Take an excavator and an experienced excavator operator and you have the perfect demolition team. There are plenty of youngsters the world over that practice being a demolition expert every day of their lives. If they chose a career as a heavy equipment operator, they can do it for real.

The following video clip shows an excavator demolishing a home. While watching, take note of several points. The first is how the excavator operator folds the roof and walls of the home in on itself. There are several reasons for this. One is safety, there is no debris falling out onto the roadway; and the second is convenience, the debris is all collecting within the home. When the home is totally demolished, the debris is there ready for removal.

The second thing to notice is the neatness of the entire operation. The excavator operator tidies up as they go about their job, even stopping to load a truck with debris. Spend a couple of minutes watching the video – it takes two or three minutes to replay what has taken an excavator a couple of hours to accomplish.

Demolition work is a normal part of an excavator operator’s job. In the above video, the excavator operator is using a special attachment that works almost like a hand to pull down the home. Excavators have a range of attachments that can be used for a variety of tasks. They are certainly not restricted to just digging trenches. If you feel that you’d make a good demolition expert, perhaps a career as a heavy equipment operator is worth considering. We can deliver the necessary heavy equipment training in as little as three weeks. With a little on-the-job experience, you could just find yourself pulling down a home like that shown in the video.

As with all heavy equipment, an operator using an excavator must be aware of his surroundings at all times. He must also follow all safety precautions and protocols established for the site. This is essential for excavator safety and remaining accident free on the work site.

Prior to starting the excavator, a visual inspection should be performed as part of an excavator safety program. This inspection should include testing the horn and audible reverse alarm. It should also include an inspection for loose or broken parts that should be fixed prior to use.

Most accidents regarding excavator safety occur when an excavator comes in contact with a pedestrian worker. Workers can get hurt by being hit by an excavator when it is driving or lowering its bucket. The best way to avoid these types of accidents is to set up barriers to separate the excavator’s path and the path of workers on foot. These barriers should be a physical barrier (perhaps fencing) that will separate the excavator from the workers. When this is not possible a properly placed signaler must be used to ensure proper excavator safety is used when moving in these pedestrian areas.

Excavator safety is important to all people on the work site. As a result, all workers on the site should be trained regarding safety issues for that particular work site. Where are the uneven areas or high drop offs on the site? Are there power lines buried or over head, and if so, how are workers being alerted of them? It takes the support and awareness of the entire crew for a work site to attain truly effective excavator safety.

We often talk about grader operators and the need for accuracy in the work they do, however, they are not the only operators that need to work with accuracy. In fact, almost every piece of heavy equipment has a role that requires accuracy. Excavator operators are often under more pressure than most other operators; but then, they are venturing into delicate territory.

There has been a real push over the last decade to bury services. When you consider those services, there is electricity, gas, telephone, cable TV, and the latest – fiber optic cable. One false move by an operator and you have a gas leak, or the operator is being zapped by thousands of volts. Even worse, everyone loses power, or loses their internet connections and telephone. For the excavator operator, they only need to be out by an inch, and there’s problems.

Fortunately, most excavator operators are well trained so we rarely hear of incidents – and when we do, they are often big incidents. The key to working to precise measurements comes from the original training. Part of that training often includes learning to read site plans. It also includes heavy equipment safety training. In the past, the operator’s mantra was always ‘look up first’ – this was in reference to overhead power cables. Now, it also applies to ‘look below’.

It doesn’t matter what type of heavy equipment you are operating, safety is always going to be an issue. For some operators, such as excavator and backhoe operators, digging in areas where underground services are located is always going to be a tricky and delicate operation. When working under pressure in these situations, a cool head on the shoulders of a well-trained operator will always win through. Can you handle that pressure? Do you have a cool head? If so, have you considered a career as a heavy equipment operator?

While excavators continue to be used primarily for digging trenches, they still have a variety of uses, even in that task. Excavators can have a wide range of tools fitted and the tasks they can perform range from splitting concrete or rock to raising and lowering loads. As an operator, you need to learn how each of these tools are used if you are going to have a successful long term career.

Watching an excavator at work can be an interesting experience. They may start by lifting part of a concrete sidewalk to gain access to the dirt below. They then switch to a digging tool to start digging a trench. If they are being used to replace underground pipes, they will switch to another tool to help lift the old pipes out of the ground.

