The last twelve months seem to have been one of devastation when it comes to natural disasters. Turkey’s recent earthquake, those in New Zealand, the violent floods in Australia, and our problems with hurricanes, tornadoes and storms have all left their marks. When the frantic efforts of rescuers and home owners finally abates, everyone is left wondering about the rebuilding required. Invariably, the first workers called into these areas are the heavy equipment operators.

Bulldozers are generally the first called to action, leveling sites, clearing away the damage, and turning what was a scene of devastation into a clear plot of land ready for rebuilding. You will often see loaders, excavators and backhoes joining in; the loaders and backhoes filling dump trucks with debris while excavators help to pull down buildings and break up walls, floors and sometimes ceilings.

This can be dangerous work so operators need to be well trained highly experienced to work on these rebuilding projects. Our role as heavy equipment trainers is to prepare students for a career in heavy equipment that could one day see them involved in these projects. When training students, we pay special attention to workplace safety, first by ensuring our students are learning in a safe environment, and secondly, by passing on the necessary skills and knowledge required to work safely.

Training should also involve as much time as possible in the operator’s seat actually moving earth, not just practicing in the air. When a student graduates from a heavy equipment training school, they should be ready for entry level employment in the industry. ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools has a reputation for providing industry with graduates who are work ready, who do have sound skills, and are trained to work safely. With a good grounding in heavy equipment operations, it doesn’t take long to build up the experience required to work on natural disaster rebuilding projects.

You can go and learn to be a backhoe operator, or you can go and learn how to be a bulldozer operator, but what if I told you could learn to be both in one training program? In today’s world, being multi-skilled is a must. When it comes to heavy equipment, if you can operate a front end loader and an excavator, then you can most likely operate a backhoe as well.

What’s more important is that today’s world is changing quite quickly. Today, there may be a high demand for grader operators; next month, it could be excavator operators; in winter, the demand could be for bulldozer operators that can also handle a snow plow. What we do know is that demand for heavy equipment operators is growing – the demand for each type of machinery will depend largely on what direction new operators take. If you are a multi-skilled heavy equipment operator – you can follow the winds of change to what best suits you.

Rather than undertaking equipment-specific training, finding a training organization that delivers training across a range of heavy equipment makes logical long term sense. Your training provides the platform for you to become a general heavy equipment operator rather than the narrow single equipment operator.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools provide training on a range of equipment such as backhoes, graders, loaders, bulldozers, and excavators (just to name a few). Training includes both in-class theory and safety aspects along with in-the-cab actual operator experience of a range of equipment. This prepares you to either specialize in one area, if that’s your decision, or to become a general operator across a range of heavy equipment.

Heavy equipment – the term conjures up images of big bulldozers, excavators, and perhaps even backhoes or loaders. You need to be big, strong, and tough to operate this equipment, so women are going to struggle – right? Wrong, wrong, and wrong. You don’t need to be big; you don’t need to be tough; and women are certainly not going to struggle when it comes to operating this machinery.

The fact is, there are hundreds of women operating heavy equipment – perhaps more. If you include truck drivers, then you can certainly start to number them in the thousands. It’s still not enough. Women have proven to be very good operators, especially when it comes to tasks that require attention to detail. Heavy equipment used to be a man’s world, but today’s technology means that almost anyone can operate them.

Can a woman make a successful career as a heavy equipment operator? Many have and they thoroughly enjoy the work. Perhaps there’s a little something about stepping into that ‘men’s world’ that appeals. It could be that many of these women have been fascinated by heavy equipment since childhood. It doesn’t really matter. If you are a woman and you are looking for a challenging career, working outdoors, and controlling heavy equipment like bulldozers or excavators, then a heavy equipment career is right for you.

When it comes to gaining employment, your search starts by undertaking heavy equipment training. If you undertake your training through ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools, then you will not only receive well-recognized training, we’ll help you find that first job – a job that will start you on the path to a career as a heavy equipment operator. Don’t let anyone tell you a woman can’t do the job – they can, and are, successfully – and so can you.

Computers have been good for a number of things. Communication, storing information, and playing games. In fact, gamers probably make up about half of all computer use in homes around the world. Serious gamers develop a lot of skills, and some of those skills actually make them a perfect fit for heavy equipment operations. If you look at today’s heavy equipment technology, there are similarities to playing games – just on a bigger scale.

