To the untrained eye, a construction site often looks quite a bit like controlled chaos. Dump trucks driving all over the construction site and cranes moving loads from one location to another. It truly seems as though every worker has his own agenda to complete his own task. In reality, there is a lot more going on than this, especially in regards to the cranes and their proper operation. For each crane, there is a highly trained Rigger and a Signalperson involved in every movement they are making to ensure safety and proper execution.

At first glance, the crane operator seems to be the person with the most responsibility on a work site, and in fact, they are accountable for the safety of the entire work site. But, the Rigger is just as responsible for the safety of the crane operations. This includes the proper rigging of loads prior to them being lifted. To perform this properly, weight charts must be read and the proper rigging equipment used. This is an essential piece of the site’s overall safety as some of these loads can be extremely heavy and dangerous to coworkers.

Once the load is appropriately secured, it is then the Signalperson’s duty to safely guide the crane operator to perform the proper movement of the load from the rigging location to its final resting spot. Much like the director of an orchestra, the Signal person has to keep the flow of work moving to ensure the job is completed, but even more importantly, he must make certain that all crane activities are performed safely. This is performed using hand signals that must become second nature to the Signal person and the crane operator.

The Rigger and Signalperson have a great deal of responsibility to ensure the crew on the work site is safe, while at the same time, ensuring the job is correctly completed. Due to this responsibility and the importance of this position, it is mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that Rigger and Signalperson training must be performed, and a worker must be qualified or certified prior to performing this duty.

Once a worker has completed the Heavy Equipment Operator training, he will often head right out to his new career at an engineering or construction company. The new skills that have been taught will begin to become second nature with the experience gained in the field. At this time, a worker will either decide that he or she is happy working as a heavy equipment operator, or that he is looking for something more from his career. There are many paths that can be taken at this point, but one route that can be chosen in this decision making process is to move into crane operations.

Crane operators require some additional training and skills above the requirements for a heavy equipment operator to safely operate these mammoth machines. To be able to operate a crane on a work site, the passing of a certification test is required. With these additional requirements comes more responsibility regarding safety and effective work practices, but with these additional requirements also comes additional pay for the crane operator. In many workers’ eyes, this additional crane operator training is well worth the time spent to ensure a higher salary at the end of the day.

Crane operator training can be a huge investment in any worker’s future. In about a month, a heavy equipment operator can be trained and certified to operate a crane and advance his career. Crane operators are in high demand right now due to the “baby boomer” generation reaching retirement age. Now is a great time for heavy equipment operators to get the crane operator training under their belts. What better time than now to advance a career?

Heavy equipment and the environments they are employed in are, quite honestly, a recipe for disaster if the proper safety methods are not used at all times. For this reason, training – and more specifically, safety training – is essential for all heavy equipment operators. Unlike many professions, a heavy equipment operator must keep up to date and pay special attention to safety training as they are in a position to badly hurt or even kill themselves or a coworker. The title of Heavy Equipment Operator comes with a great deal of responsibility; a laborer can get away with fooling around and horseplay on the job site, but the heavy equipment operator must be responsible for the safety of all of those who come in close contact with his or her equipment.

Many people feel that regular training is a waste of time and boring, but it is a mandatory mechanism to ensure all workers on a job site are safe. Repetition of training assures that workers treat safety as second nature; safety on the job site is everyone’s responsibility and training assures this. Regularly scheduled safety training ensures that heavy equipment operators do not become complacent. It is easy to forget the importance of safety if we are not reminded on a regular basis.

Many workers make the mistake of “just going through the motions,” but this can lead to accidents and injuries occurring on the job site, or worse happening to the operator or his coworkers. The best remedy for complacency is to keep oneself educated regarding the safety issues and trends that are currently relevant in the workplace.

Many people think they have it all figured out when it comes to picking out their profession. But often, they have no idea what a worker in that field really does on a day-to-day basis. A quick review of what a Heavy Equipment Operator does may help in this decision making process.

Operators are generally going to be working at a construction site, an industrial site or a road paving site, so for the most part the job will be outside in the elements. A Heavy Equipment Operator may operate numerous pieces of machinery such as: excavators, loaders, bulldozers, scrapers and more. Other operators might become highly effective with one piece of equipment and focus their efforts on just that facet of the job.

Another aspect of the Heavy Equipment Operator’s job is the physical work — very rewarding work, but tough none the less. An operator has to have good balance and physical strength to maintain control of his equipment in rough terrain. He also has to have great eye-hand-foot coordination to ensure he can manipulate the equipment with the precision necessary to complete the project. At times, an operator may need to even climb down off of his equipment and help the laborers to get a job done.

