Scenes on the news of a crane that was damaged by the high winds in New York this week are a timely warning to all heavy equipment operators. Weather is an important factor when operating heavy equipment, cranes, and even when driving large trucks. Strong winds can be a problem, however, what really causes damage is when that strong wind gusts. You may feel that operating a vehicle in 30 mph winds is okay – and it may be, however, wind can often gust to twice it’s speed, so that 30 mph suddenly becomes 60 mph, or more. The real damage being caused because it is unexpected.

It’s not just wind, rain and snow can also cause real problems. It may be quite safe to drive a bulldozer into a paddock to clear away trees and debris, however, a sudden downpour of rain could make a bulldozer’s escape a little difficult, perhaps even impossible, until the water has dispersed.

When thinking about heavy equipment safety, it’s easy to forget about weather, more so if you have had months (or years) of reasonable weather. The storms currently crossing our east coast are once every ten or twenty year storms – the kind of storms that most operators rarely get to see. This week’s storm is so severe it’s plain commonsense not to operate your equipment unless it’s an emergency. It’s the smaller storms that are a worry, the kind of storm where a heavy equipment operator may be tempted to risk it. You really need to ask yourself – is the risk worth it?

As heavy equipment operators, you have a responsibility to operate your equipment in a safe manner. It is your responsibility to ensure that people and objects are safe, that your equipment is safe, and ultimately, that you yourself are safe. If there is a risk to any of those areas, you shouldn’t be operating your equipment. Heavy equipment training can cover a lot of safety issues, however, it’s your job to assess the environment at the time.

In-the-seat training is essential for careers such as heavy equipment operations, truck driving and crane operations. In fact, the more time you can spend in-the-seat, the better. However, you should never underestimate the value of out-of the-seat training, often referred to as classroom training, or theoretical training. Classroom training is where quality operators and drivers are born since it delivers training in areas such as safety, working in a team, paperwork (and these careers certainly have paperwork), site layouts, and the legal requirements to operate heavy equipment, trucks or cranes.

When it comes to heavy equipment, operators also need an understanding of soils and soil types, and how those soils react when being worked by heavy equipment. This requires a combination of in-the-field and in-the-classroom training – and the field training is more like getting your hands into the soil to feel the differences. Out-of-the-seat training also involves observation – watching how heavy machinery reacts in different situations. Operators can better relate when they are then in the operator’s seat.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training Schools have carefully developed a training program that uses a combination of in-the-seat and out-of-the-seat training. Our school is well respected within the industry for producing graduates who are well grounded in all aspects of heavy equipment operation. We even train our students in the fundamentals of laser levels and heavy equipment maintenance.

If you are looking for a career as a heavy equipment operator, be sure to choose a training school that does deliver a well rounded training program. You can spend hundreds of hours in the operator seat, however, if you don’t have an understanding of some of the theoretical aspects, then you won’t be a better operator, and you may just disappoint employers and find yourself without work. Get it right from day one and you’ll be ready for employment.

Work places have become quite tricky when it comes to following OSHA guidelines. In many jobs, your primary role may be very easily defined, however, it’s your secondary tasks that could cause confusion – and problems if you’re not very careful. Truck driving is one job where problems could arise.

Truck drivers that deliver pallet loads of building bricks to construction sites are often required to use a small crane boom that is attached to the truck. Rather than being a truck driver, they are now crane operators, and as such they require all the crane operator training and certifications that full-time crane operator receive. Small cranes, even those attached to the back of delivery trucks, require skills that go above and beyond those of a truck driver.

Small crane operators still need to assess the load, stabilize their vehicle, and ensure the load is moved safely and in accordance with crane operator guidelines – hence the requirement for certification as a crane operator. The upside for truck drivers who are certified to operate a crane is that they have a secondary occupation they can fall back on if times are tough in the trucking industry – not that there’s any likelihood of that in the foreseeable future.

If you have a commercial drivers license and you want to extend your skills base, consider crane operator training. If there is always a demand for truck drivers who are multi-skilled, another example being truck drivers who can also drive heavy equipment on and off flat bed trailers. You can learn these skills in less than a month and they will provide a lifetime of employment opportunities.

In a period in which the economy is sluggish, jobs can be hard to find. The construction industry is generally the first to defy this trend, and over the past two years, it has led the way when it comes to growth. Heavy equipment operators, truck drivers, and crane operators are all in demand, however, that demand is ever-changing and often moves from state to state. There is a reason for this.

As projects come to an end, operators and drivers start to drift to new locations – their work there is done. One project finishes, another starts, however, it’s often hundreds of miles away, perhaps even in a new state. This draws in operators and drivers chasing the money that is often on offer for big projects. This leaves shortages at a local level, and those shortages mean there are plenty of job opportunities for others. The following jobs have been listed over the last two weeks – check with our jobs website for more information on these or any new jobs.

