Many people look at heavy equipment operations as a job and not as a career. This is a mistake when, in reality, every job can be a career – it is just a matter of perception and whether you plan and working in a position ‘just for now’, or to make it a life long job. It’s funny how for many who make it a ‘just for now’ job are still doing it 20-30 years later!

So why choose a career as a heavy equipment operator? What will it offer you and is the work going to last your lifetime? Let’s start with the last question first – will it last. As long as we build houses, factories, shopping centers and other buildings, or construct roads or have mines for resources, there will be work for heavy equipment operators.

What does a career in heavy equipment offer you? Let’s look a couple of key points:

Lifestyle: yes, working as a heavy equipment operator can also be a lifestyle decision. You can choose to follow the work, for example construction and road building trends; work in isolation in the mining industry; or perhaps become self employed.

Variety: you can decide to specialize on one piece of equipment or you can be a general operator with experience on a wide range of machines. The broader your experience, the more varied your work will become. That is not to say that most specialist operator don’t have variety as well.

Environment: if you’re an outdoors type person then the roll of heavy equipment operator will suit you to a tee. You get to work outdoors, however, in most modern machines you can close off the cab to keep excessive heat or cold out – the best of both worlds.

Income: heavy equipment operators are well paid workers when you compare them to many others in the construction industry.

Portability: an experienced and well trained heavy equipment operator can work in many parts of the world. They can certainly work every where within the country. The only proviso is that some states (and countries) may require special operator licenses.

The key to being a successful heavy equipment operator is in the training and the initial experience on the job. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools can help you get both. We provide top quality accredited training on a wide variety of heavy equipment. Once your training is finished, we can also help you to find the right job for your circumstances. A job where you can put your training to good use and start to develop the experience that is necessary to be successful as a heavy equipment operator.

Well trained and certified crane operators are always in great demand which is surprising in a way considering they are amongst the highest paid heavy equipment operators in the workplace.

Crane operators control either fixed cab and swing cab mobile hydraulic cranes. Fixed cabs are, as the name suggests, cabs that are fixed to the crane’s bodies. The boom is independent of the cab. Most small mobile cranes fit into this category. Swing cabs have a cab that sits on a turntable like structure and can swing through 360 degrees following the cranes boom.

In many states it is now a requirement to be certified before commencing employment as a crane operator. You can only be certified if you pass both a written and practical assessment. These assessment ensure that all operators who have been certified meet a minimum set of criteria when it comes to operations and safety.

As with many forms of assessment, the only way you can hope to pass is through a comprehensive training program. If you select ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools to undertake your training then you are in luck as they are not only accredited to deliver the training, they are also accredited to undertake both the written and practical assessments.

If you take into account the ATS job placement service you have the complete package. You can undertake your training as a crane operator; sit the assessment and become a certified crane operator; then find employment in a well paid position as a certified crane operator. Are you ready to start on the path to a career as a certified crane operator? If so, contact us at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools.

Cranes are not all built the same. In fact some cranes are built for a specific purpose and a good example would the shipping container cranes you see at many of our major ports. These cranes are purpose built and can take a shipping container from a ship and place it onto the back of trailer ready for transport across land.

Other industries such as manufacturing, mining, construction and the timber often use purpose built or modified cranes to complete tasks that are unique to that industry. In some rare cases, the modification or attachment used can become popular and used by others in that industry.

Specializes machinery often requires specialized training. However, to gain certification an operator is required to complete a written and practical assessment to a set of standards. Specialized training has to be designed around the certification requirements as well as the employers needs.

To facilitate this, ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools employ crane operation instructors who travel to remote locations for crane training, testing, and certification. These specialized crane operator training programs can be customized to meet the employer’s time and cost requirements.

Training is designed to meet the needs of the employer which means the operator is working working productively a lot sooner. Although the training is specific to the equipment in use, the training also includes certification components. The visiting trainers are able to deliver the training and supervise the assessments. If you require specialized crane operator training then contact one of our representatives for more information.

The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) is responsible for setting the minimum requirements that must be met to become a certified crane operator. Their certificate, the NCCCO crane operator certification, is one of the most widely recognized crane operator certifications in the crane operator industry.

In many states it is now mandatory to be certified before you can be employed as a crane operator. It makes sense then if you are looking at crane operations as a career, that you receive your training, assessment and certification through the one training school. These schools have all been assessed and accredited based on minimum and exacting standards themselves. This means you can be confident the training you are receiving is top quality and the certification you receive is well recognized by industry leaders – your potential future employers.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools deliver high quality training on both fixed cab and swing cab
mobile hydraulic cranes. Our training has been assessed by the NCCCO and meets their stringent criteria for the delivery of quality training.

ATS has also been approved by the NCCCO as a test site for both the NCCCO written and NCCCO practical exams for fixed and swing cab crane operators. For you as a potential crane operator, you can receive your comprehensive training to become a crane operator, undertake both the written and practical assessments and be certified as a crane operator – essentially, all under the one roof.

Skilled and certified crane operators are always in demand. They are also one of the highest paid heavy equipment operators in the industry so if you feel this a career for you – go to our online registration page and register your interest in becomes a certified crane operator.

