Tractors are one of the most straightforward pieces of heavy equipment that you are ever likely to operate, but from time to time things do go wrong. Today we are going to look at a few heavy equipment safety tips that can keep you out of trouble on your tractor.

• Don’t wear loose fitting clothes – This may seem obvious, but for some people it isn’t. Loose fitting clothes and tractors (or any other kind of heavy equipment) do not mix. Long or excessively baggy jackets are an obvious no-no but don’t forget that the humble scarf has the potential to be deadly. Wear a neck-warmer if you need to drive a tractor in the cold.
• Go easy on the speed – Tractors are heavy and that additional weight can make them quite difficult to stop. Most injuries involving tractors involve rollovers, sticking to sensible speeds is one way to reduce this risk.
• Be careful on inclines – Do not try to drive a tractor up or down steep hills. If you are on an incline there is a much greater chance of rollover. Most tractors are not suitable or driving in steep terrain.

Good luck and safe tractor driving. With icy conditions in a lot of parts of the country, you do need to take extra care. If you have any questions relating to tractor safety or heavy equipment safety in general, please feel free to contact us at Associated Training Services.

There are few jobs that have the same flexibility as truck driving. This is part of the reason why it has become such a great career for so many people. There are truck driving jobs to suit all kinds of people, from long-haul interstate trucking to much shorter, less demanding intra-city driving. It can be hard work, but the benefits sell themselves.

• There are truck driving jobs all over the country.
• Truck driving offers great wages and a lot of personal freedom.
• If you can drive a car, you will only need to develop a few more driving skills in order to drive a truck.
• The training process is relatively short.

What you get out of truck driving is a great job that pays well, but that does not take years of training. After a short training process, you can be ready to get out there and start truck driving for a living.

Our truck driving programs here at Associated Training Services are designed to be flexible. We realize that our students may have other jobs and be unable to commit to a fulltime schedule; therefore we offer both fulltime and part time courses to our students. If money is a problem, we can help with that too. We offer financial aid to some students. If you have any questions relating to our truck driving program, do not hesitate to contact us at Associated Training Services.

All of the training in the world is not going to help someone that does not make use of it. People forget skills that they have learned and they do so quickly. The old adage, “like riding a bicycle,” does not apply to complex heavy equipment, at least not after you have just finished training. This is why job placement is such a big part of our program here at Associated Training Services. We can help place our graduates with employers throughout the country, ensuring that they are able to further develop their skills in a real workplace.

Job placement is as much a part of the learning process as training. In training, our students learn a wide range of new skills and they learn how to perform in a real workplace. With job placement, you will find a place to work and to hone and perfect the skills that we have taught you.

Getting to work as quickly as possible is of the utmost importance. Just as there is a learning curve, it could be said that there is an unlearning curve. Few people are able to retain skills for months or years after they have learned them if they do not put them to use. Most people will begin to unlearn skills that they have learned days after they finish training. The same person is likely to show markedly less heavy equipment skill a month later if they have not been making use of it.

Our job placement program is the best way that we can fulfill our responsibility as educators and give a little something back to our students. We do help you find work once you have graduated our program. If you have any questions about job placement, please contact us here at Associated Training Services.

If you are locked in an unskilled profession, you might find it hard to make ends meet. If you want to find yourself a better job, you will need training of some kind. Training costs money and finding enough money to pay for a training course upfront can be hard for most people. That is where financial aid can be extremely useful.

Financial aid is a great way to get your training started. It makes perfect sense to use financial aid for education and training. Once you graduate from your training course, you will be able to demand higher wages and make your repayments more easily. As long as you are able to find the money for repayments now, you are in a win-win position.

At Associated Training Services we offer financial aid because we are well aware that it can be difficult for some people to produce their fees upfront. We aim to help people find valuable, rewarding careers and financial aid is a simple way for us to help. As long as you have a good credit rating, you are likely to qualify for financial aid. If you don’t have a good credit rating, a guarantor may be able to help you secure your loan.

If you have any questions relating to financial aid, do not hesitate to contact us at Associated Training Services.

Excavators are one of the biggest pieces of heavy equipment that most people will get to use. They are similar in appearance to backhoes, but larger. They are usually tracked and are sometimes referred to as trackhoes, diggers or simply as hoes. They are used for a range of excavation functions including digging trenches, holes and foundations. They can perform many other operations beyond digging, and support a range of hydraulic attachments. Excavators can be used for demolition jobs, heavy lifting, river dredging, mining (especially open pit) and brush cutting. They are extremely versatile and are used in almost all types of building site. They come in a range of sizes to suit applications of different scales.

Here at Associated Training Services, we have a nationally accredited excavator training program. We have professional instructors that will take you through your excavator training, both in the classroom and on a simulated building site. The goal of our training program is more than just getting you certified, it is about getting you employed. For this reason, we have a job placement program that places graduates of Associated Training Services at different companies around the country. We recognize that not all schedules are equal and that some people do not have the time for full time training. This is why we offer both full time and part time training schedules. We aim to be as flexible as you need.

