Associated Training Services is beginning a new column this week that we hope will become one of your favorites. We’ll be highlighting job listings within the heavy equipment industry. There are a lot of them and we expect the list to grow.

This week’s job listings include:

• A transportation company with multiple offices nationwide is looking for alert drivers for local and long haul deliveries.
• A contractor in Huntsville, Alabama is looking for bulldozer, pan scraper, construction tractor, and asphalt distributor operators.
• A company in Livermore, California needs crane operators locally and excavating equipment operators all over the state.
• In Johnson City, Texas, a construction trenching firm is seeking oilfield workers to help with trenching for pipelines. Starting pay is $15-$20 and you get per diem.
• Relay driver needed from Madison, Wisconsin to Fremont, Indiana and back, six nights a week for $21.11 per hour.
• Deliver roofing supplies in Columbus, Canton, and Mentor, Ohio for a recognized supply company.

This is just the tip of iceberg where heavy equipment job listings are concerned. Look for this list every Saturday. Brought to you by the premier heavy equipment job site online, a service of ATS Heavy Equipment Operator School.

Skid steer loaders are often looked down upon by construction crews, yet they are one of the busiest and most versatile machines in use. In fact, many operators will brag that if a skid steer can’t do it, then it can’t be done. It’s a hard claim to argue against actually considering the range of attachments that can be used with a skid steer.

One of the real benefits to a skid steer is their maneuverability. Being small, and being able to turn in their own tracks, they can get in and out of most places. Being four wheel drive, they can work well in snow or mud, and in the unlikely event they get stuck, they can use their bucket to push themselves out. The most common attachments in use are a bucket and a set of forks. However, you can also attach post hole diggers, trenchers, grapples, and even a snow blower, and that’s just the tip of the attachment iceberg. Skid steers can:

• dig holes,
• load trucks,
• clear snow,
• push dirt, gravel, or sand,
• carry heavy items,
• spread dirt, gravel, or sand,
• back-drag dirt, gravel, or sand to achieve a level finish,
• shave turf strips, and
• dig trenches

Skid steers are used everywhere from farms to the construction industry. However, their real home is in landscape gardening where this one tool can do a variety of jobs, including carrying and holding large plants that are being transplanted. Compared to their larger cousins, skid steer loaders are also easy to transport. The can be driven onto a small flatbed and towed by any decent-sized vehicle. While skid steer loaders are small, they can be tricky to operate, especially for a novice. Heavy equipment training prepares an individual to operate a wide range of heavy equipment including skid steer loaders. Looking for variety, a skid steer loader operator certainly experiences that.

Over the years the Occupational Safety and Health Authority (OSHA) have established guidelines and minimum requirements for workers engaged in different industries. In the construction industry, there are a range of occupations that have been looked at in order to increase safety and, in so doing, decrease the number of accidents. Riggers have not been immune from this close examination, and from November 8, 2010, riggers had to be ‘qualified’ to undertake specific tasks.

To meet OSHAs criteria for a “qualified person”, riggers must meet certain conditions. These include:

….possession of a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing, or who by extensive knowledge, training, and experience, has successfully demonstrated the ability to solve/resolve problems relating to rigging.

The easiest way to demonstrate these abilities is by obtaining an NCCCO certification. This is generally obtained following training and assessment by a suitably qualified assessor. Experienced riggers can obtain certification by undertaking the assessment alone. However, rules and regulations are constantly changing so updating skills through training never hurts.

Employers must engage qualified riggers for work that includes the assembly and/or dis-assembly of cranes, hooking, unhooking, or guiding a load, or in the initial connection of a load to a component or structure and are within the fall zone. Associated Training Services has been accredited through NCCCO to deliver training and assessment to meet the standard required for certification as a rigger. By undertaking rigger training and assessment through ATS, employees will receive their rigger certification, a qualification that is portable and recognized across the country. If you are a rigger who requires certification, contact ATS for more information on our next training and assessment program.

Workplace safety is a big issue across the nation and there has been a lot of attention given to the construction industry in general. Building sites are dangerous places for those who are not fully aware of what is going on around them – it’s certainly not a place that encourages daydreaming. Heavy equipment safety has come in for a lot of criticism over the years due to the number of avoidable accidents that have taken place. Today, an employer will not hire an operator unless they have had some form of heavy equipment safety training – at least sufficient to meet the national minimum standards.

No matter how much training an individual has, their ability to work safely all comes down to one key ingredient – common sense – and you would be surprised how many times an operator has ignored this and created a real problem. Safety rules are put in place for a reason. Not to make life harder for operators, but to make life safer for themselves and for those working around them. And common sense is at the center of most safety rules – as it is in most areas of our lives.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools have fully endorsed the safety rules and working safely is an issue we deal with from day one in training. When students are operating heavy equipment, safety is at the forefront with students encouraged to consider these issues before making any maneuvers. In order to complete their training, students must not only demonstrate an ability to operate heavy equipment, they must also demonstrate their knowledge of the safety issues involved with operating their equipment.

A safer workplace means there are fewer injuries (and loss of life), less downtime (accidents often need to be investigated for causes), and less damage to property and equipment. It estimated that construction companies could save over a billion dollars each year, just by cutting out avoidable accidents. Do you have common sense? If you do, you have the core ingredient for a safer workplace – and we can help you learn the skills to capitalize on that common sense to become an effective and safe heavy equipment operator.

