Job placement is one of the hardest components to starting a new career. In fact, it is often the main reason why many decide against embarking on a new career. The biggest fear that human’s possess is the fear of the unknown. When it comes to employment, no employment means no income and that can have a huge impact on our lives.

There is little doubt now that employment in the heavy equipment field is rising. Over the last five years there has been a high attrition rate, mainly affected by those reaching retirement age although many are lost to other careers. This high attrition rate together with the boom in construction is starting to lead to a shortage in qualified operators – and that is where we can help.

ATS has developed a reputation for producing very capable operators through our heavy equipment training schools. This reputation has led to employers approaching us at times looking to recruit new operators, often before they have completed their training. ATS has also established a strong relationship with a network of employers. You have access to this network of employers when you start your heavy equipment training program.

Job placement is an important issue and ATS recognizes the impact that being jobless can have on your life. More importantly, we have discovered that the sooner a graduate can put their skills to work, the more effective their training is as the skills learned are reinforced.

If you are considering a career change and a career as a heavy equipment operator is high on your list, don’t let job placement be the deciding factor. We can help you find those vacancies, you need to concentrate on developing the skills to be effective in that job – after all, your success is our success.

There is a big difference between training for a one off job and training for heavy equipment careers. A one off job is just that – one off. This means you are often trained on only piece of equipment and you are trained to do the job in one specific way. Training for a career should be undertaken on a range of equipment doing a range of tasks.

Is there one off training? There is actually and this is often done by industry itself. If you are employed by a specific industry, or by a business that uses heavy equipment, you will be trained to do the job their way. What is missing is the broader training in safety along with broader training in what each piece of machinery can do.

By undertaking training through a heavy equipment training organization, you get that broad level of training. This won’t prevent you from working in industries that require specific training – in fact, you could be more employable since you have the basic skills required. You would only need to undertake the job specific component, meaning you would be productive far quicker than someone who has to do all the training.

Crane operator training is one area that has a significant number of operators who have only been trained to do one particular job. Those crane operators often struggle when trying to ply their skills in others areas.

If you’re considering a career as a heavy equipment operator and you don’t want to be restricted to one type of machinery, ensure you undertake training for a heavy equipment career – not for a one off task on one type of equipment.

Bulldozers have their origins in agriculture and they are moving back into this industry big time these days. The bulldozer’s origin was that of a humble farm tractor that had a blade attached to the front. We have come a long way since those early days with machinery that ranges in size from as small as a tractor to huge machines that could almost move mountains.

Whilst construction is their main territory now, bulldozers are quietly working away on many farms, often helping to regenerate areas. Bulldozers have many advantages over tractors. They are able to drag tree roots, shift large boulders and carve out uneven ground. Where they are particularly useful is in the creation of dams. A bulldozer can turn an empty plot of land into a dam in no time. If you consider that most dams involve two components, the hole in the ground and the earth embankment surrounding the dam. With the aid of a bulldozer the creation of one, the hole in the ground, helps create the second, the earth embankment.

Whether your helping to build a road, clearing a construction site or helping to build a dam, the skills and the bulldozer training required is identical. What is important is ensuring your training is delivered by an accredited heavy equipment training organization that delivers training to national standards. This will mean your skills are transferable across state boundaries.

There are many bulldozer operators now living in rural communities who work across a wide range of projects. They may be working as a part of a road crew this week whilst next week working on a neighbor’s farm. Next month they may be on a construction site clearing the way for a new building. One thing is for sure, their working lives are never boring.

We live in a world where it seems everything is measured in time. One of the downsides to this is that people will often look for shortcuts so they can save time. When it comes to construction sites, the danger is that these shortcuts can produce serious heavy equipment safety risks. In an effort to reduce workplace accidents and deaths, the Federal Government along with most of the state legislatures all agreed to set in place certain minimum standards.

You will now find that most work related training has some form of safety built into the training program. This ensures that everyone who is entering the workforce has a common line safety training for their industry. Some industries such as construction and operating heavy equipment, their safety training is quite comprehensive.

When you think about it, the use of heavy equipment has the potential to cause damage to a lot of people and property. It is not just fellow workers, it could be those walking (or driving) past a construction site. Property at risk includes the building they are working on, those buildings surrounding that lot and of course other construction machinery.

