I watched with interest the other day as a series of heavy equipment machinery came to the rescue of a derailed train. The train lost three of its trucks, each running off the tracks and rolling over. The three trucks where each filled with gravel.

It was a fine piece of coordination. The crane came in and first emptied the trucks completely by lifting and tipping the contents out. The crane then moved the empty trucks to one side. It was then time for the bulldozer to come in and push all the gravel away from the tracks and into neat piles.

The rail gang then moved into action removing all the twisted track and laying new track. Once the new track had been laid, the rail trucks where then lifted back onto the tracks. The engine carted them away while another engine brought in a new series of trucks. A front end loader then loaded all the gravel into the new trucks.

This team work had the tracks cleared and repaired and reopened within four hours of the accident occurring. It took the skills of these operators working in a fairly confined space together with the coordination and planning of the rail boss to get the job done. And they did.

As a heavy equipment operators, whether it is as a crane operator, bulldozer driver or front end loader operator, you just never know what your next job may be and what sort of situation you may find yourself in.

The best preparation is in your training and the best place to gain the skills required is through ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools. Sign up now and you may be eligible for a sizable discount on your training – however the offer ends on December 31.

As winter starts to bite and the snow starts to fall, many will be thinking of a white Christmas. For many others, the thought of a white Christmas just means more work. Even in winter, there are a lot of heavy equipment operators out there keeping the streets clear of snow and ensuring that traffic flows as clearly as possible.

Yes, heavy equipment is used to keep the streets clear of snow. Sometimes it is a grader, sometimes a front end loader, more commonly it is a specific snow plow, designed to push the snow to kerb. These machines are tough beasts sometimes pushing three or more feet of snow off the roads.

To operate this equipment is no different to their standard day to day use. A grader generally pushes dirt, in winter on the roads, its snow. The principles and training required are no different. The same can be said for front end loaders.

If you fancy being out in the middle of winter keeping the roads open, why not undertake a training course to gain the qualifications to operate heavy equipment.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools can not only provide the training, if your quick you can enroll and receive a great Christmas/New Year discount. The offer ends December 31 so get in now before it’s too late.

Everyone has them. I am sure you have seen the sales signs every where – “end of year clearance – everything has to go”. Of course, after Christmas you get those post Christmas sales where everyone lines up ready to attack those shop doors the minute they open. Heavy equipment is not that different either. Of course, we are not selling heavy equipment – we are selling you the opportunity to start a new career.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools are having an end of year sale of their training programs. You gain because they are 2009 training programs you are buying and if you buy now and complete your training early in 2009, you will be just in time for the increase in demand during spring and early summer.

How much can you save? It depends on which training program you decide to enroll in, however you can save up to $750 – you must admit that is a good saving.

Whether you are looking to formalize some of your current skills or start a new career, heavy equipment and the construction industry will always be looking for quality operators. Grab this opportunity before its gone – the offer ends December 31.

There are hundreds of different types of heavy equipment machinery, many of it dedicated to specific jobs. Because of their specialization, the demand is not so great and new operators need specific training on that machinery. However, a background in the more common equipment is always a good stepping stone.

There is a range of heavy equipment that has a constant demand for quality operators. This equipment includes:

• Wheel loaders
• Backhoes
• Excavators
• Scrapers
• Bulldozers
• Road Graders

There are many common training areas in that list particularly when it comes to safety. The key to a successful career in heavy equipment rest in two areas. The first is the quality of the training you receive and the second is simply the number of hours you spend operating the equipment.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools provides quality training across that broad spectrum of machinery. Once you have completed your training we may be able to help you find employment that will provide you with the opportunity to build your working hours. The more hands on experience you get, the better your chances of cherry picking the best jobs on offer. Your career in heavy equipment is only a click away.

Motor graders, or just graders, depending on your terminology, do more than just smooth over the surface. Graders are actually precision tools designed to do a range of tasks.

For their size, graders are able to carve a road to an exact thickness and, more importantly, a precise grade; hence the name ‘grader’. When we talk about grade we are referring to a very slight angle or slope that all roads have.

Roads, particularly those designed to take fast traffic, have a number of problems to counter. The first is fairly obvious if you think about – water deposited by rainfall. If roads didn’t have a slope the water would pool causing many problems for motorists traveling at speed, the toughest being a cars tendency to aquaplane, or go into an all wheel slide, when encountering sheets of water. The slope of the road helps that water to run off instead of collecting in sheets.

The second problem that cars face occurs on bends, particularly long sweeping bends. For most cars, handling a bend at speed could cause the vehicle to roll. What prevents this roll is the angle, or camber of the finished surface. This angle forces the car to remain upright with all four wheels on the road.

Without the use of graders these slopes and cambers would be almost impossible to produce. An experienced grader operator can complete a portion of road base to the exact requirements of the planers. The next time you’re driving at speed on a highway, feel the increased g-force as you drive around a bend; then think of the grader that made that bend safer.

To become a grader operator you need training followed by hands on experience. ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools deliver high quality training. They may even be able to help you find your first job working as a motor grader operator.