A career as a heavy equipment operator can be very rewarding. For some, learning to operate basic equipment such as bulldozers, graders, and excavators is just the start of a journey that takes them through some of the more complex heavy equipment that is rarely discussed in heavy equipment forums.

One of the problems with setting your sites on more specialized equipment is the scarcity of opportunities. Because this equipment is specialized, there isn’t a big call for operators and, in most cases, employers recruit from within their own ranks, training suitable operators to handle this equipment. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t aim to operate this equipment. the opportunities do occur, and if you show a real desire to learn, an employer may well give you that opportunity.

You will often see these machines being used and wonder how an operator worked their way into that role. In most cases, it all started with basic heavy equipment and proving how proficient they are in operating that equipment. Some of the specialized equipment you may see includes:

• Paver, asphalt finisher, paving machine – This machine may have several different names, but they all do the same job. They lay the asphalt for new roads and highways.
• Roller, roller-compactor, compactor – This too has many names, and if you’re old enough, you may have heard them referred to as ‘steam rollers’. They do the same job. They compact and smooth out material that has been put down. Rollers are used after asphalt has been put down to give roads that hard and smooth finish.
• Wheel tractor-scraper – Scrapers are used to ‘plane’ the surface ready for construction or road building. Dirt is scraped from the surface and held in a hopper. Large scrapers may have two engines, one to drive the front and one to drive the rear.
• Trencher, wheel trencher – This is a specialist piece of equipment normally used to dig trenches for pipe laying. They are also sometimes used on roads to score the asphalt prior to relaying new asphalt.
• Pile driver – As the name suggests, this machinery is used to drive piles into the ground. Often found where bridges are being constructed, and for some general construction roles.

If you have a desire to one day work on specialist heavy equipment like those listed above, your first step is to undertake heavy equipment training on standard every day equipment. Once you are proficient in their use, you can then look to advance your career operating some of that equipment. ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools can give you a head start as we include scrapers as part of our heavy equipment training program.

Transitioning from a heavy equipment training school to a full time job as a heavy equipment operator can seem daunting. It’s true of every new career unless you have had some experience in that particular industry. Jobs are advertised in a wide variety of locations so knowing where to look is often not the problem – the real problem is that most people new to an industry don’t know how to apply for any vacancies.

The construction industry can be particularly hard. Some employers rarely advertise vacancies, they rely on word-of-mouth to bring in applicants. Others will talk to people who simply walk in off the street. The latter is rare these days, but it does still happen. As a graduate from a heavy equipment training school, what is ideal is to have a friend who has the inside knowledge of industry – someone who knows the employers and who knows what these employers are looking from job applicants. Here’s the good news, you do have a friend and they do have all the knowledge you need to help you find that first job.

Associated Training Schools has a highly regarded career services department and their function is to do everything possible to help you find employment. From the beginning of your training, someone from Career Services will interview you in an effort to find out exactly what you want from your training and a new career. They will then put together a resource package that will help you find suitable employers based on where you want to work, and the type of employment you are looking for.

Career Services will also deliver ‘soft skills’ training – these are designed to help you with application letters, resumes, and interview skills – all designed to help you prove your worth to a potential employer. Our career services department can never promise to find you a perfect job – that perfect job may not even exist – however, they can help you to locate vacancies and with your job application – after that, it will all depend on how well you influence the employer. Looking for heavy equipment training that offers that little extra? Don’t underestimate the value of our Career Services department.

I am, perhaps, exaggerating a little when I compare modern heavy equipment technology with an Xbox – but only a little. The technology that is found in modern heavy equipment is certainly of Xbox quality with computer microchips controlling many of the operations. It has also been said that those who regularly play computer games are already half way to becoming heavy equipment operators since they have excellent hand-eye coordination.

Motor vehicle technology has moved to heavy equipment with similar computer technology that controls a motor vehicle’s performance being used to ensure heavy equipment engine runs smoothly. Heavy equipment machinery like motor graders are starting to use computer technology to accurate set the positions of their blades – and using GPS and laser technology to continually fine tune those settings to deliver precise gradings. Computer technology is also being introduced to other machinery such as excavators to enable them to dig to precise measurements.

There are some training organizations that are incorporating computer controlled heavy equipment simulators in their training. While these simulators are helpful, they still don’t beat being outside in a real machine, working on real dirt. While technology is starting to playing a much bigger role in heavy equipment operations, the basics still remain the same. Bulldozers push dirt around, excavators dig holes, loaders still load dump trucks – the technology that is being incorporated is designed to get a job done using the smallest amount of fuel possible while in most cases producing very precise results. More importantly, new technology is making it easier for operators to complete tasks quickly while not affecting the quality of their work – and time is often a construction company’s biggest enemy.

For new operators coming into the work force, the difficulty is knowing what sort of training to undertake. Simulators, for example, usually train operators on heavy equipment that has all of the latest technology. In reality, the workplace is using a wide range of equipment, some of it is still 20-30 years old. The most effective training involves getting into the cab of a range of equipment, some new and some old. This gives students a feel for both the old and new technologies and delivers a better all around training experience. When considering a career as a heavy equipment operator, look for a training organization that is going to deliver training across a broad range of equipment.