There is a lot of machinery today that operates using joysticks. However, one of the biggest advantages that gamers have when it comes to operating heavy equipment is the almost perfect hand-eye coordination that they have. Admittedly, the close-up screens are not the same as the window of an excavator or grader, for example, but hand-eye coordination is still very much the same. There are many gamers that can adapt from playing games on their PC or laptop to playing on a console using a television screen very easily.

Are you a computer gamer who’s looking for a change of career? If you’re one of these people whose parents said that gaming was a waste of time, perhaps you can prove them wrong by putting those well-ingrained skills to good use as a heavy equipment operator. You can receive training and be ready for employment in just a few weeks. Heavy equipment operators have an interesting, varied, and reasonably well-paid career.

Heavy equipment operators can choose from a variety of equipment to work on including excavators, bulldozers, graders, loaders, and backhoes just to name a few. Gamers have great hand-eye coordination, working to precise measurements, and using light fingertip controls are what is necessary today – not the brute strength that was required many years ago.

It’s still winter in most places up north. And there is still ice and snow on the ground. In fact, Southern Pennsylvania just received snow last night. So will that kill the excavators?

Absolutely not. When a trench needs to be built, there’s no better tool than an excavator. It’s a machine that was built for the job. But, while that’s true, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend using the bucket for breaking up ice. The excavator has other tools for that. One tool that has proven to be useful for breaking up ice is the ground-breaking pick.

Backhoes are OK. They are versatile machines, but excavators are more powerful. In fact, put them side by side and let them have a contest and I guarantee you that excavator will win on breaking ice.

Heavy equipment operators are often multi-skilled operators. If you know how to operate a backhoe, chances are you know how to operate an excavator. By taking your training through a heavy equipment school that trains on multiple equipment such as the excavator and backhoe, you improve your chances of obtaining and keeping a long term job.

At ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools, you’ll learn how to use the excavator even on the ice. You’ll be trained in its various functions and how to determine when to use each tool this versatile piece of machinery has to offer. Enroll today and start your career in heavy equipment operations.

Most heavy equipment machinery in today’s workplace are multi-tasking vehicles. That is fairly obvious when it comes to machinery like backhoes, but they are not alone. Excavators play various roles in our society ranging from mining to river dredging, and a whole lot more in between. Traditionally, we probably view excavators as trench diggers since that is where we see them most often employed. However, digging trenches is only the tip of the iceberg.

Like backhoes, excavators have a wide range of tools (known as attachments) that can be used in place of the traditional shovel. These tools can do a range of jobs including breaking up slabs of concrete and rock, to drilling holes rather than digging them. In the mines, excavators can be huge machines with buckets the size of large cars. But then, if you think the buckets are big, you should see the size of the dump trucks they are filling.

Excavators are multi-tasking tools and because of this, experienced operators are always in demand. The only way to gain experience as an operator is by gaining entry level employment where you can continue to learn your craft. In today’s workplace, employers will only take on entry level workers if they have received training through a well established and recognized training school.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools conduct regular training programs for those looking at careers in heavy equipment. Training programs are delivered full time over three weeks with students who successfully graduate eligible for entry level employment. Are we well established and recognized? With over forty years experience in the training industry, I guess you could call us established. Are we recognized? We have a database full of employers who have employed our graduates – our employment success speaks for itself. If you’re looking for a career as an excavator operator, consider our heavy equipment operator training program – others have, with great success.

Scenes coming out of the UK and Europe do not bode well for a pleasant winter for us. It was mildly amusing to watch the various equipment that had been modified as snow plows. Old tractors with dozer blades, bulldozers themselves, graders, and what looked like a modified beetle with a blade attached to the front – how that generated the horsepower required has got me. What it has done is remind me of how many operators are required when heavy snow falls do set in.

One news story showed a small village almost lost in seven or eight feet of snow. There were at least six units of machinery working to try and clear the roads of snow, and that, like I said, was one small village. I don’t know if we are better organized here, although that was unusually heavy and early snow. However, we do organize operators and equipment early with most areas already equipped and ready to roll.

The most popular heavy equipment used to clear snow, apart from dedicated snow plows, are bulldozers, graders, and loaders (either wheel loaders of backhoes). The only real requirement to operate this heavy equipment to clear snow is experience. If you have had a lot of experience working with various soils and terrains, it is a simple transition to clearing snow.