As an operator, you need to work with precision using the right size tool for each job. With pipe work, an operator will often lower the new pipe into the ground and then slowly refill the trench. Some of the newer smaller excavators also have bulldozer-like blades at the front. This can help to speed up the back filling process.

You can become an excavator operator by completing three weeks of heavy equipment operator training. This will prepare you for entry level employment in an industry that is often well paid and continually looking for more skilled workers. You will also be entering a profession where learning never stops – your heavy equipment training course is only the first step in a career long learning curve. Every new piece of ground has the potential to teach you something new.

Visit a demolition site and you can almost guarantee you’ll find either a backhoe or an excavator hard at work. The two heavy equipment machines are the real jacks of all trades when it comes construction, or in this case, destruction. Backhoes have an obvious benefit – they can dig up material using their ‘hoe’ and load debris into trucks using their loaders. However, both of these vehicles have hidden talents.

If you continue to watch either a backhoe or an excavator, you may catch sight of the operator switching tools. The digging bucket can be removed and replaced by any one of a dozen or more attachments. These attachments range from augers to jackhammers, concrete breakers to pincer-like grabbers.

Operators need to develop experience at both attaching these tools to their equipment and putting them into effective use. In most cases, heavy equipment training will teach an individual to operate this equipment, and how to attach different tools. Learning to use them comes as part and parcel of the on-the-job training that heavy equipment operators go through for the rest of their working lives – yes, every day is a learning experience for every operator.

Heavy equipment training is the foundation for this ongoing on-the-job training. If your initial training is broad and covers a range of heavy equipment, your ability to learn more is enhanced. If your initial training is narrow, then your ability to build on those skills will be greatly reduced.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools offer students training in a wide variety of heavy equipment. This provides a broad-based training program that allows students to develop a wide range of skills. Once these students enter the workplace, they are able to quickly build on those skills to become well-respected operators in their field. Backhoes and excavators are multi-functional equipment so the broader your training, the more competent you will quickly become.

It’s still winter in most places up north. And there is still ice and snow on the ground. In fact, Southern Pennsylvania just received snow last night. So will that kill the excavators?

Absolutely not. When a trench needs to be built, there’s no better tool than an excavator. It’s a machine that was built for the job. But, while that’s true, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend using the bucket for breaking up ice. The excavator has other tools for that. One tool that has proven to be useful for breaking up ice is the ground-breaking pick.

Backhoes are OK. They are versatile machines, but excavators are more powerful. In fact, put them side by side and let them have a contest and I guarantee you that excavator will win on breaking ice.

Heavy equipment operators are often multi-skilled operators. If you know how to operate a backhoe, chances are you know how to operate an excavator. By taking your training through a heavy equipment school that trains on multiple equipment such as the excavator and backhoe, you improve your chances of obtaining and keeping a long term job.

At ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools, you’ll learn how to use the excavator even on the ice. You’ll be trained in its various functions and how to determine when to use each tool this versatile piece of machinery has to offer. Enroll today and start your career in heavy equipment operations.

Have you seen those little excavators around your neighborhood? You can’t miss them, they fit on the back of a small trailer, towed by no more than a family wagon. If you ever see one in action, stop a moment and watch – for their size, they certainly pack a punch.

These mini excavators are generally used for digging trenches. They have a long arm so they can dig a fairly deep trench and with interchangeable shovels, they dig trenches from eight inches wide to two feet or more. It’s the power those little engines have that can be amazing. I noticed one mini excavator almost lifting its own cab and power plant off the ground – the only thing stopping it was the control of the operator.

Talking of cabs, they are tiny – just big enough for one person. Forget joining the operator as an observer to learn how to operate one. You will need to find a much bigger rig for that. Operating a mini excavator is not that different than operating a much larger excavator; it’s all a question of scale. Where many operators do go wrong is when they forget they are operating a much smaller piece of equipment.

Mini excavators, while small in size, still pack a decent punch when it comes to doing a day’s work. They are classed as part of the heavy equipment family so anyone trained to operate excavators through a heavy equipment training program can obviously operate a mini version of that equipment. Heavy equipment doesn’t necessarily mean ‘heavy’ equipment – even mini excavators qualify. They certainly look like a lot of fun – but then, it’s supposed to be work. I suppose you can have fun while you work.

