Why OSHA? Who is OSHA? OSHA is a U.S. federal government agency that is responsible for ensuring workplace safety across many industries. It’s an acronym that stands for Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Riggers and signalpersons are certified by OSHA because they are important people on the heavy equipment work site. By ensuring that only well-qualified and well-trained personnel are operating in this critical work site position, OSHA can influence the risk factor on heavy equipment job sites. The result is fewer accidents, fewer critical injuries, and a lot fewer injuries overall.

If you take your rigger and/or signalperson training from Associated Training Services, you will be certified by OSHA to work on any heavy equipment job site in the country.

The rigger and signalperson qualification and certification programs meet all OSHA standards for training and will qualify you to work as a rigger or signalperson on the job site.

In the qualification training class you’ll receive practical training with 8-12 hours of rigging/signalperson instruction. At the end of the course, you’ll receive a qualification compliance card signifying that you’ve been trained and meet all OSHA requirements. Employers look on this card favorably because they know that you are qualified and certified by the federal government.

Over 4 days in the certification program, you’ll receive a total 32-36 hours of training. At the end of the course you’ll receive two OSHA-approved certifications:

• NCCCO Rigging Level One Certification
• NCCCO Signalperson Certification

You can’t beat a course that will give you two work place certifications. You’ll be qualified to work in two very critical positions within the heavy equipment industry. Get OSHA certified today.

Riggers are some of the most important people on the heavy equipment or construction site. Their job is to ensure safety and to maneuver equipment using ropes, chains, and hoists from one location or position to another. A rigger may be called to pull a bulldozer out of a ditch or a crane out of a body of water after falling off a dock.

Riggers must pass a training class and receive certification. They must pass a test to meet OSHA standards and demonstrate they understand common safety standards.

Another responsibility of riggers on the heavy equipment job site is to perform maintenance on equipment. If a grader or loader stalls while performing tasks on the spot and the crew cannot fix the problem at their skill level, a rigger may be called to repair the equipment on the spot rather than tow the heavy equipment back to the maintenance shop. If the rigger cannot fix the problem on the spot, then towing may be used as a last resort.

The rigging professional on the job site must understand how weight shifts on specific types of terrains and under certain weather conditions. He must be familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of the various types of heavy equipment.

Riggers must also be experts in the use of ropes, chains, hoists, slings, hooks, swivels, shackles, block and tackle, and other lifting and heavy equipment moving machines. She must understand which types of leverage provides the best support for any type of situation. A rigger is a valuable member of any heavy equipment team.

Learn how you can become a rigger today.

Operating a backhoe is one of the most rewarding of heavy equipment jobs. Backhoe operators enjoy the machinery they’ve been trained to operate and are a very important part of any job site. They are often paid well and enjoy job security. But the first step to becoming a backhoe operator is to get trained as one.

Getting trained as a backhoe operator is as easy as enrolling in a suitable training course. It can be an online course or it can be a course that requires a physical presence.

There are different types of training and different training environments. The best backhoe training is one that offers a certain level of classroom training time before allowing novice operators an opportunity to get in the operator’s seat, but if your training consists entirely of classroom training, then you won’t get any practical experience before hitting the job site. That is unsafe.

For that reason, Associated Training Services recommends a backhoe training environment that offers practical in-the-seat experience with a qualified instructor.

ATS instructors are backhoe operators with years of experience. In many cases, they were safety or quality managers on the job site before coming to work as instructors. They are certified as heavy equipment operators and qualified as backhoe operators. Their first concern is to ensure you learn the skills in a safe environment.

After getting your backhoe training from ATS, you’ll be well-qualified to work on any job site in the country.

When it comes to career certifications, having a national certification actually works in favor of truck drivers, crane operators, and other heavy equipment operators. State certifications would do the trick, but if you moved to a new state, then you’d have to get a new certification. It would be a terribly inefficient system.

As it is, when you get your national certification for any heavy equipment training program, then it won’t matter where you live. You’ll be able to find a job.

