One area where heavy equipment operators may see a rise in job vacancies is in the field of demolition. There are a lot of projects planned that will require the demolition of old buildings and the clearing of sites before work can commence. Since heavy equipment is often involved in the clearing of these sites it may open the door for new operators.

There are many different uses for heavy equipment when it comes to demolition. Most involve the use of specialized attachments such as grapples that are attached to excavators. These act like a hand to grab walls and other parts of buildings and, using brute strength, pull them down.

Bulldozers and front end loaders are brought in to clear the site. The bulldozer again uses muscle to push everything into pile. The loader is used to load the debris into dump trucks so it can be carted away from the site.

A demolition site can be a busy and dangerous place to work, however with appropriate safety training there can be few if any serious injuries.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools can prepare you for a career as a heavy equipment operator. This includes safety training in all courses. Whether it is a career as a bulldozer, loader or excavator operator, we can provide the training. In fact you are trained in the workings of three with graders and other equipment added to ensure you leaved the school at the end of your training with well rounded skills on a variety of equipment.

When building roads there are always going to be obstacles for motor graders to negotiate. Bridges, tunnels and man holes – yes man holes. I believe the correct terminology now is ‘personnel access point’. Image yourself as a motor grader operator and slap bang in the middle of the road is a big round hole (and why are they round?).

For the grader operator, it takes some tricky manoeuvring to ensure the road has been graded correctly whilst negotiating around obstacles. This can often take a lot of skill, skill that has been developed over many years as an operator. It is however the kind of challenge that makes the work of motor grader operator interesting and varied.

Grader operators can receive a high level of basic training in a matter of weeks. It can take two or three years experience on the job to hone those skills and learn the intricacies of the job. And just when you thought you knew them all, along will come another problem you haven’t encounter – as I said, the role of a motor grader operator is varied and challenging. Are you up to the challenge?

If so, check out ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools. They have an intensive heavy equipment operator training program that could have you behind the wheel of a motor grader before you know it.

Oh – and why are man holes round – of course, so the lid never falls in – it’s true, that is why they are round. It still doesn’t help a motor grader though; they still have to negotiate around it.

Finding a good quality heavy equipment training school can often be difficult. When you consider the cost of training, you need to be sure your hard earned dollars will result in good quality training that the industry recognizes. More importantly, you want training that will result in employment. If you follow these points you will find the selection process a lot easier.

1. Age – select a training school that has been around for some years. Heavy equipment schools are popping up everywhere so find a school that has stood the test of time.
2. Accredited – one sign of quality is whether or not the training school has taken the time to become accredited by a nationally recognised body. For heavy equipment, the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) is the accreditation body.
3. Certification – does the training school provide a nationally recognised certification? Training is becoming standardized in many areas and heavy equipment is no different.
4. Employment – heavy equipment training schools that provide industry with well trained operators will, over time, develop relationships with those employers. These relationships mean the training school is in a position to help graduates find employment once they complete their training.

If You check out ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools you will find they meet all these points. In fact they go further offering free online training to get you started and delivering training through many centers around the nation.

The jobs outlook for heavy equipment operators is looking reasonably good for 2009 with billions of dollars being allocated to both major and minor construction projects.

The Federal governments economic stimulus package is to pump around $48 billion into transportation which includes a minimum $27 billion on public highways. That is more than half a billion for each state to invest in highway projects. Heavy equipment operators make up a high proportion of any road building workforce.

When it comes to the states, California alone has another $28 billion in construction projects all ready to start – these are not road projects but much needed infrastructure work such as drains, sewerage, schools and public health projects – all requiring heavy equipment operators.

There is little doubt that construction will be the back bone of any recession recovery. As construction grows unemployment starts to fall. This leads to consumer confidence and a freer spending regime. More spending leads to more jobs and with that the breaking of the recessions back. Heavy equipment operators a the individuals who lead construction – without them construction would slow to a crawl.

Let’s not get too carried away. This next twelve months will not be easy. However, for heavy equipment operators it may not be as bad as many other sectors of the workforce. Construction will continue and with it the need for operators.

To join the heavy equipment operator workforce requires at least some form of training in both theoretical and practical components of operating heavy equipment. If this sounds like your career calling, contact us at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools.

There are many states that require the certification of crane operators before they can commence work. Most states also require crane operators, particularly mobile crane operators, to have a license. The question is, what is the difference between them and do I need both?

One of the easiest ways to describe this difference is by looking at the terminology. A certificate, or certification identifies a skill level. If you are certified to operate a crane then the implication is that you have a minimum set of crane operation skills.

A license on the other hand is really just a granting of permission to do something. For example, you could have a firearms license. This does not mean you are skilled in the use, it just means you are permitted to own one. The same can be said for a crane operators license. This gives you permission to drive on the road for example, but does not indicate any specific skills in the operation.

Don’t get me wrong here. You will still have to sit a test, both written and practical, before being granted a license to drive a crane. This test however is related more to driving than to actually operating the crane.

Do you need both? This depends on what state you are operating in. Most states require a special license to drive the crane on the road, even if is just a CDL. Many states also require certification before you operate the crane. It is possible to have one person drive a crane to a location and for a second person to actually operate the crane. This is rather counterproductive and costly so almost all employers would prefer someone who was capable, licensed and certified to both tasks.

At ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools we can provide all the training necessary to pass both the written and practical assessments to become a certified crane operator. In fact, we are ourselves are certified to conduct those assessments once you have completed your training. If you require a CDL to drive a crane on the open roads, we can also provide that training as well. That’s the complete package that would ensure you were capable, licensed and certified as a mobile crane operator.

Backhoes are not exactly the slowest of creatures but even on the open highway they would struggle to get over 20mph – imagine driving one at 60mph? The military have now taken on a backhoe that can do just that and not just on the open highway either.

