Step into the cab of a modern grader and you will wonder if it is a piece of heavy equipment, or a well designed office. Compare modern graders from those of twenty years ago. The outside working components have only changed marginally. But in the cab – let’s just say that twenty years ago most graders didn’t have cabs; all they had were roll bars.

The modern cab on a grader has wrap-around windows and air conditioning. It’s no longer a hot (or cold) and dusty (or muddy) job. When I say air conditioning, I mean climate control – the full system with dust exclusion filters and all. Add to this two-way radios for communication, CD players for entertainment and you start to get the picture – and you haven’t even started the motor yet.

Operating has now been simplified with some manufacturers moving from levers to joy-stick type controls. Add to this computer-aided settings for the blades, often connected to a GPS system, and suddenly the grader is a huge machine capable of completing jobs to finest measurements. It really is amazing how much change has gone into a machine as complex as a grader.

Despite all these changes, the operations of a grader are still pretty much the same. A blade is set to a specific height and angle and the grader then carves the surface to a finish dictated by engineers and plans. Learning to operate a grader can be undertaken in as little as three weeks with operators then ready to enter the work force. Interested in grader operator training? Contact ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools for more information.

In an age where everyone is becoming environmentally conscious, moves are afoot to reclaim land and return it to its former natural glory. While bulldozers may have been a part of the original stripping of the land, they are now an integral part of the teams trying to re-vegetate these areas. Little has changed for the bulldozer. They still go in and strip the land bare again – only this time, rather than farming, building or open spaces, that stripped land is being planted out with vegetation that is native to that area.

I say little has changed for the bulldozer and to a point that is correct. However, for a re-vegetation program to be effective, all of the old unwanted vegetation has to be removed – roots and all. The area often needs working several times to ensure that no viable seeds remain that will contaminate the natural vegetation. Bulldozer operators are also required to sculpt the land so that it can become a natural area again.

Heavy equipment in general is now playing a huge role in environmental issues. In fact, new heavy equipment coming in to the marketplace are themselves environmentally friendly. They comply with low emissions and some of this equipment is also running on alternative fuels, bulldozers included.

If you want to be a part of the new greening movement, yet have a hankering to operate heavy equipment like bulldozers, the two are no longer incompatible. In fact, as we move forward into the future the two will become closely allied. You can do both – you just need to undertake the best heavy equipment training around and to then find the right employers.

Backhoe operators have one of the most varied careers when it comes heavy equipment. One moment they are excavator operators and the next, loader operators. Because of their versatility, they are also used in a wide variety of situations. Home building, landscaping, construction of services such as water and sewage, forestry and road constructions are just a few areas where you will find a backhoe. As an operator, you could find yourself working in any one of those places – everyday it may be different.

When it comes to owning an earth moving business, backhoes are often the first choice because of that versatility. As an owner operator, backhoes can do some of the work of an excavator or a loader. This means owner operators can offer their services to a wider range of clients.

As a career, backhoe operators are well sought after, particularly those that have a wide range of experience. The only way to gain that experience is by starting at the bottom and working your way up. Starting at the bottom means finding a good backhoe or heavy equipment training provider – one that will train you to industry standards so that you are employable from the day you graduate.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools have a long history of providing proficient operators to industry. We also have a very effective career services department that may be able to help you secure that first job. As industry leaders in heavy equipment training, we pride ourselves on the reputation gained with employers across the country. Are you looking for a career that takes you outdoors, is varied and, at times, challenging then consider a career as a backhoe operator.

The best heavy equipment training in the world is useless if you can’t find employment following your training. This is where a good career services component can make a huge difference between a successful heavy equipment career and sitting at home wondering why you spent all that money on training. Let’s be honest, heavy equipment training is not exactly cheap. I wouldn’t call it expensive either, especially when you consider the pay packet that successful operators receive.

Career services come in many different formats. There are private agencies that will charge you (and the employer) when a successful placement is made. The problems with these services is that they are paid for successful placements, not the right placements, so their focus is on getting people into work, any work. The best career services providers are those attached to training bodies. Their focus is on getting the right people into the right jobs.

Why are they different? Career services attached to training providers don’t rely on placements for income – it is all part of the training service. At ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools, our career services department spends its time working on two fronts – first, working with students to prepare them for work in the field of heavy equipment. The second front is equally important – this is time spent developing relationships with employers.

That second front is very important. By developing relationships with employers and employer groups we have our fingers on the pulse of what is important to them, what skills and what personal attributes they are looking for. We can take that information and factor it into our training programs thus providing employers with graduates that are going to be productive from day one.

If you are considering a career in heavy equipment then talk to us about your options. We not only provide industry leading training, we also provide career services that help you to get a start and to convert your training into a successful career as a heavy equipment operator.

Mobile crane operator training is probably one of the more taxing training programs when it comes to heavy equipment operations, but then, mobile cranes are used in so many different areas. With a mobile crane, you can’t just arrive at a job; attach the crane’s hook and start lifting. There is much more to the job and it often takes some thought.

To begin with, mobile cranes need to be stabilized. If you look carefully at a mobile crane you will see it has hydraulic legs. This lifts the crane’s wheels off the ground and provides a stable base. How and where these are used will also depend on the ground you’re on. Once the crane is stabilized and ready for use, the operator then has to assess the load together with current conditions such as wind. Armed with this information, the operator can then perform the lift. For most experienced operators, this is all done in a matter of seconds, not minutes or hours – it becomes second nature.

