Everyone wants to work in a safe environment. When it comes to construction, there are a lot of safety issues to consider. What we do know is that too many people have been injured, some seriously, or even killed through accidents that could have been prevented. Heavy equipment safety is particularly important because when they cause accidents they are often spectacular and often lead to a lot of people being injured.

Governments at both state and federal level have, over the years, introduced safety legislation with varying degrees of success. The most successful has been the certification of crane operators and the requirement for all employers to provide some form of safety training for their employees.

This has led to employers in general relying on training providers to include comprehensive safety training in their overall training programs. Heavy equipment training is one area that now has a significant safety aspect. While specific safety issues are handled as a heavy equipment safety module in training programs, good training providers include safety aspects at every opportunity, especially when it comes to the in-the-cab training component.

If you are considering a career as a heavy equipment operator, you should ensure that the training provider you select includes a well documented and nationally recognized safety component. Employers are now expecting new operators to have this training and, without it, new entrants will find it difficult to find employment. Employers are not interested in hiring new operators, and then having to deliver that heavy equipment safety. Do yourself a big favor, undertake that training as part of your heavy equipment training program – you’ll be immediately employable.

Heavy equipment has been the focus of attention when it comes to safety for several years now. While operators require training that includes safety, onsite workers also have an obligation to act safely around heavy equipment. Work place health and safety training is now mandatory in many industries and where employers have failed to ensure their employees are trained, big fines are on offer.

When it comes to heavy equipment safety, there are several areas that are important to understand. These areas include:

Preservation of self – This is fairly obvious, the last thing any operator should do is act in a way that could put themselves in danger. An obvious example of this is when working around power lines – come into contact with one of those power lines and you could be in real trouble.

Safety of others – The majority of heavy equipment accidents involve injuries to people other than the operator. In some cases, it is the worker on the ground that hasn’t taken care. However, operators should be aware of everyone around them and be trained sufficiently well that they can take avoidance action should a situation become dangerous.

Safety of property – By far the number one result of accidents is damage to property. This includes buildings and vehicles. These accidents generally occur through sloppy work, often because an operator has misjudged a distance. Heavy equipment can cause tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage just through one simple error of judgment.

These accidents are all avoidable. Heavy equipment safety training is designed to cover all aspects of safety. This training is generally included as part of a person’s basic heavy equipment training program. In some states, an employee cannot start work onsite unless they have undertaken this training. If you are looking at heavy equipment training programs, be sure they have a good safety component – you may find it necessary when looking for employment.

How important is workplace safety to you? For many people, safety in the workplace is not something they really think about. For other people, workplace safety is something that is constantly on their mind. This is the situation with heavy equipment operators, their vehicles are large and powerful and one slip could cause a lot of havoc. For this reason, heavy equipment safety is one of the key components of any training program.

Over the years, legislators have slowly increased the requirements for operators, particularly where it comes to safety. Crane operators now require certification and it won’t be long and this will be extended to all heavy equipment operators. Why introduce certification? The certification process doesn’t just assess a person’s ability to operate heavy equipment. It also assesses their knowledge of safety when it comes to the operations and transport of their machinery.

The end result is that most construction sites are becoming safer. Certification is becoming the norm for most skilled areas on construction sites. If an individual is in charge of any aspect of a site that could prove to be dangerous, a recent example being those involved with rigging, then certification is becoming a requirement.

No one likes to see more and more legislation regulating our working lives. However, if accidents continue, then the cost to the community grows, not to mention the devastating effects these accidents can have on families. When it comes to heavy equipment training, you owe it to yourself, and more importantly, you owe it to your family and the families of those who will be working around you to ensure the safety training meets the minimum requirements for employment in your state. There is an easy way to check this. Ask the training company of they know what the safety requirements are, either locally or federally. If they don’t, look for another training provider. If you are looking for a career in heavy equipment, then you can help to build a safer workplace by undertaking training that includes heavy equipment safety.

Winter brings many difficulties, especially in areas that receive heavy frosts and icy overnight conditions. The ground can freeze, water can freeze and rupture water tanks, and equipment can be damaged, making it dangerous. Before starting work each day, a heavy equipment operator’s first task is to give his equipment a full inspection, especially in areas where icy temperatures may cause damages.

We’re pretty smart these days. We put antifreeze in products that may be affected by cold temperatures, however, it is the hoses and pipes that often suffer the most. Start a vehicle and send hot liquids through hoses or pipes that are still very cold and you run the risk of having them rupture. Icy temperatures also cause materials to shrink. This constant shrinking and expanding over winter can create stress fractures in some materials, again causing problems during operations.