The operators themselves are not immune to injury despite the latest in cab design, particularly when it comes to rollovers. That equipment can be extremely heavy and can hit the ground with the same impact as two cars colliding at 60mph. That’s quite a punch if your in the operators seat.

At ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools we pride ourselves on the level of training provided including heavy equipment safety training designed to meet national standards. Employers know that graduates from ATS are not only competent in using their equipment, they have also got the necessary safety training to meet national and state safety training requirements. Keep the workplace safe by thinking carefully on the safety training you receive – the next life you save could be your own!

Wheel loaders are common on construction sites but they can suffer from one problem, the larger vehicles can be cumbersome and difficult to maneuver in tight situations. This led to the introduction of what we call an articulated wheel loader.

An articulated vehicle is simply a vehicle that has been ‘broken’ into two separate pieces. The vehicle is then rejoined using a system similar to attaching a boat trailer to a car – only on a much larger scale and a little more involved. Like a boat trailer, an articulated vehicle swivels on a central point with each half able to move back on themselves.

This is the principle of articulation. You see it more frequently with large truck and trailer combinations. The benefit of articulation is that it can maneuver in much smaller areas than traditional wheel loaders. Where articulated wheel loaders are different to other forms of articulation is that steering is handled through the rear wheels rather than the front wheel. This leaves the front of the vehicle free to do what it does best, scoop material up and transport it where it needs to go.

We are entering an interesting time when it comes to the demand for heavy equipment operators. With so much construction happening around the country the demand for operators is on the increase. This includes loader operators, particularly wheel loader operators.

Wheel loader training is undertaken as part of a broader heavy equipment training program. This provides skills in a range of heavy equipment including wheel loaders. Once training has been completed, operators can choose to specialize as wheel loader operators if they choose. The demand for operators is there, we just need fill those vacancies with suitably qualified operators.

As August rolls in there is one thing we know, winter is not that far away. Before you know it many of us will be knee deep in snow and grateful for the grader operators that are at least keeping our roads open. I also know one other thing, come winter, many areas will be calling for grader operators. It will be too late to start your training then, you have to prepare now for when that demand starts.

The counties in the north west are particularly vulnerable to road closures due to snow with most counties employing teams of grader operators to clear the roads. John Deere is one business that recognizes the importance of graders producing machines that specialize in snow clearing.

To be employed as a grader operator often required two things: recognized grader training and some experience in the field – not necessarily in snow, although it helps. By undertaking your grader training now, you will leave yourself with plenty of time to gain on-the-job experience operating a motor grader. There are ample opportunities in construction and road maintenance for new operators to gain experience – all that is missing is the training.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools can fill in that missing piece providing quality training in heavy equipment including motor graders. Many of our schools have motor graders – it’s simply a matter of contacting us to find out which school is closest to you.

You may think that work pushing snow is only limited to the coldest months of the year. That’s not true. Come the end of winter, demand for grader operators often increases as roads that were packed with snow during winter are cleared. This generally happens in spring as it all starts to melt and opens up roads previously only accessed by snowmobiles. In many cases, roads then need grading to repair the damage caused by ice and cold water. Graders can be in demand in some areas for up to five months each year with ongoing work then in highway construction and maintenance. The winter is calling – are you going to be one of our snow clearing grader operators?

Over the years crane operator training has consisted of anything from by-the-seat-of-your-pants training to in depth classroom training. What had been missing was some form of recognition of the skills of the operators. How you do your training is not as important as being able to demonstrate that you can safely use that equipment.

By-the-seat-of-your-pants training has always been interesting and sometimes fun to watch. However, it can also be extremely dangerous. Let’s face it, you are letting a complete novice get behind a powerful piece of equipment and teach themselves by trial and error. If they get it wrong, they get it wrong big time. What is an even bigger problem is that this type of training leads to poor work habits. Safety and machine maintenance lose their importance in the big picture.

In depth classroom based training is probably the exact opposite. You finish up with individuals who can tell you everything there is to know about operating a crane. The problem is, they have no actual experience at operating a crane.

Somewhere in between these two extremes (and trust me, they do exist) is a training program that provides both the in depth in classroom theory and the hands on controlled use of a crane. This combination, when implemented properly, can produce operators that are skilled at operating a crane whilst also having the theoretical knowledge about how a crane works, the safety skills required as well as experience using a crane.

