Old hands will tell you that excavators in use today are far easier to operate compared to twenty years ago. Is it true? It is a question that is not as black and white as it first sounds. Yes, almost all heavy equipment is ‘easier’ to use compared to twenty years ago, but that is not the complete story.

Looking at the basic operations of heavy equipment, the technical improvements in areas such as hydraulics and electronics have certainly made the life of a heavy equipment operator easier. Machinery like motor graders, which used a steering wheel, required strength to operate. Power steering has changed all that – if the machinery has a steering wheel. Excavators were good workers but lack fine controls – most modern excavators now have that fine control. This means they can work to precise degrees of accuracy.

Of course, that is the standard day-to-day operation and yes, on that basis, modern excavators are easier to operate. However, modern excavators come with a range of attachments – the excavator is no longer just an excavator.

Attachments like a hammer turn the excavator into a large jack-hammer capable of breaking up hard material like rock or concrete slabs. Large claws can be attached and are used to pick up objects. Learning to operate these attachments takes a whole new set of skills – skills that operators of twenty years ago don’t possess.

A simple answer to the opening question would be to ask if today’s operators could operate the excavators of yesteryear and whether the operators from that era could operate today’s excavators. The answer – today’s operators probably could operate an excavator from twenty years ago. Unfortunately, the operators from twenty years could struggle with today’s equipment. Based on that response, you would have to conclude that today’s heavy equipment is technically more difficult to operate than those machines of twenty years ago.

Not only is the equipment more difficult, the training required to operate an excavator is more intense. This is one reason why it is important to undertake your training through a reputable heavy equipment training provider. If they are not accredited, be careful when handing over you money – you may not get what you are paying for.

Bulldozer operators and backhoe operators are the two units of heavy equipment most likely to work on their own. They do form integral parts of teams but you will often find a backhoe out on a site doing the preparation work alone. One such job is the digging of foundations for a new building. Let’s spend a day with a backhoe operator as they dig those foundations.

A backhoe operator typically starts the day quite early. They arrive at the construction yard where they collect their work orders for that day. After an inspection of the backhoe they load it onto a truck and often drive it themselves to the site. Once on the site the backhoe is unloaded from the truck, the scene of battle surveyed, the blue prints checked then it’s on with the job.

As the name suggests, a backhoe is a piece of heavy equipment that has a hoe (the bucket) that is operated by dragging the bucket through the earth towards itself. In other words, it drags it back, it doesn’t push forward like a bulldozer of loader. As the backhoe edges forward, it is leaving a trench behind itself.

An experienced backhoe operator can dig a standard house foundation in less than a day. Once the foundations have been dug, it is time to pack up and return to the construction yard. After unloading the backhoe, the operator generally reports back to the manager on the work performed. They may even preview the following day’s work, particularly if special attachments are required.

A backhoe operator’s day finishes with another walk around inspection – this is to check for any damage the machine may have received during the day. Backhoe operators often work long hours when required and may work six day weeks. If you are looking for a heavy equipment career that provides some independence then training to become a backhoe operator could be your best option.

If a backhoe is not quite to your liking then I suggest you check out our “spend a day with” series. The series covers mobile crane operation, bulldozers, motor graders and excavators.

The backhoe has often been seen as a thrown together cross between a fully fledged excavator and a full size front-end loader. There is probably a little truth in it as well since the backhoe can do some of the work of an excavator using one end of the machine, and do some of the work of a front end loader using the other half.

Looking a little like a scorpion, backhoes have their place in construction, particularly when the jobs require the services of a smaller machine. Over the years new technology has made big inroads into the capabilities of excavators, road graders and to a lesser extent, bulldozers and front-end loaders. The backhoe hasn’t been forgotten with new attachments coming out all the time.

One attachment that came out several years ago really changed some of the capabilities of backhoes. There are times when a sidewalk needs to be torn up and the best machine for the job was the backhoe. However, there were times when the only way to complete the job involved damaging the areas either side of the sidewalk. A new tool called a Rototilt was introduced that completely changed the way a backhoe tackled the job. Now, a backhoe can dig up a sidewalk and cause little or no damage to surrounding areas.

This is just one attachment, there are hundreds of others. What has it meant to the backhoe? It is no longer a cross between an excavator and a front-end loader, it is a legitimate machine in its own right. Whilst the combined skills of an excavator operator and front-end loader operator are ideal, the backhoe now demands skills specific to the machine. If you are looking for a career in heavy equipment that is challenging and involves a lot of variety, consider undertaking backhoe training – it’s a career that continues to evolve and challenge operators – you will never find yourself becoming bored.

