We traditionally think of heavy equipment as being a bulldozer or grader. Perhaps and excavator as well. They are not the only heavy equipment in use these days.

Look at any road construction gang and you have these traditional heavy equipment operators. Other operators include roller operators, truck drivers and the operators of equipment that spreads the gravel or spreads the tarmac that seals the new road.

On construction sites you have the traditional heavy equipment such as bulldozers and cranes. You also have specialized equipment such as trenchers, whose only role is to dig trenches for the laying of pipes or deep foundations.

Trenchers are strange looking beasts. The motor and cabin at one end with a long tail armed with cutting teeth. Some of these trenchers can cut through solid rock like it was butter, cutting a five or six feet deep hole in solid rock in very quick time.

Operators of some of this heavy equipment started off with training as a bulldozer or grader operator and moved on to the other equipment as they gained experience. Your career in heavy equipment has no limitations once you get a start in the industry.

To get a start in the industry you need the right training and perhaps some help getting that first job. That’s where ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools can help. We can provide you with that training and perhaps even help you into your first job. You wont know until you take that first step.

There are many services that lay their equipment underground. Telephone, electricity, fiber optic cables, gas, and water are just a few of those services.

There are call centers that you are advised to use prior to using any heavy equipment to check on the locations of these service lines – be sure to use them.

Having said that, I urge caution on the information they provide. Some service suppliers seem to use a strange set of bearings and can be ‘off’ up to ten feet from where they tell you their service lines run. Sever one of them and they will bill you for the damages. It is up to you to prove that their information was incorrect.

In the meantime, many people may have been without that service and you will be held up on the job whilst you wait for someone to come and repair the damage. This can take hours.

A general rule of thumb, allow at least two feet on either side of their figures. To be safe, you can almost double that distance. If you have to operate your heavy equipment close to any service lines, take it slowly and carefully and get out of your machine to make close visual inspections at regular intervals.

There is nothing worse than severing a service line, particularly if it is gas. Call the service locater numbers first and take caution.

This operator advice is provided courtesy of ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools – visit us for all your heavy equipment training needs.

How long does it take to train a bulldozer operator. In fact, how long does it take to train any type of heavy equipment operator?

Believe it or not, two hours. Yes 2 hours. If, that is, the person wants to be trained. If they have their heart and soul into learning how to operate a piece of heavy equipment like a bulldozer.

After 2 hours you should have the basics down pat and able to do simple jobs. Don’t get me wrong, it takes a lot more hours than that to become a competent operator of heavy equipment. You need to learn safety issues, pre startup inspections, minor maintenance jobs and a variety of other topics.

However, the basics can be taught in two hours. If at the end of two hours of intensive one-to-one in the drivers seat training you cannot undertake simple tasks, then heavy equipment operation may not be for you. I say may not, rather than ‘is not’ because everyone is different and some people just require more practice.

You can help your own cause by learning or at least assessing your own abilities at tasks like assessing distances, assessing levels, angles or slopes and assessing size. These are all attributes that help to speed up the learning curve of new operators.

If you think your heart and soul is into heavy equipment operation and your comfortable with some of the other associated skills then heavy equipment operation could be your ideal career option. Check us out at ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools where you can start your training at no cost through our online training system.

One of the most valuable jobs that a bulldozer operator can be called in to do is to help with fires, bush fires that is.

It’s summer and with summer come the wild bush fires that sweep many areas of North American continent. When ever these fires break out bulldozer operators are called in to create huge fire breaks, fire breaks wide enough to prevent the inferno jumping and restarting its deadly march.

As a skilled bulldozer operator you could be placed in this position at some time in your life. For once, accuracy in gouging out a nice neat section is thrown out the window. Instead, moving as much of the flammable material as possible in the shortest period of time is the order of the day.

It is not as easy as it sounds. The fire can often be seen in the distance as it makes it way towards you. Your life is often at risk, but then so too are the lives of many others if you don’t get the job done quickly and effectively.

It’s not just fire season that you could be asked to create a fire break. Late spring and early autumn are often good times to create fire breaks – before the fires start and before the undergrowth becomes to thick to remove.

If this sounds like an interesting and perhaps exciting aspect of heavy equipment operation, then you should check out ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools to get yourself into a career as a heavy equipment operator.

Backhoes continue to be a dominant force on many job sites these days. These versatile machines offer the value of two machines in one with a highly capable loader on one end and an efficient excavating tool on the other.

Their ability to accommodate a wide spectrum of attachments makes them one of the most flexible and indispensable tools in many construction fleets. Learning to operate heavy equipment like a backhoe will provide you with a great career.

