To become a heavy equipment operator, the proper training is required to safely and professionally operate the different kinds of heavy equipment and machinery that you will be using. Associated Training Services (ATS) has been providing high-quality training for individuals for decades. Just read our reviews. The company got its start in 1959 as the National Institute for Concrete Construction. Now a nationally recognized school, ATS has expanded its course offerings immensely.

Students compliment the program by saying, “The facilities and equipment are top-notch and well-maintained,” and “Great instructors and excellent facility for both classroom and hands-on (training).” During the past two decades, ATS has prepared hundreds of heavy equipment operators for success in the roles behind the wheel of various machines and heavy equipment. Students can learn how to operate cranes, digger derricks, directional drills, and different kinds of heavy equipment used in construction projects. The school still offers commercial truck driving training and offers a rigger/signalperson certification.

Specialized Training Programs

When there is specialized training needed, ATS can help employers and job applicants with that as well. With highly detailed training by instructors who have extensive experience in the field, students have classroom time as well as hands-on training. Students will get detailed information about the equipment they will be operating, and they will learn how to troubleshoot problems and address simple issues.

Former students give the school high ratings with most of them finding employment in their chosen field rather quickly after having completed their training program. Offering a challenging educational program, that is also fun and informative, ATS provides students with the knowledge they need to safely and effectively pursue a career as a heavy equipment operator. ATS has provided training for various roles in multiple industries, offering specialized training that meets the need of the company.

Reviews – ATS Thrives On Student Success

ATS is more than a school, the instructors and the administrators want to see students succeed and businesses thrive. The school’s goal is for the success of its students and the success of the businesses that employ those individuals they train. Offering a superior training program that exceeds the expectations of the students, ATS offers a variety of training programs for the operation of construction-related trucks, commercial motor vehicles, mobile cranes, heavy equipment, signaling, rigging, and directional drills. Watch or listen to our reviews.

At the company’s location in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, where the company was established, there are more than 50 staff members. The school is comprised of 20 instructors and more than 50 pieces of heavy equipment, trucks, and mobile cranes. There are beginner-level training programs as well as employer-specified training programs available at the location in Sun Prairie and at remote locations across the country, including:

• NCCCO Crane Operator Training, Testing, and Certification
• NCCCO Rigger-1 & Signalperson Training, Testing, and Certification
• OSHA Compliant Rigging & Signal Person Training, Testing, and Qualification
• NCCER Heavy Equipment Training, Testing, and Qualification
• Class-A CDL Commercial Driver Training, Testing, and Licensing
• Horizontal Directional Drills

Certification, Accreditation, and Associations

ATS is accredited by the National Center for Construction Education and Research and the National Commission for Certification of Crane Operators. It is a certified training provider under the Workforce Development/Workforce Investment Act, offers a training program that is approved by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for the use of veterans’ educational benefits and is licensed.

ATS is licensed and approved in Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The school is a registered contractor with ISNetworld, which supports more than 360 hiring clients in industries to manage more than 54,000 suppliers and contractors in 75 countries. With an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and a 4.8-star rating on Google, it is obvious that ATS offers a quality education that helps students excel in their careers.

It’s that time of year again, to prepare for winter road work. Winter is here for most states or is fast approaching for others, the weather is getting colder and the possibility of snow is rising every day in many parts of the country. So, what does your state government do to prepare for the winter, especially in those places where mountains of snow need to be cleared every week?

They obviously need to collect the equipment and materials needed in central compounds, ready to be deployed, which means snowplows, trucks, and other heavy equipment of course, along with the materials they use. It can vary from state to state, depending on how severe the winter is expected to be, but in general, there are two treatments for roads to protect from ice and snow.

The first is for anti-icing, which is to stop ice buildup on the roads, to begin with. Here, they use a liquid solution to lower the temperature at that water freezes and stops snow and ice from sticking to the road and pavement surfaces. You may be used to salt being the anti-ice solution, but high winds can blow salt off the road before the snow turns up, or the way salt is applied leads to it bouncing everywhere, often way from the road surface, losing its effectiveness. Instead, the liquid solution, usually liquid brine, stays where it is sprayed, so less waste and it works better. In the very cold temperatures of some states, they use liquid magnesium chloride instead, which is more expensive but remains effective at much lower temperatures.

During a snowstorm, and afterward, the process used is de-icing, and here is where snowplows are used to clear the surface snow and ice, while further de-icing materials are used to loosen the grip of the snow and ice on the road surface, for this rock salt is an economical and effective material to use. This combination of de-icing material and the snowplows and dump trucks can usually clear roads fairly quickly and get people on the move again.

