While some states have fairly consistent climates and avoid the issue, all over the country the effects of a change from the cold, winter temperatures to the very warm summer ones are being seen in the roads that connect our towns and cities together. That calls for road repairs. For the heavy machinery industry, this is regular, reliable construction work that is happening somewhere in the country every year as we see temperatures change.

These projects offer valuable opportunities for heavy machinery workers all over the country, from smaller localized repairs to complete road renewals, the consequences of the shift from winter to summer brings opportunities that all industry workers can benefit from. Good working conditions and summer weather make these particularly appealing sites as well, and for many in the industry are some of the most enjoyable projects out there. Opportunities exist for all kinds of workers but in particular heavy machinery operators find their skills in demand on such projects. With a variety of heavy machinery in use, these challenging but enjoyable projects are well worth seeking out.

What happens is that the road surfaces crack, warp, and even collapse under the stresses that such temperature changes provoke, and while such things are not good for local commuters and those traveling around the country, for the construction industry it is a valuable business source that appears with regularity. Because such movements occur naturally, there is little to combat it, new road designs are always under review however for extremes of temperature the issue of cracking has never been solved.

That is one of the things that makes the heavy machinery industry such a great choice for a career because road repairs like that are not the only regularly occurring construction work out there. From new building works for expanding populations to projects to combat the effects of erosion around our coastlines, the simple movement of time itself brings new opportunities for the construction industry.

This is central to the appeal of the industry for careers because it is at its core an industry that can never become unneeded. For all of us connected to the construction industry, the work itself is interesting and the teamwork and friendships make it enjoyable, but it is the dependability of the need for such work that makes it the career choice it is. Industry is at the center of our way of life, and by just living and thriving, our country generates the work that keeps us busy. That is not going to change in any foreseeable future, making this one of the few industries today that can offer a secure career for life.

Varied and challenging, but always in demand, that ultimately describes the heavy machinery career, but that is also the core of what makes it such a great career for you. Opportunities are always there, in an expanding industry the need for your skills is growing, and as we have discussed, the world around us generates more of that demand simply through the passage of time, it is an industry to build a career in.

The construction industry job market today can be daunting, no matter what your skills the competition is fierce, but more than that, whole industries are rapidly changing, and with those changes come new ways of working, and often fewer jobs, and fewer job security. Knowing where to look for a career that offers some stability is no longer easy, as jobs in many traditional industries seem to disappear before our eyes.

Knowing what to do, what skills will help your career, and providing a reliable source of work is more difficult now than perhaps at any time in the modern world, but there is an answer. We at Associated Training Services believe that the construction industry as a whole and in particular heavy equipment operation offers a dependable option for anyone. Not only that, but we think the ever-changing work, the skill required, and the job satisfaction you get make it a great career too.

But being enjoyable, challenging, and varied is not why the construction industry is a brilliant career choice in the modern job market, that is why you would want to do the job. Look at the country, and you will see why construction is such a good choice. While cars can be made anywhere and shipped around the world, along with most other manufactured goods, the reality is that we always need new roads, new factories, and new construction work, and it cannot be exported across the world, it is a job that is done on-site, and always will be.

There are other challenges for many jobs too, automation is an issue facing many industries today, something that could eventually simply remove millions of jobs that people have taken for granted for the last century or more. However, operating heavy equipment is a skill, it takes a little finesse and situational awareness, teamwork, and adaptability. With each job different, each site different, and each team different, the human touch is essential in many aspects of heavy machinery work.

Our training can give you the skills and confidence you need to forge your career in construction today. In an industry that is seeing increased spending every year, essential for the nation’s survival, construction skills will always be needed. Our comprehensive training opportunities prepare you for the challenges ahead, whether you are looking to be a crane operator, truck driver, digger derrick operator, or heavy equipment operator, we have the expertise to help you learn the skills you need.

Any training is an investment in yourself, but in this changing world, making sure that investment is the right one has never been more important. The construction industry today offers the chance at a stable, reliable career, but more than that, it offers challenging but enjoyable work that brings great job satisfaction and the pleasure of working with a team.

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.

Do you know what a “green job” is? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Green Job Initiative is growing quickly and these jobs are popping up all over the place.

Green jobs are either:

1. Jobs in businesses that produce goods or provide services that benefit the environment or conserve natural resources.

1. Jobs in which workers’ duties involve making their establishment’s production processes more environmentally friendly or use fewer natural resources.

