If you have a desire to be a heavy equipment operator, you will need to understand that your role on a construction site goes beyond just operating your equipment. You will often see heavy equipment operator job vacancies that include descriptions such as “and general laboring when required.” Everyone pitches in on a construction site. You cannot just sit in your cab waiting for your next job – you will be expected to get out and help in other areas.

It doesn’t happen all the time, however, you can expect this situation to occur on a regular basis. There are some jobs where you will be working alone, however, in most instances, you will be a part of a team. Sometimes it’s a good idea to wander down to a construction site to watch everyone at work. You will often see heavy equipment operators getting out of their cabs, sometimes only for a few minutes, at other times for an hour or more.

One area that does irk many heavy equipment operators is the constant in-and-out nature of some jobs. This happens frequently on demolition sites where an operator is constantly helping to manually demolish some sections. As a heavy equipment operator, your main focus and time will be on operating your equipment. You will spend 80%-90% of your working time operating that equipment, however, that does mean you’ll spending 10%-20% of your time away from your heavy equipment doing other manual laboring jobs.

For those who have a variety of skills, for example, skills on a range of heavy equipment, truck driving skills, or crane operator skills, then you may find you’re moving between them and your heavy equipment. In most cases, doing a different job can come as a welcome change to what you have repeatedly been doing. You’re part of a team, and that means you pitch in and help out whenever required.

Truck drivers are the theme of this week’s job vacancies. Large trucking companies often go on recruiting drives, a situation that is helpful for those looking for truck driving jobs. In the coming week Schneider will be at our truck driving school to recruit drivers, and this includes those who have recently graduated from truck driver training and received their commercial drivers license. Some of this week’s jobs include:

Truck Driver
Madison, WI
Capitol Warehouse needs a tanker driver for mostly WI and surrounding state runs, home most nights.

Truck Drivers
Sun Prarie, WI
Schneider will be hiring CDL-A drivers at DDS on 01/15/2013 at 4PM

Truck Drivers
Marshfield, WI
Roehl at Marshfield hiring CDL-A drivers for Dairy Tankers runs, WI and MN

Heavy Equipment Operators and Laborers
Nationwide Contracting – Oklahoma
Heavy Equipment Operators and Laborers Experience required. Must have valid D.L., be able to work ex­
tended hours.

You can find more information on these and other jobs on our dedicated jobs website.

Heavy equipment safety has become a big issue to the point it has drawn the attention of regulators. We have already seen crane operators requiring certification and riggers and signal persons now require some form of skills acknowledgement. Heavy equipment will most likely be the next area that regulators target, although that will prove to be a huge task given the number of operators currently employed. That doesn’t mean they won’t take them on and require some form of skills recognition, possibly to the level of certification.

We currently have compulsory minimum safety training requirements in many workplaces, and that includes heavy equipment operations on construction sites. For many operators, certification will just be an assessment of their current skills. However, there are quite a few operators who may fail some of these assessments, and one of the reasons for their failure will have been the lack of relevant training when they first started out.

Quality training is one of the most important aspects to a new career in heavy equipment operations. Employers look at your training history as part of their assessment for employment suitability. Employers do have preferred training organizations, and likewise, there are training organizations that employers don’t like. A good guide to quality is longevity – if a training organization isn’t delivering, it won’t stay in the business for long.

Workplace safety is an important issue for employers today. Accidents cost employers a lot in terms of money, time and reputation, areas that businesses can ill afford to waste. Be sure your heavy equipment operator training includes a strong safety component and that your training is provided by an organization that is well respected within the heavy equipment community.