There is a misconception that construction grinds to a halt in the middle of winter and that jobs like bulldozer operations dry up. The contrary is the case. Sure, there are some areas where construction cannot continue. Heavy snow is one example. However, where there is heavy snow there is a need for snow plow operators and bulldozer operators are perfect candidates for those jobs.

Snow, of course, is not the only problem that winter brings. Heavy rain can also cause problems and slow construction down. These problems are not, however, nationwide. Whilst one area may slow down because of winter, other areas keep working. In fact, a job as a bulldozer operator means you can literally follow the sun. You can work as far north as Alaska in the summer then move south as winter approaches.

Whilst construction may slow in some areas, mining keeps operating almost year round. Farms still require the services of bulldozer operators when clearing land and many developers use the winter period to clear and subdivide land ready for construction in the spring. In some areas, bulldozer operators are more in demand in winter than in spring or summer.

Completing a heavy equipment training program now makes sense if you’re interested in becoming a bulldozer operator. There is work around, much of it fairly basic, which is exactly what a new graduate needs to begin with. By starting with basic bulldozer jobs, you can gain the experience, and hours behind the controls, that many construction companies like to see before hiring bulldozer operators for more challenging roles. Contact ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools now for more information and start the new year with a new career on the way.

If you are planning to take up one of our training programs in the new year, you may be scratching your head wondering how you can afford Christmas and pay for your training as well. The is a simple answer – ask us for financial aid. There are many different ways to pay for your training, maxing your credit cards or emptying your bank account doesn’t have to be one of them.

Financial aid can come in many different ways. You could approach your own lending institution to see if they will finance a career loan. You can apply through us for a career loan. Fill out one of our online application forms and we can do most of the work for you. You may also be eligible for assistance through one of the state or federal grants. These grants include:

• Workforce Investment Act (WIA)
• Department of Workforce Development
• Trade Adjustment Act (TAA)
• Displaced Workers
• Displaced Farmers
• Vocational Rehabilitation
• Tribal Education (BIA)
• Veteran’s Benefits (VA)

Financing a training program can be stressful. We try to take some of the stress out by looking at financial options for you. There are financing options available for most people although your eligibility for some of them will depend on your credit worthiness.

Rather than maxing out your credit cards this close to Christmas, put in place some financial strategies now and you can have the best of both worlds. You can find more information related to financial aid on our main website. If you need financial assistance – fill out the application form. There is no drama, no hassles and it saves time.

No pun intended – but truck driving really is a career that drives the economy. We have already seen a surge in demand for truck drivers as the economy turned the corner. Most retailers will report much higher spending this Christmas compared to last Christmas and this only augers well for the new year. Recent reports suggest that 2010 may be a bumper year. Many people held off buying big ticket items due to the recession – whilst prices are down due to competition, buyers will take advantage.

We rely on our trucking industry to help us move stock. Whether it is from wharf to retailer, or factory dock to retailer, they all rely on trucks. In fact, factories rely on trucks to deliver the raw materials as well – and we rely trucks to deliver our food from the farm to the retailer. Almost every aspect of our economy has a truck component. This makes truck driving one of the most valuable skills in the country.

Generally speaking, everyday Americans take all this for granted. They don’t realize the significant role that truck drivers play in their daily lives. At least, until the roads are closed, or something else prevents deliveries getting through. Then, everyone is ready to complain. I know many truck drivers that do everything possible to get their loads delivered. If roads are closed, they will seek an alternative route.

Truck driving is a career that doesn’t get the respect it deserves. But then, it is only one of many in that situation. There is a lot of personal satisfaction involved and it does pay a good wage compared to many other professions. If you are interested in a career in truck driving, we can help. Our truck driver training program can have you on the road within a month of commencing your training. What are you waiting for? The economy needs you!

Safety has been recognized as one of the most important issues in workplaces. To help reduce workplace accidents, training organizations now include heavy equipment safety training in all their heavy equipment training programs. Safety is really a matter of common sense. Unfortunately, saving time and taking shortcuts and plain carelessness are the two leading causes of accidents.