While heavy equipment safety is centered on the equipment’s safe use, maintenance does also play a serious role. Start-up and shut-down inspections are important at all times of the year, however, winter does bring its own hazards. Many years ago, operators learned their craft by watching their father or a friend operate their equipment. If they were lucky, they also got to ‘have a play’ during lunch breaks or at the end of the day. That taught people how to operate their equipment, but it failed to teach many of the important safety aspects.

Today, if you want to work as a heavy equipment operator, you require professional training that includes heavy equipment safety training. Heavy equipment in the wrong hands can be very dangerous and we have seen over the years a lot of accidents that have caused serious harm. If you are looking for a career as a heavy equipment operator, make sure your training has the proper focus on heavy equipment safety.

Demolition sites can be some of the most dangerous environments to work in, especially if you’re a heavy equipment operator. This is one area where site safety and heavy equipment safety are paramount. This last week we saw scenes of a tower demolition that went wrong, all because the demolition experts failed to see a crack in one wall. If you missed the story, head on over to The Star to see the video.

While heavy equipment were not involved with this particular story, a quick search on YouTube will display hundreds of videos of heavy equipment accidents on demolition sites – and some of them are not pretty. Heavy equipment can be cumbersome to move so getting out of the way in a hurry is not an option. What is needed is a well planned approach to the job. Because evasion is not an easy option, heavy equipment operators need to plan where they place their equipment and what sort of work they can safely perform.

In order to increase safety awareness on work sites, most state legislatures have invoked fairly tough workplace safety rules. These rules include a set standard for workplace safety equipment and a mandatory level of workplace safety training. Today, you will find it almost impossible to gain employment on construction sites if you haven’t completed that safety training.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools ensure that every student studying to become heavy equipment operators also completed a module on heavy equipment safety. This ensures that our students enter the workplace with the minimum standard of safety knowledge required. If you are considering a career as a heavy equipment operator, check to see whether or not your training includes safety components. Your future career may well depend on whether or not you have received this training.

For the last couple of months there has been a lot of interest in the events involving the miners trapped in Chile. It’s these types of events that bring home the real need for workplace safety. Heavy equipment safety goes beyond simple workplace safety – the equipment itself is a deadly tool if not operated within limits. Did you notice what they used to raise and lower the ‘Phoenix’ rescue capsule? It was a large mobile crane. What probably hasn’t registered with most people who followed these events was the safety aspect of that crane.

Having drilled through to the trapped miners, rather than plowing ahead and trying to free them, they tested every safety aspect possible. The crane double and triple checked to ensure it was on a stable footing. The crane was positioned precisely so that it could raise and lower the rescue capsule with ease. In fact, they practiced the raising and lowering dozens of times before they were happy to perform the rescue. Did you watch the rescue? If you did you will have seen the speed of the cable constantly changing – this was at the instruction of the rescue foreman. This means their communications were spot on as well.

This is a rare and unusual situation. However, the rescue itself, from the crane operator’s perspective, was just another job (albeit with half the world watching and men’s lives at risk). That operator’s training, together with the training of those on ground, was integral to the success of that rescue. For most heavy equipment operators, the job is far more mundane than rescuing people. However, the heavy equipment safety that is required is no less. When looking at heavy equipment training, don’t forget the events of Chile – be sure your training has a strong safety aspect to it.

Workplace safety has had many different approaches over the years. In the beginning, it was virtually a system of look after yourself. Over time, governments, often at the behest of unions, brought in legislation requiring safety equipment such as hard hats, work boots and scaffolding requirements. The problem with most of these systems is that they were designed to protect people in the event of an accident. The easier route has to be to prevent accidents in the first place. With this in mind, safety training was introduced and it is now becoming mandatory across the country for workers to have this training. Heavy equipment safety training is no different.

Protective clothing can help to reduce injuries when it comes to minor incidents, however, major incidents still result in the loss of human life and expensive damage to property. Preventing these accidents is now the best approach and, believe it or not, it isn’t that difficult. Safety training has several core components, the main one being awareness. The more aware an operator is, the less risk there is to life and property.

Heavy equipment safety training also covers areas such as basic equipment maintenance, equipment stability, and securing equipment for transport. As an operator, the last thing you want is a hydraulic hose failing and causing your equipment to suddenly drop, or for your crane to topple over because it wasn’t set up properly on the ground. Perhaps the worst accident of all these days is heavy equipment coming into contact with high voltage over head power lines. I hear it’s a hair raising experience that’s well worth missing.