Heavy equipment is generally associated with construction and whilst most heavy equipment careers involve the construction industry, you could also work in mining, forestry, oil drilling, farming or, in some cases, production. The construction sector is by far the single biggest employer of heavy equipment operators.

The classification of heavy equipment can be difficult with gray areas covering some of the smaller machines used. However, if you accept that heavy equipment is used to move heavy material then you would be close to the mark. A career in heavy equipment then is the operation of machinery that falls into this category. This machinery includes equipment that:

• clears and grades land
• digs trenches
• hoists heavy construction materials
• assists in constructing oil rigs
• applies asphalt and concrete

This is just a small example of the type of work performed. Machinery that could be used in these tasks include:

• Bulldozers
• Road Graders
• Wheel Loaders
• Excavators
• Pile Drivers
• Mobile or Fixed Cranes
• Paving Machines

This list doesn’t include specialist machinery such as forestry equipment, mining equipment or equipment such as the specialist gantry cranes used in ports and harbors. Most heavy equipment operators start their careers operating equipment you see everyday. Bulldozers, excavators, loaders and mobile cranes are the most common entry level positions. Operators can also enter the workforce through road graders although for major construction work like road building, the preference is for experienced operators.

The one key ingredient to a successful career as a heavy equipment operator is the initial training received. Quality training across a broad range of heavy equipment is the best start you get. This provides you with hands on experience and a thorough understanding of workplace safety. With the basic skills under you belt you can move into the workforce and experience a long and lucrative heavy equipment career.

The use of GPS is growing markedly in our society and you can really see the impact it is having when you look at construction and machinery like graders or excavators. A technology known as 3D GPS assists the grader operator to accurately position the blade, allowing for a faster grade without utilizing survey grade stakes.

There are several spin-offs in the use of GPS when it comes to heavy equipment. A grader is a good example of the use and some of the benefits obtained. Safety, of course, is always an important issue on a work site. The use of GPS to set the position and orientation of the blade, even when working to slopes, means the grader will perform the work exactly as planned. This removes the need for a grade checker. Their job was to constantly check the grade from the ground, often putting them in close proximity to all the heavy equipment – the closer you get, the higher th risk of an accident. No grade checker – no accidents.

A second major benefit for construction companies that use GPS in their work is speed. Machinery like graders will get the job done first time every time. If the GPS co-ordinates have all been calibrated correctly then you will never come across a situation where the work done doesn’t meet the plans – and it’s done first time around. This saves time which equates of course to saving money. In some cases, construction contracts award bonuses for early or ontime completion of projects.

The use of GPS can be a specialized field when it comes to graders and excavators. Before undertaking GPS training, you would need to have a solid foundation of excavator or grader operator training along with a little experience using that equipment. Once you have that solid base of skills, you can then undertake GPS training for heavy equipment

Going to a heavy equipment training school to undertake excavator training can provide you with a really good skills base. However, once you get out into the workplace, your training continues. Learning by doing is certainly one of the best options, however, sitting back and just watching the experienced operators at work can be a big lesson in itself.

It’s not restricted to excavators either. Just watch the experienced hands at work on bulldozers, graders or any other heavy equipment. The reason I picked on excavators today is because I took a little time yesterday to watch an excavator at work. They may be large cumbersome beasts, but there are a few little tricks that some operators pick up with experience.

The excavator I was watching had almost finished digging a large trench. It had about 10 feet left but was really cramped for any room to move. It certainly had difficulties extending its arm. One option was to send the excavator home and get either a smaller unit in or perhaps a backhoe. Of course, that takes time and you know what they say, ‘time is money’.

Here is where the experience of the operator came to the fore. He set about building a mound, only five or six feet high. Once completed, he navigated his excavator to the top of the mound. From an increased height of only five or six feet, he had the extra room to extend the excavator’s arm and complete the trench, the last part being only a few feet in front of the mound he had built. Where it would have taken a couple of hours to swap equipment, he had the job completed.

Of course, without a solid training base you will never come to appreciate the little tips that experienced operators can demonstrate. Excavator training by a quality heavy equipment training organization is a must if you ever hope to be in a position where your experience can be passed on to the next generation. You have to get the basics right before you can learn the more advanced processes.

One of the most versatile members of the heavy equipment family are backhoes and they really do earn their keep when it comes to housing projects. The reason for backhoes being so popular is because they are able to perform all the work required – the ultimate multi-task machine.

