One of the most important aspects of your training is job placement. A great many people believe that their training ends the moment that they receive their certification; this assumption is incorrect. Once you finish your training, you will have many years in front of you to hone and perfect your skills. In a sense, your heavy equipment training is never finished. Job placement is so important because it puts your skills into use soon after you have learned them. The sooner you get into the workforce, the sooner you will develop the skills that you have begun to learn with your training.

There is no way to retain information if you are not putting it to use. If you don’t get into work quickly, there is a good possibility that you will start unlearning everything that we have taught you. This is natural and occurs with many learned skills. We offer job placement because we are in a position to help. We have many contacts in the construction industry that are able to place you just about anywhere in the country. If you feel like having a change of scenery, or if you want somewhere close to home, talk to us. We might be able to arrange something with your job placement that suits you.

If you have any questions about our job placement program, heavy equipment training or any of our courses, feel free to contact us at Associated Training Services.

Whether you drive a dump truck or merely work around them, it is important to remember that they have the potential to be dangerous. There is a tendency for even experienced dump truck drivers to do things the easy way rather than the safe way. A dump truck is a piece of heavy equipment and should always be treated with the respect and care it deserves.

Accidents should not occur around dump trucks, sadly they are quite common. The following example is taken from a public health report on the University of Iowa website:

During the fall of 1999, a 53-year-old construction worker was killed after he unloaded sand from a dump truck. He partially raised the box of his truck to dump out a portion of wet sand at a work location, then leaned under the box to manually trip the hydraulic linkage to bring the box down. The hydraulic linkage was located at the hydraulic pump, behind the cab between the main frames of the truck. This action was apparently a habit to save some time from walking around the truck to push the dump lever inside the truck cab. However, this time, because of the heavy load of sand, and because the box was only partially raised, the truck box came down immediately pinning the man between the box and the frame of the dump truck. The man suffered massive head injuries and was dead at the scene. The deceased truck driver had several years of experience with machinery and was the lead man for the small construction company.

If you do a Google search for “dump truck safety” you will be surprised at the amount of similar case studies that you are able to find. While there are cases of equipment failure, most of the fatalities and serious injuries would have been avoided had the dump truck driver followed standard safety protocols. Everyone likes to get the job done efficiently, but few would argue that the few extra seconds that it takes to operate the box from the proper controls are worth risking one’s life over.

If you are thinking about learning how to drive a dump truck and are interested in learning more, contact us at Associated Training Services.

Graders are not for everyone, they are one of the more difficult pieces of heavy equipment to operate. Most people do not start out driving graders; it is something that they work their way up to. Driving graders requires a great deal of control, they are a big piece of heavy equipment and although some of the lighter grading tasks are now picked up by bulldozers with special attachments, when it comes to fine grading there really is no better way to do the job than with graders.

Graders are an impressive looking piece of heavy equipment and for some people it seems a little strange that such a large piece of equipment is used to achieve such fine results. The size gives it the balance and the reach that is required to handle the finest grading jobs. Graders don’t really have a place in small construction jobs; they are used in big jobs, for making roads, leveling airstrips and that kind of thing. You might think that there is not that much demand for these kinds of services, but drivers of graders are always in demand.

Graders have another use which is entirely removed from grading; they are also used to clear snow. This is a real plus for drivers of graders as it means that they have year round employment, which is a real plus if you are living somewhere that gets a lot of snow.

If you are interested in driving graders and would like to learn more, please contact us at Associated Training Services.

When it comes to heavy equipment and construction careers in general, many people forget that driving dump trucks presents a great career opportunity in its own right. Think about all of the places that you see dump trucks, they are in all different kinds of industries. When you see something that is spread around so widely, you know that it has to be an excellent career opportunity. Dump trucks are just that.

The benefits of driving dump trucks are numerous and fall into two distinct categories, the financial / employment-related and the personal. The financial / employment related benefits are what most people are interested in.

Financial and Employment Related Benefits of Driving Dump Trucks

• Earn better money than through unskilled labor
• Widespread employment opportunities
• Job stability
• Job security

Personal Benefits of Driving Dump Trucks

Working is about more than just making money. Making money is great, but you want to have a job that you can be comfortable in and enjoy. Dump trucks offer this as well.

• A comfortable, climate controlled working environment.
• A job that you can do anywhere.
• The chance to meet new people.
• Great working conditions.
• A low impact job that you can do at any age.

There are many benefits for people who drive dump trucks. Dump trucks provide rewarding careers that all kinds of people can enjoy. If you are interested in learning how to drive dump trucks, pleasecontact us at Associated Training Services.

If you are not sure whether you can drive heavy equipment or not; you can get started by learning to drive tractors. Heavy equipment and tractors have a lot in common and tractors provide a great way to boost the specific skills that you will need as a heavy equipment operator. These days, an increasing array of hydraulic attachments can be used to greatly improve the functionality of tractors, allowing them to perform some of the tasks that were previously the domain of purpose built equipment.

Tractors come in all shapes and sizes; in open and closed configurations. If you drive a lot of tractors, you are likely to notice that the handling and maneuverability can vary somewhat, but the controls are quite standard. More importantly for heavy equipment operators, they have quite a bit in common with larger heavy equipment. For this reason, training for tractors is often a first step on the path to a heavy equipment career.