Back Hoe Operator
Jacksonville, FL
Railroad Engineering, Load Adjust, and Transfer Company are now hiring equipment operators.

Driver – CDL – Crane/Boom
Spring Hill, TN
Under moderate supervision, drives a delivery vehicle to transport materials to a location or production site that requires the operation of a crane or boom in the loading and offloading of materials. Operates crane or boom on a delivery truck, including rigging, planning, and hoisting of a variety of heavy construction materials.

Excavation Equipment Operator
Jacksonville, FL
Heavy equipment operator required to operate excavation equipment

Heavy Equipment Operator
Allentown, PA
Environmental Services company located in Bethlehem is seeking an FT Equipment Operator. Must have Heavy Equipment Experience Competitive Salary Health Ins./Dental/401K/Pd Vac. Drug-Free Workplace / EOE

Crane Operator
Homestead, FL
Operate mechanical boom and cable or tower and cable equipment to lift and move heavy structural steel, materials, machines, forms, or products in many directions.

Heavy Equipment Operator & CDL
Fort Polk, LA
Seeking Heavy Equipment Operator to join our outstanding team at the Fort Polk Army Base in Louisiana.

Heavy Equipment Operator II
Hawaii
The Heavy Equipment Operator II will be responsible for the safe and efficient operation of material handling and processing equipment at the assigned Hawaiian Earth Products facility, as directed by the Operations Manager.

If a career as a heavy equipment operator, truck driver, or crane operator appeals, then check our training website for more information on how to get a start in any of these fields.

Want to learn how to drive a truck? Almost any truck driver can teach you how to drive. However, that won’t make you a truck driver, and it probably won’t help you to achieve a commercial drivers license. Commercial truck drivers need a range of skills that go beyond just driving. Some of these skills include:

• Reversing with one or more trailers,
• Pre-trip inspections,
• Coupling and uncoupling trailers,
• Securing loads,
• Maintaining log books,
• Operating GPS equipment,
• Truck maintenance and basic breakdown repairs,
• Truck safety, including truck stop security and breakdown safety procedures

That is just a small sample. If you include endorsements like a HazMat endorsement, you will need to learn the requirements for transporting hazardous materials. Whilst that list may look complex, in practice, they are actions which most drivers learn to do by habit.

These are all important skills. Take maintaining a log book – get it wrong and your career could very quickly come to an end.

The truck driver training program at ATS covers all of these skills in both classroom-based and hands-on training. Once you have completed your training, you will be ready to not only drive a truck, but also obtain your commercial drivers license and become a truck driver.

Whilst undertaking truck driver training through ATS, you can access our Career Services department. They will help you refine your job seeking skills and help you to find employers that best match your work requirements. You will also have access to our job site where you’ll find job vacancies that have been listed by employers. Our aim is to help you to become a professional truck driver – we are not in the business of just teaching people to drive trucks – and there is a big difference between the two.

One of the more challenging machines in the heavy equipment field has to be a crane. A quick look at one of the job vacancies listed over the weekend gives you an indication of what is expected of a crane operator. Because of the complexities of this type of work, authorities have made it compulsory for crane operators to be certified before they can commence work operating a crane.

The weekend’s crane operator job listing required, in part, an operator:

Will observe load hook-up and determine safety of load using load charts and lift plans. Must be able to judge spaces correctly and handle many controls at the same time. Will initiate lifts, hoists and movements according to written, verbal or signaled instructions.

Whilst that may sound complex, most operators perform these actions day-in and day-out, almost on auto pilot. Of course, the job can’t be done on auto pilot alone when you need to refer to load charts and lift plans. To begin with, you have to have a clear understanding of these charts, how to read them, and how to apply the current situation to those charts.

When it comes to judging spaces, you’ll be surprised how quickly you can learn this aspect of crane operations, even when operating a multitude of controls. Experienced operators do appear to be handling this side of their work on autopilot – and they may well do so. If you drive a car, you soon learn to judge distances and speed – it’s a similar concept when operating a crane.

The key to successfully acquiring the abilities to perform as required in this job ad is through your crane operator training. You should be able graduate from your training with a reasonably good knowledge of load charts, and experience with judging distance and space. It goes without saying that your training includes reading hand signals and other communications devices. As a crane operator, you’re often blind to many aspects of a lift, so you will be relying heavily on those around you to give clear and easy to understand signal.

Crane operator training may teach you how to operate the levers in a crane, however, it is just as important to learn the the non-operational side as well.

Heavy equipment operators are in strong demand this week with jobs available as far away as Hawaii. The current trend is for full-time positions, so there is some job security that you can depend on. If any of these positions appeal to you, visit our dedicated jobs site where you’ll find more information on these and any other jobs that have been listed recently.

Heavy Equipment Operator
Inwood, WV
Full-time, experience w/ fine grating and valid driver’s license required.

