Should you multi skill and become a backhoe operator? I guess I don’t have to remind everyone of the economy and the struggles that everyone has been through – if you didn’t see, feel or hear about it then you probably weren’t on the planet at the time. Times have been tough and many small businesses have been feeling the pinch – even in heavy equipment. As we start to shake off the problems of the past two/three years, businesses are starting to spend again, but very cautiously.

When it comes to heavy equipment purchases, prudence is the order of the day and cost reduction the number one factor. One of the easiest ways to cut costs is by using equipment that is versatile. The more versatile a unit of heavy equipment is, the more income that equipment can generate. I know, boring details on how to run a business – however, it does impact on all of us.

When it comes to heavy equipment, why buy a loader and an excavator when a backhoe can do the same work – in one unit. The only down side to buying a backhoe is that it can only be in one place at any one time – but it can certainly undertake a wide range of tasks while in that one place. During the recession, the last unit of heavy equipment to be mothballed was the backhoe. The first unit to be purchased was also a backhoe and, at present, the highest demand for operators is for backhoe operators.

Since it takes the skills of both a loader operator and an excavator operator, it makes sense to multi skill and take on the role of a backhoe operator. The path to multi skilling is made easier when a heavy equipment training program actually covers a wide range of equipment When the economy evens out, you can specialize in excavators, or loaders, or perhaps stay with backhoes, it’s your choice.

Mention technology these days and most people automatically think about computers. While they do have an important role to play, new heavy equipment technology involves far more. If you were to compare today’s machinery with those from twenty or more years ago, the changes, while not so obvious from the outside, are huge when you get ‘under the bonnet’.

Hydraulic systems are one area that has gone through considerable change. The hydraulics on today’s equipment are more efficient, quieter and less prone to break down compared to older equipment. The engines are now far more fuel efficient, expel far less in the way of pollutants and are quickly reaching a point of being labeled ‘environmentally friendly’. Twenty years ago, you could smell a bulldozer in operation a mile away, if you couldn’t smell it, you could often see the plume of black smoke coming out of its stack. You could most definitely hear it at work.

Computers are of course making themselves felt when it comes to heavy equipment technology. Adding GPS locators has meant that stolen equipment is now retrieved, often within hours of going missing for weeks or months. GPS is also being used to help operators complete tasks more accurately and faster than those units not using GPS.

Heavy equipment technology improves because operators are constantly looking at ways to get more work done in far less time. Construction companies are paid by the completed project, with most projects having penalties for finishing late and bonuses for early completion. Being able to complete a project means getting paid more, early, and being free to start the next project. New heavy equipment technology is helping construction companies achieve this.

Despite all these changes, the operating basics haven’t changed that much. If anything, learning to operate heavy equipment has become a lot easier. If I can operate a bulldozer then you can as well – if not a bulldozer then a grader, backhoe or excavator. Why don’t you consider a career as a heavy equipment operator – heavy equipment technology is making the task easier everyday.

Backhoes are one of the most in-demand machines when it comes to construction and general excavating work. Because they incorporate the digging system of an excavator and the loading ability of a front end loader, they can do the work of these two machines with less cost to a business. Backhoes together with bulldozers are often the first heavy equipment purchased by a new earth moving business because of the range of work they can perform.

How do you become an in-demand operator? It goes beyond operator skills, although they are important. In-demand operators are those that know their soil types well, can complete a job on time (or sooner) and according to the plans, and do so with the right attitude to safety and the employer. Operators that fit this description soon earn a reputation and it is that reputation that creates the demand. Operators that have a strong reputation can often demand good wages, good work conditions and are rarely out of work.

So how do you gain those skills? It doesn’t start with your training – it starts with your attitude. If you have a positive outgoing nature, get on well with people, and can work to a set of plans then you’re ready for training. If you’re the kind of person that is always right, and everyone else is wrong then perhaps you should reconsider you career plans – the backhoe may not be your best choice.

If you have the right attitude then you’re ready for training and that means getting your training through the best possible training school. Guess what – ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools is one of the best in the business. Our graduates are well respected by employers and often find employment soon after graduating. If you take that positive attitude into our heavy equipment training program, and can acquire the skills quickly, you will become one of those skilled and in-demand backhoe operators.