There are two national heavy equipment certifications you should be concerned with:

• National Center For Construction Education & Research (NCCER) – NCCER is affiliated with the University of Florida, so that should take care of the credibility issue. When you complete your ATS training program for heavy equipment operations, you’ll receive national certification as a heavy equipment operator. With that certification, you’ll be able to go anywhere in the U.S. and get a job.
• National Commission For The Certification Of Crane Operators (NCCCO) – The NCCCO is a specific certification designed to ensure safety among crane operators. This piece of heavy equipment is very popular and demands its own certification because of its uniqueness and specific safety challenges.

Additionally, if you wish to work as a rigger or signalperson, then you can be trained and certified to work in that capacity. It’s an additional level of training with additional levels of safety piled on by OSHA regulations.

Truck drivers also have their own brand of certification. It’s actually a license. Any commercial vehicle driver must have a CDL, or commercial drivers license. ATS can train you and prepare you to take your CDL test anywhere in the U.S.

Heavy equipment careers are some of the most rewarding blue-collar careers today. If you are trained on one or more types of heavy equipment, you’ll have job security – and you could get paid an above-average salary for your expertise. Do you need training?

Here are 5 reasons why you should look into heavy equipment training today.

1. Heavy equipment jobs aren’t going away. There will always be a need for heavy machine operators. Federal, state, and local governments are always hiring heavy equipment operators for road and bridge projects while private and public companies need operators for their building projects.
2. Fully trained, you can expect a high paying career. You may have to start out on the bottom rung, but after a couple of years you can command top pay for your heavy equipment skills.
3. Crane operators are top dogs. You can get a heavy equipment certification that will qualify you to work anywhere in the states, but if you have a crane operator’s certification, then you’ll get paid more and you have more employment opportunities.
4. CDL operators get paid more. Just think, if you were certified as a heavy equipment operator, a crane operator, and had your CDL certification, you’d be set for life. CDL operators are in high demand.
5. Any job certification you get is a feather in your cap. It proves that you are willing to do what it takes to succeed. If you get your heavy equipment certification, you’ll be qualified to work anywhere.

Find out more about getting trained as a heavy equipment operator today.

Cranes are such important pieces of heavy equipment that they get their own specialized kind of training and certification. National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) is responsible for ensuring crane operators are trained and certified and safe in their operating of these machines. Associated Training Services (ATS) models its training on the NCCCO recommendations on different types of cranes.

There are a lot of different types of cranes on the work site. Which type of crane you’ll be working on largely depends on the nature of the work you’ll be performing. The following four types of cranes are some of the most common you’ll encounter.

1. Hydraulic boom crane – A hydraulic boom crane uses levers inside the operator’s cab to move the boom up and down through a hydraulic mechanism.
2. Lattice boom crane – A lattice boom crane uses a long extension that moves up and down but does not slide in and out like a hydraulic boom.
3. Fixed cab crane – A fixed cab crane has a cab that looks like a truck cab. As the name implies, it doesn’t move, which means the operator can only see what’s in front of him or to the side.
4. Swing cab crane – A swing cab crane allows the operator to get a 360-degree view by swiveling the cab in the direction that he wants to work.

These four types of cranes are not mutually exclusive. In other words, you can have a fixed cab hydraulic boom crane or a swing cab hydraulic boom crane. By the same token, you can have a fixed cab lattice boom crane or a swing cab lattice boom crane. And there are variations of these in terms of size, weight, and load capacity.

ATS will train you on each of these types of cranes, preparing you for certification and lifetime career.

Last weekend, Associated Training Services (ATS) posted a pretty good listing of heavy equipment jobs and trucking jobs from around the country. Of course, we posted some on the previous weekend and the weekend before that too.

You can try to keep up with these job listings on a weekly basis, but if you put all your eggs in one basket, you are not likely to get a job at all.

The best approach to finding a job in trucking is to get the necessary training, such as a course in truck driving that prepares you for your CDL testing, and follow that up by circulating your resume to employers looking for truck drivers.

