Heavy Equipment Operators Have Heart Wrenching Tasks Too

Heavy equipment operators work in a wide range of activities, the hardest being the clean up after storms. As we head into the summer months, there are many operators preparing themselves for the associated storms. A lot of attention is paid to those who lose homes and businesses because of storms, however, little attention is paid to those who do the cleaning up, and it can be a heart-wrenching job. People’s homes, often still full of personal items that have been destroyed, need to be cleaned away – sure, insurance can pay for a new home, but to see those memories being trashed is never easy.

Bulldozer operators are particularly busy although loader operators and dump truck drivers run a close second. Excavator operators and backhoe operators are also kept busy during these periods. It’s not just homes and businesses either. The environment receives a fair hit as well with sand washed away from beaches and replaced by debris that wind and the waves throw up. Rivers often flood, and they leave behind a big mess as well – mud and debris, sometimes cars and parts of houses.

It requires a lot of experience to work in these areas, experience that is built up over several years following an operator’s initial training. That initial training has become very important in today’s workplace – employers don’t have the time (or money) to train operators from scratch, so they rely on new operators being at least competent enough to do many of the basic tasks that heavy equipment operators do every day. If heavy equipment operators have those entry level skills, they can build upon them in the workplace, taking on harder and more complicated tasks as they develop those skills.

At Associated Training Services, we pride ourselves on the skill levels that heavy equipment operators have when they graduate from our training programs. Our programs are designed to meet the needs of industry – we don’t just train students in the basics and leave them to fend for themselves. If you want a career as a heavy equipment operator, then be sure you receive the best training available. That will set you up for a long and successful career, and that includes working to clean up after storms have ravaged the landscape.