Mention heavy equipment and most people will think of bulldozers, graders and excavators. However, there is much smaller equipment in use every day that also wears the heavy equipment label. This group of heavy equipment machinery includes mini-trenchers, mini-loaders like the skid steer loader and mini excavators. Whilst these smaller machines are easier to operate that than their larger counterparts, operators still require training.

Heavy equipment safety is almost the same no matter how large or small the machinery is. Understanding soils, reading site plans, and working as part of an overall team is also identical irrespective of the machinery’s size. Operators will tell you that operating those little guys can be a lot of fun and certainly makes for an interesting break away from the larger equipment.

Who uses these smaller machines? They are actually used a lot in construction and have become a popular tool for landscape gardening. Excavators, backhoes and loaders can do all the muscle work, however, as a project comes close to completion, it can be difficult squeezing those larger machines around buildings. That’s where those little guys are so important – they can fit down a standard driveway and can actually complete a lot of work in a short space of time. They are also economical when it comes to adding the finishing touches.

If you are interested in a career as an operator of smaller heavy equipment, you will still need to complete a heavy equipment training program. On completion, you will be well prepared for work operating heavy equipment of all sizes.

The life of a heavy equipment operator is not that tough. However, you will need to make some changes, particularly if you are coming from a sedentary working life like that found in an office. There are little things that many people don’t consider when changing to an outdoor and active working life. A good example is thinking sun smart – protecting your skin from the harsh sun. For those coming from an indoor working life, your skin may well burn quickly and easily.

That may sound silly, however, the first time you get seriously sun burnt, you won’t think it silly. That, however, is an easy option to consider. You will also need to consider:

• Working outdoors – can you work outdoors in all weathers? Whilst sunburn is one consideration, working in sub-zero temperatures clearing snow is another. There is a lot to like about the outdoors, however, so don’t think of it as a negative. These days, most heavy equipment operators work in climate controlled cabs.
• Working as part of a team – are you a team player? Heavy equipment operators are often an integral part of a team. If you haven’t been a part of a close team, you will need to learn to communicate and work closely with others.
• Working independently – being a team player is one thing, working independently is another. If you go the extra yard and also acquire a commercial drivers license, you could find yourself working alone on a regular basis.
• Maintaining a broad skills base – today’s heavy equipment operators should be skilled across a range of equipment. Having a commercial drivers license is also a big help. Multi-skilled operators have the benefit of a wider range of job opportunities, and more variety in their day-to-day work.

If you can adapt to the working life of a heavy equipment operator, then there are plenty of job opportunities opening up every day. Call us and we’ll help you organize a heavy equipment training program that will have you work ready within a month.

If you are considering a career change, one of the best areas to look at is the requirements of a future employer. One trap that many people fall into is to decide on a career, fly off and do a quick training course, then expect to start work in their new career. There may be a few industries where that will work, however, heavy equipment requires just a little more. Not much – but there is more. A typical job description for a heavy equipment operator may include:

• The ability to operate a range (or a specific unit) of heavy equipment
• The ability to work with others as part of a team
• The ability to work alone and unsupervised when required
• The ability to maintain equipment and report issues before they become problems
• The ability to carry out daily inspections of heavy equipment
• The ability to work safely and to follow all regulations and safety protocols
• The ability to work as directed

Notice that every requirement is an ability. These you can learn through a thorough heavy equipment training program. You develop and enhance these abilities with time and experience on the job, however, an employer will expect you to arrive on their doorstep with those as the very minimum abilities.

It stands to reason then that when looking for a training school you look for a school that will instill those abilities through a combination of classroom and in-the-seat training. Knowledge goes so far – it’s that in-the-seat training and the hours of practice you can put in that will eventually make a difference as you develop your career.

Associated Training Schools delivers heavy equipment training programs that have been developed in line with industry. We know what employers are looking for, so we endeavor to train new operators so they meet the needs of employers. If you decide on a career as a heavy equipment operator, we hope your training school helps you to build those abilities. Iif not, come and talk to us because we will.

Are you well versed in a range of heavy equipment? If you are a professional heavy equipment operator then you do need to have more than one piece of equipment in your skills set. We are frequently getting job vacancies from employers, which have as a major requirement the ability to operate a range of heavy equipment. We are also getting vacancies that ask for heavy equipment operators who have a current commercial drivers license.