Most heavy equipment machinery in today’s workplace are multi-tasking vehicles. That is fairly obvious when it comes to machinery like backhoes, but they are not alone. Excavators play various roles in our society ranging from mining to river dredging, and a whole lot more in between. Traditionally, we probably view excavators as trench diggers since that is where we see them most often employed. However, digging trenches is only the tip of the iceberg.

Like backhoes, excavators have a wide range of tools (known as attachments) that can be used in place of the traditional shovel. These tools can do a range of jobs including breaking up slabs of concrete and rock, to drilling holes rather than digging them. In the mines, excavators can be huge machines with buckets the size of large cars. But then, if you think the buckets are big, you should see the size of the dump trucks they are filling.

Excavators are multi-tasking tools and because of this, experienced operators are always in demand. The only way to gain experience as an operator is by gaining entry level employment where you can continue to learn your craft. In today’s workplace, employers will only take on entry level workers if they have received training through a well established and recognized training school.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools conduct regular training programs for those looking at careers in heavy equipment. Training programs are delivered full time over three weeks with students who successfully graduate eligible for entry level employment. Are we well established and recognized? With over forty years experience in the training industry, I guess you could call us established. Are we recognized? We have a database full of employers who have employed our graduates – our employment success speaks for itself. If you’re looking for a career as an excavator operator, consider our heavy equipment operator training program – others have, with great success.

If you think excavator operators get to put their feet up during winter, then you may want to rethink those thoughts. In some areas, excavators are just as active in winter, and in some situations, could be classified as an essential service. Just to make life more interesting, there are times when they have to work under the most trying conditions.

Consider the location of many of the services running into your home. Underground. When incidents happen, and they do when the weather turns extremely cold, underground pipes can rupture, leading to a loss or reduction to supply of some services and dangerous situations such as gas leaks. With the ground partially frozen, using hand tools can be difficult – dangerous even. This is where excavators come in to their own. They can break through hard ground and dig a trench right down to almost pipe level. This means the hand tools are only required for the last few inches.

Experienced and well-trained operators are obviously in high demand in these circumstances – the last thing you want is a rank amateur trying to do the job. There’s only one way to become an experienced and well-trained excavator operator – that’s by getting the best training possible and then building on that training in the workplace. The industry no longer accepts operators who ‘learned by sitting on dad’s knee’. The industry now insists on formal training that includes safety aspects, maintenance procedures, and plenty of hands on experience.

Excavator training that is highly respected by industry is an essential first step. If your training is not through a recognized body, then most employers won’t even give you a second look. Often, the first thing that employers will ask is “who did you do your training through?” Be sure the answer you give is the one attached to the oldest and most respected heavy equipment training school in the business – ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools.

Excavators are a popular option when it comes to heavy equipment careers. They look more complex than they really are, a fact you can see for yourself if you attend one of our free workshops. These workshops have a range of heavy equipment on display – you can even climb into the cabs and check them out for yourself – and while you’re there, participate in one of our training modules, all at no cost.

Why attend a workshop? You can:

• see the campus, the classrooms and the general environment;
• meet some of our training instructors;
• talk to some of our current students;
• discuss training and payment options with our admissions counselors;
• experience real training firsthand;
• gain a head start on actual training by fully completing a training module;
• gain firsthand experience on the machinery;
• find out if this is something you really want to do – before spending any money.

They are important considerations, especially the last. Each of the previous points lead to that final conclusion. By walking around the campus, talking to other students, and getting a real feel for the environment, you will quickly come to understand whether or not you will ‘fit in’. By attending a training module you will gain an understanding of what is involved in learning to operate heavy equipment, excavators included.

Firsthand experience is invaluable, and when it’s offered for free, even more so. Heavy equipment is an exciting field to get into and with the amount of construction being undertaken at present, there is no shortage of work. Employment opportunities for the future are probably better than most other industries.

If you have been considering a career as an excavator operator, or in any other field of heavy equipment, check out our complete schedule of free heavy equipment workshops. While you’re at it, check out our free CDL workshops as well.