There are a great many ‘home renovators’ and amateur ‘garden designers’ in amongst us and over the years they have gathered together an array of skills. The question is, can they build on those skills for a heavy equipment career? It is important to understand that just about anyone can find a career in heavy equipment with the right training. Those that have been involved in the workplace, or home activities like those mentioned, bring with them a wealth of skills and knowledge.

There are pluses and minuses to this. Yes – there are minuses. Sometimes we need to untrain individuals of bad habits they may have picked up over time. This is done by training you in the right habits. Having said that, there are a great many benefits to be had by coming into heavy equipment with a few life and trade skills. These include:

Patience – having the patience to know that jobs need to be done in the correct order to achieve a result.

Tool knowledge – heavy equipment operators need a good knowledge of hand tools. Attachments may need changing, minor repairs, and perhaps even changing a tire – these all require the use of hand tools.

Safety awareness – workplace safety is a priority issue in today’s modern workplace. Having a basic understanding of workplace safety helps to rationalize any safety issues specific to heavy equipment operations.

There are many other skills that an individual develops in life that they can bring to a career in heavy equipment. You certainly don’t need to be a youngster to start training although being young at heart certainly helps. Heavy equipment careers are for everyone – all that is require is the desire.

Truck driving is one of those skills that never goes unnoticed in the work place. Most businesses will generally employ specialist truck drivers to do the work required. It’s common sense. However, truck drivers are human, (at least I think they are) so they fall victim to all the human ailments that are around at the time. We are now heading into winter and that brings with it coughs, colds and winter flus. How does a business cope when one or more of their regular truck drivers falls ill?

Some companies are smart and have a list of casual drivers on file. If a regular truck driver is unavailable, they just call on one of their casuals. Smaller businesses don’t always have that luxury. Their only approach to the problem is to quickly ring everyone and tell them their deliveries will be late. It’s not great for customer service particularly if the delivery winds up being a week late.

What about the truck driver? They have been off sick for a day or two now whilst still feeling a little off color. They have to do twice as much work to catch up as soon as possible. It’s probably not fair on them and could lead to a relapse.

As a business, you do have another alternative and that is to ensure you have other workers who have the necessary truck driving skills. They could be storemen, shipping clerks, general office employees. In fact, as a manager, you could benefit from additional skills as well. With that sort of approach, you will always have a regular supply of drivers on hand. Your business will not suffer through lack of driving skills and your workers will appreciate the added skills. Truck driver training is a quick training program that only lasts three weeks. It is certainly worth consideration.

Backhoes and excavators have very similar actions when it comes to digging out trenches. In fact, a backhoe is really an excavator that has been cut down in size and had a scoop added to the front. There are other design differences, of course, but the action of each is very similar. If that is the case, why would you choose a backhoe over an excavator, or vice-versa?

I said there were differences, and there are. Size is one difference that can be an important consideration. Backhoes are generally articulated through the middle which means they can be maneuvered in places that an excavator can’t get into.

There are other important differences. One of these is the fact that backhoes are multi-purpose built. The scoop or shovel at the front gives the backhoe the added bonus of being used as a front-end loader. If you need a trench dug and the material that has been taken out of the trench removed altogether, the backhoe is the best machine for the job. It can dig the trench then use the scoop to lift the piles of dirt/rock into a truck.

Excavators can do the same task using their digging bucket, however, this means the truck must spend the day alongside the excavator. These days, no-one can afford to have equipment just sitting around – that truck could be off doing other work. Bring in the backhoe, it can dig the trench then come back later and remove the waste in one work session.

Backhoes are one of the more interesting machines in the heavy equipment lineup. Requiring skills in excavation and loading, training across a broad cross-section of equipment is necessary. When seeking a heavy equipment training program, make sure it offers training on a variety of machines.

We are rapidly approaching that time of year when traffic on many of our roads stops to a crawl, or stops altogether. The cause? Snow! Bulldozer operators are often recruited to operate the snow plows used to clear roads. They are not the only operators called upon.

