While there are many festivals and events across the country, there is one that stands out – Dozer Day! Dozer Day will be held May 16-17, 2020, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds in Vancouver, Washington.

The Nutter Family Foundation is a non-profit organization that focuses on addressing the needs of children. The foundation believes that when children are provided with opportunities to develop their talents, society will thrive.

The primary annual event of the Nutter Foundation is Dozer Day. At Dozer Day children are put in the driver’s seat of heavy equipment used in the construction business as well as an ambulance, fire trucks, and other vehicles. During the activities, children learn about public safety, the construction of sustainable communities, and industry opportunities.

More About Dozer Day

Dozer Day is held annually, and it is a fundraising charitable event that strives to educate children about the opportunities that exist. It teaches attendees about real-world, important situations while ensuring they get experiences relating to construction by asking them to take the driver’s seat in heavy equipment, recycling trucks, ambulances, and fire trucks.

Besides putting the children in driver’s seats, they can participate in a variety of fun, educational activities.  Families are given the chance to interact with professionals from multiple industries and there will be redefining of stereotypes. It is a fun-filled family event.

Dozer Event Locations

Locations are spread out including Vancouver, Washington; Yakima, Washington; Seattle, Washington; Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho; Kansas City; and it is planned for Willamette Valley. The Nutter Family Foundation hopes to add some more locations across the country. To learn more about Dozer Day or to learn how to schedule an event in your community, visit www.dozerday.org.

We all know what bulldozers are, with their front shovel and heavy-duty tracks, it is always seen as a brute of a machine that is the muscle of the site, shifting large amounts of material where it is needed. However, a bulldozer can be found in other situations too, roadbuilding, demolition, and site preparation for construction projects, so what do they get up to in these different environments?

Bulldozers in construction

For any large construction site, the first heavy machinery on site is often the bulldozers. While we associate them with pushing large amounts of material around, they can be used in a much more precise way when required. Preparing a site for construction, by skimming away a layer of topsoil or debris, and removing plantation and weeds to allow foundations, channels, and so on to be marked out accurately is an important part of the construction process. Bulldozers are the perfect tool for this, with precise control allowing operators to take just enough of the topsoil away as required, while their impressive ability to move material is great for clearing even the heaviest of rubble away.

Roadbuilding

An important part of the construction industry, roads are constantly being built or resurfaced around the country, and on any project, you will find the bulldozer. Here bulldozers perform two tasks, firstly, removing the topsoil so that a road can be built, because a road needs solid foundations to be effective. But a bulldozer is also used after the foundation, the gravel and fill that makes up the roadbed, has been dropped in place. Here, the bulldozer is used to smooth the surface ready for the top coat of asphalt or other material, so really is an important part of the road-building process.

Demolition

Bulldozers are made in a variety of sizes, and you often find the larger ones involved in demolition. A large bulldozer is quite capable of demolishing a house, saving the time and safety concerns that come with taking it apart piece by piece manually, and of course, bulldozers are also very good at removing the resulting rubble when the site needs clearing.

Earthmoving

Whether at mines, construction sites, or other projects, moving large amounts of material is what the bulldozer was built to do, and it does this very well. Bulldozers use tracks that provide excellent grip in all conditions along with a powerful motor to push sparingly heavy loads, and it can quickly move substantial amounts of material wherever it is required.

It is easy to forget that bulldozers are capable of carrying out much more than just earthmoving, and for bulldozer operators, there are always new jobs and industries looking for their skills to further their careers. When looking for a career in heavy equipment, a bulldozer operator is definitely a great choice and a fantastic opportunity.

Bulldozer training is one of the most important things you can do for your career. If you want a long and successful career as a heavy equipment operator, then the bulldozer is one of the essential pieces of machinery to learn how to handle.

So what do you learn in bulldozer training?

10 Types of Equipment You’ll Learn to Operate

At ATS Heavy Equipment School, we take training on all types of heavy equipment real seriously. That’s why we incorporate training for all of these pieces of machinery into the bulldozer training we offer:

• Bulldozers (obviously)
• Backhoes
• Excavators
• Front End Loaders
• Skid Steer Loaders
• Wheel Loaders
• Scrapers
• Graders
• All-Terrain Forklifts
• Off-Road Haul Trucks

When you graduate our bulldozer training classes, you’ll be fully versed in how to operate each piece of equipment, and that includes the proper safety procedures for operations on the work site.

You’ll Also Learn the Basic Operations of Work Site Maintenance

Of course, there is a lot more to handling heavy equipment than simply maneuvering and safety. On the work site, you’ll need to understand a few other things in order to be effective in bulldozer operations. Our instructors will also teach you:

• How to read grades
• Identifying soil
• Determining work site layout
• Worksite safety procedures
• Heavy equipment maintenance
• Laser levels

These skills will come in handy when and if you ever advance to management or take on a supervisory role on the work site (and we hope you do). With these skills, you’ll learn to operate and grow to become a productive contributor to any heavy equipment work site.

