Every course we teach includes a section that refers to safety on site, and it is something that is incredibly important for every heavy equipment operator, every day. However, part of that dedication to safety includes the clothes we wear, but what do you need to look out for to get the right safety clothing when on-site?

Boots

Having good boots is important, not only for protection but for comfort too, there is nothing worse than a pair of boots that hurt when you have a long day ahead of you. Steel-toed boots are of course essential, but also look for quality leather that will wear in and provide real comfort, good grippy soles are important too, and always ensure that the lacing is strong and sturdy too.

Gloves

The right gloves are a balance between protection and flexibility, you don’t want gloves that get in the way too much, as they just become annoying after a while, but very thin gloves don’t really offer enough protection. For winter, insulated gloves, especially those that use effective but light insulation such as Thinsulate, are a wise choice, and for all seasons, goatskin gloves provide strength and abrasion resistance without adding weight.

Safety Glasses

Glasses should be of the right kind, for instance, made specifically to fit over your ordinary glasses if you wear them. All glasses should conform to government safety standards.

Hard Hat

There are two things you need from your hard hat, that they conform to safety standards, and that they fit well. Fit is a personal thing, but make sure it’s comfortable to wear, it can become really annoying over a long period if it’s not.

Hearing protection

Again, make sure yours complies with regulations, and today many incorporate radio systems so that you can stay in contact with site supervisors.

High-Visibility Clothes

Having a high-visibility jacket is essential on most sites today, and it is something you shouldn’t ignore. It can be the difference maker and save you from disaster, especially on sites with multiple pieces of heavy equipment operating at the same time.

Finally, think about the rest of your clothing, you want to avoid anything particularly loose, as that has the potential to get caught in mechanisms, and make sure in the winter that you have appropriate warm clothing as needed. It may not always seem too cold, but after a day on-site it can creep up on you.

It may have hosted the Super Bowl in 1982, but the Silverdome has definitely been on its own overtime the last few years. Since the Detroit Lions left in 2001, the Silverdome has been searching for a purpose, although a popular venue for concerts throughout its life, until the current ownership, the Triple Investment Group, finally decided the 130-acre site had the potential for development.

It was at that point that plans for demolition of the old site, whose record attendance of 93,173 came when it was host to WrestleMania III in 1987, were made and the project to redevelop the large site began. As one of the largest construction projects in the region, it has attracted a lot of interest within the industry, but until December, there was not a lot to see.

However, December was marked as the beginning of the demolition of the Silverdome itself, a significant challenge due to its size, but also one that has attracted a lot of interest, with members of the public more curious than ever due to the connection with the venue through their favored sports teams. Indeed, there was even a live video stream set up to let people watch the demolition itself.

However, when it came time to take the upper structure down, things did not go quite as planned. As thousands watched online and at the sire, the countdown came, the explosion occurred, and the Silverdome remained standing. While weakened, the upper part of the building was still intact, and since then investigation has shown wiring errors caused some explosives to remain undetonated, as the cause.

The stadium eventually gave in a couple of days later, when a new demolition with fresh charges successfully brought the old stadium down, and now the major work of the project begins. However, the initial failure attracted a lot of attention, not least from Detroit Lions fans, with many comparing the failure with the performances of their beloved team when they were performing inside that very stadium.

Now the major demolition is complete, large numbers of heavy machinery operators and other contractors are on site removing the debris and preparing the ground for the redevelopment. With such a large project, the machinery of all sizes is being used, and it represents one of the largest construction projects in progress in Detroit at the moment.

MSHA, or Mine Safety and Health Administration, certification is the proof of training or retraining within the mining industry as outlined by the Administration, which is required for various jobs within the mining industry.

The most common mining training is found under the Title 30 CFR – Part 46 regulations, which stipulates that new miners must complete a minimum of 24 hours of training in their first 90 days of employment, including 4 hours which must be completed before any new miner can work at a mine, whether they are surface miners or surface mining contractors.

In addition to that initial training, all surface miners and surface mining contractors working at a mining site are required to complete at least 8 hours of annual refresher training every year. The contents of that refresher training are also quite specific and must include changes at the mine that could adversely affect a miner’s health or safety and other health and safety subjects relevant to mining operations at the time. Other than the Part 46 courses, MSHA also has several other training initiatives, including Hazardous Chemicals, Emergency Spill Response, Electrical Hazards, and miners’ rights.

Training Requirements

MSHA training requirements do not just apply to miners themselves, but all surface mining contractors that work at a mining site. Because the regulations themselves define a miner as anyone who is engaged in “mining operations, which is:

• mine development
• drilling
• blasting
• extraction
• milling
• crushing
• screening or sizing of minerals at a mine
• maintenance and repair of equipment
• associated hauling of materials within the mine from these activities

That means heavy machinery operators and truck drivers who operate at a mining site need the MSHA certification just like the miners themselves.