Backhoes are in use everywhere. Home construction sites require a backhoe to dig foundations and trenches for services. In larger construction jobs, there is a variety of jobs required including the service trenches.

Rural industries rely on backhoes for a lot of their requirement including the work required to build dams and irrigation channels.

Once you have the required basic training and skills you will find there is a strong demand for work. The backhoe is probably one of the easiest pieces of heavy equipment to acquire if you wish to commence your own business.

You can learn the basics of backhoe operations through ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools and start on the road to highly successful and highly profitable career.

What sort of equipment would you like to operate?

• Backhoes
• Wheel Loaders
• Dump Trucks
• Bulldozers
• Scrapers
• Excavators
• Motor Graders

You can learn the basics of these heavy equipment machines online through ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools, and it’s free.

The training is divided into three levels with an online 10 question quiz at the end of each module. Get 50% correct in all modules and you will receive a frameable confirmation of completion certificate.

This could be your first steps towards a very lucrative and rewarding career in the heavy equipment industry.

Being a crane operator can be a very interesting and diverse career. Most people consider crane operators as construction workers, working on building sites helping to move heavy steel and concrete parts of the construction into the place. Careers in crane operation are far more diverse than that.

Most of our ports would come to a standstill if it wasn’t for the work of crane operators. They lift goods in and out of ships holds all day everyday. Special cranes are used to lift containers out of ships and placing them onto rail or road freight cars.

The mining industry relies heavily on crane operators for much of their work. Mine operations can be a dangerous field so reliable well trained operators are always in demand.

Some of the unusual career options include those involved with emergency work. Helping to get rail cars back onto their tracks after a derailment; helping to get semi-trailers back onto their wheels after a roll-over; and helping to lift vehicles of all shapes and sizes out of lakes and rivers can all be a part of a crane operators job description.

Qualified reliable crane operators are always in heavy demand. Because of the pivotal roll that this position has in many industries, good operators can be well paid with good fringe benefits paid to ensure they stay with the one business.

If the roll of a crane operator appeals to you then the your first step is to acquire the skills required to get your foot in the door as a crane operator. ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools can help you get that start as a successful well paid crane operator.

Most people looking at that title would be wondering what I am talking about. However, if you are in the construction industry you will possibly know what it means.

Critical lifting of course relates to cranes and how they lift objects. They are ‘critical’ in certain circumstances. For instance when a particular lift with an overhead crane requires substantial planning due to:

• Load weight or size constraints
• Tight travel paths
• Risk to surrounding equipment or
• Risk to personnel

Under those circumstances a critical lift plan may be in order. The critical lift plan is put together so that a work team knows exactly what they are doing at any given time. The plan maps out:

• load limitations
• path sketches
• team member assignments
• emergency procedures

Without a critical lift plan you can guarantee that something will go wrong. Crane operation is a highly technical position which requires good training in the basic. You can get that basic training at ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools.

Do you enjoy driving? Does the freedom of the open road appeal to you? Perhaps a career as a truck driver could be ideal for you.

One of the great things about truck driving is that once your loaded up and on the road, you are effectively your own boss. You have the wheel and you know where your going and when you have to be there by. The rest is up to you.

Both men and women can flourish as truck drivers and trucking is not only fun and adventurous, but also provides a secured future. While you may start as a flatbed driver or perhaps as dumptruck driver, once you gain a little experience you can seek out training that could put you into one of the big rigs that criss-cross the country.

Anyone who is interested in truck driving can get into the field by attending a training school like ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools where can help you to learn to handle a truck. They can also teach you rules of the road and provide safety tips while handling a truck. Some of the training schools like ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools offer a job placement facility after completing your training. Truck driving can be a great career for someone who enjoys the freedom of the road.

Being a heavy equipment operator can be a real challenge. No matter how experienced you are, you are always going to come across situations that are a little tricky or even a total challenge.

Working on slopes has often been the biggest challenge facing any heavy equipment operator. If you can image standing on a slope with a shovel in your hand trying to dig a straight and level hole. It’s not easy.

Using a bulldozer on a slope has it’s own set of difficulties. Using a grader on a slope has a different set of difficulties. What they both have in common is the one fear that crosses every heavy equipment operators mind and that is rolling over.

Handling a rollover can be a terrifying experience. With today’s modern equipment the operator is fairly safe. What is often difficult it getting that piece of equipment back on to its feet ready to operate again – if that is it’s not to damaged.

Heavy equipment operation comes with its own challenges. They are however a lot of fun to operate and it all starts by getting some accredited training. Follow this up with some on the job experiences and your ready to tackle the best and worst of any job required by a piece of heavy equipment.

If this is where your career lies then check out ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools for heavy equipment training.