It takes more than just skills and knowledge to be an effective heavy equipment operator. Like most workplaces, you also need the right attitude. This is particularly true when it comes to heavy equipment safety. We can train new operators in all the correct safety procedures; what we cannot do is change an operator’s attitude. That is an issue that a graduate needs to consider themselves.

So what do we mean by ‘attitude’? Heavy equipment safety means following rules and guidelines. As an operator, you have a choice – you can follow those rules, or try to take shortcuts. Worse still, you can consider those rules silly or unnecessary, and totally ignore them. That attitude will result in accidents, and operators with that attitude will have very short careers – if they survive any accidents.

Over the years, heavy equipment accidents have resulted in deaths and serious injuries. The Department Of Labor established OSHA to put in place safety guidelines for every employment place in the U.S. Employers (and employees) are obliged to follow these guidelines and for those who refuse or become neglectful, there are hefty fines. National bodies have been established to help put in place minimum training guidelines and this includes heavy equipment.

Heavy equipment training programs now need to include heavy equipment safety components. This ensures that everyone entering the industry has the same heavy equipment safety training. By standardizing this area of training, graduates are immediately employable nationwide since those safety standards are national, and not just restricted to the one state.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools have earned a reputation for delivery training that is first class. This training provides in-class components that relate directly to safety along with in-the-seat operator training that helps to reinforce those safety aspects. Heavy equipment safety is important to everyone on a work site. Heavy equipment machinery is very dangerous in untrained hands so we make every sure every graduate works in a safe and happy environment.

Winter is a testing time for many heavy equipment operators. It’s hard enough trying to work through frozen ground; operators often having to turn to specialized attachments such as rippers. The presence of snow and ice also makes the ground quite slippery and this can be of real concern when it comes to heavy equipment safety.

Here’s a fact that many people don’t realize – snow, especially compacted snow, is actually a lot heavier than dirt, even waterlogged dirt. This extra weight needs to be taken into account when working in these conditions – a loader may easily handle a bucket of dirt, but may struggle with a bucket of compacted snow (depending on the size and power of the loader of course). While working in freezing conditions is hard, that is just one of the difficulties operators encounter.

Most modern heavy equipment includes climate controlled operator cabs. This means an operator can work in conditions that are quite comfortable, temperature-wise. This can cause its own problems since an operator will find it difficult to relate to the cold external conditions – and cold does affect machinery.

For heavy equipment operators, special attention has to be paid to their equipment before they start work. Extreme overnight conditions can wreak havoc on their equipment, freezing pipelines, especially hydraulic lines, and, in some cases, creating problems with metal stress. Bulldozer and grader blades can often develop hairline cracks while excavator and backhoe operators often find that teeth on their excavating buckets are damaged.

Heavy equipment safety is an important issue in winter. Pre-start-up checks need to be thorough, and maintenance issues need to be dealt with immediately. Ideally, heavy equipment would be stored in a covered and heated environment each night in winter – that’s not practical in today’s world, so operators need to be particularly vigilant. While heavy equipment training can prepare future operators for these conditions, it takes hands on experience to really understand how trying winter can be to both man and beast.

Heavy equipment operators are no different to many other workplaces in that OSHA safety requirements are enforced. This includes mandatory safety training relevant to the equipment being used, the work being done, and the site where the work is being done. Heavy equipment operators working on suspected hazardous waste sites will, for example, require HAZWOPER training. If you are working on a construction site, you may need specific construction induction training.

The concept of OSHA safety training is, as the name suggests, to ensure that employers provide safe working conditions, and that employees follow the right safety procedures. When your first start heavy equipment operator training, you will notice there is a heavy emphasis on safety. There’s a good reason for this – heavy equipment is very dangerous if used inappropriately.

At ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools, we include safety as an important component of a student’s training. Our training meets many of the OSHA and industry standards for certification compliance leaving employees to provide any further job specific training. Competent graduates from our heavy equipment training program are well received by employers because of the safety training already completed.

For those considering a career as a heavy equipment operator, it is important to understand who is responsible for safety in the workplace. If you’re not sure – it’s the employer, so when you apply for a vacancy and you have already completed many of the training requirements, your application is looked on very favorably – the employer only needs to fill in the blanks. Safety training is an expensive process so employers want to minimize their costs. When looking for heavy equipment training, be sure their is a strong safety component – it will help you get that first job.

The last twelve months seem to have been one of devastation when it comes to natural disasters. Turkey’s recent earthquake, those in New Zealand, the violent floods in Australia, and our problems with hurricanes, tornadoes and storms have all left their marks. When the frantic efforts of rescuers and home owners finally abates, everyone is left wondering about the rebuilding required. Invariably, the first workers called into these areas are the heavy equipment operators.

