Children often dream of operating heavy equipment and building bridges or skyscrapers. When they grow up, some of them will continue with this dream, and actually need to be trained to reach their goals. In the real world, bulldozer training is essential to the safety and proper use of a bulldozer on any construction site.

Bulldozer training is an important requirement that helps in the reduction of jobsite errors and safety related accidents. It is training that is essential for the heavy equipment operator to become familiar with this massive and quite dangerous piece of machinery. This training gives the operator the required knowledge that he will need to operate a bulldozer in a safe and effective manner to get the job done safely. The operator of such a machine has a huge amount of responsibility regarding the work site and the workers that he is supporting. Safety is everyone’s responsibility on the job site, but the heavy equipment operator has the ultimate responsibility; he is operating a piece of equipment that could easily maim or kill a coworker or himself.

Safety is obviously a huge piece of the training but being able to properly get the job done is also an important aspect of bulldozer training. A bulldozer operator must be able to effectively perform his duties whether it is slot dozing, leveling or boxing out; it is essential that he can operate the bulldozer to its utmost. Often, many laborers are dependent on the bulldozer operator completing his job prior to them performing theirs. The job site can actually shut down if the bulldozer operator is not efficient at his duties. Accurate training on the critical aspects of the proper operation will ensure smooth processes on the work site.

Safety and efficient operation are important factors in just about any job that comes to mind, but when it comes to heavy equipment operation and bulldozer operation the importance of these factors is exponentially magnified. Exceptional training is the key to ensure the safest and most effective methods are learned prior to hitting the job site.

Most people think of a bulldozer as a big heavy earth moving machine that spends its time pushing dirt around. While that is its primary function, bulldozers are actually quite versatile, especially if you step around back. What many people don’t realize is that a bulldozer can be fitted with tools at the rear; for example, single or multiple shank rippers. These are used, as the name suggests, to rip into the ground.

A bulldozer’s ripper has multiple uses, however, its primary use is to break open very hard ground. The ripper can also be used to tear up rock, concrete or sealed roads. The front dozer blades can then push through the material clearing the way for further work. Another attachment that is similar to a ripper can be added that helps to break apart tree stumps, a common activity when land is being cleared.

It’s also common for bulldozers to have scrapers, winches and even heavy weights added to the rear. The heavy weights provide more stability and traction when the equipment is used to push dirt in difficult situations. When learning to operate a bulldozer, you should become as familiar with the rear area and the attachments available as you are with the front. Bulldozer operators are often required to rip open hard packed surfaces before bulldozing the top layer away, a difficult task if you have only familiarized yourself with the front end.

Heavy equipment training provided by a well respected training organization will include some instruction on what the rear section of a bulldozer is used for. Bulldozers don’t just push dirt around. They do have other uses, and to be a good bulldozer operator you need to learn as much as possible about those alternatives.

It used to be said that when it came to heavy equipment operators bulldozer operators where a dime a dozen. These days, the opposite is almost true with most new operators looking at the more technical equipment such as excavators and road graders. There are still a lot of good bulldozer operators out there, and their ranks are slowly growing as new operators join them. Great operators are harder to come by these days, especially as our older operators start to retire. So if there are good operators around, what makes a great operator?

There is really only one way to become a great operator – and that’s through experience. However, experience alone will not suffice unless that experience has been one long learning curve. And that really is what makes a great operator – someone who treats every job as a learning experience. Every piece of dirt reacts differently. There are buried rocks, tree stumps, and all sorts of odds and ends. A recent story was more than interesting – a bulldozer unearthed a buried car, and yes, it had been stolen ten years earlier and buried – that was certainly a learning experience for that operator.

It’s true of most heavy equipment now. Every job has the potential for a new experience and that alone offers the opportunity to learn something new. A good bulldozer operator starts by laying a good skills foundation. This can only be achieved by completing a good quality heavy equipment training program. Follow that up with relevant work that allows you to build on that training and you’re well on the way to becoming a good bulldozer operator.

If you can continue to learn, rather than just turning up each day to do a day’s work, then you’ll quickly become a great operator – someone who can work on a variety of different surfaces, under a variety of different conditions, using different bulldozers each time. That’s experience that’s been put to good use – and a great operator in the making.

It seems that every year we report on wildfires somewhere across the country. More importantly, we report on the bulldozers and bulldozer operators that fight bravely alongside firefighters. The current fires in Texas are another example of bulldozers and bulldozer operators being called on to help fight fires. Other states are sending bulldozers and their operators to help out, providing a little relief for operators already in action, and being put to work in areas that are not already covered by bulldozers.

