Winter may be rapidly approaching but that does not seem to have reduced the demand for grader operators. If anything, demand has continued to climb. Grader operators are generally employed to assist with road construction projects – of course, these have exploded in number in recent months thanks to increases in Federal funding. Winter also sees the arrival of snow in many places. Grader operators can sometimes be found also helping to remove snow from our roads.

Operating a grader is perhaps one of the most technically demanding jobs on a building site. Grader operators have a lot of variables they need to constantly watch. Unlike most construction site equipment, graders are driven over very long stretches of new road. Fellow workers are just one aspect that needs to be watched. At the same time the operator needs to be watching what the blade is doing as the grader cuts, removes and level a stretch of ground.

These days a grader is often guided by laser technology. This is another instrument that must be given attention. With so much going on inside the cab, and a lot going onside the cab, the operator needs to concentration skills and an ability to multi-task. Fortunately, a grader is a relatively easy machine to learn to operate.

Heavy Equipment Operator Schools have grader training programs commencing all the time. If you are interested in a career as a motor grader then I suggest you contact us to inquire about our next training program starting soon.

Mobile crane operator training is quite indepth and covers a range of topics. These topics include various safety aspects along with various operating requirements. Electrical grounding has actually got two definitions when it comes to mobile crane operations.

The first is, as the name suggests, a technique to ground the crane in case of electrical contact. One of the hazards of operating any type of crane, but mobile cranes in particular, is the risk of coming into contact with overhead power cables. This contact can have a life threatening impact on the operator and those around them.

By utilizing an electrical grounding system the harm from any contact can be minimized. When a crane comes into contact with overhead power cables, electricity flows from the cable into the crane. This passes through the operator as well as anyone who happens to be touching attached to the crane in any way, either through direct contact with the crane itself or through any wiring such as a communication system. Grounding directs the current to the ground bypassing the operator.

The second form off electrical grounding is a system that grounds the crane in the real sense. It is a stabilizing system that ensure the crane is balanced on uneven ground. Mobile cranes have a series of ‘feet’ that are lowered to the ground in much the same way we use car jacks to raise a cars wheel off the ground.

An electrical grounding system lowers these feet sufficiently to ensure the crane is sitting firmly and is well balanced – and important safety aspect when it comes to lifting heavy weights. The next time you see a mobile crane in use, have a look to see whether or not the crane has been balanced using an electrical grounding system. As I mentioned at the start, mobile crane operator training covers a lot of topics – electrical grounding is just one of them.

Excavators are a part of the earth moving family but what are they exactly? Some people mistakenly refer to all digging machinery as excavators, backhoes included. This is not quite correct – excavators are machines in their own right and have distinct differences to other machinery like backhoes.

An excavator can be identified by several features. The first is a distinctive scorpion like appearance. The scorpions tail in this case is an articulated arm with a bucket attached to the end (other attachments can be used instead of a bucket). What makes an excavator different to a backhoe (the backhoe also has the articulated arm) is the platform the articulated arm is connected to. Forward of the articulated arm is an operators cab that also sits on the rotating platform.

The rotating platform of an excavator can rotate through 360 degrees. The platform sits on either a set of wheels, or more commonly a set of tracks. Excavators don’t have the same freedom of movement that a backhoe possesses but what it lacks in maneuverability it makes up for with shear digging capabilities. An excavator can dig a deeper and wider trench than backhoe over a similar period of time.

Like backhoes, excavators work in a variety of jobs including demolition, lifting and placing heavy materials especially pipes, for mining, river dredging, landscaping and of course digging trenches. You can find employment in excavators ranging from the mini excavator right up to huge excavators used in mining. Excavator training is generally undertaken as part of a broad heavy equipment training program that includes other earth moving equipment.

Can you read sign language? I hope you can learn, or at least learn the sign language that is taught when you attend crane operator training. There are times when a crane operator will need to work in an environment in which they are blind to some aspect of the job. They may be blind to the lift point or blind to the drop point.

To complete the job successfully, the crane operator will need to rely on the eyes of others. They will provide the operator with signals to indicate when to raise the load, lower load, swing the load to a new position and many other movements. We call these hand signals. Many years ago we had workers riding the loads using whistles to indicate the next move. Many sites now use two way radios instead.

You will still need to learn the basic hand signals in use. These signals are fairly easy to learn and use. What is important is that only one person communicates with the crane operator at any one time. This means nominating someone to guide the operator. They too will obviously need to know the hand signals. Examples of hand signals include:

Hoist or Raise: Raise the forearm vertically and extend the right arm straight out with forefinger pointing up – move hand in small circles.

Lower: Forefinger pointing down and extend right arm downward then move hand in small horizontal circle.

Stop: Extend right arm down with wrist bent, palm down and open.

They are just three examples and depending on the situation, may need to be used differently. What is important is that the crane operator and the person being the ‘eyes’ have an agreed signaling system in place. This ensures safety and helps to prevent accidents. Crane operator training covers the most frequently used hand signals.

If you have read earlier posts you will know that I take a real interest in any heavy equipment that I see when traveling around. Today I was fascinated watching a backhoe move large concrete slabs into place. The whole process is a regular part of the job and only took an hour or so to complete – but it was still fascinating.

A backhoe is not a huge machine yet, for its size it can pack a punch. If I have a criticism of what I saw today it would be that the operator did more than the machine was really capable off. The concrete slab obviously weighed more than the recommended lifting capacity of the backhoe – the back wheels kept lifting of the ground as it tried to carry the slab. No problems – they simply loaded the bucket with rocks to act as a counterweight. Not a safe practice but a novel approach to the problem.