Because Part 46 training is mandatory, anyone wanting to work at a surface mine has an interest in completing this course, this includes contractors and machinery operators, not only for legal compliance but to also have a good grounding in the dangers of mining sites and the safety protocols that provide workers with protection.

While those currently working at a mine must complete the MSHA training to comply with part 46 regulations, for any heavy machinery operator it can be beneficial to look into such certification for yourself, especially the 4 hours required before you can step on site. The reason for this is that it opens up another career avenue, with only qualified people being able to take on mining jobs, having that qualification in advance can help if you are looking to move into that sector.

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.

Modern technology and high training standards mean that safety records are better than ever today, but when cranes are involved, safety should never be taken for granted. As loads have become bigger and sites more complex, the need to create a platform for safety standards and accepted practices that took modern innovation into account was noted by OSHA at the start of this decade. Today, we have a thoroughly modern safety system designed by OSHA that recognizes the risks such large cranes and loads represent and provides the operating practices that best minimize those risks.

Central to those safety standards is training, with operators of cranes requiring certification by an accredited crane operator testing organization for the size of crane they are using. In practice, with relatively few such organizations, this means passing a National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) training program. These are held by accredited teaching facilities, offering complete training courses culminating in NCCCO written and practical exams. Additionally, OSHA has also detailed Rigger/Signalperson training and standards that work in conjunction with their operator processes.

OSHA takes the view that well-trained operators, riggers, and signal staff operate in a safer way when on site in normal circumstances, but are also trained to recognize risks and take steps to avoid them, and are able to maintain a higher safety standard even in difficult situations. They have been proven correct too, and while the changes in regulations in 2010 did cause some concern in the industry, the better performance and safety today have shown the value of those changes over time.

Here at ATS, we offer a comprehensive NCCCO training program that covers every aspect of crane operation and OSHA regulation compliance. We also have a rigger/signalperson program available that covers all aspects of OSHA regulation as well as NCCCO Rigger 1 and 2 programs as well.

All courses include both written and practical training, and offer comprehensive, effective education for any crane operator or rigger/signalperson, providing not just an NCCCO or compliance certification, but the knowledge, skill, and understanding to be safe and productive onsite.

Our training delivers competent, reliable, skilled workers who understand the job, but also know how to carry out their tasks as safely as possible, for themselves, for the site, and for their team. We are proud to offer courses that actively improve safety on site, and our crane and rigger courses do just that by following all OSHA compliance requirements, with well-thought-out programs and testing via the NCCCO.

Safety-conscious personnel delivers a safer work environment. OSHA believes that and we see it for ourselves, better training, improved safety awareness, and fewer accidents. ATS delivers the training and mindset that produces those results.

Picture the traditional construction worker and their gear, and what do you see? Blue jeans are part of that description for most of us, having been the hard-wearing pants of choice for as long as there has been construction in the country.  But are they still the best solution for something to last the rough treatment your clothes always get? As with almost every aspect of our lives, technology claims to have brought us something better, but is it a reality?

Jeans are the traditional work pants, they have endured for almost the entire existence of construction as the cost-effective, hard-wearing solution, but they have never been without issues. They take a while to dry if they get wet for any reason, even using over trousers in the rain doesn’t always stop it. There are other issues too, but overall the traditional jeans have been the best option available.

Today there are options available from several manufacturers that use the latest lightweight materials and designs to create pants designed specifically for workers in the industry, but do they really improve on the reliable jeans?

There are a number of areas that they do, and while there are many variations, the designs available are mostly an improvement for the modern worker, they have inbuilt knee protection for safety and comfort for instance, so there is no need for extra equipment as would be the case with jeans. That is not all, with water-resistant, tear-proof material, these new options are actually harder to wear those jeans, and also much better onsite, especially in wetter weather. Options with spate linings offer cold weather protection without the need for cumbersome over trousers as well, in many ways the designs and materials really have made all the difference.

Design changes do not stop there, with larger pockets and more accessible pockets, often at the side of the leg for ease of access even if sitting, there has been a lot of thought with these modern options into what industry workers need, and here modern fabrics and construction really has paid dividends too. Where once pockets were small and inaccessible, and a tool belt was often required for anyone who needed to carry a few things around the site, today we have pants with fold-out waist pockets that are in essence built-in tool belts. The strong materials and construction mean that they can hold all the things you need for a day on-site without requiring extra tool belts, bags, protective wear or anything else, all in one package.

It may not seem like much, what pants you wear, but after a long day on-site in damp jeans, a bit of extra comfort can seem very important indeed. That is without taking into account the harder-wearing material, better design, and added comfort and protection.

Technology has been a focus of exhibitions and industry shows for a few years now, bringing new capabilities and aids to all kinds of work and equipment. From accurate location to improved control and management, technology has brought new ways of operating and new levels of control. But one area of technology that has really come to the fore within the last year that could really change the way we all work is data.