So, to prepare, states and counties assemble their liquid brine, rock salt, spray trucks, and snowplows in strategic locations around the road network, ready to be deployed as needed but to be effective, they really need to apply the anti-icing measures before the storm arrives. To do that, they use the highly accurate national weather service forecasts, helping them to see storms coming and then, as they move closer, to track in real time via satellite. This ensures the heavy machinery operators know when and where treatments need to be applied for the best results.

Next time the snow starts to fall, think about the work, machinery, and manpower that is behind the efforts to keep your roads clear. For machinery operators, whether that is a snowplow, or spray truck putting the de-icing or anti-icing treatment down, this is one contract where a job well done can make a difference to thousands of people the very next day.

Advances in technology happen in almost every aspect of our lives today, it is no surprise that for heavy machinery operators, there have been several in the last decade or so. One such advance, GPS location technology, first appeared in dozers and motor graders and quickly became an integral part of the day-to-day operation of those machines. By combining that precision location data from satellites, and the latest 3D topographical plans of a site, operators could be sure they were taking just the right amount of soil or dirt away at exactly the right location. The technology enhanced the operator’s skills and delivered improved performance across the board.

While the technology is advanced and is able to use satellite data for precise measurement in real-time, the way the systems actually work is straightforward, making it a practical application on any site. For dozers or motor graders, a receiver antenna is placed on the blade, or more often today, built into the machine at suitable points, with the system getting real-time adjusted position data from base stations set up on site. A 3D topographical map of the site is loaded up and displayed on the machine’s monitor, and overlaid with the required cut data, or it can even allow the GPS to guide the blade to create the grade as required.

Future of GPS

What this means for operators is more accuracy, safer operation, and more efficiency. Operators cut where needed, to the right depth every time, saving time and money by adding efficiency. But not only that, because the operator has all the data required, having people around the machines guiding them is no longer necessary, and that itself is a safety benefit.

While initially this system was just used for dozers and graders, it is now appearing in many other heavy machines, including excavators, and while some industries are wary of technology-changing things, for the heavy machinery operator this is definitely a good thing. Having precise location control is not only useful for material removal, but it also enhances situational awareness for all operators, it is a tool that really gives operators the ability to deliver improved performance on any site.

With GPS appearing on more and more heavy machinery, operators need to become familiar with the technology to get the most out of it, but when they do, a safer, more efficient, and less stressful operating experience means that for operators all over the country, whether working with dozers, excavators or haul trucks, GPS technology is improving the working day. In a time where technological advances are often seen as a potential threat to workers, GPS stands out as an advanced tool that works with the operator, improving performance while increasing safety, and allowing the operator to really make the most of their own skills.

Since this is Thanksgiving, we here at Associated Training Services would like to take a moment and thank all the hard-working men and women that keep America growing. We are grateful to be training and certifying those individuals that keep America strong. So, take time this holiday to kick off your boots and thank the important people in your life and the ones that make your dreams possible, and enjoy your meal. We wish everyone a safe, peaceful, and happy Thanksgiving!

Associated Training Services and the Diesel Driving School would like to thank all our hard-working and dedicated employees that make us the nation’s greatest heavy equipment operator, mobile crane operator, and CDL school. Without all your hard work, none of this would be possible. Happy Thanksgiving to all employees and their families hope you have a wonderful holiday.

Knowledge: Where Does Thanksgiving Come From?

Thanksgiving is a public holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. It originated as a harvest festival. Thanksgiving has been celebrated nationally on and off since 1789 after Congress requested a proclamation by George Washington. It has been celebrated as a federal holiday every year since 1863, when, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November. Together with Christmas and the New Year, Thanksgiving is a part of the broader fall/winter holiday season in the U.S.

Fatal accidents within the heavy equipment and crane industry

Here is some important and scary information you should know and take into consideration when looking into the heavy equipment industry or the crane industry. No one expects to go to work and be unsafe, but within the heavy equipment and crane industries there will always be a certain amount of risk, due to the nature of the job.

Construction sites, mining facilities, and so on can never be completely controlled, and sometimes accidents do happen. In fact, fatal accidents are very rare, with the most recent government figures showing just 12% of fatal construction accidents being heavy machinery or crane-related. However, even with that level, it is important to understand how these accidents occur, so we can all avoid them in the future. Studies have constantly shown that one of the main contributors is operator error.

With operator error such a large contributor to the frequency of such accidents, it is an area that needs addressing by the industry. That is why training is so important today, and getting the right, hands-on training as close to a work environment as possible, really is essential for every heavy machinery or crane operator today.

At ATS we take safety seriously and work hard with our students, both in the classroom and out in the field to offer comprehensive training that not only prepares students for the job itself but the unpredictability of a construction site. With our unmatched industry expertise and unique training programs, we help our students master the work environment, spotting danger before it becomes a problem. They learn to operate under pressure while maintaining the highest levels of equipment and operational safety.