To gain experience as a heavy equipment operator, you need to gain employment and, in today’s working environment, that means being trained by respected trainers. One of the most respected training organizations around today is ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training. While operators are busy clearing snow, that means there are opportunities elsewhere for new operators. Opportunities that will give you the experience that will one day enable you to work in areas where the community relies on you to clear the snow.

Backhoes – they are the backbone of many construction sites. However, I can’t think of many places where backhoes aren’t used these days. One of the big advantages of a backhoe is its versatility. With a bucket at the rear and shovel at the front, it has a wide range of applications. Backhoes also come in a wide variety of sizes – some are quite large and tackle big jobs while others are quite small and can get into some of the smallest places imaginable on a construction site.

Consider some of the work situations where you will find a backhoe:

• swimming pool construction
• digging foundations for new buildings
• digging trenches for pipelines
• demolition work
• agriculture, particularly dam building and irrigation
• cemeteries

That is a very small list of work situations. I could extend that list considerably if I also took into account the range of attachments that can be used in place of the bucket. While a backhoe is an extremely versatile work unit, operating one is not as complex as one may think. In fact, you can learn to operate a range of heavy equipment, including a backhoe, in as little as three weeks. At the end of the training, you are ready for entry level employment as a heavy equipment operator.

For operators, one of the benefits of specializing in backhoes is that it opens the door to further employment options such as loader and excavator operations. The bucket of a backhoe mimics the actions of an excavator while the shovel at the front mimics the actions of a wheel loader. If you are looking for a career in heavy equipment that offers a little in the way of variety, consider a career as a backhoe operator. Backhoe operator wages are good as are the working conditions. Your next step to a successful career is to commence heavy equipment training – are you ready?

Getting a start in any career can be difficult unless you know someone in the business. Even then, employers are keen to employ the ‘right’ people for the job. If you’re considering a career as a heavy equipment operator, here are a few tips that may help you to reach your goal.

Heavy Equipment Training – research this area well. You need to choose a training business that will expose you to a range of heavy equipment, will train you to industry standards, and has a good reputation within industry. A training business that has been around for a long time generally suggests they are doing all the right things.

Select The Right Heavy Equipment – this is essential to your success. Heavy equipment ranges from small loaders through to backhoes, excavators, graders and bulldozers (and that’s only a brief list). Once you start your training, consider each vehicle carefully then select heavy equipment that you feel most comfortable with. You don’t have to settle on one type either, especially if you feel comfortable with related vehicles. For example, a backhoe, an excavator and a loader.

Seek Entry Level Work – be honest with employers and let them know you are seeking entry level work. This may reduce the number of options available to you, but employers appreciate honesty and there are positions available for entry level heavy equipment operators. Initially, don’t focus on money or the type of work offered – you are seeking experience and, hopefully, a good reference down the track. If you can achieve both, you will be well on your way to a successful career. A good training provider will help you to obtain employment so look for training providers that offer career services.

If you follow those three tips you will give yourself the best possible chance of gaining a start as a heavy equipment operator. The field can be competitive, but there are opportunities available for anyone who is prepared to work towards them. Training is at the core so select the very best heavy equipment training program available.

Loaders are not all the same although in most cases, the operating principles are the same. All loaders perform similar actions – they have a scoop style bucket at the front and it is used to scoop up material, move it to another location, and dump it. A loader can also be used like a bulldozer to spread material like dirt, sand or gravel over an area. That concept remains the same with most loaders with the exception of some of the smaller loaders that can have various attachments added to do other types of work.

It can be disconcerting for a loader operator that is used to operating a larger wheeled loader to suddenly find themselves in the seat of a small skid steer loader, for example. Rather than the bucket arms being placed at the side and forward of the operator, now they are placed behind and over the operator. The steering is also different with skid steer loaders relying on tracks which are independently controlled using foot pedals.

Training on a variety of equipment like loaders, bulldozers and backhoes can help to familiarize operators on these different types of controls. Of course, that training needs to be hands on in-the-cab training, not just a walk around and a demonstration by a trainer. When looking for a training program involving heavy equipment, ask the training organization what equipment they have and which equipment will you be receiving hands on experience with. Don’t assume that all heavy equipment training programs are the same.

Don’t forget to include ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools on your list of possible training school options. We provide training across a range of heavy equipment including loaders, bulldozers, graders and backhoes. If you’re interested in a heavy equipment career, talk to us about where your closest school is and what equipment they have available at that location.