Bulldozers are generally the first called to action, leveling sites, clearing away the damage, and turning what was a scene of devastation into a clear plot of land ready for rebuilding. You will often see loaders, excavators and backhoes joining in; the loaders and backhoes filling dump trucks with debris while excavators help to pull down buildings and break up walls, floors and sometimes ceilings.

This can be dangerous work so operators need to be well trained highly experienced to work on these rebuilding projects. Our role as heavy equipment trainers is to prepare students for a career in heavy equipment that could one day see them involved in these projects. When training students, we pay special attention to workplace safety, first by ensuring our students are learning in a safe environment, and secondly, by passing on the necessary skills and knowledge required to work safely.

Training should also involve as much time as possible in the operator’s seat actually moving earth, not just practicing in the air. When a student graduates from a heavy equipment training school, they should be ready for entry level employment in the industry. ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools has a reputation for providing industry with graduates who are work ready, who do have sound skills, and are trained to work safely. With a good grounding in heavy equipment operations, it doesn’t take long to build up the experience required to work on natural disaster rebuilding projects.

There are many areas across the east coast that rarely feel the brunt of tropical storms, at least not to the extent of storms like hurricane Irene. We are still seeing images of the damage caused by the storm’s progress, and some areas are only now starting to surface from the flooding. For heavy equipment operators, while Irene may be long gone, what has been left behind should be a cause for concern.

Storms upset the landscape – we have all seen the images. Heavy equipment operators are often working in these storm-damaged areas, and danger can come from the least expected areas. High winds, a lot of water, and weakened root systems can see trees topple over with no warning at all. If it’s not the tree, then it’s weakened limbs that can come crashing down. Building sites are generally checked after a storm before workers are allowed in, but in previous years, those checks have been found wanting, and workers have been injured from falling debris, or building materials that have been moved.

The onus is still on an operator to check their environment, and to take all reasonable precautions. If you’re operating a bulldozer in a timbered area, you need to be constantly aware of your surroundings. Excavator operators are another group that should be aware of their surroundings. You would imagine an old established suburb would be safe, but if there are trees around, and there has been a storm, then loose branches are still a danger. When I say loose branches, I am not talking about twigs – I am talking about large branches ten to fifteen feet long and two or three feet in diameter – that’s large enough to cause serious injury.

Heavy equipment training spends a lot of time looking at heavy equipment safety. Common sense is an important component of safety, as is awareness. If you know a storm has been through an area, then take extra care when you first start work, you never know what sort of damage has been caused by that storm.

How safe are you in the workplace? Do you know what safety equipment is required in the workplace? For heavy equipment operators, working safely has several aspects and while protecting people and property in the vicinity of your work area is important, looking after your health safety is also important. Heavy equipment safety training includes being trained in the requirements and use of personal safety equipment. Some of this training can be completed in a training school while other aspects require on-the-job training, especially where equipment may be specific to that industry – mining is a good example of where industry-specific equipment could be required.

On construction sites, your personal safety equipment could include:

• Footwear such as steel capped work boots
• Hard hats
• Safety clothing, including special brightly colored fluorescent clothing when required
• Safety gloves, especially when working on the heavy equipment; for example, changing tools on backhoes
• Noise prevention and hearing protection
• And eye protection

Most construction sites forbid entry to anyone who is not wearing a hard hat and steel-toed work boots. Even safety inspectors need to meet these requirements before making an inspection. Workplace safety is an important issue and one that our legislators have worked on repeatedly over the years. Employers and employees can face severe fines if they do not meet minimum safety requirements, and, as they say, ignorance of the law cannot be used as a defense.

When undertaking heavy equipment training, be sure to check to see if heavy equipment safety is an important component. This doesn’t just relate to safety modules. It also relates to the reinforcement of safety issues while in the seat learning to operate equipment. Complete the right training and employers will be happy to hire you – if you don’t complete the right training, employers won’t give your application a second look.

Workplace safety is a big issue across the nation and there has been a lot of attention given to the construction industry in general. Building sites are dangerous places for those who are not fully aware of what is going on around them – it’s certainly not a place that encourages daydreaming. Heavy equipment safety has come in for a lot of criticism over the years due to the number of avoidable accidents that have taken place. Today, an employer will not hire an operator unless they have had some form of heavy equipment safety training – at least sufficient to meet the national minimum standards.