There are three core concepts to heavy equipment safety training. As I mentioned, they are based really on common sense. These three concepts are:

• Protection of Self – You would think this was one area where operators wouldn’t need training. However, they do. Simple observations like being aware of overhead powerlines, other equipment and the terrain you are operating on are extremely important. Correctly anchoring or balancing your work is also important. The ramifications of not protecting yourself can often impact elsewhere with people and property around you also at risk.
• Protection of those around us – Protecting your work colleagues is the second concept. Again, it comes back to awareness. Do you know who is working around you and where they are? Being aware of what is going on around you is important. This helps you to avoid placing them at any risk. Those issues mentioned above also help to protect those working around you.
• Protection of property – If you are protecting yourself and protecting your work colleagues then the chances are you will also be protecting the property around you. At the risk of sounding like a cracked record – awareness is again the main issue. Knowing where buildings and vehicles are at all times helps you to ensure you don’t come into contact with them at any time.

I said there were three basic concepts and there are. But as you can see, when it comes to heavy equipment safety, being observant and aware of what is going on around you is at the center of those concepts. There are other issues, of course: maintenance, preparation, a clear head; they are all a part of heavy equipment safety. Are you a safe worker – or do you cut corners and work carelessly? If that’s you then you should perhaps consider another career rather than heavy equipment.

Part of any heavy equipment training program is learning how to communicate and that holds true for excavator training as well. A construction site is a hectic and generally very noisy environment. Operators often need to communicate with other members of their word team and simply yelling won’t cut it – no one will hear you.

Take the situation where an excavator is working to cut away a trench. As the excavator digs, the operator manipulates the bucket so that they can dump the load directly into the back of a dump truck. Easy you may think – and it is, if you know what you are doing and if the truck driver knows what you are doing.

The dump truck will need to reverse to the right position. When in position, the excavator operator signals the truck driver to stop using his horn. Likewise, once the truck is full, the excavator operator will again use his horn to tell the driver to leave. Does each press of the horn mean the same? Not always. There is generally a system in place where one, two or three presses of the horn button have different meanings. Likewise, a long press and a short press.

All heavy equipment operators learn to communicate. There are sounds using the horn and hand signals that may be used by those at ground level. These are all part of a work site’s safety regime that ensures that all operators can communicate where necessary despite all the noise around them.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools can have you trained and ready to work as an excavator operator in as little as three weeks. Take the first step to becoming an excavator operator by contacting us for more information on your heavy equipment training options.

There has been a lot of discussion here and throughout the news regarding the economic stimulus packages and the effect it will have on employment. This package is having a huge impact on heavy equipment requirements with motor graders in high demand. The economic stimulus package, however, goes beyond dumping a lot of money on infrastructure. There are few a little programs that can impact on grader operator demand in their own right.

One of these programs is the one-time 50-percent tax depreciation bonus that is available for purchases made before December 31, 2009. Heavy equipment manufacturers have jumped on this and made their own offers. This includes payment free six or twelve month periods. This has led many businesses to either replace or add new equipment to their work force. Those that have added new equipment are the businesses that are expecting to be part of the infrastructure construction program in 2010.

Obviously, if you add new equipment to your line up you are going to need additional operators to utilize the equipment. Motor grader sales are up compared to this time last year and the demand on operators continues to grow. This reinforces our opinion that now is the best time to act if you want a career as a motor grader operator. The winter period is one of the best times to gain hands on experience in these machines in preparation for the expected busy spring construction period.

If you are interested in a career as a heavy equipment operator, particularly as a motor grader operator, then act now and give us a call on 1-800-383-7364 to discuss your motor grader training options. It can be tempting to say – ‘I’ll wait until after Christmas’. This could be a big mistake. Act now and come the New Year; you will be well placed to commence a career as a motor grader operator.

When most people talk about heavy equipment careers the mind conjures up images of a bulldozer, grader or perhaps an excavator. They are no doubt the big three when it comes to heavy equipment, but there is a range of other equipment that also provides for interesting and well paid careers. This equipment includes:

• backhoes,
• wheel loaders,
• scrapers,
• rock trucks,
• Skid Steers, and
• All-Terrain Forklifts.

And that is just a short list. We talk a lot about backhoes and occasionally about wheel loaders but Skid Steers, All-Terrain Forklifts, scrapers and rock trucks rarely get a mention. These machines provide valuable service in their niche and without them, we would have to resort to using hand tools of some description. Take the all-terrain forklift. This vehicle is similar to a standard forklift but it can safely transport loads over different terrains. Without it, we would be forced to break loads down to much smaller sizes to move them over the rough terrain.

Scrapers of course do just that. They scrape the surface in preparation for other equipment. Rock trucks help to remove large rocks from construction sites whilst the little skid steer is able to get into tight areas to work where no other vehicle can fit. This machines all offer interesting careers. The skid steer maybe a small machine in comparison to a bulldozer, but it is still a valuable part of the heavy machinery family.

