When people think of heavy equipment, their initial reaction is to think of bulldozers, graders, excavators, and perhaps backhoes. There is actually a much wider range of machinery that is used in construction or mining that is classified as heavy equipment – you may often see it in use without having a name to put to it.

Skid steer loaders, or skid loaders as they are often called, are one example. Although small and lightweight in comparison to their much larger relatives, the skid steer is nonetheless important on a job site. The skid steer gets its name from the way it operates.

This little machine is run in four wheel drive with the left and right wheels driven independently. That means the left can be moving forward whilst the right hand side is stopped, effectively turning the machine on the spot. Because the right hand side is stopped, it will ‘skid’ through the turn.

A skid steer loader is often used in tight situations where larger equipment has no access. Although its normal configuration is with a loader attachment, there are many other attachments that can be used. These include backhoe, hydraulic breaker, pallet forks, angle broom, sweeper, auger, mower, snow blower, stump grinder, tree spade, trencher, dumping hopper, ripper, tillers, grapple, tilt, roller, snow blade, wheel saw, cement mixer, and wood chipper machine.

Another piece of heavy equipment that you may see in use is referred to simply as a scraper – since that is what it does. This is a strange looking piece of equipment – they often remind me of a strange looking insect. The machine is comprised of a scraper blade, a little like a cheese knife, a hopper, and an articulated drive cab. The machine is used to scrap layers of the surface depositing the scraped material into the hopper. Like a cheese knife, they are good at slicing even layers from the surface leaving a fairly smooth surface.

There are many other different types of heavy equipment, each requiring certain skills to operate them effectively. These skills need to be developed using the equipment on a suitable surface, or in work-like situations. Before selecting a heavy equipment training provider, check whether or not they provide training on the type of equipment you want to operate, and whether or not they provide real life training – ATS Heavy Equipment Operators Schools do.

You would be surprised at some wages being offered these days. Whilst there has been a period of doom and gloom coming through most media outlets, some employment sectors seem to have become deaf to it all. Construction is one industry that now fits that bill. Grader operators, particularly experienced operators with knowledge of GPS and other IT based grader enhancements, can command very high wages.

If you take a look at employment prospects in an area like New York, the outlook looks promising. They are predicting demand to increase by 150 new operators every year through to 2016. When it comes to wages, the mean is around $36,000, but get this: the top paid workers are commanding over $75,000 each year. (NYCareerZone.org)

It’s not just New York either! Illinois is another area where employment growth has been steady. Projections are for that to continue at around 7% per annum. If you don’t like percentages, that is around 300 new operators each year. How much do you get paid in Illinois? The median there is just over $38,000 with the best operators receiving around $73,000. That’s a bit lower than NY but I think you get the message. Skilled and experienced operators can command high wages. Starting wages are around double the minimum wage – not a bad place to start. (Illinois WorkNet.com)

Operating a grader is a little more difficult than operating a bulldozer or loader and it can take up to five years to achieve the level of skills required to command the highest wages. However, once you learn to operate a grader you will have the skills for a lifetime of employment.

Grader operators prepare the foundations for many of our major constructions, particularly roads and large buildings. Budding operators should have a passing knowledge of physics and be comfortable around large heavy equipment. The ability to work to plans and as part of a team are particularly important. As you can see, the outlook for grader operators is looking good and the wages – well they are certainly nothing to sneeze at!

When you need the best grader training to get started in a new career, you’ll need to have a good look at what the experts at Associated Training Services offer. Now with the shape that the economy is in these days,there are more than a few people through job loss or other circumstances that will be looking to get a head start at some of the best heavy equipment training that they can get, so it’s important that they know what to look for.

Like anything else. the more you understand about the product they you’re about to buy the better it is for you and that means that you need to look at the reputation of the facility where you’re thinking of getting your training right away. And one of the first things that you need to look at is credentials. When you do, you’ll see that Associated Training Services has some of the best accreditation in the business that includes a nod from the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER). Now these are the people that have studied what’s right and wrong with the construction industry and they’ve found ATS to be one of the best vocational schools around.