Being Trained To Do Green Jobs Is Good For YOUR Future

For heavy equipment operators, being able to say you know how to work in an environmentally friendly fashion means you are highly qualified and hireable. As the environment and natural resources become prioritized, so will green construction jobs. That’s why ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training School offers green jobs and training. You’ll get the training that qualifies you for the green job initiative and you’ll get the help to find the green jobs where you are located.

These green jobs won’t just be the occasional homeowner wanting to keep the big trees alive while they build their house. It certainly includes individuals, but the Green Job Initiative means that these jobs will be in the commercial construction industry. That’s government projects, infrastructure, and more. It’s big money and it’s going to take heavy equipment operators who are able to do the job the way it needs to be done today, instead of the way it used to be done.

This change in the way heavy equipment is used is slow. You are still going to find jobs where it’s old school. But since there is a growing demand for jobs where it’s ecologically sensitive and new school, ATS provides an awareness of both and competency across the board. You will have a heavy equipment career in the future if you’ve been trained at ATS.

The more training an employee has under his belt the more valuable they are to their employer. This is true in every industry, and this is especially true in the heavy equipment industry. There are numerous machines that an operator can get trained on that will make him more valuable. But, a unique route can be taken to increase an operator’s value even more. This is to combine the heavy equipment operator training certification with a commercial driver’s license (CDL) .

Every construction or engineering company needs to get their heavy equipment from one work site to another. With the majority of heavy equipment, this requires a flatbed truck which will also require a driver with a commercial driver’s license. This driver may then be required to move around the heavy equipment once he has arrived on a work site. By combining these two training programs, an operator can truly increase his value to any company. In this tight economy, any chance an operator has to improve his resume should be taken. This combination of training could make an operator invaluable to his employer.

An employer is always looking for ways to increase profits and speed up processes. A great way for an employee to save his employer money is to be able to perform the duties that would normally require two people. A heavy equipment operator that can drive equipment to a work site will stand out to his employer and will make him instantly more hirable. Today, millions are struggling to make ends meet, but a CDL licensed driver that can operate heavy equipment will be a highly coveted employee on any work site.

Some of the best paid heavy equipment operators are those that work in the mining industry. One reason is the sheer isolation of many of these workplaces and, of course, for many there is the inherent danger that comes with mine work. While the equipment used in mines is often huge in comparison to those used on a construction site, often the operational principles are still the same.

The giant excavators used in open cut mines, often referred to as shovels, are still just a giant excavator. The basic operations are still the same, just on a much larger scale. The same could be said for the dump trucks – on some of the big units, one wheel is the same size as a small regular dump truck. Again, the basic operations are very similar.

Because mines use similar equipment, learning to operate regular construction size vehicles can still open doors to work in the mining industry. What is important is the initial training provided, and the experience an operator can gain in the workplace. Once you have had a reasonable amount of experience, you could find that many of the mines are willing to employ you.

Training is the key to any job – more so when it comes to heavy equipment. Employers are expecting you to be productive from day one – they don’t have time to teach what is required on the job. The general assumption is, since you have completed your training, you’re ready to go to work – not enter into more training.

At ATS, we believe in a similar principle. Having the skills and knowledge that makes you immediately employable is our main goal. Safety is also included and since it is set to national standards, the employer knows you are already compliant with safety standards knowledge. As for the mines, do your heavy equipment training, gain a little experience in the workplace, then start applying to those mining companies – you never know until you try.

Heavy equipment has been the focus of attention when it comes to safety for several years now. While operators require training that includes safety, onsite workers also have an obligation to act safely around heavy equipment. Work place health and safety training is now mandatory in many industries and where employers have failed to ensure their employees are trained, big fines are on offer.

When it comes to heavy equipment safety, there are several areas that are important to understand. These areas include:

Preservation of self – This is fairly obvious, the last thing any operator should do is act in a way that could put themselves in danger. An obvious example of this is when working around power lines – come into contact with one of those power lines and you could be in real trouble.

Safety of others – The majority of heavy equipment accidents involve injuries to people other than the operator. In some cases, it is the worker on the ground that hasn’t taken care. However, operators should be aware of everyone around them and be trained sufficiently well that they can take avoidance action should a situation become dangerous.