Heavy Equipment Operator
Allentown, PA
Environmental Services company located in Bethlehem is seeking an FT Equipment Operator. Must have Heavy Equipment Experience Competitive Salary Health Ins./Dental/401K/Pd Vac. Drug-Free Workplace / EOE

Crane Operator
Homestead, FL
Operate mechanical boom and cable or tower and cable equipment to lift and move heavy structural steel, materials, machines, forms, or products in many directions. Will observe load hook-up and determine the safety of the load using load
charts and lift plans. Must be able to judge spaces correctly and handle many controls at the same time. Will initiate lifts, hoists, and movements according to written, verbal, or signaled instructions.

Heavy Equipment Operator & CDL
Fort Polk, LA
Position available in a fast-paced company with a mission: To Create Jobs for People with Disabilities while providing high-quality, value-added solutions to our nationwide customers. We are currently seeking a Heavy Equipment Operator to join our outstanding team at the Fort Polk Army Base in Louisiana.

Heavy Equipment Operator II (leeward)
Hawaii
The Heavy Equipment Operator II will be responsible for the safe and efficient operation of material handling and processing equipment at the assigned Hawaiian Earth Products facility, as directed by the Operations Manager.

If you’re interested in a career as a heavy equipment operator, crane operator, or truck driver, then visit our training site where you’ll find more information on heavy equipment operator training, crane operator training, and truck driver training.

Over the last five years we have seen the need for some form certification increase across a range of equipment. I know there are many operators who question the need for certification, with some even resenting the process. The problem is, it’s operators and employers who have forced this certification process on themselves.

Certification is all about safety, and it is designed to save both life and property. In most cases, accidents are caused by human error, often negligence. Minimum safety standards should, over time, help to reduce the number of accidents, more so if an operator has received training .

Construction sites are very busy with machinery constantly coming and going, and people always on the move. It becomes necessary in these situations to have everyone trained to at least the same mini. Heavy equipment operators can be a disadvantage – projects need to be completed on time to ensure future projects are not affected, yet there is little room for them to maneuver and work safely in.

By certifying operators, employers know that each has received their heavy equipment safety training that legislators expect of them. Employers also know that accidents should be on the decline, although no amount of training can prevent shear negligence. Fortunately, a certification system can remedy that as well – negligent operators may well lose their certification until they can prove they can safely operate their equipment. At present, there are heavy equipment operations that don’t need certification, however, this will not last for much longer, most other construction careers now do require that certification.

Bulldozers are just bulldozers, right? A large engine pushing a large steel blade. They have been around for a long time, and they never change. Technology surely hasn’t affected a bulldozer! To the naked eye, that may appear to be true, however, all heavy equipment, bulldozers included, have gone through some remarkable changes over the years. The problem is not with the new technology; it is that many of the improvements are behind the scenes.

Engines are a good example. Today’s engines are more efficient than those of ten or twenty years ago. More importantly, modern engines are much cleaner using the latest technology to reduce emissions. In some countries, heavy equipment technology includes the use of solar cells to generate the power required to run cab air conditioners, radios, and many other devices that require electricity.

When it comes to digging tools, blades, buckets, and scoops have been redesigned to maximize their effectiveness. A bulldozer blade of today, for example, can cut cleaner and push more dirt simply because of the changes in angles and curvature of the blade.

Of course, computer technology now plays a big role in heavy equipment operations. Grader blades, for example, can now be set to the finest accuracy using GPS, laser technology, and computers. The operator doesn’t need to estimate a blade’s position, or set it manually – the computer can do it for them.

Whilst technology is playing a big role in the efficiency and accuracy of heavy equipment, that doesn’t mean that operators are either becoming redundant or mere ‘drivers’. Heavy equipment operators are more highly skilled, technology-wise, than those of many years ago. The emphasis now is on ensuring that new operators are well trained, not just in the operational aspects of heavy equipment, but also on the technological aspect. Well-trained heavy equipment operators are in high demand, and with experience, often command top dollar when it comes to negotiating wages.

Finding your first job after completing training can be difficult. We often list job vacancies here on Saturdays for heavy equipment operators, crane operators, and truck drivers. These job listings are not just for current students or recent graduates either. Some operators and drivers quickly develop reputations for being good at their job – employers often seek them out hoping to recruit them.

We list a lot of jobs through our dedicated job site, and at times we host employers at our training school. These are generally larger employers who have an ongoing need for new operators or drivers. This week we feature truck driving jobs, in particular two large employers who are visiting us as part of a recruitment drive.

CDL-A Driver

Swift will be hiring truck drivers in our Sun Prairie, WI, Diesel Driving School classroom, on the 11th of October at 4 PM.

Schneider National will also be hiring truck drivers at our Sun Prairie facility on the 9th of October at 4 PM.

If you need more information on these opportunities, then please feel free to visit our job site, telephone us, or visit our main training website.