Over the years ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools have trained thousands of operators almost all of whom have gone on to successful careers as operators. Many of these former students have themselves recommended our training to their friends and relatives, in fact there are second generation operators who have followed in their parents footsteps and undertaken their training through one of our schools.

What has been heartening over the years is the feedback we receive from these former students. Many have been willing to have their story told on video for others to see. Some of these videos provide a great insight into how successful they have been as heavy equipment operators. The following is just one video from our collection of former heavy equipment students.

If a career as a heavy equipment operator sounds attractive but your not sure what to do or who to see then check out the feedback from several of our past and present students. If you’re still in doubt, talk to one of our representatives and they can discuss with you the various options available including training courses, dates and financing options.

Once you commence your training we can also help you to find employment within the heavy equipment field. There are hundreds of employers who employ our graduates using our job placement services. Your first step is to contact us to discuss how we can help you.

Training on loaders is one way to start in the heavy equipment industry. After all, they are one of the most important construction, mining and quarry tools. By design, their primary function is short-distance load and carry, hence the name loader or wheel loader.

Having said that, not all loaders were created equally. In fact at last count they were over twenty different loader manufacturers with models ranging from the very basic to some very sophisticated modern mechanical beasts with exotic stick controls. Training on loaders, while sounding straightforward is still quite involved.

Loaders are material handlers and over the years manufacturers have found that they could satisfy more work places by changing the lifting arms and adding attachments. The advent of quick couplers has completely changed the wheel loaders and what they are capable of. Training on loaders now often includes a range of attachments designed to perform a wide range of tasks.

In the past if you wanted to dig a hole your choices were a shovel, track loader, excavator, or backhoe loader. If you wanted to grade you could use a bulldozer or a motor grader. Today when you look at a job it is not so much the type of machinery you are going to use, it is which attachment you need to complete the task.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools provide training on loaders as part of their heavy equipment training course. If you think a career as a loader driver is right for you then check out the information and video on our home pages.

Winter can be slow going for many heavy equipment operators. Now it’s February and while officially it is the last month of winter, some places it feels like it has just started. The end of winter of course heralds the start of spring and for many construction companies and land developers, the time to start preparing for major building developments. In some areas, ice, snow and rain make construction a difficult task.

Heavy equipment, particularly those that run on tracks as opposed to wheels, can start preparing sites even if they are still a little slushy under foot. Tracks enable these beasts to operate over slushy ground where wheels will often sink and trap a vehicle.

For operators affected by winter slowdowns, now is the time to get your maintenance over and done with. Time to make sure everything is working and in good shape. Heavy equipment, particularly when used in very conditions, often requires extra maintenance and inspection to check on possible damage done due to the temperature extremes. Even steel can crack and become brittle due to cold weather.

At ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools late winter and early spring is when heavy equipment owners and businesses come looking for new recruits to their workplaces. ATS has such a good reputation amongst industry that rather than using traditional advertising outlets for operators, they contact us first.

If you have a desire to work in the heavy equipment industry then now is the time to commence your training so that when spring arrives, and with it employers with vacancies, you are trained and ready to fill those vacancies.

Mention OSHA and contractors, managers and even heavy equipment operators start to get nervous. I don’t know why! If you have received comprehensive training and you implement what you have learned then a visit from the federal government’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspector should be a walk in the park.

Despite rumors to the contrary, OSHA inspectors are not the enemy. Like you, they have a job to do and their job is to ensure that all work places are safe. Your job is to follow all the required occupational health and safety requirements. Heavy equipment operators have a important role to play in workplace safety given the power of their machinery.

One of the biggest differences between formally trained and ‘on-the-job’ trained heavy equipment operators is often their knowledge of occupational safety requirements. All accredited training programs like those offered at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools include safety training. This training is in line with federal legislative requirements.

Serious violations of OSHA requirements can bring fines of up to $7,000 each – and that is each offense and each person. What is known as willful offenses ( that is – the blatant disregard for OSHA rules) can cost up to $70,000 each. That is a lot of money which could potentially cripple a business and cost you your job – and your career. The last thing you need is a reputation for being a heavy equipment operator that ignores occupational safety requirements.

It sounds serious, and it is, yet by undertaking a good safety training program and following the safety requirements for each workplace, no heavy equipment operator need fear a visit from the OSHA inspectors.

Crane operators are highly skilled professionals requiring specialized training and certification. As a reward, crane operators generally better wages than other heavy equipment operators.

The role of a crane operator is often quite challenging. There are a lot of factors to take into account every time a crane is positioned. There are also a of different variable that need consideration before and during each lift. In fact, no two lifts are the same, even if your working on a site doing the same lift fifty times a day.

Crane safety is the biggest issue and requires constant thought and attention. The certification process is based on a need for better safety considerations on work sites. In the past, there have been too many work related incidents that have led to death or injury. Crane operator training is now regulated with prospective crane operators having to pass written and practical tests to gain certification.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools are qualified to deliver crane operator training in both fixed cab and swing cab mobile hydraulic cranes. We are also authorized to undertake assessments (both written and practical). Graduates of this program will receive a National Certification from the National Center for Construction Education and Research.

If you’re ready for a change in careers and the challenge of working as a crane operator appeals to you, then visit our web site to check out your training and certification options. Being one of the best paid jobs on any construction site is a plus; having a career that is interesting and always changing is an even better plus; as crane operator, your get both.