One of the benefits of training through ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools is that students are introduced to a range of machinery. This provides each student with a broad set of skills and a better insight into how each piece of equipment fits into a construction team. Heavy equipment careers don’t sit solely with the big three – there are many other options available for you to look at.

As we start the last month of what has been a hectic 2009 for crane operator training, it is time for us to start planning 2010. For those who are interested in a new career in 2010, now is the time to start your planning as well. Crane operators are well paid in comparison to most other heavy equipment operators and the demand is always constant for operators.

Planning a career change can be a big move. You can make a decision and be well on the way overnight, or you can take a little time and plan things carefully. If you’re interested in crane operations but like to take a little time, there are several easy steps you can take:

• Check out some of our posts on crane operations
• Visit our crane operator training pages for information on what our training covers
• Call us to work out what training options are available (1-800-383-7364)
• Arrange finance – we can provide some help if required
• Organize your time – you will need to set aside some time to attend training. If you’re working, arrange for holiday leave.

Once you have organized everything, you can sit back and enjoy a thoroughly relaxing Christmas. That way you will be prepared to start your training in the new year. Once you commence your training, you can start working with our job placement team. With a little work you may find you can walk out of your training program, and into a new job. What I do know, put a little effort into your training and you will walk away as a certified crane operator. That’s the first step to a successful career as a crane operator.

Backhoes are one of the most versatile machines in use when it comes to construction. They excel at digging trenches, particularly in tight areas where an excavator may not fit easily. Backhoes are also good at carrying stuff around a construction site. They help move dirt, often being called on to dig a trench then dump the excess dirt into dump trucks. There is one other job that backhoes (and excavators) do that most people don’t consider.

Digging a trench is a real skill. The trench starts at point A and ends at Point B. It also has to be a certain depth. That’s all in a days work for a backhoe – it’s what they were created for. However, what happens once the workers have finished working in the trench? Naturally, the trench has to be backfilled – anyone got a shovel? I don’t fancy doing it by hand – do you?

Now the backhoe has a scoop at the front that could do a great job of backfilling that trench. There is one problem, however. The workers have laid gas pipeline in a trench that is five feet deep. Do you want dirt and rock falling five feet to crash into sensitive gas (or sewerage) pipelines? Gas, of course, is under pressure so it will soon make its way through any weakness. Guess it is a job for a manual shovel.

Actually, the backhoe is well suited to fulfilling this role as well. It can use its bucket to life dirt and lower it into the trench and, for a machine, gently empty its contents into the trench. Having dirt and rock drop a couple of inches causes far less damage than having it drop 3, 4 or 5 feet. Not only that, experienced operators can manipulate the bucket so that it sprinkles the dirt back into the trench. It’s actually an interesting experience watching a backhoe operator carefully backfilling a trench. Of course, once the pipes have been covered sufficiently, you can use the front scoop to just push the dirt in.

Training to become a backhoe operator gives you the opportunity to learn a diverse range of skills. Backhoes, because of their versatility, get a lot of the interesting jobs on a construction site – and they are reasonably well paid as well.

Some people ask why crane operator certification is worth the effort. Operating a crane is one of the most demanding jobs on a construction site with some cranes able to lift loads of 300 tons. Can you imagine having a 300 ton load slipping from the crane’s grasp? There would be two effects (probably more). The first, of course, is the 300-ton load hitting the ground – it would be a like a mini-earthquake for blocks. The second effect could be just as catastrophic. With the load suddenly released, the crane’s hook would suddenly spring back in the reverse direction – this could actually topple the crane itself.

That may give you some indication as to why crane operator certification is worth the effort. If you need any more convincing, you may consider that in many states, certification is a requirement before you can step into a crane’s cab. Safety isn’t the only reason for obtaining certification. From one perspective, whilst crane safety is very important, having a qualification that is recognized throughout the country has to be an important consideration.

In the past, a crane operator who was qualified to operate in one state may not have been considered qualified in a neighboring state. Too bad if you lived close to the state lines and could work on either side. With a qualification that is universal around the country, not only are you ready to work anywhere, your certification is valid anywhere.

Having a portable qualification is one of the best weapons you can have in your skills toolbox. It means that even in hard times, you are able to find employment somewhere. If you are undertaking crane operator training, don’t forget to sit for your crane operator certification at the conclusion of your training. If your training provider doesn’t offer it – then change provider. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools are accredited to deliver crane operator training to deliver crane operator certification testing at the conclusion of your training. Everything under the one roof – what more could you ask for?