A question that is frequently asked is how difficult is it to learn to operate loaders; or excavators, bulldozers and so on. The answer often surprises many people. Heavy equipment operator training doesn’t concentrate on just the one piece of machinery. Students at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools are trained on a range of equipment that could include:

• backhoes
• wheel loaders
• scrapers
• excavators
• bulldozers
• road graders
• rock trucks
• Skid Steers
• All-Terrain Forklifts

Learning how to operate a range of heavy equipment provides the student with an understanding of how they operate and what sort of skills are required. While you may want to work as a loader operator, having excavator and backhoe skills gives you more options in the work place. That, however, is only part of the training. Knowing how to operate heavy equipment will not make you a good operator. There are others skills and knowledge that must be learned as well. For example, we also train our operators in:

• grade reading
• laser levels
• soils
• safety
• site layouts
• heavy equipment maintenance

Learning safety issues is now a requirement in all training. In fact, in most work sites you cannot be employed unless you have undertaken some safety training. One of the benefits of training through ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools is that our training is nationally accredited. This means your training is recognized throughout the country providing you with work opportunities nationwide.

Loader operator training is just one component of a heavy equipment operator training program. Yet, you can complete your training in as little as three weeks. If you want to fast track your way into a loader operator’s job, give us a call at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools – we have over ten training centers spread across the nation.

Winter brings quite a few interesting scenarios that backhoes have to deal with. Water pipes that rupture due to the cold, perhaps sewage mains and a myriad of other problems that occur every time we bury essential services. The one piece of equipment you can always rely on to come in and help, of course, is the backhoe.

They are quite nimble for their size and can be quickly set up to dig up a trench and expose problematic pipelines. They can help raise and lower pipes and finish the job by back filling the trench. It can be a cold job, however, especially in some of the older models that have open cabs. You could be called out at odd hours as well if it is an urgent situation.

Learning to operate a backhoe is an interesting experience as it combines the skills of an excavator operator and those of a loader operator – fortunately not at the same time. Gaining employment as a backhoe operator is even more interesting since your versatility exposes you to such a wide range of tasks.

Becoming a backhoe operator is not as difficult as many would imagine. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools can have you trained and ready to work in as little as three weeks. Forget training that takes three or six months – developing skills in areas that employers need is what is important, not developing a range of skills that you may never use.

If you are considering a career as a heavy equipment operator, particularly as a backhoe operator, then contact ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools and find where and when the next operator training course starts.

Backhoes are one of the most versatile machines in use when it comes to construction. They excel at digging trenches, particularly in tight areas where an excavator may not fit easily. Backhoes are also good at carrying stuff around a construction site. They help move dirt, often being called on to dig a trench then dump the excess dirt into dump trucks. There is one other job that backhoes (and excavators) do that most people don’t consider.

Digging a trench is a real skill. The trench starts at point A and ends at Point B. It also has to be a certain depth. That’s all in a days work for a backhoe – it’s what they were created for. However, what happens once the workers have finished working in the trench? Naturally, the trench has to be backfilled – anyone got a shovel? I don’t fancy doing it by hand – do you?

Now the backhoe has a scoop at the front that could do a great job of backfilling that trench. There is one problem, however. The workers have laid gas pipeline in a trench that is five feet deep. Do you want dirt and rock falling five feet to crash into sensitive gas (or sewerage) pipelines? Gas, of course, is under pressure so it will soon make its way through any weakness. Guess it is a job for a manual shovel.

Actually, the backhoe is well suited to fulfilling this role as well. It can use its bucket to life dirt and lower it into the trench and, for a machine, gently empty its contents into the trench. Having dirt and rock drop a couple of inches causes far less damage than having it drop 3, 4 or 5 feet. Not only that, experienced operators can manipulate the bucket so that it sprinkles the dirt back into the trench. It’s actually an interesting experience watching a backhoe operator carefully backfilling a trench. Of course, once the pipes have been covered sufficiently, you can use the front scoop to just push the dirt in.

Training to become a backhoe operator gives you the opportunity to learn a diverse range of skills. Backhoes, because of their versatility, get a lot of the interesting jobs on a construction site – and they are reasonably well paid as well.

Whilst backhoes, excavators and bulldozers do all the hard work digging and pushing dirt around, it is the loader that invariably gets the job of cleaning up after it’s brothers. Of course, backhoes have loader scoops at the front so for the purpose of this post we will include them in the category of loader. The other aspect to remember is that loaders come in all sizes, from the small compact loaders to the mighty beasts that are used in mining.

Before anyone argues the point with me, I know some loaders can also undertake a degree of digging and earthmoving, but for the big jobs, the specialist machinery is generally called in relegating the loader to cleanup detail. If it sounds like I am putting loaders down, I’m not. Cleaning up is of equal importance to any other aspect of a job.

Wheel loaders are really quite special. They are quite maneuverable and can travel fairly quickly over the ground. They can also move a lot of material fairly quickly. Loaders are probably one of the fastest machines used on a construction site. Even the larger models can move quickly. If you ever watch a loader at work you will see how quickly they can load a truck; zipping forward to scoop up material then in reverse to line up with the truck. And all done at a fair speed.