Here’s the place that has been providing the best in vocational training since 1959 and that means that they’ve got the best handle on the kind of grader training that you need to face the challenges of the recovery that America is looking toward.

When you’re looking to get grader training you want to get the best training that you can and that generally means that you’ll want to look at the best place possible. Associated Training Services is the place where you’ll get the help that you need to start off on the right foot when it comes to the best in heavy equipment training.

These are the people that know how to impress the clients that they train as well as the industry that they work for. It’s important to look at all of the features when you’re looking into this kind of endeavor, and at the top of the list is the reputation of the place that you’re thinking of choosing.

This is one of the areas where ATS fits the bill perfectly. The firm was started in the 1950s by the father of the the sons that run the place today, and to that end there has been a consistency to the top notch service that you get here for nearly fifty years.

And the commitment to quality shows. These are the folks that have been recognized with the national certification that puts them at the top of the industry and they’ve got the best in job placement techniques that help cement their relationship.

Remember that when you want the best in grader training you need to come and see the experts at Associated Training Services. These are the people that have been in business long enough that you know you can trust what they’ve got to say.

For some, these economic hard times can be seen as a great opportunity if you’re smart enough to see the value in getting the right heavy equipment training in general and grader training specifically. It’s important to remember that rebuilding America’s roads and highways has become a priority for the new administration and that means that people looking to change their careers should be looking toward these trades.

Associated Training Services.

And there’s one front runner that you need to take a serious look at and that’s Associated Training Services. These are the folks that have been in the business of training people to be professional heavy equipment operators since the late 1950s, and because ATS is a family run business, you’re assured of the kind of expertise that only generations can provide.

But that’s not all you’ll get when you decide to get your grader training with Associated Training Services. The expert staff have all the angles covered when it comes to providing the most comprehensive package possible and there are even job placement and finance options to prove that these are the the people that are confident in their ability to produce top quality personnel that have the right jobs waiting for them after their grader training is finished.

When you’re looking to be part of America’s rebound, you need to look toward the future. That’s why the right grader training is just the thing to put you on the road to recovery with the nation and Associated Training Services is where you’ll get the training that you need.

There are jobs today as America rebounds, and getting the best in grader training should be a top priority to make sure that you’re well equipped to start a new career with heavy equipment. There are things that you need to to understand about getting into this kind of work and one of the first is you’ll need both some hands on experience and saftey training so that you can feel comfortable with the job.
Experts
And that’s where the experts at Associated Training Services take over. They have the kind of safety training that will have you understanding how and why the grader operates and what the requirements are for the safe operation of these big machines.

But that’s not all the comprehensive training package at ATS offers. They have the best instruction package as well that encompasses both classroom and hands on experience so that their candidates are at the front of the line when it comes to job placement.
Change Careers
There’s no doubt that many Americas will be or are already looking at the need to change careers and when they decide to get heavy equipment training at ATS, they’ll be getting years of experience from a family run business that started half a century ago.

When it comes to getting the right heavy equipment training that will get you placed at a job, ATS is the place you need to be. Their comprehensive package of hands on, classroom and saftey instruction will get you the right kind of grader training to start that new career.

Although motor grader operators need to work within strict guidelines to obtain the final finish required for any project, you don’t need specialist grader training to get a start. Many grader training programs come as part of wider heavy equipment training programs.

Being able to operate a variety of equipment can be a real plus when it comes to employment, however, what is equally important is understanding what each piece of heavy equipment is capable off. If you know what a scraper and bulldozer does and what state they leave the ground in when they have completed their rough finishing, you will have a greater understanding of your role in fine finishing. This is where the grader training component does become important.

Heavy equipment training schools such as ATS deliver training programs that cover a variety of machines with grader training included. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools include loaders, backhoes, tractors, scrapers, rollers, bulldozers, excavators and motor graders in their training programs.

Students gain an understanding of each piece of equipment, what it is capable of off and how to operate them. As I mentioned earlier, graduates then have an opportunity to determine which equipment they are most suited to. What ever their choice, they will have the skills ready to commence work in that field. For those wanting more advanced skills, specialist training such as specialist motor grader training could be sort. They will however be employable in a wide range of heavy equipment roles which can be important during quiet employment periods or while they are waiting for that specialist job to come along.

