Operating heavy equipment requires certain skills that can be difficult to teach. Skills such as coordination – particularly hand-eye-feet – are formed during our early years of life. Other skills include a natural affinity with all things mechanical. Being able to check oil, water and perhaps bleeding a diesel line can be very handy skills – if you have that natural mechanical affinity then these skills will come to you quickly.

If you don’t have these skills, it is not too late. You will just need to work a little harder. Sometime the best starting point is learning to operate something a little smaller such as fork-lift truck or, better yet, a tractor.

Tractors are thought of as farm equipment and that is where a great proportion of them live, however modern tractors can have so many attachments you sometimes wonder if they are ‘just a tractor’. If you can develop skills such as mechanical aptitude and hand-foot-eye coordination by driving a tractor, you can then move up to larger heavy equipment machines.

To learn how to operate a tractor or any other heavy equipment, visit ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools – your career starts with that first move.

Not all heavy equipment is actually – heavy, but they can be mean looking little critters. Look at the mouth on this one.

It may be on the small side but a piece of heavy equipment like this can still pack some grunt and get the job done. This one can be used for loading awkward items like rock, timber and piping. The front is detachable and can be replaced with a bucket amongst other attachments.

What many people don’t realize is that it can take just as much training to learn how to operate one of these as it does one of those huge monsters that you see in the mines. In this case, you have a variety of attachments that an operator needs experience in using.

Heavy equipment comes in many different shapes and sizes. The small machines a perfect for those that want to establish their own business. If you are successful you can start to add other pieces of heavy equipment to your fleet. This of course helps to bring in new work. If your successful you will end up being the employer rather than an employee.

Whether it is a small machine like the one in the photo or a large piece of heavy equipment like a bulldozer or grader, you need to start somewhere and that start is in gaining the skills to operate a machine. A heavy equipment training schools specialize in training individuals on a range of equipment. Get the training and there is plenty of demand for your skills.

If you are looking for a career in constructions then perhaps some of these facts may appeal to you:

• Construction is one of the nation’s largest industries

• There are 6.9 million Americans in construction

• By 2012, there will be one million new jobs available in construction

• The construction industry is among the economy’s top 10 largest sources of growth

• There are 240,000 jobs available each year in construction

• Opportunities to own your own firm is better in construction than any other industry

The construction industry is part of our everyday lives. Construction workers build the roads, bridges, shopping malls, schools, homes, skyscrapers, stadiums, airports, and gas stations. In fact the list is endless.

Remember, nearly all construction starts with the use of heavy equipment. For a job in this thriving industry, visit our parent site, ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools.

Being part of team can be a lot of fun. It also takes quite a bit of coordination and control. Knowing exactly where your fellow workers are is so important – if only for safety sake.

These guys are working together on a large site – you can see how close they are. Another foot either way for the one in the middle and they are likely to become a tangled mess of metal and dirt. If you fancy yourself as a top gun dozer operator then perhaps you should look into some training.

At ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools we can get your career off to a great start through professional training and post training job placement services. Once you have completed your training and got a little bit of experience – you too could be working as part of a close knit team like they these guys.

Road graders are not just dirt moving machines. Road graders are used mainly for leveling and planing a surface. They are also used to ‘fine grade’ surfaces; this means to level and shape a surface to very fine measurements.

Graders have a blade that can be set and held at a precise angles and elevations. Road graders can be used to perform maintenance on unpaved roads and to also create a wide, flat surface in preparation to lay asphalt on paved roads. The graders ability to perform ‘fine’ grading means the road is shaped for both camber, used to keep cars on the road around bends, and fine slope to facilitate water run off during wet weather.

Operators of road graders are able to finely adjust the machine’s blade, either raising, lowering, turning and/or tilting it, to produce smooth, consistent surfaces.

Road graders are used in many different situations. Apart from the construction of roads, they are also used to finish railway beds, level and finely finish airport runways and to prepare commercial building sites.

Graders are also used to move snow from roads, airport runways and other important access areas. They uniquely able to not only push snow, but due to the angle of the blades they are able to direct snow to the verges in a single pass.

There are so many different types and brands of road grader in today’s market. Manufacturers like Caterpillar, Volvo, Case and John Deere are amongst the biggest and their modern machines lead the way in both safety and modern technology. Some graders now come equipped with GPS and laser technology to enable the finest and most accurate grading possible.

Operating equipment like this starts with basic training and to receive that training you should visit ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools.

Some bulldozers are quite small and are great for landscaping and other small jobs such as finishing work. There are other bulldozers that are huge – generally used in open cut mines and forestry. These machines are equipped to push tonnes of dirt around with a single thrust.

This bulldozer is only a small to medium size piece of heavy equipment. No matter the size, all operators start out the same, learning the basics along with all safety requirements. From there all operators get out in the field to learn how to handle the ‘dirt’. That is the one lesson that all operators continue to learn throughout their operating careers.

Bigger just means more grunt and more dirt being pushed around. Smaller means less grunt, less dirt, but more finesse as the bulldozer ‘finishes’ the job.

Careers don’t just happen, you need to make them happen. Whether you want to operate one of those massive open cut mine bulldozers, or one of those small landscaping machines, you need to get some basic training, and that all starts by enrolling at ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools.