One overlooked and less glamorous part of the job is the maintenance and cleaning of the equipment. Minor repairs are often required to be made by the Heavy Equipment Operator on site to ensure the work schedule is maintained. When needed, the equipment will need to be cleaned by the operator to ensure it is maintained in working order at all times.

The life of a Heavy Equipment Operator can be a great one with good pay and a true sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. But, as with anything in life, great rewards come from hard work and responsibility, and the life of a Heavy Equipment Operator epitomizes this phrase.

Children often dream of operating heavy equipment and building bridges or skyscrapers. When they grow up, some of them will continue with this dream, and actually need to be trained to reach their goals. In the real world, bulldozer training is essential to the safety and proper use of a bulldozer on any construction site.

Bulldozer training is an important requirement that helps in the reduction of jobsite errors and safety related accidents. It is training that is essential for the heavy equipment operator to become familiar with this massive and quite dangerous piece of machinery. This training gives the operator the required knowledge that he will need to operate a bulldozer in a safe and effective manner to get the job done safely. The operator of such a machine has a huge amount of responsibility regarding the work site and the workers that he is supporting. Safety is everyone’s responsibility on the job site, but the heavy equipment operator has the ultimate responsibility; he is operating a piece of equipment that could easily maim or kill a coworker or himself.

Safety is obviously a huge piece of the training but being able to properly get the job done is also an important aspect of bulldozer training. A bulldozer operator must be able to effectively perform his duties whether it is slot dozing, leveling or boxing out; it is essential that he can operate the bulldozer to its utmost. Often, many laborers are dependent on the bulldozer operator completing his job prior to them performing theirs. The job site can actually shut down if the bulldozer operator is not efficient at his duties. Accurate training on the critical aspects of the proper operation will ensure smooth processes on the work site.

Safety and efficient operation are important factors in just about any job that comes to mind, but when it comes to heavy equipment operation and bulldozer operation the importance of these factors is exponentially magnified. Exceptional training is the key to ensure the safest and most effective methods are learned prior to hitting the job site.

A career as a heavy equipment operator can be interesting. After all, you are often in control of a real beast, a piece of machinery that can move a lot of dirt in a single action, perhaps even topple smaller buildings. Like all careers, heavy equipment operators do have more mundane aspects of their job. Some of these include:

• inspecting their equipment for potential problems
• undertaking minor repairs and maintenance tasks
• maintaining a record of repairs and maintenance tasks
• checking to see if there is sufficient fuel on site to complete a day’s work
• locating underground services, such as pipes or wires, prior to beginning work
• maintaining records of materials or equipment used
• pushing other equipment (or vehicles) when extra traction or assistance is required
• reading plans or diagrams to establish work requirements
• liaising with clients on work progress
• preparing or helping to prepare cost estimates for jobs
• liaising with other members of a work team to coordinate activities

Everyone of those tasks are important to the successful completion of a job. In most cases, these tasks take minimal time; for example, heavy equipment operators can perform visual inspections of their equipment rather quickly once they get into a routine. Heavy equipment operators also learn to feel the health of their equipment through their hands and feet in much the same way a car driver can ‘feel’ if there is something amiss with their vehicle.

Whilst many consider the actual work on the ground to be the most important, getting one of those tasks listed above wrong could undo all the good work done on the ground. Imagine digging up a major gas pipe, for example – not good news for anyone, least of all the heavy equipment operator. Simple tasks like liaising with fellow team members can help to ensure a job is completed on time with no mishap. Heavy equipment training does touch on many of these tasks, however, most of them are easy to pick up, especially on the job.

It takes more than just skills and knowledge to be an effective heavy equipment operator. Like most workplaces, you also need the right attitude. This is particularly true when it comes to heavy equipment safety. We can train new operators in all the correct safety procedures; what we cannot do is change an operator’s attitude. That is an issue that a graduate needs to consider themselves.

So what do we mean by ‘attitude’? Heavy equipment safety means following rules and guidelines. As an operator, you have a choice – you can follow those rules, or try to take shortcuts. Worse still, you can consider those rules silly or unnecessary, and totally ignore them. That attitude will result in accidents, and operators with that attitude will have very short careers – if they survive any accidents.

Over the years, heavy equipment accidents have resulted in deaths and serious injuries. The Department Of Labor established OSHA to put in place safety guidelines for every employment place in the U.S. Employers (and employees) are obliged to follow these guidelines and for those who refuse or become neglectful, there are hefty fines. National bodies have been established to help put in place minimum training guidelines and this includes heavy equipment.