Bulldozers play an important role in brush fires, and we must include before, during and after in that role. In quiet times, bulldozer operators can often be found carving firebreaks and fire access trails throughout the nation. Turn on the television and you’ll see bulldozers helping to fight fires in a variety of ways – either clearing vegetation and other flammable material, or helping to cover smouldering material with dirt. The hardest work often comes after a serious fire when bulldozers are called in to to level homes that have been destroyed by fire – it can be tough leveling what was once someone’s home.

It takes a lot of skill and a lot of faith in your equipment to fight a wildfire. Equipment failure, or a wrong turn, can see you suddenly in the midst of burning inferno. Bulldozer operators that fight fires are generally those that are well skilled and who have had years of experience. The only way to gain that experience is by having a sound training platform to build on. That is one of the primary concerns of ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools. Our graduates leave our heavy equipment training schools with a good grounding in a range of equipment, with all graduates ready to build on those skills in the workplace.

While few operators are called upon to fight wildfires, having the skills and experience to do so is invaluable. If you have desire to become a bulldozer operator, or to operate heavy equipment in general, then be sure the training you receive provides that good platform to build on.

Bulldozer operators are employed in a wide range of industries. While construction, particularly road building, is the major industry for bulldozer operators, experienced operators can also find work in areas as diverse as a state’s fire department. A news article from September last year really highlights the benefits many fire departments receive through employing bulldozer operators.

I should modify that – the real beneficiaries are those who have homes under threat of fire. The news story relates to the Cal Fire Department and the work the bulldozer operators did during the 2003 wildfires that threatened to burn the historic town of Julian. Working at night, with almost zero vision, bulldozer operators were able to clear the ground around many of the houses, thus preventing the fire from reaching them. To quote from the news article:

“These guys were on some really steep slopes getting in and around houses — I mean right up against the houses, clearing the vegetation back. We didn’t have the resources for fire trucks at the time and they were able to ring these houses, remove all the vegetation so the fire couldn’t get to these houses and saved a lot of them.”

It’s dangerous work. In fact, bulldozer operators have lost their lives while out fighting fires, yet their work is essential in saving homes, businesses, and sometimes the lives of others. It’s work that often goes unheralded as well so it’s great to see a news article that champions their existence within these fire departments.

Fire departments have to be selective when employing bulldozer operators. They require operators that are skilled, well versed in safety issues, and able to keep a level head when all around them is in chaos. While new operators would struggle to find employment in this area, undertaking a thorough bulldozer training program is the first step that could see you joining a fire department at some time in the future.

If you can see yourself one day working as a bulldozer operator for a fire department, do yourself a big favor – make sure your bulldozer operator training is delivered by the best in the business. With a good grounding, you’re ready to start work to gain the experience required to fulfill that ambition.

Heavy equipment operators generally work as part of a larger team. However, bulldozer operators are often the one member of that larger team that have the freedom to work alone. While they need to work to set plans, they generally don’t require other heavy equipment to complete their task – that equipment generally takes over once a bulldozer has moved on.

For some freelance operators, working alone is what makes the job appealing. They can be hired to prepare a dam on a farm one day, be out bulldozing a road following winter’s snow damage another day, then out on a construction site preparing the ground for a new building. There is variety. There is often a real test of an operator’s knowledge of soils and vegetation, and that freedom that many crave.

Bulldozer operators learn many of their skills on the job. It takes experience to really gain an understanding of what soils will do under the power of a bulldozer’s blade, and they do react very differently. One of the components of any heavy equipment training program is a module that deals with soils and how to identify them. Sandy soils, for example, will fall back at the edges while real heavy clay soils can be peeled away – and that’s just a small observation of soils.

If the freedom of life as a bulldozer operator sounds appealing, then here’s an invitation to check out what heavy equipment training can offer you. You can be working as a bulldozer operator within a few weeks of starting your training and within months you’ll operating that bulldozer like an old hand.

It’s a bit of a cliche I know, but bulldozer operations is a real “down-to-earth job.” Let’s face it, what do bulldozers do best? They push earth around. You could probably use a more poetic description – bulldozer operators spend their days carving the earth. The end result is still the same. The have to push dirt around. That sounds fairly simplistic when the reality is that a large bulldozer can push an awful lot of dirt around – tons of it in a day’s work.

Bulldozers are one of the most important pieces of equipment on a construction site. Engineers, builders, and other plant operators all rely on the skill of a bulldozer operator to carve out that landscape according to the plans. If a building is going to be constructed, that firm and level base is what is going to help hold that building up. If a highway is to be constructed, then the road building crews are relying on the bulldozer operator to provide them with a level and accurate road base to start on.

Our farmers still rely on bulldozer operators. Farm roads are often bulldozed, especially after snow or heavy rains have made them impassable. Farmers also rely on bulldozer operators to help in the construction of small dams, vital for those periods during the year when rainfall is minimal. These jobs all require the skills of an experienced bulldozer operator.