No matter how much training an individual has, their ability to work safely all comes down to one key ingredient – common sense – and you would be surprised how many times an operator has ignored this and created a real problem. Safety rules are put in place for a reason. Not to make life harder for operators, but to make life safer for themselves and for those working around them. And common sense is at the center of most safety rules – as it is in most areas of our lives.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools have fully endorsed the safety rules and working safely is an issue we deal with from day one in training. When students are operating heavy equipment, safety is at the forefront with students encouraged to consider these issues before making any maneuvers. In order to complete their training, students must not only demonstrate an ability to operate heavy equipment, they must also demonstrate their knowledge of the safety issues involved with operating their equipment.

A safer workplace means there are fewer injuries (and loss of life), less downtime (accidents often need to be investigated for causes), and less damage to property and equipment. It estimated that construction companies could save over a billion dollars each year, just by cutting out avoidable accidents. Do you have common sense? If you do, you have the core ingredient for a safer workplace – and we can help you learn the skills to capitalize on that common sense to become an effective and safe heavy equipment operator.

While legislators have been grappling with rules and regulations aimed at making workplaces safer, employers have been busy doing just that. When it comes to heavy equipment, accidents can have a wide range of effects, and from a business point of view, none of them positive. With this in mind, many employers have made heavy equipment safety their number one priority.

If you consider the effects of an accident on a work site, you’ll understand why. Here is a small list of some of the effects of a work place accident:

• Insurance – The more accidents associated with a business, the higher their insurance premiums. A safe workplace will result in lower insurance premiums.
• Repairs – Every time a heavy equipment vehicle has an accident, there are repair bills. Sometimes, rather than repairing that vehicle, the damage is such that the vehicle requires an expensive replacement.
• Down Time – Accidents often bring a work site to a standstill. Down time costs money since workers are still being employed, but their is no productivity. To add insult to the injury, many construction contracts have penalty clauses for late completions.
• Morale – Perhaps one of the biggest hidden costs is that of low morale that always follows an accident, especially if an individual is seriously injured or killed. Low morale can lead to low productivity and further accidents.

One simple accident can have a flow on affect that costs a business tens of thousands of dollars. That cost could have been saved if everyone had undertaken basic workplace safety training. Today, that’s exactly what is happening. Most employers now expect their new heavy equipment operators to have undertaken some form of heavy equipment safety training – if they haven’t, they generally won’t employ them.

If you are considering training for a career as a heavy equipment operator, make sure your training is through a well respected training organization, and that their training includes a module on heavy equipment safety.

Some people like to grumble about the classroom side of heavy equipment training. I can understand that students want to spend as much time as possible behind the controls gaining experience. However, there are some issues that require classroom time, and heavy equipment safety is one of those issues.

If you have any doubts about the importance of heavy equipment safety, there are two avenues worth looking at. The first are the requirements set down by federal and state legislators. Safety in the workplace has become a real political issue and the end result is fairly tough requirements for employers. That leads us to the second avenue that you can check – the job descriptions for heavy equipment operators.

Here are some examples of what one employer (City of Duluth MN) has including in one of their job descriptions:

I have been picky in that list since the job requirements run to two pages. However, you can see the importance of safety particularly in the last point. This requires employees to not only work in a safe manner, but to also have knowledge of the safety laws and regulations as they apply to their work.

If you are considering undertaking heavy equipment training, be sure to ask about the safety component before signing on the dotted line. State and federal governments expect safe work places. Employers know that unsafe work practices will result in big fines. Therefore, they generally only recruit employees who can demonstrate heavy equipment safety knowledge so the only path worth taking is training that includes a thorough look at heavy equipment safety.

When it comes to heavy equipment operations, our law makers have generally left the industry alone. At least until the last decade when legislators started to take a little interest in the field. The only reason they have taken any interest is because of the number of accidents resulting in serious injury and death.

Legislators have slowly increased the rules surrounding heavy equipment operators, crane operators and construction sites in general. It is now mandatory for employers to ensure that their employees have some for of safety training before commencing work in any of those areas. Crane operators now require certification; riggers require proof of their training; and general workers must be able to point to some form of safety training.

Safety training can be delivered by suitably qualified trainers on-site, by a training organization either on-site or at their campus, or as part of a broader training program. It is now common for training programs such as a heavy equipment training program to include safety in its syllabus.

What legislators are hoping to achieve is a reduction in the number of accidents that occur in workplaces. The emphasis now is on employers employing personnel that are adequately trained in safety – in fact it’s the employers who face prosecution if they fail to satisfy this requirement.

When seeking training in areas such as heavy equipment operations, crane operations or any other aspect of construction, it is important now to ensure the training you receive does have safety components that meet these minimum standards. Failing to have this training will now result in one outcome – no one will employ you! At least, not until you undertake that training.

At ATS, we include comprehensive safety training in all our heavy equipment training programs. Our safety training component generally exceeds the minimum requirements as set out by legislation and this helps to make our graduates well sought after by industry.