Backhoes are able to perform a lot of the work of a bulldozer, clearing the land ready for construction. Whilst they may not have the power of a bulldozer, they still pack plenty of grunt and their scoop at the front not only cuts into the surface like bulldozer, it can also carry the dirt the same as a front end loader. There are two units of heavy equipment taken out of the picture.

Once the ground has been cleared, the backhoe can act like an excavator and dig trenches for foundations and for services that require underground pipelines. There is a third unit of heavy equipment covered.

If the ground is particularly hard, there are numerous attachments that can be added to help break it up – a task that would take half a dozen men a couple of days to do using pick-axes or by using explosives.

Backhoes are versatile enough to do all of those task and more. They are also one of the few pieces of heavy equipment that maneuver around a house whilst under construction and clean up all the debris and left over construction material.

Training to operate backhoes is done as part of an overall heavy equipment training program. This is a great way to learn how to operate a backhoe since you also gain skills on bulldozers, excavators and front end loaders. You gain the skills and the understanding of these machines, which ultimately helps in your role as a backhoe operator. It also provides you with alternative career options when required.

Every piece of heavy equipment has a role in building our country. You can thank the humble excavator for helping to connect our nation. If you can imagine the millions of miles of water pipes, sewage pipes and communications pipes that have been laid from coast to coast – that is a lot of pipe line.

Sure, the whole lot could have been laid by hand. But imagine the cost, the time, and how many people would be required to do that job – if you could get anyone to do it in this day and age that is. What takes ten men a day to do – an excavator can do in half the time using one man. More importantly, where you have ten men swearing and cursing and hating every minute of their job, excavator operators not only love their work, they are proud of it.

Check the photo and tell me how many people it would take to dig that hole, lower that huge pipe into the hole, then back fill it all – by hand! The excavator makes light work of the job no matter how hard the ground is.

Working as an excavator operator could see you digging trenches for those large pipes, or digging smaller trenches for communications lines. If you can think of a need for a trench, then I can find an excavator to do the job. It doesn’t matter how wide or how deep the trench is, the skills required are the same and can be gained by undertaking a heavy equipment training program that includes excavator training.

I recently wrote on how to Become An Excavator Operator And Learn To Control A Real Monster – today I could almost eat my words. Over the last ten days or so I have watched with interest an excavator, admittedly one of the smaller variety, working away each day on a new pipeline. Although we have been in the industry for decades, I can still watch them at work with a certain amount of awe.

What caught my attention with this job? The excavator operator’s ‘fine’ skills. The excavator wasn’t being used as a ‘monster’, at least not all the time. Let me give you a run down on the job.

Day one – the excavator operator used the bucket like a butter knife to gently peel away the turf from the surface. This was neatly piled to one side of the job.

Day two and three – the excavator became the monster and dug a fairly deep and fairly wide trench ready for the pipes to be laid.

Day four – each pipe was rigged to the excavator bucket and gently lowered into the trench. One by one they all went in.

Day five – the trench was back-filled. I thought that was it – job done and I won’t see them again. Wrong.

Day six – back again – this time, as gentle as a baby, the excavator operator carefully scraped and combed the sides of the filled-in trench pulling in all the loose debris. Behind him his fellow workers were relaying the turf that had been pulled up on day one.

Now they are gone. I couldn’t resist it; I had to go and look at the worksite. You can see where the turf has been put down. However, that is all you can see. You would never know there had been a deep trench there a couple of days earlier. That excavator operator had cleaned the area to perfection – that takes skills – skills that are acquired first through quality excavator operator training, and secondly through years of practice.

I know his face looked familiar. I may have seen him on another work site – but then again, I wonder if he was one of ours and had undertaken his training through ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools. I should have asked.

When you stop to think about it, excavators are one of the most important machines that contribute to the construction experience. Without the right excavator digging the hole to start the process, none of the projects that you see would even get started. And that means that you need to have someone who has had heavy equipment training running the machine and with the right training from Associated Training Services that person could be you.

These are the people that have known American needs the best equipment operators since 1959 when the first opened their doors to supply the best in vocational training. And these are serious people who are committed to getting you the best in all manner of heavy equipment training from crane operator training to truck driver training.

Once you see what these people offer, you’ll quickly realize that you don’t need to go anywhere else to get the most complete package. See, this is the professional organization that can take you through every step of the process from getting you involved with their onlnie sign up process to supplying you with the very best in saftey training so that you’ll be a responsible operator that can work well around others on the site.

When you need the get the right kind of excavator training, you need to get involved with the people that have the best facilities and people to train you on the spot. And those are the folks at Associated Training Services. They have what it takes to start you off in a new career in excavators.