Safety of property – By far the number one result of accidents is damage to property. This includes buildings and vehicles. These accidents generally occur through sloppy work, often because an operator has misjudged a distance. Heavy equipment can cause tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage just through one simple error of judgment.

These accidents are all avoidable. Heavy equipment safety training is designed to cover all aspects of safety. This training is generally included as part of a person’s basic heavy equipment training program. In some states, an employee cannot start work onsite unless they have undertaken this training. If you are looking at heavy equipment training programs, be sure they have a good safety component – you may find it necessary when looking for employment.

Show me a construction site and I can almost guarantee that the busiest piece of equipment is a loader. They are versatile pieces of equipment capable of moving material like dirt, sand or debris from one place to another, loading trucks, or carrying anything heavy. Life as a loader operator is just as busy and it takes someone who can remain extremely alert to safely operate one.

Safety on a construction site is always important and it is particularly true of a loader operator. Their equipment is fast compared to most other equipment. Loaders are also fairly nimble, often able to get into places that other equipment cannot. Because of that speed and versatility, operators cannot afford to become complacent. They can quickly come upon an area busy with workers who themselves may be oblivious to the loader’s presence.

Being able to operate a loader in a busy environment is just one skill that an operator requires. They also need good depth perception when emptying a load into a truck. Without that depth perception, they could empty half the contents back onto the ground.

Loaders are one of the pieces of equipment that ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools includes in its heavy equipment training program. This training program is undertaken over three weeks with students gaining sufficient knowledge and skills to be in a position to commence employment as operators. There are not many careers that can start with a three week training program and have you work ready. If you are looking for a change in career and you think you can handle the hustle and bustle associated with being a loader operator, contact ATS and we can discuss your loader operator training options.

As the weather starts to clear you will see more and more bulldozers hard at work on many of our back roads. Over winter, snow, ice and water sit on these back roads and are generally only accessible using off-road vehicles. Off-road vehicles tend to have larger tires with large tread patterns so you can imagine the effect they have as they grind snow, ice and mud against the road surfaces.

Once the weather has cleared – and the snow, ice and water has gone – these back roads are almost impassable due to the large pot holes that have been gouged into the roads. Bulldozers are often called in to start the repair processes. They carve out the rough patches of road ready for either a repair crew to resurface the road or for gravel, which the bulldozer then spreads over the surface.

Bulldozer operators are always in high demand at this time of the year. They are normally the first heavy equipment operators called into any construction area as they prepare the way for new buildings or new roads. Because of this demand, it is also a great opportunity for those who are looking to start a career as bulldozer operators.

By undertaking your heavy equipment operator training through ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools you are giving yourself the best advantage possible in starting this career. Training only takes three weeks so you are ready to snap up any opportunities that arise. ATS has an excellent record when it comes to producing skilled operators. Future employers will often show preference for our graduates over those from other training schools. If you’re ready for a career operating bulldozers, give yourself the ATS advantage and contact us now for details on the next training course in your area.

I think there are times when we underestimate the value of simple machinery like loaders. On the face of it, they have a limited range of tasks and most of those are related to carrying. They can’t dig very well, they are not really suited to any bulldozing and they can’t do a lot when it comes to demolition, except carry away the demolished material.

With that sort of description, who would want to operate one? In fact, who would want to undertake loader training? However, if you stop and think about what they can do, it’s a different story. A loader can move an awful lot of material in a very short time. Take loading sand into a truck. It would take at least 20 men at least an hour to load a pile of sand into a truck. In fact, getting it into the truck would be the difficult part. Perhaps they could use a couple of buckets tied to rope. The loader, of course, could move the pile in two or three scoops.

It’s not recommended these days, but in the past many tradesman relied on the scoop to raise them high enough to perform special tasks. Cherry pickers or specialist hoists do the job these days. Loaders can also be used, in a limited way, to level out the ground. This is done by adding loose material with the scoop being used like a giant rake to level out the loose material.

Almost every building site has a loader of some shape and size, even if it’s just a compact loader. They are versatile when it comes to carrying and moving objects, whether it is loose material like sand and dirt or solid material like rock and concrete. They are also useful for moving hardware like pipes, steel or timber and any other object that will fit into its scoop.

Loader operators are always in demand, which is fortunate since loaders can also be one of the easiest ways into the heavy equipment industry. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools can have you qualified and in the operator seat of a loader in just three weeks. Call us and find out how.