Getting certification for excavators makes sense. Operators of excavators earn a good wage, the training does not take very long and operating heavy equipment is much lighter work than some other jobs on the building site. It is something that you can be just as capable of doing at the beginning of your construction career as at the end. If you have any questions about excavator training or any other type of heavy equipment training, do not hesitate to contact us at Associated Training Services.

Life without certification is an uphill battle. You might find yourself going from job to job with no stability, no security and very limited earning potential. Without money, life can be very difficult. Raising a family, buying a house, enjoying the lifestyle that comes from a steady wage, these are all things that are out of reach to many of the unskilled laborers in this country. Many people do not realize how easy it can be to get certification and the difference that it can make in ones life.

If you are involved in construction, why not start taking steps towards getting some heavy equipment or carpentry certification. At Associated Training Services we provide courses around the country that suit many people’s busy work schedules. You can choose to study full time in one of our intensive courses or complete your training part time between work hours. It is all about providing our students with the flexibility that they need in order to under take our training.

Once you are certified, we can assist you by offering job placement. A large number of companies throughout the country assist us by offering our graduates job placement. They realize that certification from Associated Training Services indicates that a student has undergone professional training and is ready to enter the work place. If you have any questions regarding our certification, which is nationally accredited, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Graders are a potentially dangerous piece of heavy equipment. If you operate a grader then you bear a certain level of responsibility for the safety of your fellow workmates. While heavy equipment safety is part of grader training, it never hurts to brush up on safety skills. This is a short list of safety tips. Some of them are quite obvious, however, these are areas that are of concern at many workplaces around the country.

Safe operation of graders will help to minimize the accidents in your workplace. If you have any questions regarding heavy equipment safety, please do not hesitate to contact us at Associated Training Services.

There are a quite a few heavy equipment safety guidelines that need to be remembered when operating a backhoe, and this list is by no means all inclusive. The following are some key areas that are known to be safety issues in a large number of workplaces. Maintaining a safe working environment keeps accidents from happening.

1. Always wear a seatbelt when you are operating the machine.
2. Do not allow your co-workers to ride in the equipment.
3. Keep any bystanders clear of your equipment while it is operation.
4. Stick to the manufacturers rated capacity.
5. Never allow anyone under the arm of the backhoe or to pass anything through the arms of the backhoe.
6. Do not set up on loose or soft ground, it could cause the backhoe to overbalance.
7. Ensure that everyone is clear of the machine when starting the equipment.
8. Ensure that the machine is well maintained.
9. Wear your hard hat and hearing protection.
10. The boom should always be centered and raised during transportation.

There are countless other safety guidelines for backhoes. These are, however, some areas that safety tends to fall down in a lot of places. Some of the safety blunders that people make can have lethal consequences. As always, when operating heavy equipment, take note of what is going on around you. As a skilled worker, you have a position of some responsibility. You are using dangerous equipment and you owe it to your co-workers to do all that you can to keep them safe.

Loaders are one of the most common types of heavy equipment that you see these days. Part of the reason is that they are generally wheeled, not tracked. In terms of maneuverability and usability, this is a big plus. While tracked vehicles are great for a large construction site, wheeled vehicles can move about almost anywhere, without causing damage to paved or sealed surfaces.

There is a wide variety of attachments that can be used with loaders, they can be used for digging, earth moving and do an excellent job as a light dozer. As they can be used in so many places, loader operators tend to be in high demand. Loader certification is a great way to ensure that you are able to work throughout the country. Associated Training Services is a nationally accredited institution with schools throughout the United States. If you are interested in learning how to operate loaders, or any other type of heavy equipment, why not pay us a visit.

One way of boosting your employment prospects is by undergoing some specialized training. Learning new skills and more importantly, gaining certification in new skills can make you more employable and allow you to demand higher wages. Carpentry is a skilled profession that covers a whole array of skills. At Associated Training Services, we have a range of carpentry programs to suit your needs.

NCCER Construction Level – 1

You will learn the fundamental construction terminology, techiques, tools, equipment, and materials used in wood frame building construction. You will also learn rough carpentry, framing, and home building. The teaching methods include classroom and shop instruction.

This can be a great way to boost your construction skills and increase your wages. The course runs full-time for four weeks.

NCCER Construction Levels 1 & 3 and All Terrain Telescoping Fork Lift Training

You will learn the fundamental and advanced construction terminology, techniques, and materials used in wood frame building construction. In addition, you will learn a variety of safety practices and basic blueprint reading. You will learn finish carpentry, framing, and home building. The teaching methods include classroom and shop instruction.

This is an eight week full-time course with the All Terrain Telescoping Fork Lift Training as a bonus.

If you have any questions relating to our carpentry courses or any of our heavy equipment courses, please contact us at Associated Training Services.