A good safety record can always be improved, and that is why we ensure our students are the best equipped to operate machinery and cranes as safely as possible. Get in touch today and see the difference that our safety-focused, mixed theory, and practical courses give to your confidence and ability on-site.

Working in the heavy machinery industry brings so many options for a varied career, whether it’s operating a crane, building office blocks in the cities, or building roads right across the country, but for some, it can mean a life in the forest, but what machines are used in forestry work if that sounds like your kind of job?

Some may be surprised at just how much heavy machinery is used in forestry work, and how many jobs there are for heavy machinery operators who like the idea of such work.  The machines most commonly used in forestry work fall into two main types, those based on a standard tracked heavy equipment base, using various arms to carry out different tasks, and the wheeled types, which mainly fall into variations of skidders.

First, we can look at the tracked machines:

The Feller Buncher

Designed to quickly fall trees, the feller buncher is based on the standard tracked heavy machinery base and uses a tree-grabbing device on its arm that also contains a high-powered circular saw, or in some cases a shear. It can grab and cut a tree in one motion, and then place the tree on a stack ready for transport.

Delimber

Again, based on a standard tracked heavy machinery base, the delimber is designed to remove branches from felled trees. There are various methods of achieving this, some use chain flails, and others are of a pull-through construction.

Harvester

A Harvester is similar to a Feller Buncher but is adapted to operate for cut-to-length operations, able to fell, delimb and buck trees, that is cut the tree to length with one machine.

Now, we can look at the wheeled machines:

Forwarder

In a tractor and trailer arrangement, a forwarder is designed with a lifting arm to pick up the felled longs and transport them away from the site. Because the logs are lifted off the ground onto the trailer, they are somewhat restricted in the length of the log they can deal with and are primarily found at cut-to-length operations, working in tandem with a harvester.

Skidders

For operations that deal with long logs or full trees, the felled trunks are moved using a skidder. As the name implies, these vehicles are able to deal with long logs because they only lift one end, leaving the other to skid along the ground behind.

There are three common types of skidder, the Clam-bunk, which uses open topped hydraulic jaws to pick up the felled trees, the Line skidder, which uses a winch cable that is manually reeled out and attached to a group of felled trees, or the Grapple Skidder, which has a grapple bucket arm used to grab and lift the trees.

Forestry work is attractive to many as it puts you out in the fresh air, and a training course for heavy machinery can give you plenty of options when it comes to your career.

It’s probably crossed your mind already, just what is it like to be a crane operator? If there is one job that everyone sees being done that makes us think, it is the crane operator. But what is the job actually like for those that take on the training and go out and do it?

The first task of the day, no matter what kind of crane is being operated, is safety. Whether a mobile crane or a tower crane, giving things a check over is important. For mobile cranes, this means a once-over before setting off to the site, for a tower crane, operators check the crane at each stage as they climb to the cab. Responsibility, as shown by the safety checks, is a big part of being a crane operator, and that is why it can be so appealing. You are responsible for your crane, yourself, and the loads you move.

For mobile cranes, finding today’s site is the next challenge, moving large cranes around is itself a skill, but with each new site is a new work environment, and those ever-changing surroundings mean that life for a crane operator is never routine, never dull.

Operating the crane itself is, of course, the main part of the day, and is an exercise in precision and teamwork. Crane operators take responsibility, but they also need a team to guide them as loads are moved. Hand signals, radios, and even flags are all tools that allow the team to work seamlessly and safely to get the job done. Many people think a crane operator’s day is a lonely one, but the truth is that it takes a team to make it work. Operators may be alone in a cab, but they are never on their own on a site.

It can be long days, sometimes 12 hours on big projects, but that combination of responsibility, skill, and teamwork makes crane operators something unique. It also makes the work day for crane operators unique as well, which is why we see those cranes and wonder what it would be like. If you like the idea of something different every day, working as a team and taking on responsibility for yourself and others, it’s time to think about that crane operator training for yourself.

When you spend most of your day operating heavy equipment, your office is the cab, it’s where you are in control, and you know what is happening. However, without good communication lines, it can be a very isolating place as well. Operators need the ability to concentrate of course, but isolation is not an answer, ensuring in-cab communications are as good as they can be has become very important, for a number of reasons. Here are some things that can be problematic if communications are not maintained correctly.