Built with full suspension, ABS braking technology, sophisticated computer diagnostics, run-flat tires, roll-over protection, and a two-man, air-conditioned cab, the JCB HMEE can travel at much higher speeds on open roads and on cross country runs. According to an article in Associated Construction Publications, the backhoe is

purpose-built for the U.S. Army and destined for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan, where it will provide battlefield commanders with a myriad of logistics capabilities in front patrols.

The backhoe is one of the most versatile machines in the heavy equipment range. Deployment to areas such as Afghanistan will provide the military with far more options than they currently have. Of course, equally important are the skills of the operators who are, by the way, also professional soldiers.

You may never get to drive the world’s fastest backhoe, unless of course you have a desire to join the army. You can guarantee that at some time in the future these backhoes will migrate from the military to the workplace. To operate one, you will need training through a good training provider. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools deliver high quality training in most aspects of heavy equipment including backhoes.

I saw this ad for dump truck drivers earlier this week and thought, “the economy cannot be that bad”. Check it out:

Wanted – Dump Truck Drivers. Requirments: CDL, Clean driving record, prefer experience but willing to employ new drivers with good work history. Must be 100% drug free. 5 positions available starting late February. Five day week with some optional weekends. Housing assistance available. Competitive pay rates.

There are a couple of things to note. First, you don’t come across ads like this everyday – however, if you look hard enough you will see similar. The country still needs workers and dump truck drivers are always in demand.

The fact they were willing to take on new drivers (so long as you had a good work history) is interesting. Most jobs want 2 or 3 years experience. Housing assistance – the position is probably out in the sticks somewhere but it would be a good place to start a career and save money.

Of course the most interesting requirement was a clean driving record and a CDL. To gain your CDL you need to undertake training and sit a written and practical test. Pass those tests and meet any other requirements such as age and you have your license.

Your training? ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools have a long history of providing first class truck driver training including dump trucks. If you crave a career as a truck driver then contact us to discuss your training options – we may be able to help you find your first truck driving job as well.

Not all motor grader operators are equal. This may surprise many who are considering entering the heavy equipment field as motor grader operators. Finished-grade operators are those who have the skill and expertise to finely grade an area to exact specifications.

A good example is in road building. Motor grader operators can come in and cut back the surface and level out the gravel ready for paving. It takes a skilled finished-grade operator to fine tune that surface.

You can tell whether a road has been ‘finished’ properly by the way water flows and pot holes form. A road that has been finished properly is never flat. In fact flat roads can be dangerous to drive on, particularly in wet weather. A finished surface for a straight section of road has about a 3 percent slope from the shoulder to the center of the road – this is known as the crown. This will enable water to flow to sides and not just pool on the roads surface.

Curved road surfaces should be flat, but inclined on a 6 percent slope down to the inside of the corner. Of course, both of these configurations will depend on the final surface and the local weather conditions. In areas that receive heavy rain then the angle of the slope may well be larger.

Finished-grade motor grader operators have the skill and experience to finish that surface to finest accuracy. It takes a lot of experience to become a finishing grade operator and that experience all starts with effective training.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operators Schools have a reputation for producing well trained operators ready to start their careers using the heavy equipment of their choice. For motor grader operators, they may not be ready to work as finishing grade operators, they have certainly got a good start.

Winter can be hard on heavy equipment and although we protect our blades and buckets with a technique known as hard surfacing, freezing conditions can be our equipment’s worst enemy. Frozen lines can often be replaced in an hour or two. If your blades hard surfacing is starting to come away then it probably needs grinding back and a new surface applied.

Hard surfacing is a process where special hard metal compounds are welded onto a blade or bucket. This surface bears the brunt of any wear when digging, scraping or moving materials. The process is particularly important if your heavy equipment is working in areas with a lot of hard rock.

The constant freezing and thawing process that takes place in winter can damage this hard surface. If it is not replaced then you may find that your blades or buckets take the wear and tear themselves. This leads to a need to replace these heavy equipment tools – a rather costly exercise when you compare it to the cost of hard surfacing.

For heavy equipment operators that are trained effectively, knowing what to look for when inspecting your machinery can prevent these long term problems from eventuating. Training schools like ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools include maintenance and daily inspections as part of their training program. This ensures that operators that complete the course and enter the workplace have the required knowledge to carry out these inspections. Do you know the difference between a hard surfaced blade and standard off the shelf blade?

With news coming out of Australia regarding their serious bushfires and the losses of hundreds, almost a thousand, homes, it reminds us of one of the toughest jobs that bulldozer operators have to do. We have wild fires that burn thousands of acres of land and destroy homes here as well. California seems to get razed on a regular basis and often the only solution is to go in after the event and bulldozer the whole area.

For operators it can be eerie scene. What was once a thriving community now reduced to ashes. Once the bulldozer has gone through and leveled the area, you would hardly know the community existed. Come back in 12-18 months and you would be surprised. Humans are resilient. You can knock us down, we get up, dust ourselves down and rebuild and get on with life.

As tough as the job is, it is one that has to be done. Without the bulldozer operators going in and clearing the way, these communities could not rebuild. Even if it is just a house lot, it still has to be cleared to make way for the new home.

No amount of training can prepare you for the devastation that will confront an operator. What we can do is train the bulldozer operator so they can go in and clear the area quickly and efficiently. Where whole communities are destroyed, whether it’s fire, storm or man made; teams of bulldozer operators will go in, often having the area ready for re-building within weeks.

The life of a bulldozer operator can be tough but someone has to do it. Are you ready to undertake bulldozer training and help rebuild devastated communities? You may never get the call – you just never know. One thing I do know; bulldozer operators always seem to get the tough jobs – and you know what? – they are always ready to stuck in!