Loaders rely a lot on hand-eye coordination with eyesight quite important – you need to be sure the scoop is over the truck before tipping the load. If your eyesight is askew you could be dumping the load just short of the truck all the time.

You can undertake loader training as part of a general heavy equipment training program. This will also equip you with skills to handle backhoes, loaders, excavators and bulldozers. Loaders may do all the clean up work, but without them we would have pretty awful looking buildings.

Now here is an unusual vehicle and an unusual truck driving job – operating a vacuum truck. As the name suggests, it is a truck that has a vacuum attachment and just like your home vacuum, it is designed to clean up dirt. Instead of vacuuming carpet, the vacuum truck cleans up after an excavator has been hard at work – you could say it was an excavator’s best friend.

Excavators are good at what they do – excavate. There are a lot of different devices that can be attached to excavators, unfortunately some of them make life a little harder. There are specialized drill attachments. These are great for drilling holes but leave behind all the drill castings from the hole. Rather than change back to a bucket to remove these castings, a vacuum truck works with the excavator sucking up the dirt as it is removed from the drill hole.

Of course, excavators themselves can only do so much. Their buckets can dig trenches and remove a high percentage of the dirt, however, the remnants often need removing by hand, or by vacuuming. Imagine removing sand from a child’s sand pit using a bucket and spade. Eventually you will be left with small amounts – too small for the bucket and spade to be effective. You could use something smaller, like a teaspoon to get at that last little bit – or a vacuum cleaner to do the job quickly – the same is true in construction.

Are there special skills require to operate a vacuum truck – not really, just a commercial drivers license. It’s an unusual job but one that does what would normally take several men many hours to do using hand tools. If you’re ever at an excavation site – keep your eyes open to see if they are using a vacuum cleaner on wheels – the vacuum truck, an excavator’s best friend.

If you have ever visited or worked on a construction site you may have noticed one piece of equipment that seems to be everywhere. Chances are, it will be a wheel loader. They certainly are busy bees although others may refer to them as the ‘gopher’ of the heavy equipment team.

Gopher’s they are too. They dig holes, move dirt, carry pipes, remove rubbish and debris and do any other type of lifting and carrying that is required. About the only piece of heavy equipment that does more in the way of lifting than a loader is a crane, and that’s only because they have a longer arm. In fact, when it comes to working on a construction site, a loader operator has to be skilled enough to quickly switch from one mode, say loading dirt into a truck, to another such as carrying pipes and gently lowering them into a trench.

Wheel loaders not only do a wide variety of tasks with their scoop, they have a wide range of attachments that can be added. The list of attachments these days is almost endless. If you can think of a task, there will be an attachment of some description for a loader.

As I mentioned, loader operators require a range of skills. One of the best training programs available is one that provides experience on several different pieces of heavy equipment. If you can gain some experience in operating a bulldozer, excavator and backhoe, you will find that these skills can be blended and actually complement those of a loader operator.

Find a training program for loader operators that has this combination of skills and you will be set to enter the workplace ready to tackle most jobs. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools provide training on a variety of heavy equipment and can have you work ready in as little as three weeks. Not only will they have you work ready, their employment assistance program can help you find that first job. What are you waiting for? – the construction industry needs operators now.

Backhoes have one major advantage over most other heavy equipment. After they have finished digging a hole, they can turn around and use their scoop to clean up the mess they have made. Bulldozers can move mountains, but they still need a loader to load the unwanted material onto trucks.

Excavators can at least dig a hole and deposit the material straight into a truck. However, it can be a slow process considering how much a bucket holds compared to a scoop. For the backhoe, it can dig a trench as long as necessary, help to lower the pipes, for example, into that trench then use the scoop to back fill the trench before loading the leftover material straight into a truck. The complete all-in-one package.

Many operators shun backhoes considering them to be the babies of the heavy equipment fleet. They are often smaller in size than some of the other machines in use, however, don’t be fooled. There are some decent sized backhoes around as well. In fact, the skills required to operate a backhoe encompass several machines.

To operate a backhoe effectively, you require the skills of an excavator operator together with those of a loader operator. It also helps to have a little knowledge of crane operations as well. Of course, this all depends on what attachments have been added.

If you are looking at a career as either an excavator or loader operator then you may want to consider combining both skills to become a backhoe operator. You can still operate an excavator or loader whilst having the backup skills for the backhoe. For most training institutions, backhoe operator training is undertaken as part of a broader heavy equipment training program. It makes sense these days to multi-skill – you will always be employable then.