If you want to make the most out of your heavy equipment training then you need to put it to use straight away. This might involve some hard decisions, but is worth it in the end. If you are working somewhere where the opportunities to advance are limited, sometimes it is better to move on rather than wait for an opportunity to find your. Your heavy equipment training and certification is an enormous asset in the job market and will make finding your next job a relatively straightforward process.

Reasons to Change your Job

• Not enough opportunities to put your training to use.
  This can be particularly frustrating and it will cause your skills to dull. What’s more, it is a waste of all of that effort that you put into honing your skills.
• Not enough pay.
  If you are spending your time and money on training and your company is not upping the ante, find one that will. Do your research and find out what heavy equipment operators with your level of training are earning and find somewhere that will give you at least that.
• Lack of Security
  If you see people fired for punitive reasons, or you feel that your company might be in financial trouble, you might be better off to find a company that holds onto its employees.
• Poor opportunities for advancement.
  If your dreams for the future are bigger than your place of employment can offer, consider moving on.

With the training that you receive at Associated Training Services you can enjoy a competitive place in the workforce. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to find a job that puts your training; you don’t have to settle for second best.

Backhoes are one of the most functional pieces of heavy equipment in existence. Sure, there are bigger pieces of equipment out there, but backhoes get a great power to weight ratio and you can take them virtually anywhere. The thing that makes backhoes so good is that they are tractor mounted, which makes them easier to drive in most situations and incredibly easier to maneuver.

Typical backhoes do not have the power of a large excavator; they don’t move the volumes of earth that a bulldozer or front loader is able to move. What they do is a little bit more precise. There are many times where you need a hole, but an excavator is overkill; that is where backhoes come in. For landscaping work, backhoes are second to none. A skilled backhoe operator can really get creative with a garden landscape.

Track mounted backhoes are popular too, but not all applications require tracks. As great as tracks are; wheels do have a few advantages in light applications. Wheeled heavy equipment moves more quickly and is easier on roads and paved surfaces. Track mounted heavy equipment can handle rougher terrain which makes it a more popular choice for heavier work.

If you are interested in learning how to drive backhoes, please feel free to contact us at Associated Training Services.

Here at Associated Training Services, we do our utmost to get our graduates into rewarding heavy equipment careers; our commitment extends to offering job placement to our graduates. It is not always easy to get a job after completing any kind of training course. But for a lucky few, most people do not have a job that they can walk into. Getting that first job also happens to be extremely important. The longer that you go without a job, the more difficult it becomes to retain all of the new skills that you have learned. To some, job placement seems a nice touch, but we consider it to be very much a part of the training process.

How do we offer such an extensive job placement program? The answer to this question is remarkably simple. Associated Training Services has been around for many years and has built up an extensive network of connections. Our job placement program has placed people with thousands of different companies over the years and our graduates speak volumes for the caliber of the training that they received. In short companies have been happy with the heavy equipment operators that we have given them and have come back to us time and time again.

If you are currently involved in a training course and are interested in learning more about the job placement process, you can always talk to the staff at the training center which you attend. They will be happy to give you more details about what is involved. If you are a prospective student and would like to know more, feel free to call us in business hours or contact us by email at any time.

If you are interested in the idea of a heavy equipment career but not all too interested at the thought of spending most of every day on a construction site; dump trucks are worth considering. Driving dump trucks is a rewarding career that combines many of the better aspects of heavy equipment operation and truck driving. While a dump truck falls more correctly into the category of trucks rather than heavy equipment, you will see that dump trucks and heavy equipment go hand in hand in many situations.

As a driver of dump trucks there are many different opportunities open to you. Of course dump trucks are big in the construction industry, but you will find a lot of them in mining and fairly large numbers in other sectors as well. This is a great way to get a break from an industry while retaining a career. It is also useful if ever you feel the need to relocate. Dump trucks are everywhere and drivers can find work all over the country.

The money in dump trucks is not bad either. If you are an owner operator, you can really do well, but those that are employed to drive for other people do quite well too. One of the best points about dump trucks is that they are all weather vehicles. You can keep operating your vehicle as long as your place of work stays open. That is not true for all other types of equipment. Drivers of dump trucks can at times enjoy more days of productive work than some types of heavy equipment.

If you are interested in driving dump trucks and would like to learn more, please contact us at Associated Training Services.