To become a top grader operator you require patience, a keen eye and an understanding of the way various materials move when worked on by a grader. Of course, a lot of this comes from experience which can only be found on the job. You will never get the chance to gain that experience unless you undertake some form of grader training in the first place.

When building roads there are always going to be obstacles for motor graders to negotiate. Bridges, tunnels and man holes – yes man holes. I believe the correct terminology now is ‘personnel access point’. Image yourself as a motor grader operator and slap bang in the middle of the road is a big round hole (and why are they round?).

For the grader operator, it takes some tricky manoeuvring to ensure the road has been graded correctly whilst negotiating around obstacles. This can often take a lot of skill, skill that has been developed over many years as an operator. It is however the kind of challenge that makes the work of motor grader operator interesting and varied.

Grader operators can receive a high level of basic training in a matter of weeks. It can take two or three years experience on the job to hone those skills and learn the intricacies of the job. And just when you thought you knew them all, along will come another problem you haven’t encounter – as I said, the role of a motor grader operator is varied and challenging. Are you up to the challenge?

If so, check out ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools. They have an intensive heavy equipment operator training program that could have you behind the wheel of a motor grader before you know it.

Oh – and why are man holes round – of course, so the lid never falls in – it’s true, that is why they are round. It still doesn’t help a motor grader though; they still have to negotiate around it.

Not all motor grader operators are equal. This may surprise many who are considering entering the heavy equipment field as motor grader operators. Finished-grade operators are those who have the skill and expertise to finely grade an area to exact specifications.

A good example is in road building. Motor grader operators can come in and cut back the surface and level out the gravel ready for paving. It takes a skilled finished-grade operator to fine tune that surface.

You can tell whether a road has been ‘finished’ properly by the way water flows and pot holes form. A road that has been finished properly is never flat. In fact flat roads can be dangerous to drive on, particularly in wet weather. A finished surface for a straight section of road has about a 3 percent slope from the shoulder to the center of the road – this is known as the crown. This will enable water to flow to sides and not just pool on the roads surface.

Curved road surfaces should be flat, but inclined on a 6 percent slope down to the inside of the corner. Of course, both of these configurations will depend on the final surface and the local weather conditions. In areas that receive heavy rain then the angle of the slope may well be larger.

Finished-grade motor grader operators have the skill and experience to finish that surface to finest accuracy. It takes a lot of experience to become a finishing grade operator and that experience all starts with effective training.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operators Schools have a reputation for producing well trained operators ready to start their careers using the heavy equipment of their choice. For motor grader operators, they may not be ready to work as finishing grade operators, they have certainly got a good start.

Motor graders, or just graders, depending on your terminology, do more than just smooth over the surface. Graders are actually precision tools designed to do a range of tasks.

For their size, graders are able to carve a road to an exact thickness and, more importantly, a precise grade; hence the name ‘grader’. When we talk about grade we are referring to a very slight angle or slope that all roads have.

Roads, particularly those designed to take fast traffic, have a number of problems to counter. The first is fairly obvious if you think about – water deposited by rainfall. If roads didn’t have a slope the water would pool causing many problems for motorists traveling at speed, the toughest being a cars tendency to aquaplane, or go into an all wheel slide, when encountering sheets of water. The slope of the road helps that water to run off instead of collecting in sheets.

The second problem that cars face occurs on bends, particularly long sweeping bends. For most cars, handling a bend at speed could cause the vehicle to roll. What prevents this roll is the angle, or camber of the finished surface. This angle forces the car to remain upright with all four wheels on the road.

Without the use of graders these slopes and cambers would be almost impossible to produce. An experienced grader operator can complete a portion of road base to the exact requirements of the planers. The next time you’re driving at speed on a highway, feel the increased g-force as you drive around a bend; then think of the grader that made that bend safer.

To become a grader operator you need training followed by hands on experience. ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools deliver high quality training. They may even be able to help you find your first job working as a motor grader operator.