Get into the drivers seat of bulldozer and start to carve out the ground. The power you have in your hands is amazing. Look at a paddock full of scrub at the start of a job then look back at a completely bare patch of ground ready to build on – you did that – all it took was a foot in the door created by an accredited training school.

Learning to operate heavy equipment is not that difficult – I wont say it is easy either. There are many different levels of training with each level designed to teach you certain skills. The also form the backbone of the next level in training.

Comprehensive training in heavy equipment operations is required to perform well in any given situation. At ATSN Heavy Equipment Training Schools with try to provide that level of training. Students are taken through three different levels.

Level 1
Level one introduces a student to heavy equipment and concentrates on safety. Heavy equipment includes backhoes, tractors, loaders and dump trucks. There is also an introduction to reading with blue prints and other site related documentation.

Level 2
Level two builds on level one and focuses on scrapers, rollers and bulldozers and their function with heavy earth moving. Once you have completed level two you will have a fairly good knowledge of heavy equipment operations.

Level 3
Level three builds on those skills introduced in levels one and two. Level three looks at advanced operational techniques including finishing and grading. Once you have completed level three you should be ready to start work and get some experience in the real world of heavy equipment operations.

The key to good training is the way each component is introduced and then steadily built upon. Rather than throwing you in with a sink or swim attitude, you are gradually taken through each of the levels as you gain confidence and an understanding of the capabilities of the heavy equipment.

Heavy equipment training can be easy once you accept that every training component is logically timetabled to provide the best possible training – and it all starts with you.

People undertake heavy equipment training for a variety of reasons. Some come to us because they have an employment opportunity – they just need the training. Others come along because they want to learn a new piece of heavy equipment. The majority of students want to learn so they can start their new career.

For those in the last group, the real fun begins once they have completed their training and obtained any licenses required. Now its job hunting time and one question always asked, where do I start?

The are a thousand and one places to look for employment opportunities in the heavy equipment field. The first place should be our Job Placement Database. We do help those who complete one of training courses to find employment. We cannot guarantee any jobs of course – but we can put you in touch with employers looking to recruit new operators.

Employers continue to come to us looking for good new operators – perhaps they recognize the quality of our training, or our ability to match suitable recruits with a potential employer – hopefully it is both. For whatever reason, we can provide links to employers wanting recruits.

Our aim is not just training. Our aim is to train and see you successfully employed in a position that suits your skills, life style and aspirations. You need to complete your training and present yourself in the best possible light when talking to prospective employers. As I have mentioned – we cannot guarantee the job – ultimately you have to sell yourself as a reliable and effective heavy equipment operator.

If you can do that, we can provide the employment links and your career as a heavy equipment operator will get a kick start. Your training begins by contacting us at ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools.

One of the biggest problems with heavy equipment in the past has been accuracy. These machines do a great job of moving, digging, scrapping and grading. However there is often a need for either smaller equipment or hand tools to finish of the job.

Enter science and the role of the computer, or at least the computer chip. These days, new heavy equipment come complete with small on board computers and laser levels to help with the fine details of a job.

Take a bulldozer is equipped with lasers. This enable the operator to undertake very accurate grading. The more accurate the operation can be, the more productive the job. If the bulldozer can complete more of the grading fine touches, less manual labor will be needed to complete the job. This is of course a cost saving which is extremely important in this modern age.

The bulldozer’s laser works by emitting a beam of laser light that rotates around the work area. It is generally mounted just above the bulldozer tractor to avoid any obstructions. The bulldozer’s blade is also equipped with a receiver so as the bulldozer blade moves, the receiver sends information back to the operator with corrections to keep the blade as accurate as possible.

Increasing the bulldozer’s accuracy is a great help on many job sites. The work is faster, the grading levels are more precise and less manual labor is needed. Of course, the heavy equipment is only as good as the operator and the operator is only as good as the training and experience received.

Gain the right sort of training through an organization like ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools and you could find yourself in the driving seat operating a laser guided bulldozer.

Heavy equipment such as front end loaders can be manufactured with either wheels or tracks. The wheeled variety generally have large wheels that can stand shoulder high. Each type has its own use and its own breed of followers. Many prefer the track style whilst others have a preference for the wheeled style.

Front end loaders with wheels are are used on farms, with utility companies, in road construction and in heavy industries. Wheeled front-end loaders offer higher travel speeds than tracked models but do not have as much traction – an important consideration when working in slippery and uneven areas.

When working on slopes or in wet and slippery conditions then a tracked model can be the safer option. It has to be remembered that tracked front end loaders can often damage the ground they operating on. For this reason wheeled machines will need to be used on finished surfaces such as rounds or construction site clean ups.

Both machines operate in similar styles, the only major style being the method of propulsion. Heavy equipment training is similar for both machines although some extra training may be required on tracked vehicles to get a firm understanding of steering – wheeled machines are generally operated through a standard steering wheel. Tracked machines turn by controlling the speed and motion of each of the tracks.

If operating a front end loader is your preferred heavy equipment job, visit ATS Heavy Equipment Driving Schools to get a firm start in your career.