Heavy equipment training programs now need to include heavy equipment safety components. This ensures that everyone entering the industry has the same heavy equipment safety training. By standardizing this area of training, graduates are immediately employable nationwide since those safety standards are national, and not just restricted to the one state.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools have earned a reputation for delivery training that is first class. This training provides in-class components that relate directly to safety along with in-the-seat operator training that helps to reinforce those safety aspects. Heavy equipment safety is important to everyone on a work site. Heavy equipment machinery is very dangerous in untrained hands so we make every sure every graduate works in a safe and happy environment.

To be employed as a rigger or a signal person, you need to meet OSHA crane mandated qualifications. Riggers and signal persons have demanding jobs that come with a lot of responsibility. While a crane operator may be controlling the load, it is the rigger/signal person who is directing the crane operator – the two work hand in hand as a close team. In fact, in most cases, neither can operate without the other.

Meeting the minimum mandated qualifications need not be costly, nor should it impact on a business’s ability to operate. Winter is often the quiet time for many construction companies, so it is the perfect time to consider training options, especially for those individuals who may only perform certain tasks (like signal person) occasionally. Having several workers trained and qualified creates a flexible team of employees that makes allocating work tasks much easier.

ATS (Associated Training Services) has one of the most affordable OSHA compliant rigger/signalperson training programs available. Training can be adapted to workplaces when required ensuring there is minimal disruption to a business’s productivity. Our rigger and signal person certification program:

• Exceeds OSHA qualification standard for rigging and signal persons.
• Includes written and practical training and testing.
• 32 to 36 hours (4 days) depending on number of candidates.
• Certification issued by National Commission for Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO).
• NCCCO Rigging Level One and NCCCO Signal Person Certifications.

Being able to undertake training and certification through the one training organization helps to ensure that minimal disruption. ATS has over 40 years training experience and we have developed a solid reputation amongst employers for delivery training that is appropriate while meeting national standards.

If you are looking to become a certified rigger or signal person, or if you’re an employer that could benefit through the certification of employees, then contact us for more information on rigger and signal person training and certification.

One of the trends that reappears on a regular basis in our heavy equipment job listings is the requirement for a commercial drivers license (or CDL). Employers are now trying to employ workers who bring several different skills to the workplace. It does make sense, if an employee has more than one skill, then an employer can assign them tasks based on the employers need at that time – it’s certainly better than having to find menial jobs, or to have an employee sitting around doing nothing.

New heavy equipment operators will find that a CDL may make them more attractive to employers. However, it could also mean you are left to do the more mundane duties that are found in every workplace. I wouldn’t treat that as negative, however, since it can actually help your long term career prospects. What do I mean by mundane? Loading heavy equipment onto trailers, driving the trailer to a work site, unloading the heavy equipment, then returning ready for the next job – sound mundane – it probably is day after day. However, to begin with, you are playing an important role, and more importantly, you are gaining experience, albeit limited, on a range of heavy equipment.

Employers will, over time, allocate heavy equipment operational tasks, and that is where you can really start to develop skills and earn the trust and confidence of your employer. Before you know it, you are on permanent heavy equipment operation duties, and another rookie has joined the ranks to do the transporting. This is a common transition that occurs in most professions – you start at the bottom and work your way to the top.

Heavy equipment operators with CDLs are in high demand. Whether you’re a rookie looking to boost you employment prospects, or seasoned operator, that commercial drivers license could make a huge difference to your career – just check our heavy equipment job listings to see what employers are looking for.

Heavy equipment careers can be demanding, yet quite rewarding. For some people, operating graders, bulldozers or excavators is not challenging or interesting enough – they crave becoming an operator of specialized equipment like that used in mining, logging and road building.

One of the more popular targets is road plant equipment. This includes:

• paving equipment,
• concrete curbing equipment,
• asphalt finishers,
• milling machines,
• chipspreaders,
• roadwideners,
• vibratory compactors, and
• rubber tired rollers

And that is just a short list. In most cases, operators for these machines are recruited from the heavy equipment operator ranks within a company. If heavy equipment operators show an interest in any of these machines, they are often allowed short training periods to learn how to operate them. If they are proficient, they are eventually employed to operate the equipment full time.

The key to getting those opportunities is your initial heavy equipment training. Employers now expect their employees to complete their basic heavy equipment training through a well recognized training school. They also expect operators to have a solid understanding of heavy equipment, and to be work ready when hired.

Your second step is to then find employment with a company that uses the type of specialized equipment you are interested in. You will need to start at the bottom, and it could take several years before you catch the eyes of those who recruit operators – once you do, it’s simply a matter of transferring some of those skills to your new equipment. Specialized heavy equipment often pays well, however, it can be a very competitive area in which to gain a start. Once you do, you’ll find the employment rewarding and challenging.