How does a mobile crane operator develop this ‘second nature’? Solid training and experience! ATS Crane Operator Schools can provide prospective mobile crane operators with training that will make them proficient in the operations of a mobile crane. Experience? That requires a job and we can even help graduates out in that area as well. We have a highly skilled group working in our career services section. Their role is to help you gain meaningful employment as soon as possible after graduating.

Becoming a mobile crane operator does involve some intense training. However, the training is well within the capacity of most people and once you get into the field, you will find that experience will build on your training very quickly. Mobile crane operators – they are well paid, the work is varied and it only takes three weeks of mobile crane operator training to become proficient. Interested? Contact us for more details.

Acquiring a commercial drivers license and gaining a little experience driving trucks can add a number of benefits to your employment opportunities into the future. If you’re a heavy equipment operator, then being able to also transport your equipment to a job has obvious benefits. However, heavy equipment is not the only occupation that can benefit from a commercial drivers license.

Logging, mining and agriculture are areas where the possession of commercial drivers license can be of benefit. If an employer knows that you are licensed, and that you have some experience, you become an asset to the business; someone they can call on to drive a truck should they be short of drivers. This is known as multi-skilling and many employers are now recognizing the benefits of having multi-skilled workers in their work force.

Other areas where a commercial drivers license could be an asset include warehousing, bulk terminals, ports and certain manufacturing industries. Acquiring a commercial drivers license also adds another dimension to your current career. If employment options become limited in your field of employment, you can always fall back to truck driving until employment situation improves.

If you are interested in adding a commercial drivers license to your skills base you can do so in as little as three weeks. ATS Truck Driver Schools can provide you with all the driving skills required to first, pass the commercial truck drivers licensing test, and secondly, to work in the industry. Truck driving is a career with many options in itself and can be well paid when compared to many other career options. In fact, if you compare training time to income, a commercial truck driver training course comes out well in front. Interested? Contact us today for more information.

With oil slicks threatening the beaches in the south there is a good chance that loader operators will be called in to help alleviate some of the problems. One of the easiest ways to handle polluted beaches is to simply move the affected areas away for decontamination. Doing it in situ can be difficult, especially if harsh chemicals are required to clean the pollutant.

Loader operators can often be found on beaches after huge storms, working to either replace or reposition sand that has been affected by the storms. In some areas, wild storms have been known to strip beaches of the sand while at other times to bring in tons of sand. With the summer rapidly approaching, our beaches are one the strongest drawcards when it comes to tourism – having them fit for swimmers and surfers is a must.

Operating a loader on a beach can be tricky with the sand often moving beneath the loader’s wheels. Some of the smaller loaders are ideal for this work as their weight doesn’t cause any difficulties, or do any further damage. Operators that are skilled at working in sandy conditions are always in demand when these events occur.

Becoming a loader operator is actually a fairly simple task. Heavy equipment often overwhelms people, yet if they could see how simple some of this equipment was to operate, they would be surprised. Loaders are certainly not complicated machinery and most individuals can become proficient in a range of heavy equipment in as little as three weeks. Contact us for more information on loaders and heavy equipment training – your first step to a heavy equipment career starts with a good training program and that’s where we can help.

Think excavators and you probably think ditches. However, the modern excavator does far more than just dig ditches. You will find excavators at work on rivers doing dredging work, in forestry plantations, in the mining industry, in road and rail construction and in general construction. Wherever there is earth moving involved, you’re likely to find an excavator or it’s cousin, the backhoe.

Excavator training is not really a difficult course to get through. They may look like technically complex machines, and from an engineering point of view, they are. From an operators point of view, operating an excavator is only a matter of learning what the levers and pedals actually do – get a grasp of that and you’re halfway there. Of course, you also need to learn other components such as safety, basic maintenance and how an excavator performs in different soil types.

It only takes three weeks to complete a heavy equipment training program that includes excavator operator training. At the completion of the three weeks of training, you should be proficient in a number of machines including bulldozers, graders, loaders and excavators. Once you have completed your training, the most important part of your career begins – on-the-job training – and that lasts a lifetime.

Does operating an excavator sound like a career for you? If so, contact ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools for details on our next training course and the location of the nearest training school to you. Excavator operators are well paid in today’s workforce and their careers are interesting and involve a lot of variety – the one thing you won’t be doing is digging ditches all the time.

If I was asked which careers offered the best long term opportunities I would have to point to the transport sector. No matter how tough times are, we still eat and we still consume and that requires transport. The alternative is that we all learn to grow our own food – and, realistically, most people wouldn’t know where to start so we have farmers do it for us. With transport comes the second requirement – road and rail. So where do dump trucks come in?

Although roads are one of the mainstays of the transport system, when times are really tough, new construction slows a little. Instead, we repair what’s already in place. If you take the time to watch repair crews, they always consist of one or more dump trucks, even if it’s just to carry the mix used to repair roads. In fact, if you look around you, dump trucks always seem to be on our roads either carting material away or bringing in materials.

Dump truck training is a little more specialized than just truck driver training. Reversing a large dump truck can be difficult, especially if you have a pit or pit face that you have to tip your load over. A foot too far and the whole truck’s in the pit – a foot too far away and you’re dumping the load on the edge and not over the edge. Dump truck drivers also have to learn the art of slowly dumping material while driving – this helps to spread the load rather than dumping it all in the one spot and relying on another vehicle to do the spreading.

If you’re after a career that is always in demand, consider a career as a dump truck driver. You will always be busy – and the pay checks are not too bad either.

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?