From a business owner’s perspective, it makes sense to employ individuals who can be utilized where the need is greatest. If a project is running behind schedule, they can move employees to that project to help move things along. If they don’t have multi-skilled operators, then their options are limited, short of engaging short term contractors at a higher cost.

As an operator, you are gaining two benefits from multi-skilling. You are opening up more employment opportunities as your skills set will appeal to that wider group of employers. From a workplace perspective, you are also giving yourself variety – your not stuck operating the one piece of equipment day-after-day. Employers also respect that philosophy – variety does help to keep employees on-the-ball.

For new operators, our suggestion is very simple – when undertaking your initial training, find a heavy equipment training organization that will train you on a variety of machinery. Once you enter the work place, look for an employer who will give you ongoing experience on that machinery. For existing operators, we suggest you review your current skills set, and if necessary, consider adding to new skills, especially a commercial drivers license. You’ll reap the benefits long term, and so will your future employers.

In a difficult job market, many people are realizing that changing careers may give them a better chance at finding a job. People are trading in their white collar office jobs for new careers, which they never thought they would have in the great outdoors. The construction and building industries continue to grow and offer good pay and steady employment. For these reasons, many women are beginning to move into the heavy equipment industry. This opens a whole new industry that in the past women were really not accepted, but they now can thrive in.

The heavy equipment industry at one time was a male only industry with little or no opportunity for women. Fortunately, this has changed, and women can find a lot more positions in the heavy equipment field. Heavy equipment training schools are teaching women at a much higher rate than in the past. In a growing industry, this is a great opportunity for women to join the ranks of the construction industry. Good pay and steady work are great reasons for women to begin a career in heavy equipment.

This is a great time for heavy equipment operators as buildings are being built, homes are being built and roads continue to be built. This means jobs are out there for men and women willing to put in the time at a good heavy equipment training school. In a matter of about three weeks of training, men and women can be out there earning a good salary on a work crew.

A career as a heavy equipment operator can be interesting. After all, you are often in control of a real beast, a piece of machinery that can move a lot of dirt in a single action, perhaps even topple smaller buildings. Like all careers, heavy equipment operators do have more mundane aspects of their job. Some of these include:

• inspecting their equipment for potential problems
• undertaking minor repairs and maintenance tasks
• maintaining a record of repairs and maintenance tasks
• checking to see if there is sufficient fuel on site to complete a day’s work
• locating underground services, such as pipes or wires, prior to beginning work
• maintaining records of materials or equipment used
• pushing other equipment (or vehicles) when extra traction or assistance is required
• reading plans or diagrams to establish work requirements
• liaising with clients on work progress
• preparing or helping to prepare cost estimates for jobs
• liaising with other members of a work team to coordinate activities

Everyone of those tasks are important to the successful completion of a job. In most cases, these tasks take minimal time; for example, heavy equipment operators can perform visual inspections of their equipment rather quickly once they get into a routine. Heavy equipment operators also learn to feel the health of their equipment through their hands and feet in much the same way a car driver can ‘feel’ if there is something amiss with their vehicle.

Whilst many consider the actual work on the ground to be the most important, getting one of those tasks listed above wrong could undo all the good work done on the ground. Imagine digging up a major gas pipe, for example – not good news for anyone, least of all the heavy equipment operator. Simple tasks like liaising with fellow team members can help to ensure a job is completed on time with no mishap. Heavy equipment training does touch on many of these tasks, however, most of them are easy to pick up, especially on the job.

Heavy equipment careers can be demanding, yet quite rewarding. For some people, operating graders, bulldozers or excavators is not challenging or interesting enough – they crave becoming an operator of specialized equipment like that used in mining, logging and road building.

One of the more popular targets is road plant equipment. This includes:

• paving equipment,
• concrete curbing equipment,
• asphalt finishers,
• milling machines,
• chipspreaders,
• roadwideners,
• vibratory compactors, and
• rubber tired rollers

And that is just a short list. In most cases, operators for these machines are recruited from the heavy equipment operator ranks within a company. If heavy equipment operators show an interest in any of these machines, they are often allowed short training periods to learn how to operate them. If they are proficient, they are eventually employed to operate the equipment full time.

The key to getting those opportunities is your initial heavy equipment training. Employers now expect their employees to complete their basic heavy equipment training through a well recognized training school. They also expect operators to have a solid understanding of heavy equipment, and to be work ready when hired.