Carrying the slab was not a safe practice, however, the real interest to me came once the slab was close to being in place. Using the bucket, the operator was able to carefully nudge that concrete slab into place. It was like watching a child nudge a block against other blocks – a little nudge on the left, a nudge on the right, a final nudge at the back to slot it home. When I say nudges, they were very gentle nudges.

They put three of these large slabs into place – why they didn’t pour them in place I don’t know but I guess they had their reasons. That operator had probably had a few years experience yet a good backhoe operator training program would have produced similar results. Operating a backhoe is not as difficult as some people imagine – especially if you’re trained by a seasoned professional.

If you have your commercial drivers license (CDL) then you may want to consider adding a crane operators certification to your range skills. This will certainly improve your job prospects and can offer a diversity of employment options. Employers today are looking for potential employees that are are multi-skilled and can work in various areas.

You may wonder the association between crane operators and truck drivers. There is one. For starters, mobile crane operators require a truck driver’s license anyway. However, moving away from mobile cranes, if you can operate an overhead crane then you can potentially help to load or unload your own truck. Having skills to operate a fork lift places you in a similar situation.

Adding a crane operator’s certificate only takes three weeks – yet it adds a life time of opportunities to your resume. I won’t try and fool you. There are not employers jumping out of the woodwork looking for multi-skilled truck drivers. Having said that, it’s not until an employer sees your resume and understands that you can drive a truck, operate a crane (as a certified operator) and perhaps drive a fork lift that your true worth will show through.

Employers don’t always see the associations until it is there in black and white in front of them – suddenly a host of possibilities opens up. Your first step is to find a training provider that is accredited to deliver crane operator training and who is also accredited to undertake the follow up assessment and certification. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools have both of these accreditations – in three weeks you can add a crane operator certification to your truck driving skills.

Like the idea of driving trucks? If you answered yes then now is the time to get your commercial drivers license. The economy has well and truly turned the corner and shoppers’ confidence is returning in big numbers. This means more goods are being transported which leads to more trucks on the road which in turn leads to a greater demand for drivers.

Add to the mix the rapidly approaching Christmas period and you have a shopkeeper’s dream. For shopkeepers to stock their shelves and keep them stocked, we need a large fleet of commercial trucks traveling from factory to warehouse and from warehouse to shopfront. Over the past eighteen months shopkeepers dropped their stock inventories – now they are fast tracking the restocking.

The American economy rides on the back of our transport industry. Road freight may only be one component of that transport industry – it is a big component. Drivers operate long hours and on interstate runs, may be away from home for several days at a time. The upside is the freedom that driving a truck brings together with a reasonably good pay check.

Truck driving is not as easy as it seems. Sure, you sit behind the wheel for long hours. However, navigating through towns, around road construction sites and in heavy traffic takes a lot of skill. Even more skill is required as these drivers reverse those rigs into fairly small loading bays.

These skills and more are learned through commercial drivers license training. This training not only provides the skills, it prepares you to pass and receive your CDL ready to start work as a truck driver.

Crane’s are potentially one of the most dangerous machines on a building site so many states have introduced crane operator certification. By certifying operators, the theory is that crane-related accidents will fall, thus reducing workplace injuries and deaths. That, in a nutshell, is why you need crane operator training.

That was the short version. The long version is a little more involved. Yes, safety is a primary concern. However, to get to a level where all crane operators are acting to identical sets of rules, there needs to be a consensus on what those rules should be. The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) is the organization that was formed to plan training and assessment guidelines for crane operators.

Training and assessment for certification is now a nationwide standard. No matter where you do your crane operator training, if the training organization is accredited by NCCCO then everyone will receive similar training and pass the same assessments. So the first step was to establish a set standard throughout the country.

The second component was to accredit those organizations that were capable of delivering the training required. Accreditation was also given to those organization that met the minimum standards for assessing crane operators. There is now a national standard of training and assessing, which ensures that any crane operator that has been certified can effectively work anywhere in the country.

Whilst crane operator certification was originally planned to reduce workplace accidents, the end result is a set of minimum standards for all crane operators. These standards cover the complete range of crane operations, including, of course, safety. Find a training organization that is NCCCO accredited to deliver both the training and assessment of crane operators and you will be assured your training meets national standards.

Driving a dump truck can be a hot and dusty job – although at this time of the year it could also be a cold, damp and muddy job. It’s not all hard work, however. There are times when the dump trucks and their drivers relax a little and have some fun. Christmas is one such occasion, especially when they help out Santa.

I am sure you have seen Christmas parades, or perhaps had Santa visit a workplace Christmas party that has been put together for the families. We don’t see them quite as often as we used to. Thirty or forty years ago every workplace had a family Christmas function of some description. The star of the function was always the arrival of Santa.

For many workplaces, Santa arrived in a dressed up dump truck. He still does today. The dump truck is cleaned out, lined with all the Christmas trappings that befits a Santa. A large chair is placed on a few pallets to give him some height, and the dump truck is ready for Santa.

It’s not just Christmas. There are many street parades each year that feature characters dressed up to please the children. They drive down the street on the back of a dump truck. For other characters, the back of a flat bed truck is used.

What shouldn’t surprise you is that despite all the fun and pageantry that accompanies these events, the dump truck driver’s responsibility still revolves around safety – probably more so given the number of children pressing in trying to get a closer look. It takes a lot of skill and concentration to drive a truck at such slow speeds, skills that have been picked up through dump truck driver training and through practical hands on experience. Of course, our kids don’t care – they just want to see Santa.