You can add to this a standardized assessment instrument that can measure whether or not the student is actually competent in all areas of crane operations. Students that meet the minimum requirements to become a crane operator are issued with papers that make them Certified Crane Operators.

Certification not only recognizes the skills of the operator, they help to set a standard that all employers can relate to. Many states are now insisting that all crane operators are certified before commencing work on any project. If you are a crane operator that hasn’t been certified, perhaps now is the time to do something about it before you are left behind.

If you are looking for the one piece of machinery that is the backbone of any construction site, it would have to be the humble dump truck. Yet, as children, it is probably one of the first construction toys we have. Most kids grow up with access to either a pile of sand or a piece of dirt to play in. With it comes the little (and later, not so little) dump truck. It all looked easy – fill the dumper with sand, move it to where it you wanted the sand, and dump it.

Over time the novelty of dumping sand or dirt wore off. It is more fun digging with either a little spade or a bulldozer, excavator or loader. The fascination for digging machines over the dump truck often extends into adult life. There are certainly more people working on heavy equipment that as dump truck drivers. Like all under appreciated equipment, they really are the backbone of a construction site.

If you look at what sort of work they do, it goes far beyond just carting and dumping sand. There is a wide range of building materials that dump trucks help to transport – and that is before or during construction. They are also called upon to dump the material not needed on the construction site. This could range from large boulders to dirt that has been dug up and is not required. Dump trucks also play their role in the post construction cleanup being used to cart away excess building materials.

There is now a national call to increase the number of skilled operators when it comes to construction machinery. This includes operators such as dump truck operators. If operating one of construction’s most important pieces of machinery appeals to you then do a little research to find out whether or not you could undergo truck driver training to help you get a start in a rewarding career.

Earn a Class A Commercial Drivers License (CDL) and the highways are virtually yours – you just need the wheels to get you moving. Spring is on the way and as the nation starts to pick up from the recent economic slump, career opportunities in heavy earthmoving equipment, crane operations and truck driving are going to blossom.

Truck driving will be one area where you may see a considerable jump in demand. The demand for domestic consumables will increase and they will mean more trucks on the roads – if they can get the drivers. The problem is, we are spending billions on projects that will also place a high demand on truck drivers.

Building materials is one area where demand will skyrocket. However, more road and bridge construction means more heavy equipment on the road – and that requires the services of truck drivers – lots of them too. The answer in the short term is to ensure that heavy equipment operators have also got their Class A CDL – they can then transport their own equipment.

Having said that, heavy equipment flatbed trailers are not cheap and many businesses don’t have the resources to have a trailer sitting on the side of a project waiting for the job to be finished. In a lot of cases, the truck and trailer is forced to offload the equipment and then go back for the next load.

The long term answer is to train new truck drivers who are fit and ready to take on the demanding yet exciting job of a truck driver. If you have ever considered a career as a truck driver and the idea appealed to you – check out what truck driver training options are available for you. When industry calls for more truck drivers with their Class A commercial drivers license, will you be ready?

I noticed a house that suffered severe fire damage several months ago being demolished by a pair of backhoes the other day. They certainly made short work of the job. Within two days the house was gone, totally gone.

What strikes me as amazing sometimes is just how versatile a backhoe can be. Sure, over the years the number of attachments available for a backhoe has grown considerably. To actually see them at work, and the speed with which an experienced operator can switch attachments is equally impressive.

Obviously the two old timers operating their machines had a lot of experience between them. They knew exactly what to do, when to do it, and more importantly, where to start. That would most likely have got me to begin with. Working as a team, they slowly took that house apart and as they went, it was all loaded onto trucks and carted away.

Experience and knowledge is something that is developed over time. I called these two old timers simply because they were. They looked to be pushing 55, perhaps 60, but in reality, age is irrelevant. I have also seen operators in their mid twenties with the skills to match these two. It isn’t how long you have been operating a backhoe that matters, it’s what you learn each and every day that matters.

This learning starts of course with backhoe training from a quality training company. Once you have that solid base of knowledge behind you, you are ready to work in the real world. You can then build your experience and skills on a daily basis. Who knows, one day it might be you I see pulling down an old building – I must say, it did look like fun.