Safety while operating a bulldozer is very important because it is such a powerful machine that serious injury and death are real probabilities when something goes wrong.

1. only qualified operators should be on a bulldozer
2. seatbelts should always be used
3. operators must follow proper lockout, blockout, and tagout procedures
4. flaggers must be assigned where signs and barricades cannot control traffic
5. bulldozers should be kept away from overhead power lines and water mains
6. warning devices must be heard through the entire worksite
7. shut off engine when refueling
8. bulldozer must have rollover protection structures
9. if there isn’t a specified hand or foot hold, don’t climb there
10. know what will be potentially hazardous, like structures that are taller than the machine and can collapse 
11. use proper systems and procedures to secure unattended bulldozers from movement
12. never use a bulldozer that has not been inspected pre-shift — fluid levels, brakes, signals, etc.
13. be aware of changes on the work site that will affect safety, excavations, etc.
14. no passengers. Period
15. always park on level ground

Just about every accident on a bulldozer is the result of someone ignoring safety precautions. Sometimes they do it because nothing happened the last time, or they think they can control a situation. You’ll run into some operators who refuse to wear safety belts, for instance, because they think they can jump off if the machine tips — those are the guys who go flying wildly off the seat instead. The result is not good.

When you become certified at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training School, you are taught the reasons behind the rules, and understand what you are doing when you get into the seat of a bulldozer or any other machinery we train you on. That’s why our graduates are sought out by employers who want qualified operators on the job.

Like a lot of other types of heavy equipment, there isn’t just one type of bulldozer. There are a variety of bulldozers and they all have different purposes on the job site.

In general, all bulldozers have a blade and a ripper.

The blade is the big metal plate on the front of the tracked vehicle, which is used to push materials into a pile. Blades can either be straight, curved (called universal), or a combination. The ripper is a long claw on the back of the dozer. For heavy ripping, a single shank is best, but there are rippers that are multi-shanked.

Small bulldozers are often called calfdozers. They are useful working in mines and other small areas.

An angledozer is a bulldozer whose blade is pushed forward on one end, or angled, so that it can push materials off to the side. These are handy in northern states where cities and municipalities are required to push snow off the streets for public safety purposes.

The military uses armored bulldozers, which allow them to fortify defenses in combat operations.

If you want to be a bulldozer operator, you’ll need to seek training. Heavy Equipment School will teach you how to operate a bulldozer safely in any working environment.

Bulldozers are awesome machines. Equipped with a huge bucket on one end, they’re useful when you have huge loads of dirt or other material that you need to push out of the way. On construction sites, you’ll often see large piles of debris – usually material removed from a structure during tear down or scraps during the building phase of a project. These can sometimes be in the way. You have to learn how to move them.

That’s when a bulldozer comes in handy. However, the operator needs to take special precautions because operating a bulldozer can be dangerous.

For safety reasons, only qualified operators should be allowed to work the machine controls. In fact, if you haven’t been trained to use a bulldozer, you shouldn’t even get behind the wheel. If you do get into the operator’s seat, be sure to wear your seatbelt. They have them for a reason.

When you have an operator in the seat of a bulldozer, you should have a ground guide in the vicinity. This serves as another set of eyes and ears to watch for obstacles, pedestrians, moving vehicles, and other distractions.

One big mistake new operators often make is attempting to push materials that are overhead, or working on a structure that is taller than the bulldozer. This is a big no-no. You can move overhead material enough to cause it to fall right on top of you. Then you or someone else could be fatally injured. It’s a huge safety hazard to use a bulldozer on anything over your head.

When you’re ready to learn how to operate a bulldozer safely, give Heavy Equipment School a call.

Bulldozers would have to be one of the slowest moving pieces of heavy equipment in operation. If you’re looking for a speed machine, then bulldozers are definitely not for you. In most cases, you could outwalk a bulldozer, I doubt you’d raise a sweat trying to evade one. What they lack in speed they more than make up for in power, so whilst you could say that bulldozers are the slowest, it’s also true to say they are the strongest.

What slows a bulldozer down considerably is the fact they run on tracks rather than wheels. Those tracks may be slow moving, however, they can operate in all weather conditions and on very rough terrain. Where wheeled vehicles are prone to becoming bogged, bulldozers breeze through it all with barely a pause. This makes the slow moving bulldozer ideal for a wide range of applications in a wide range of industries.