If you are interested in getting your certification for tractors, why not pay us a visit at Associated Training Services. If you check out our website, you will find the locations of all of our different training centers. Whether you are interested in learning to drive tractors or other types of heavy equipment, are professional instructors are ready to teach you the skills that you need.

One of the simplest things that you can do to save fuel in Truck Driving is to maintain correct tire pressure. As tires deflate, more of the tire surface comes into contact with the road. This creates extra friction which requires that you to spend more fuel to achieve the same speeds. Anyone that has been in the truck driving industry for any amount of time is aware of this fact. Less people are aware that the time of day that you measure your tire pressure makes a difference.

Heat will affect the tire pressure of the truck that you are driving. As you drive, your tires heat up, so it makes sense that you check your tire pressures at the start of the day. The recommended pressure ratings for the truck that you drive will be based on cold tire temperatures. Take the reading when your tires are at their coldest and you will be able to ensure that you have accurate pressures.

For most car drivers, these savings do not amount to a whole lot, but with truck driving you are traveling over long distances and putting a lot more miles on the clock. The fuel savings can make a big difference to your profitability. It takes a few minutes to check your tire pressures and is well worth the effort.

If you are interested in truck driving or have any truck driving tips or techniques that you would like to share with us, you cancontact us or leave a comment to this article.

If the cost of heavy equipment training has put you off taking steps towards a heavy equipment career, maybe financial aid can help. Here at Associated Training Services we know that heavy equipment training can be difficult to afford. There really is no way around the price. Heavy equipment is expensive to purchase and maintain. So why do people bother training at all? The answer to that is simple, to get paid more and to have a more stable job. You will earn more as a heavy equipment operator and that makes the training cost financially worth your while. Many people see the value of training and understand that the costs will be quickly recouped. They just have trouble coming up with enough money to get started. That is where financial aid comes into play.

At Associated Training Services we provide financial aid to qualified applicants. We do so because we know that in some cases, lack of money is all that prevents some people from moving into a rewarding career in heavy equipment. If you want to receive financial aid from Associated Training Services, you will need a good credit rating or a guarantor for your loan. If you are uncertain whether you qualify for financial aid, contact us, it never hurts to ask.

If you are looking to get into a heavy equipment career, there really never has been any better time than now. Right now at Associated Training Services we are offering $100,000 worth of scholarships to our first one hundred sign ups. If you missed our open day, don’t worry, you can still find out what you need to know by giving us a call at 1-800-383-7364 or by visiting our website. If you were worried about the cost of training for your heavy equipment career, this should make things a whole lot easier. Below you can see the dates of the classes for our heavy equipment scholarships.

Heavy Equipment Scholarship Course Start Times

February 25, 2008
March 3, 2008
March 10, 2008
March 17,2008

A heavy equipment career offers so much. It is more than just the job, it is the change that it can make in a person’s lifestyle, especially if they have never done any training before. As an unskilled laborer, it is easy to feel that life does not have too much to offer. Unskilled labor jobs lack security and do not really provide a person with a satisfactory income. If you are struggling to make ends meet now, imagine how things will be further down the road. A heavy equipment career can change that.

Training for your heavy equipment career with Associated Training Services can be done on a full or part time basis. We design our program in such a way to allow people to continue to work while they train. Our professional instructors will teach you how to use and maintain your heavy equipment and take you through the heavy equipment safety guidelines for your equipment. There are classroom lessons and of course classes out in the field where you will operate heavy equipment in a simulated working environment.

Once your training is over, it is time to kick off your heavy equipment career. We offer job placement to help you get started. With a heavy equipment career you can start enjoying the more comfortable lifestyle that comes with a solid job and a stable income. If you have any questions regarding our heavy equipment career training programs or our heavy equipment scholarships, please call us or come to our website.

If you are interested in learning how to operate heavy equipment at one of our Associated Training Services locations, you will be pleased to know that we are presently offering scholarships. If you are thinking about training for an exciting new career, then a scholarship can really help out. Associated Training Service’s is offering $100,000 in scholarships to the first 100 people that sign up to attend an ATS heavy equipment training programs. People must sign up for one of the following start dates to receive the scholarships:

February 25, 2008
March 3, 2008
March 10, 2008
March 17,2008

To use this scholarship you must be approved for and attend an ATS program on one of start dates listed above. This promotion ends March 18th, 2008. Please call 1-800-383-7364 for directions or any details regarding our open house or go to our website.

If you do the math, one hundred scholarships from a total of one hundred thousand dollars equals a thousand dollars. A thousand dollars off your training can really help out. It really has never been easier to train for a heavy equipment career. We hope to see you at the Associated Training Services open day, if you miss it, contact us as there may still be places available.

If you are interested in a future in heavy equipment, why not come down to one of our Associated Training Services Heavy Equipment locations this Saturday. We are offering In the Seat Tours which will give you a chance to get a feel for some heavy equipment and to learn a little more about what is involved in a heavy equipment career.

It ought to be a fun day, apart from getting on the heavy equipment, there will be free food and prizes. If you are interested in a heavy equipment career, we will also be giving out scholarships on the day. The locations we are having them at are Wisconsin, Florida, Texas, California, Colorado, New Hampshire, and Virginia. If you want more details just give us a call at 800-383-7364 or check out our website. We look forward to seeing you at our big Associated Training Services open house.