• Safety – We all hope it never happens to us, but accidents do occur, and no matter how minor they are an investigation will always examine communications leading up to the incident. Good communication systems that are working correctly will always improve safety on site, both for heavy equipment operators and other workers on the site.
• Work Schedules – One of the costliest parts of any project is completion delays, missing deadlines, and failing to meet work schedules. Heavy equipment operators really benefit here from better communications, as it can help individuals and teams work more efficiently. On large projects, even small improvements can add up to big-time savings and can be the difference between meeting and missing a deadline.
• Teamwork – Smooth running of any site relies on teamwork, that operators are where they are supposed to be at the right time. However, given the nature of the industry, few people get to work in the same team often enough to build that relationship, so making sure the team functions properly each time is all about communication. Being able to adapt to a new environment and understanding how each group works is important for operators, and at the core of that is improved communication.
• Reliance on visual signals – Think of all the signals a heavy equipment operator has to take note of during any site operation to ensure the safety of themselves and others on site, there are hand signals, flashing lights, and flags used as guides or alarms, and this can lead to a problem known as alarm fatigue. This is where operators become overwhelmed by too many visual alarms and are unable to process them all. In-cab communications should not replace visual signals, but they complement visual alarms very well and can reduce the chance of an alarm being missed due to alarm fatigue.
• Stress – Operators isolated from the rest of the project in a cab without good communication can become stressed. Two-way communications allow questions to be asked and answered and operators to understand the project better and feel a part of the team instead of separate, helping reduce the stressfulness of the work.

There are many very good reasons to ensure cab communications are working well on any project, heavy equipment operators should always be in communication throughout any project.

It is no surprise the growth in construction and telecommunications throughout America has led to an increased need for directional drills to bury fiber optics, electrical lines, water pipes, sewer lines, etc. Further, the use of backhoes or excavators isn’t always practical, feasible, or economical, due to existing hazards or terrain. That leaves Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) as the most efficient option and the fastest-growing type of equipment for utilities, municipalities, contractors, and the communications industry. Associated Training Services has the knowledge, curricula, and instructional staff to deliver your organization the highest quality training for your directional drill operators.

Primary Objective:

Through a combination of classroom and field training sessions, participants will acquire the knowledge and skills required for operating a directional drill efficiently and safely.

Training Subjects:

Standard training subjects are as follows:

• HDD Safety
• General Maintenance of Equipment
• Pre-Planning
• Field Operation
• Tracking Electronics
• Drilling Fluids
• Maintenance
• Locator Equipment / Operations
• Downhole Tools

Some of us don’t think much about it until we start to build a new building near our home or work.  Then, we usually just complain about how the construction affects traffic and slows everything down.

But stop to think about it: what would life be without construction; without heavy equipment? Before heavy equipment, everything was done by hand. Picks and shovels; wheelbarrows; and long hours of hard work.

Heavy Equipment Development

Through the early 1900s, the horse-driven and steam-powered heavy equipment revolutionized the construction industry, increasing productivity and shortening the length of time construction projects took to complete. With the invention of the internal combustion engine, the industry began to change even more.

The Interstate Highway System construction during the 1960s was the boom time for the construction and heavy equipment industries.  This type of work called for high-horsepower equipment and new types of equipment.

The high horsepower scrapers were developed to move the massive amounts of materials produced by the highway system construction.  There were hundreds of scrapers at work on these projects.

The 1960s was also the “monster machine” decade.  Machines grew in size and horsepower; the surface mining industry called for machines that are still the largest, even today, including the 360-ton haul truck, which has grown to a 400-ton haul truck, becoming more productive and efficient, but not much bigger.

The 1970s faced the Arab oil embargo.  This produced an increased need for coal, which increased the demand for heavy equipment.  The demand was so great, that ordering a large machine found a 2 to 3-year waiting list.

In the 1980s, a recession transformed the industry, with a lot of companies failing.  The recession also changed the future of the four major heavy equipment manufacturers: International Harvester,  Euclid, Caterpillar, and Allis Chalmers.

By the 1990s, only Caterpillar remained with its original name.  In the mid-’90s, a wave of environmental laws forced manufacturers to begin making cleaner and more efficient diesel engines.

The most recent recession in 2008 caused the focus to change from ownership to leasing of heavy equipment. Currently, over 40% of all equipment is bought by rental companies.  The pressure on manufacturers continues, to produce more energy-efficient heavy equipment.  Continued development of electrification of major engine components and more energy-efficient alternatives to conventional powertrain systems are the expected future of heavy equipment.

Even with all of the changes, the global heavy equipment market is estimated to be around 192 billion U.S. dollars in 2017. During 2017, it is expected that around 809,000 construction machines will be sold worldwide, with approximately 186,000 delivered to customers in North America.

No matter what you think about construction and heavy equipment: no roads, no buildings, no houses; nothing in our lives could be constructed without heavy equipment and the construction industry, and the people who run the heavy equipment.  Together with the trucking industry, everything in our lives, from our homes to where we shop, depends on the construction, heavy equipment, and trucking industries.