Your second step is to then find employment with a company that uses the type of specialized equipment you are interested in. You will need to start at the bottom, and it could take several years before you catch the eyes of those who recruit operators – once you do, it’s simply a matter of transferring some of those skills to your new equipment. Specialized heavy equipment often pays well, however, it can be a very competitive area in which to gain a start. Once you do, you’ll find the employment rewarding and challenging.

If you’re into winter sports, particularly those involving snow, then a career as a heavy equipment operator may allow you to work and play in the snow resorts. Snow is a curse in many areas across the country. Towns and cities employ heavy equipment operators to clear streets using snow plows, de-icing equipment, and salt spreaders. Away from the town and cities, snow is considered a blessing – it brings in income in the form of tourists.

Snow resorts have similar problems to towns and cities – the roads need to be cleared to allow tourists in, and that’s certainly a job for heavy equipment operators. Operators are often up at dawn to clear roads, but when the job is done their time is theirs, and if they are into snow sports they join the tourists to hit the snow fields.

Clearing roads is only one job. There are others. Grooming ski runs using specialized equipment is another job that is well suited to heavy equipment operators. The task is a mix of bulldozing and grading, the idea being to have fresh well groomed areas for skiers and other snow based activities. What resort owners are looking for are picture postcard trails since that is what they advertise, and they don’t want to let paying customers down.

If you enjoy winter sports and you have a leaning towards heavy equipment operations, then why not blend the two? While the work is considered seasonal, there are some areas where work is available for eight or nine months of the year. The pay is good, and well managed, you can take three or four months off to prepare for the following season – or you can take on summer tasks that include repairing roads damaged by snow and preparing construction sites for new resorts or resort upgrades. If you’re interested in a career that mixes work and play, then your first step is to undertake heavy equipment training.

The role of a heavy equipment operator is often more varied than many people realize. Their main job is to operate heavy equipment, often a range of different heavy equipment, depending on their experience and the employers requirements. However, it’s important to realize that operators are still part of an overall team, and sometimes that means getting out of the cab, rolling the sleeves up, and getting stuck into some good old-fashioned laboring work.

Operating heavy equipment is generally not for prima donnas. You can’t refuse to pitch in and help out ‘because you’re an operator’. You’re an employee, and your employer can and will ask you to do alternative work when required. That is not to say it happens every day – let’s face it, an employer doesn’t really want to pay a laborer heavy equipment operator wages. It makes more sense having laborers do the laboring work and operators operating their heavy equipment.

Often, an operator may need to switch off his machine for just ten minutes, for example, to help remove a stubborn tree stump or large boulder before continuing on with the bulldozing. It is a normal part of an operator’s job, and one which employers are utilizing more often. In fact, they are even advising potential job applicants of laborer expectations when listing job vacancies. Some employers are smarter – they are advertising laboring positions but adding heavy equipment experience as a preference.

The bottom line is straightforward for anyone considering a career as a heavy equipment operator. There are times when you will need to get out of your cab and pitch in with general laboring work. However, it’s also worth pointing out that this is one part of your working life that really does make you a part of the team, and that it’s one way to really earn the respect of your work colleagues.

That is what we are seeing more and more these days – job vacancies for heavy equipment operators with commercial drivers licenses. For many smaller employers, it can be hard to justify employing individuals who only have the one skill. Employers are now wanting the flexibility to move employees from job to job depending on the demand, and that’s impossible if their employees have limited skills.

Being mult-skilled is a must in many professions now, and heavy equipment operations is no different. It’s not just the CDL that matters either. Being able to operate a range of heavy equipment also helps, and today, that’s not difficult to achieve. Modern heavy equipment training methods don’t focus on a single piece of equipment. At ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools, we offer heavy equipment training across a range of equipment including:

• Backhoes
• Wheel Loaders
• Scrapers
• Excavators
• Bulldozers
• Road Graders
• Rock Trucks
• Skid Steers
• All-Terrain Forklifts

Graduating operators are able to seek entry level employment where they can gain experience operating equipment in the field. If graduates can obtain employment in positions where a range of equipment is use, they can develop skills across the range, further enhancing their employment opportunities. By then adding a commercial drivers license, operators have the complete package to offer employers.

When it comes to sustaining a career in any profession, it’s important to understand what it is that employers are looking for. If you can deliver on that criteria, then your employment prospects increase dramatically. For new heavy equipment operators, adding a CDL as quickly as possible will not only help you find employment, you will quickly gain access to a range of heavy equipment, even if it is only loading/unloading and transporting that equipment. It’s a start that will help you develop a long term career as a heavy equipment operator.