Financial aid is something that people need to think carefully about. When it comes to credit and borrowing, there are worthy and unworthy causes. Buying a house is a worthy cause. The value of the land tends to appreciate and it is an asset that can be resold, often with profit. Buying a car with financial aid is questionable in most situations. Unless the vehicle is actually enabling you to earn an income, it is hard to argue that a vehicle is an asset. Cars depreciate markedly in a very short amount of time, they cost money to run. If you sell them after you have bought them, they invariably lose money; in some cases a lot of money. One might argue that if you are borrowing money for something that appreciates in value, it is a credit worthy cause. If you are borrowing money for something that depreciates, it is not. Where does education and training fall?

Education is Credit Worthy

If you are looking for a way to earn a greater income and better your life then some sort of training is usually the best way to go about it. It can be difficult to break into a new career without training. While some construction companies will provide heavy equipment training to workers, it is only in exceptional circumstances that this happens. Realistically, the average unskilled worker stands very little chance of being handed a break. That doesn’t matter, because you can make your own chances. You just need to get the training.

How to value education.
How can you put a value on an education? Actually, it is very easy. You take the course that you are doing and look at the cost. For the purposes of simplicity, lets say the course costs $2,000. So the value of the course is $2,000, right? Wrong, the value of the course is not $2,000. A course alone is worth nothing. Once you have taken the course you cannot sell it. The value of the course that you take is the amount over and above your present salary that you will earn. Let’s say that the course allows you to earn an extra $200 a week, multiply that by the fifty-two weeks of the year and you get $10,400. Are you going to stop working after one year? Probably not, so you multiply that $10,400 by the years that you are going to work and you have something that falls short of the actual value, but a fairly substantial figure that is a lot higher than the original $2,000 that you spent. Education is credit worthy and is worth the expense of financial aid.

The fact is that training changes lives. Paying for the financial aid that you received can be a bit of a strain on the finances, but you will be able to earn more money and that will make the expense easier to cover. The thing that you have to think about when it comes to getting financial aid is, can I afford the repayments now? This question is absolutely crucial. If your answer is, “no,” then you should not get financial aid. If your answer is, “yes,” then you should go for it.

If you answered no, then you really need to start addressing some of the expenses in your life, figure out what you can cut out and do the math again. If you are a smoker you might want to consider giving up smoking. Look for ways that you can save a significant amount of money each week or each month and do it. Save a bit of money and then reconsider the option of financial aid.

At Associated Training Services we offer financial aid for our programs. In order to qualify for financial aid you will need a good credit record. If your credit record is poor then it is still possible to receive financial aid if you can produce a guarantor; feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Getting started in a heavy equipment career is not as difficult as you might think. It is quite easy to get into this exciting and rewarding profession, all it takes is a little knowledge of how the process works and the right training. Today, we will explain the process of getting into a heavy equipment career and give you a little insight into what the training involves.

What you need to know before you start

We all know why many unskilled workers opt for a heavy equipment career. It can provide a better standard of living and the training takes a relatively short amount of time. Heavy equipment training also makes people more employable. So what do you need for your training?

• A budget – Training is not free, you are going to need to be able to cover the costs of training and subsidize yourself through any loss of income that comes from training when you could be working. Financial assistance can help with this.
• Time – you will need to attend regular classes either in the regular work day or in the evenings.
• A good work ethic – It sounds strange, but a Heavy equipment careers can be quite demanding. People are going to depend on you a lot more than if you are an unskilled laborer. If the heavy equipment operator is not there, sometimes work can not take place. For a heavy equipment career you need to be the person that misses work as an absolute last resort.
• Driving skill – In a heavy equipment career you are going to be handling complex machinery. If you struggle to control a motor vehicle, controlling an excavator will be nigh on impossible. It requires good hand-eye coordination, not everyone can do it.

If you think that you have what it takes to embark on a heavy equipment career, then you will want to know more about the training. Here at Associated Training Services, we have a number of programs to prepare people for a heavy equipment career. We can train people to operate just about every type of heavy equipment. At our website, you can see the range of heavy equipment programs that we have on offer. We offer both full time and part time courses to suit your busy schedule. All it takes is a few months of your life and you will be able to get started on your heavy equipment career.

We decided to follow up yesterday’s article with a few more tractor safety pointers. Yesterday, we focused on ROPS as a means of protecting rollovers and we looked at the importance of surveying the work place before operating a tractor. Today we are going to look at ways that a tractor operator can keep themselves safe from the mechanical workings of their vehicle.

Utah State University’s excellent “The Ten Commandments of Tractor Safety” includes some very useful suggestions in regard to preventing mechanically related accidents. First and foremost:

Dress Properly—Well fitted, belted clothing is a must. Flared pants, shirt tails, scarves and other loose clothing are too easily (and too often) caught in moving parts or controls. Invest in sturdy safety work shoes or boots with non-skid soles and steel toe caps. Protect yourself from the sun in summer and the cold in winter. Heavy work gloves are a plus, as are safety goggles or sun glasses with tempered lenses.