As follow on from yesterday’s post “Are There Really Heavy Equipment Jobs In A Recession?“, readers should consider the impact of a new President being elected during a time of economic problems.

One of the key points that President elect Obama has made is the promise to spend around $175 Billion on infrastructure. At least half of that amount will involve heavy equipment and, naturally, heavy equipment operators.

This represents the biggest ever investment in infrastructure and even exceeds the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s – at least in dollar/time terms.

Heavy equipment operators will be in demand and the one of the benefits of a national plan is that the demand will spread nationwide. You can play a part in the rebuilding of the economy by becoming a heavy equipment operator yourself and now is the perfect time to get started.

The demand for operators will not occur until the spring and will peak in the late summer. If you start your training now and follow that up with experience on smaller jobs in your area, you will have the training and experience required to take on the larger jobs as the demand arises.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools can help you on two fronts. We can provide you with all the necessary training to be successful as an operator of heavy equipment. Just as importantly, we may be able to help you find employment to help you gain that additional experience. The complete package that will help you to play a role in rebuilding our economy.

Oh how we hate that word – recession! It brings on images of doom and gloom yet it shouldn’t. For some sectors, a recession means more work.

One way that governments try to fight a recession is by spending up on what is termed ‘infrastructure’. This is the spending on road, rail and port facilities along with health and education. Of course this increase in construction id good news for heavy equipment operators.

As the economy starts to improve, developers step in to have their blocks cleared and sub-divided ready for the land boom – they want to make their money too.

If you look around you will see construction happening everywhere. Sure, houses and highrises are not being built and perhaps the number of factories being built has dropped. The roads and other infrastructure activities are more than making up for it.

There is plenty of work for heavy equipment operators if your prepared to look for it. You will also need a decent set of qualifications behind you and that is where ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools can help. They are accredited to deliver training to a national set of standards so you can be confident your skills will be recognized everywhere.

The majority of heavy equipment in operation today relies on the power of hydraulics. Have you ever wondered what it actually is? I could give you the Wikipedia definition:

Hydraulics is a topic of science and engineering dealing with the mechanical properties of liquids. Hydraulics is part of the more general discipline of fluid power.

It doesn’t really say much does it? In simple terms, hydraulics is the use of a fluid, in the case of heavy equipment, fluid is used under pressure to provide and action. For example, most cars rely on hydraulics for their braking power. Fluid is pumped to the break pads which forces them to close over the braking component of the wheel forcing it to slow – that is a very simple explanation.

In heavy equipment, fluid is pumped and the pressure used to raise the arms of a bucket, or tilt the bucket for loading or emptying. Fluid can be pumped along narrow hoses and can be far more effective than using mechanics.

As an operator of heavy equipment, part of your daily routine is to check hydraulic fluid levels and all the hydraulic hoses to ensure that every thing is good working order. A leak of hydraulic fluid can seriously reduce the power of the equipment you are operating.

If your planning a career as a heavy equipment operator, don’t forget to check out ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools for information on training programs available to you.

Seasonal conditions can wreak havoc with the best laid plans. It could be raining hard – but that’s okay, you have windshield wipers. It could be a quagmire or two inches of snow – but that is why you have tracks and not wheels. It could be five degrees below – now your heavy equipment could have problems.

Freezing temperatures can cause a lot of problems when it comes to heavy equipment. Below freezing temperatures will often cause problems with any liquids used – hydraulic fluids, oil, water – these can all be affected. Engines are slow to start and take a long while to warm up. You can buy special anti freeze products that will often help.

One problem that many new operators don’t consider, or even realize could be a problem, is frost bite – and yes, heavy equipment can suffer a form of frost bite. This is the situation where the metal becomes so cold that it becomes brittle. Try digging and rather than performing normally, the digging tool snaps or shatters.

This is a common problem and some manufacturers even recommend heating some attachments with a torch before using them. This returns the steel to it tough state removing its brittleness. If you are going to be operating in extreme conditions, maintenance becomes extremely important. Well maintained heavy equipment can withstand extremes and continue to operate.

These are just some of the difficulties faced by new operators. Those new operators that have had training through a professional accredited heavy equipment training school will be taught how to handle some of these situations better preparing them for the workplace. That’s why employers prefer to employ new operators that have undertaken professional accredited training.

If you have a son or daughter that has ambitions of being a heavy equipment operator then perhaps the perfect Christmas present is a training program offered by ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools.

Enrollment is quick and easy and can be done either by telephone (1.800.678.8120) or online. You can review the training program and course dates through the web site and view videos related to heavy equipment training. If your not quite ready to enroll then why not request a brochure and DVD – you can always throw it into their stocking for them to review.

If heavy equipment is not their main interest then perhaps crane operator or truck driving could be an option. If they are not sure of their capabilities then enroll them in the free online training program that provides an introduction into heavy equipment operations.

A training program may sound like a strange gift, however it is the kind of gift that will stay with them forever once they have completed the training. Heavy equipment operators are in high demand throughout the year no matter what the economy is doing.