In some areas, trucks and/or farm tractors are fitted with a bulldozer type blades. They perform the same role as a bulldozer although not quite as effectively. Other areas use graders. These are particularly useful in areas where the snow has been compacted.

Technically speaking, a snow plow is the blade that is fitted to any vehicle. A rail car that has a blade fitted is also known as a snow plow. Rather than having heavy equipment experience, you require train driver training to operate these vehicles.

There are of course several specific purpose vehicles that have been built that also bear the name snow plow. When looking for employment as a snow plow operator, you need to clarify what type of snow plow is being used, otherwise you may find yourself operating unfamiliar vehicles with snow plow blades attached rather than specific snow plows.

Dedicated snow plows are very similar to bulldozers so a bulldozer operator will generally have a lot of the operational skills required to operate the machine. Using a grader on icy roads is very similar to using a grader on any other surface. Graders are popular since they can be set to very fine measurements shaving the road to within fractions of an inch of the sealed surface.

Looking to work as a snow plow operator? Start by undertaking a bulldozer or grader operator training program. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools offer heavy equipment training programs that deliver skills in a range of heavy equipment – just what you need if you want to work as a snow plow operator.

Whether you are digging through topsoil, sand, clay or rock, the machine of choice generally is an excavator. However, employers don’t stay in business for long if they don’t make the right decisions. When it comes to digging holes, you need good operators and the right tools. When it comes to excavators, a good operator will struggle if required to use the wrong tools; having said that, having all the right tools won’t make a poor operator look good either.

Sourcing the right tools is the easy part. In fact the hardest part is probably sourcing the finance to pay for the tools. Excavators are certainly not cheap machinery, and that’s for a basic excavator. Once you start adding the various attachments, you are looking at a huge investment, an investment the business relies on to succeed.

With that in mind, businesses have an even tougher job; finding the right operator for their business and equipment. With so much money invested in equipment, the last thing the business needs is a poor operator who causes more damage than good. The longer a machine is ‘off the job’, the more money it is costing the business.

Good operators are not that scarce. It is finding them that can be difficult. Over time businesses develop a system, a system that often involves networking and word-of-mouth referrals. Training providers such as ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools are often asked for referrals of their good students. Why? Because they have built a sound reputation for providing skilled graduates who are ready to work.

If you are seeking a career as an excavator operator then gain your skills through a training provider that is highly regarded throughout the industry.

I am noticing a steady increase in the number of vacancies for motor grader operators these days. In fact, there is an overall increase in advertised vacancies for heavy equipment operators. I have seen several ads that read – operators required for roller, front end loader, mini excavator, street sweeper tractor (mower), motor grader, asphalt lay down machine, oil distributor and chip seal machine. Smack in the middle, hidden away was the motor grader.

The increase in demand for all heavy equipment operators is due in no part to the federal stimulus spending packages. Motor grader operators are in demand because a lot of that money is going into new roads – heavy users of motor graders.

In the past, many businesses could get away with using one or two operators across a range of equipment. They would use a bulldozer to clear the way, the motor grader to prepare the surface and a front end loader to remove the debris. At the moment, there is so much work on their books they need operators for each of these machines. They are going from two or three operators to five or six – a doubling of operator numbers.

For those who have wanted a career in heavy equipment, particularly as motor grader operators, now is the time to act. Employment numbers are forecast to rise over the the next 5-6 years and this increase in demand will start to put pressure on operator training schools. At present, you can enroll and start your training almost immediately. The same will not be true in the months to come. By this time next year, the demand may be such you will have to wait several months for the next training vacancy.

Act now and undertake your motor grader operator training. The demand is there for new operators – will you be one of them?

Loaders are one of the units of heavy equipment that seem to be everywhere, doing everything. When it comes to versatility using just one scoop, loaders beat off all their on-site rivals in almost every department.

According to some loader operators, you should never refer to the scoop as a bucket. Excavators and backhoes have buckets, loaders have scoops. Whichever way you look at it, that scoop is deadly and can certainly move a few mountains.