Some of the areas you could work in as a bulldozer operator include mining, construction, demolition, agriculture and the military. In fact, the tracks used to operate bulldozers are the same as those used to operate tanks. Whilst bulldozers are famed for their large blades that push dirt, they can also have attachments added to the rear that can be used for a variety of jobs. The ripper is the most common, used to rip up hard surfaces like concrete, large rocks and tree stumps.

If you are looking for an interesting and well-paid career in heavy equipment operations, consider what a bulldozer has to offer. You can train to become a bulldozer operator in as little as three weeks, and considering the opportunities and wage rates available, that training should prove to be a good investment.  The training offered through Associated Training Services is undertaken using modern machiney in simulated work environments – the perfect solution for anyone looking for a career or career change.

One of the benefits of a career as a heavy equipment operator is that your training and experience is recognized nationwide, unlike in some trades where your skills or qualifications could be localized. You could climb into the operator’s seat of a bulldozer then drive all the way around the nation – just keep off the roads and you’ll be fine.

Bulldozer operators, like many other heavy equipment operators, often work to the seasons. They’ll head north when it’s warm and dry in summer then head south as winter sets in and closes down construction. Some operators hang around and operate snow plows either in towns or in cities to keep roads clear, or on snow fields to carefully groom ski runs. Those operators who live and work in the south tend to be in a position to find work all year round since construction shut downs only occur in the worst of weather – hurricanes and tornadoes being both enemy and foe, closing down construction sites whilst creating havoc and more work.

If you undertake heavy equipment operator training through a recognized training school, then you’ll find that employers nationally will recognize your skills. Undertake training through a school that is not recognized and you’ll struggle to find work locally, let alone nationally.

One of the most popular machinery in heavy equipment is the bulldozer, mainly because of the demand for operators and the ease of use. Good bulldozer operators are judged by their ability to understand soil structures and how their machinery is going to handle each type of soil. This is gained through experience, and the wider your experience the more skilled you’ll become.

The concept of a bulldozer is very simple – place a strong motor at one end and blade at the other and then set the equipment to work pushing dirt. Road graders owe part of their original design to bulldozers. Where a road grader differs is in the placement of that blade – instead of being at the front, it is slung beneath the vehicle. A road grader still does the same job, pushing dirt, except it does it with more finesse, and to fine measurements.

You can still find old tractors with blades attached, and for simple tasks around the farm they do fine. Commercially built bulldozers come in a wide range of sizes, including giants that are used in mines and on large scale projects. The world’s largest bulldozer is the Komatsu D575A. This dozer can shift 90 cubic yards of dirt in a single sweep using a standard blade, and 125 cubic yards per sweep using the largest blade available – now that’s a lot of dirt. As a comparison, the most common bulldozer in use is the Caterpillar D9. This machine can move around 22 cubic yards per sweep or about a quarter of the load that a D575A can move.

At the opposite end of the scale is the world’s smallest bulldozer, sometimes referred to as a calfdozer. These are not common dozers although they can be found in underground mines, in forestry areas, and as snow plows, especially around ski resorts.

No matter the size, these bulldozers all have one thing in common – they are designed to push dirt (or snow) around. Furthermore, their operation is almost identical, given that each brand of bulldozer has slightly different operation methods. Once you have learned how to operate a bulldozer, size becomes irrelevant – those skills are easily transferable. What’s you’re preference? Driving a huge D575A, a standard D9, or perhaps a calfdozer? Gain the skills the choice becomes yours.

Mention heavy equipment and most people think of a bulldozer. That probably relates back to most people’s childhood where a bulldozer was an essential toy in every sandbox. In the adult world, bulldozers are still one of the most popular choices when it comes to heavy equipment careers.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, depending on your mind set, many employers see life differently. Rather than employing a bulldozer operator, their preference is to employ a heavy equipment operator – in other words, an operate who is skilled across a range of heavy equipment. That’s not to say you can’t spend your whole working life as a bulldozer operator. Having those extra skills does come in handy when times are quiet.

In truth, there is a certain sameness coming into heavy equipment. The levers, buttons and pedals are very similar across most heavy equipment. Bulldozers run on tracks, but then, so too do many other types of heavy equipment. Bulldozers have a range of attachments that can be added to the rear – so too do excavators and backhoes. Most heavy equipment machinery now utilizes modern technology such as onboard computing, GPS and laser technology.

The big difference between each type of machinery is the type of work done. Bulldozers typically push dirt around. Excavators excavate, loaders load and graders grade. Modern operators learn how to perform each job, how their heavy equipment interacts in various environments and with different soil types.

Bulldozers are still the number one choice for many new operators to the industry. However, if they have attended a good heavy equipment operator training school, then they will have the range of skills that many employers are now looking for.