When you and I look at a piece of land, we may see some vegetation and dirt. When a bulldozer operator looks at that same piece of land, they will be looking at the soil type (sand, clay etc), tree stumps, large rocks, and anything else that may make the job difficult. Once they have scanned the area, they are ready to go to work.

Training to become a bulldozer operator is fairly straightforward. Three weeks of classroom training and in-the-seat training and you’re ready for entry level employment. Experience comes with time, but you would be surprised at how quickly a new operator learns their craft.

It really doesn’t matter where you live these days, bulldozers and experienced bulldozer operators are needed everywhere. A bulldozer really is an all-purpose vehicle when it comes to dealing with the effects of mother nature. Every time there is a major event, bulldozers and their operators are called in to clean up the mess. They also generally employed to try and avert future problems. Consider some of these situations:

Snow and blizzards – Clearing snow from roads is a primary concern for almost every city, whether it’s here in the States or in Europe. Snow plows, graders, loaders, and yes, bulldozers are all called in to help clear the way.

Hurricanes, tornadoes and fierce storms – All three of these events create havoc. Beaches are heavily eroded and need bulldozing back into some semblance of a decent beach. Homes are destroyed and require bulldozing in order for a new home to be built.

Fire – Like storms, fire does immense damage, especially to property. In almost all serious house fires, the home needs to be bulldozed to make way for a new home. Bulldozers are also used to help create firebreaks and fire trails before the fire season starts.

Floods – Events like those in Australia (where an area the size of Texas is now underwater) bring home the danger and devastation of something as simple as rain. Bulldozers are working now to build levees and large embankments in an effort to prevent further flood damage. All over the world, bulldozers work to build dams and levees in the hope they can control mother nature.

Many of those activities occur after the event. Of course, bulldozers work on more mundane projects like building our highways, clearing land for farms and housing, and in general construction. It’s no wonder that bulldozers are one of the most popular vehicles in a heavy equipment fleet. There is one thing that all experienced operators have today – and that’s a heavy equipment training course that helped them get a start in the industry. Without that training, employers won’t even consider you now. Are you interested in a career that offers a lot of variety – bulldozer operations has it all – and it’s in demand worldwide.

Looking at all the toy stores this Christmas, it seems that bulldozers are still one of the favorites toys for youngsters. Mind you, I notice a newish toy on the market that has taken a lot of attention, and that’s a sit-on excavator that works very much like the real thing. What is good to see is that there is still an avid interest from our youngsters when it comes to heavy equipment.

Unfortunately, once they reach their teens, medicine, law, and many other professions seem to take precedence. But whenever there is heavy equipment at work, there are plenty of people who stop and watch – perhaps that’s the child in them coming out and remembering their toys. It’s amazing how many people reach that first career change challenge then turn to industries such as heavy equipment operations, truck driving, and crane operations. And what is the most popular unit of heavy equipment? The bulldozer.

Working as a bulldozer operator can be challenging. It is certainly rewarding in both job satisfaction and remuneration. Bulldozer operators get to do many of the jobs that, as children, they practiced in their back yards. And if you think it’s restricted to boys, think again. Girls love to play with bulldozers just as much as boys, and in the workplace they are proving to be just as skilled as their male counterparts.

We may not be attracting the youth into the profession, but we are attracting those a little later in life. Are you one of those going through a career reassessment phase? If you are, you should check out what a career in heavy equipment offers. Bulldozer operators are well-trained professional operators that are well rewarded for their efforts. There is always some demand for new operators, and this will certainly grow as winter starts to leave us. Will you be trained and ready for action when the demand for new operators climbs?

If I mention a bulldozer – what image springs to mind? Let me guess, a short squat vehicle on tracks with a large blade at the front. That pretty much describes your average everyday bulldozer – the only real difference then being in size. However, bulldozers are not all built the same with designed to cover a diverse range of terrains. Rather than tracks, these bulldozers are driven on wheels.

Operating a wheeled bulldozer is not quite the same as operating a tracked dozer. The steering of a tracked bulldozer is managed by speeding up, slowing down and even reversing one track while the other track is stationary or perhaps doing the reverse. A wheeled bulldozer is operated using a more conventional steering wheel.

Whether wheeled or tracked, both do essentially the same job – they push dirt around. Tracked bulldozers work well on ground that is soft and potentially boggy for wheeled vehicles. Wheeled bulldozers work well on hilly terrain where tracks would find it slow going. The military have big users of wheeled bulldozers over the years because of that ability.

Training to become a bulldozer operator can be completed in as little as three weeks. This provides you with the skills required to undertake entry level employment positions within the heavy equipment field. Your heavy equipment training includes hands on operational skills, workplace safety knowledge and preventative maintenance knowledge. You will also learn about the different types of soils, grade reading and site layouts, all important to enjoying a successful career as a bulldozer operator.