If you are looking to commence heavy equipment training, be sure to check on whether or not your training includes recognized safety training. If it doesn’t then look elsewhere for your training. Almost all workplaces now insist on only employing heavy equipment operators who have completed recognized heavy equipment safety training. It is therefore pointless undertaking training if you cannot use your new skills because you lack the safety training required.

Heavy equipment training centers on teaching students how to operate a range of equipment. Let’s face it, that is why you sign up to undertake the training. However, today’s training has a strong emphasis on heavy equipment safety and there are a number of reasons for this. In fact, one of the major factors that has influenced the need for more safety is not only the increase in accidents, but the potential for accidents given how easy today’s equipment is to operate.

In years gone by, when the equipment was slow and cumbersome, workers often had warning when something was about to occur. Not today. Modern equipment is fast and reasonably nimble when compared to some of those old machines. You don’t need strength to wrestle controls now – some machinery can be operated using the touch of your little finger. This makes the equipment very responsive – often too responsive.

With this in mind, it is now more important to think and look before pushing a lever. In the past, if you were swinging a crane load, you knew you could start the maneuver, even though there were people walking by. Good judgment meant they were well past before the load arrived at that point. Today, that load is likely to arrive on top of them, so it becomes important to wait until the area is clear. Good crane operators have always waited, of course, but I think you get the idea of how fast equipment can move now.

Legislators are worried by the number of workplace accidents that have occurred in recent years. This had led to many states insisting on some form of certification or, at a minimum, heavy equipment safety training prior to an operator commencing work. Some employers undertake their own training program, however, most expect new operators to come into the industry already equipped with the necessary heavy equipment safety training.

If you are considering entering the heavy equipment industry then be sure the training you receive has a safety component. If you don’t receive this component, you may find it difficult, if not impossible, to find any employment. Heavy equipment training does have an emphasis on safety – it’s designed to keep the operator and those around them safe at work. Something I think everyone can agree on.

We live in a world where there seems to be an ever increasing rate of government interference in the work place. While taxes and the like often make the news, other areas such as workplace safety rarely do until there is an accident – then it’s front page. Work sites that go 200-300 days without an incident are rarely reported – yet that is often the norm. Government regulations now have fairly explicit safety requirements – and one of these requirements involves training.

Heavy equipment safety training covers a broad range of workplace activities. Training generally includes safety inspections of the equipment prior to use; awareness of others and property around the area to be worked in; awareness of objects such as power lines; and safe working procedures. Personal areas looked at may include drug and alcohol use and workplaces and working attitudes. Gone are the days when wild mavericks could roar into a work site, almost shoulder everyone aside as they completed their work, then roar out again. Working as a team is now an important issue as is working to plans – accurately.

If you are considering a career as a heavy equipment operator, be sure your training includes, at the very least, the basic requirements for workplace safety. Employers don’t really want to employ an individual if the employment process includes having to train the new recruit in safety procedures. Employers now expect a certain level of knowledge before engaging heavy equipment operators. Are you work safe?

One of the major pushes in heavy equipment operations is that of safety and there is good reason for this – when heavy equipment is involved in an incident, it is normally something major; rarely is it a minor event. To achieve a safer workplace, heavy equipment safety training is becoming a mandatory factor when employing workers. If a prospective employee hasn’t had any workplace safety training, it is now up to the employer to ensure they receive it prior to commencing work – often at the employers expense.

For employers, the easy way around paying for workplace safety training is to only employ those individuals who have already completed some form of heavy equipment safety training. As a prospective heavy equipment student, the obvious course is to select a training organization that offers heavy equipment safety. Choose the right training organization, and your training should be to national standards. This means you don’t have to redo any training should you move interstate, or if you are coming from interstate to undertake training.

ATS has a number of training schools in a wide range of locations, each offering training in either truck driving, crane operations or heavy equipment operations – some of our schools will offer all three. Workplace safety is included in all training programs as part of the nationally accredited training program. It is not an expensive added extra – or expensive compulsory extra.

For heavy equipment, our training programs run for three weeks and includes both in-class and in-the-cab training. Heavy equipment training is not restricted to the classroom, it includes in-cab tuition and observations making the operator aware of everything that is happening around them. Heavy equipment training is designed to make the workplace safer for everyone, the operator included.