Sometimes known as a front-end loader, these machines perform different tasks on a continuous basis. One moment they are moving dirt or gravel, the next is moving pipes. They even help to move other equipment around a construction site.

Being one of the most versatile machines in use, loader operators are always in demand. You will find a loader on almost every major construction site, on road building and maintenance projects, on farms and in many other situations. Loaders are also used in some industrial complexes. For example, handling wheat and other grains.

Loaders come in a range of sizes starting from the vary small toy-like skips to the large articulated loaders similar, but larger, to the one in the picture. Some of the smaller loaders use tracks, however, the larger ones almost always use wheels – it is one of the distinguishing differences between a loader and bulldozer.

To become a loader operator you need to attend three weeks of heavy equipment training. Training covers a range of heavy equipment and is undertaken both in class and hands on. A career as a loader operator offers a career that can be challenging, is always changing, and one that is quite rewarding. Get your start as a loader operator through ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools.

There are many workplaces that have special requirements when it comes to employees and the equipment they use. Cranes and crane operator training is one very good example. There are many industries that use cranes in non-standard ways or in situations that are non-standard.

A good example of the use of a crane in a non-standard situation would be a crane on a boat or barge or a crane mounted on a train car. Whilst the operation of the crane itself is quite standard, the effects of the environment, in this case the rise and fall of the water, or the safety aspects of a train car, create work problems of their own.

Employers often find that the best way to recruit crane operators in these cases is to take on individuals who have good working knowledge of cranes, and then to provide them with specialist training, testing and certification. Specialist crane operator training centers around the task at the hand. A training program is developed along with testing to suit the long term aims of the employer.

If the training and testing meets certification guidelines then that process can be followed and a certificate issued. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools have specialist crane operator trainers who can come out to your workplace to deliver training. Specialist training can also be undertaken in one of our classrooms. Our aim is to ensure you have the right people trained to perform tasks that often unique to your business.

Did you know that our military services used heavy equipment like bulldozers? Did you also know you could have a military career as a bulldozer operator? You can and you can fast track your initial training if you gain a qualification and experience before signing up to the military.

There are two ways to enter the military as a bulldozer operator. The first is to sign up, do the complete basic training then request a transfer to the heavy equipment division. The second is to sign up as a trained and experienced bulldozer operator. You will still need to undertake the basic training.

A career in the US Army, for example, can be an exciting one and can take you to many places around the world, even as a bulldozer operator. Although your specialty skill will be as a bulldozer operator, you will still be considered a part of the infantry. This means learning the basic skills that all soldiers possess, namely, handling weapons and working as a team under attack.

Bulldozers are not the only heavy equipment used by the military. They also use crawlers, wheeled tractors, scoop loaders, motorized graders and towed or self-propelled scrapers. Undertaking training and gaining some on the job experience is the easiest way to get a foot hold into the military.

If a career in the military as a heavy equipment operator sounds good then check out the heavy equipment training options that are available through ATS Heavy Equipment Operator schools.

Heavy equipment safety has been at front of all construction related and heavy equipment related training programs for several years now. There is a good reason for this emphasis – in simple terms, too many people had their lives ruined by accidents. It is not just the worker who suffers in an accident. There are the worker’s colleagues, the employer and, of course, the injured worker’s family. They all become victims of the one simple accident.

Safety is all the more important on a construction site as there are many people working in and around the site. As a heavy equipment operator you need to work in a manner that gets the job done yet causes no harm to yourself or to any other person (or property). Ultimately, someone has to be responsible for this safety – who do you think it is?

Current legislation on both a state and national basis requires businesses to conform to certain safety standards. This includes nominating someone as a safety officer, providing clear safety guidelines, and, where required, providing safety training.

However, when you’re on the job, no amount of legislation, nor number of safety officers, or hours training, can take over your next move. Sure, your next move will be based on all of the above, but you are the only person responsible for that move. This makes you the most important person on the construction site at that given moment.

This in fact is the reason that safety training is mandatory. The hope is that some of that safety training will influence each and every action you take. Heavy equipment safety – don’t treat it with disdain; your life, and perhaps mine, could depend on it.