The same goes for heavy equipment jobs. If you want a job as a rigger or signalperson, as a crane operator, or as a heavy equipment operator, then you should get trained and qualified. After you’ve achieved a basic level of education in the proper skills, then you can start circulating your resume. ATS has a job bank, a list of employers looking for qualified personnel. Our career services department will help you find employment after you graduate from one of our classes.

Getting a job in trucking or heavy equipment operations is not difficult for workers who are qualified and certified. You can start that journey today.

Many of the students that come to Associated Training Services for heavy equipment training, crane certification, and Class A CDL licensing, do so from government agencies.
That’s why ATS works! That’s why we’ve taken the time to develop relationships with the following agencies and their representatives:

• Government employment offices
• State Departments of Veterans Affairs
• Workforce Investment Act (WIA) personnel
• Trade Readjustment Act (TAA) centers
• Departments of workforce development
• Vocational rehabilitation offices
• Federal Veterans Administration personnel
• Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) offices
• Dislocated worker retraining programs
• Other employment agencies

We have provided assistance to the various agencies and employment offices, federal government programs, and state aid centers for many years. Their missions coincide with ours in a number of areas, including helping people find suitable training that leads to employment, assisting them with finding work when qualified, and helping them identify funding sources for which they are eligible.

Our goal is to assist employers of heavy equipment personnel find employees who are safe and diligent in performing the tasks required of them. To reach that goal, we employ the highest qualified instructors that deliver the best training programs in areas that are in high demand, such as

• Commercial truck driving
• Crane certification
• Rigging/signalperson training
• Bulldozer training
• Backhoe training
• Grader and loader training
• Scraper training
• Instruction on OSHA-mandated safety issues

You can get more information on any of these training programs or our agency relationship services by requesting a free brochure.

How do you know if a rigger is qualified to perform a certain task? Just because a rigger has been to training school, does that make him qualified? What if a rigger has 20 years experience on the work site – can he then perform any type of rigging job?

According to OSHA, a rigger is qualified to perform a job if he

• possess(es) a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing, or (has) extensive knowledge, training, and experience, and
• successfully demonstrate(s) the ability to solve problems related to rigging loads.

A rigger must be able to properly rig the load for a particular job. He or she need not be qualified to do every type of rigging job. Each load that requires rigging has unique properties that can range from the simple to the complex. However, previous experiences does not automatically qualify the rigger to rig unstable, unusually heavy, or eccentric loads that may require a tandem lift, multiple lifts, or use of custom rigging equipment. In essence, employers must make sure that the person can do the rigging work needed for the exact types of loads and lifts for a particular job with the equipment and rigging that will be used for that job.

In other words, it is up to the employer to ensure that riggers on the work site are qualified to handle a particular task. Many times, rigger training can qualify a person for specific rigger jobs, but in many cases, skills can only be learned by apprenticeship.

The ATS rigger training will give your riggers basic knowledge from which to build their careers. You can take it from there.

There are a lot of reasons to seek equipmen certification for heavy equipment operations. Whether you want to be a crane operator, drive commercial trucks, or operate other types of equipment such as backhoes and forklifts, getting national certification benefits you and your employer.

Here are several ways national certification works for your benefit:

• It ensures that there is a recognized safety standard everywhere you go. You will not be subject to the whims of any employer.
• You can be confident of your skills as a heavy equipment operator and know that you can operate the proper equipment on any work site.
• You will become more competitive in the field of heavy equipment operators as certification narrows the field of potential employees.
• National certification ensures that heavy equipment employers provide the best service to their clients and cuts down on the potential for lawsuits by making operators on the work site follow the same set of core standards.

National certification is one of the most important aspects of the heavy equipment industry today. Operators who have their certification are more employable, more trustworthy, and more likely to hold onto long-term employment.

Get your heavy equipment training today. Get certified as a Class A CDL driver, heavy equipment crane operator, or all-around heavy equipment expert.