This is something that we have looked at on this blog numerous times in the past. It is great advice not just for tractor drivers but for all operators of heavy equipment. Loose fitting clothing can accidentally engage controls, cause you to slip or in the worst case scenario, become caught in the moving parts of your tractor.

Power Take-Off—An operating power takeoff (FITO) can be the most dangerous part of your tractor, which is why it comes equipped with protective shields. USE THEM AT ALL TIMES. An unguarded shaft, running at 1000 rpm’s, can wrap your clothes around it at the rate of 8 feet per second, and it can’t be stopped. It is many, many times more powerful than you are. It pays to treat it with the greatest respect.

The power take-off has featured in fatal accidents in the past and is sure to feature in more in the future. You need not fear the power take-off as long as it is properly protected. A tractor with an exposed power take-off is an accident waiting to happen.

By following proper tractor safety procedures, you can play a part in reducing the unacceptable level of tractor related fatalities and injuries that occur each year throughout the United States. If you are interested in tractor training or in learning how to operate any other type of heavy equipment, please contact us at any time.

Did you know that the humble tractor is involved in over 800 fatal accidents on United States farms each year? The number of tractor related injuries is even more staggering, 9,000. For a relatively simple piece of heavy equipment to be involved in so many injuries and fatalities is unacceptable. Here at Associated Training Services we take the view that most accidents are avoidable and we firmly believe that if people follow tractor safety guidelines, the number of fatalities and injuries will decrease.

A Utah State University publication titled, “The Ten Commandments of Tractor Safety” is definitely worth reading if you own or operate a tractor. Some gems of wisdom that the document offers include:

ROPS—Most tractor accidents are overturns (mostly sideways). They are usually caused by high speed or inattention. The development and use of Roll-Over Protective Structures (ROPS) during recent years has saved many lives. They normally will limit the overturn to 90 degrees while at the same time provide a frame of safety for the operator. Seat belts are an integral part of ROPS and should always be used.

While clearance can be an issue in some orchard situations, ROPS is a tractor safety addition that is recommended whenever practical.

Check the Work Area—Know in advance where hidden ditches, large rocks or stumps are located. Be wary of tall grass—it can cover hazards. Be sure the area is clear of livestock and children.

We could not have said it better ourselves. Realistically, how long does it take to perform a quick bit of reconnaissance of the work area? Look for any potential hazards and remember, just because an area was safe a week ago does not mean that it will be safe for your tractor tomorrow. Always take the time to stop and check before you start work.

Here at Associated Training Services we take tractor and heavy equipment safety very seriously; if you have any questions about these or any other topics, please feel free to contact us.

We have discussed heavy equipment safety quite frequently on this blog. Each article relating to heavy equipment safety was focused on guidelines for different types of equipment and general workplace safety. Today’s heavy equipment safety question is a little different. The question for today is, “What can be done to leave heavy equipment safely unattended?”

The biggest heavy equipment safety danger when it is left unattended is posed by collisions involving passing traffic and stationary heavy equipment. Depending on the speed that the driver is traveling at the consequences could be fatal. For the company that owns the heavy equipment involved and perhaps also the driver, there would likely be some legal repercussions if proper heavy equipment safety guidelines were not followed. The heavy equipment should be identified with barriers and reflectors. Lights should also be used to identify the location of the heavy equipment should it be appropriate. These safety precautions apply when leaving heavy equipment unattended for any length of time; even if work is in progress at a nearby location

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions relating to heavy equipment safety, please do not hesitate to contact us at Associated Training Services.

Source: Workers Compensation Fund (PDF)

We tend to normally think of excavators digging in preparation for large building projects, but they are also extremely functional in demolitions. Excavators are perhaps the biggest piece of general purpose heavy equipment, assuming of course that you exclude cranes. It is the size and mobility of excavators that makes them so incredibly useful for demolitions based tasks.

Many people have a brute force image of demolitions. This is only partly correct. While the process of demolition does involve a certain amount of smashing, bashing and at times exploding, it is a precise process. If a building is brought down in a manner that is anything less than completely controlled, accidents happen. Excavators are the perfect piece of machinery for this as they can provide a large amount of power very precisely to get the job done.

Excavators are used in almost all aspects of demolitions for buildings that are three stories and under. For larger buildings, the process becomes a little bit more delicate. Excavators are still put to use, but in more of a secondary role.

If you are interested in learning more about excavators and their role in construction and demolition, please contact us at Associated Training Services. Excavators are just one of many pieces of heavy equipment that we train people to use.