Data collected from machines through telematics has been refined to the point where it can now become a key part of job site management operations, and a central component of optimizing site performance. The latest developments are central data hubs that collate the data coming from all machinery, which will initially aid in ensuring maintenance needs are taken care of correctly, but will swiftly expand into a much broader purpose.

The initial phase allows manufacturers to contact owners and dealers that work needs doing on a specific machine, to highlight issues before they lead to a breakdown, and allow for service continuity and forward planning, as the systems gain in capability, for operators it means reliable equipment and no nasty surprises on site.

However, the data being collected by manufacturers can do much more. While all are still in the process of establishing data levels and how they will approach the use of all of this information, some things are already being shown on a small scale that can transform site operations. One of these is idle-time data, where analysis of the data can allow a manufacturer to highlight areas where a machine job site path could be changed for more efficiency, or even suggest a different machine for the task if the data suggests under or overused.

For job site operations, this remote analysis can produce significant change, offering a broader, yet much more accurate, analysis of the working environment than has ever been available before. By having such detailed information and accurate analysis, the way a job site operates can be adjusted and changed by remote observation, allowing for better, cost-efficient, and safer operations over time.

For many, this reliance on data can seem a little strange, some may even see it as a threat as if they are being watched at all times while in their cabs. While it is easy to dismiss data collection in this way, as the systems mature and capabilities grow, the benefits for any driver or operator will be significant. The right machine for the job every time, accurate job site planning that makes the workday easier, and improved safety as a result of more accurate planning can all come from such systems.

How we work is always changing, that is one of the things that make the job so good, but this change should bring many benefits to everyone on any job site, the power of data will really drive us forward.

It was 1977. Fresh out of high school, with not a clue of what to do in life. A friend calls; they’re building a highway down south and they are hiring!

Another boiling hot South Texas summer; day after day of 100+ temperatures.   But thanks to youth and being in the best shape of my life, a job outdoors was exciting!

Besides, the pay was a whole lot better than anywhere else.  It was twice the minimum wage back then.

TALK ABOUT EXCITING!

My friend and I show up on the job site; an interstate highway through several South Texas counties. We both got hired; both driving scrapers.  The foreman said, “only the best of the best could handle the scraper.”

And I believed him: 15’ tall and over 30’ long; mountains of steel on giant rubber tires.  A scraper looks a lot like a big truck and trailer, with a cab out front that turns independently of the trailer.  But that is where the comparison ends!

Behind the cab is a huge steel trailer, with an open box like a dump truck in the center.  Below the open box is a side-to-side blade, that the operator raises up and down. And scrape it does…when the operator drops the blade, it scrapes long strips of dirt from the earth and into the open box. From there, the operator drives the scraper to another part of the project, lines the scraper up, and opens the door on the bottom of the box to lay out a line of dirt as he drives along.

I spent 3 days riding shotgun with a trainer, on the roughest seat I had ever felt (he had air-ride)! Then I was on my own…on top of the world!

SOUTH TEXAS DIRT

Because the dirt was so dry and hard, the scrapers of that time, even though they were massive machines, could not pull the blades through the dirt without some help.  That help was the “push cat”.  The push cat was a bulldozer with no blade; it had a huge metal bumper on the front, and it did what the name suggests…it pushed.  The scraper driver pulled into line, dropped the blade, and waited. First, you heard that big Allison V-12 bulldozer engine wind up, and then you would feel the push cat meet the back of the big metal bumper on the scraper.  It was hold-on time; that big dozer would push you along, and the scraper operator had to watch for the box to fill up with dirt. Then, the round trip began all over again.

It was hot and it was dusty, but it was one of the greatest times of my life!

Today’s scrapers are more powerful, with enclosed cabs and air conditioning on some. Even so, for a kid just out of high school (or anyone looking for a satisfying job), it is an adventure that should not be missed.

Today, there are heavy equipment schools, where you can learn how to operate any kind of heavy equipment.  There were not any schools back in the ’70s.  Check it out…put some adventure into your life!

Have you ever considered a career in the construction industry? Becoming a CDL truck driver, heavy equipment operator or mobile crane operator can open up exciting new job opportunities. Here are some companies that have recently hired our graduates:

• Amherst, WI hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• Murray, KY hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• Houston, TX hiring heavy equipment operators.
• Oconto, WI hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• Malone, WI hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• Flint, MI hiring mobile crane operators and riggers.
• Greenville, NC hiring mobile crane operators.
• Green Bay, WI hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• Neenah, WI hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• Houston TX hiring heavy equipment operators.
• La Porte, TX hiring mobile crane operators.
• Thorton, CO hiring mobile crane operators.
• Wautoma, WI hiring heavy equipment operators with Class-A CDL.
• Piqua, OH hiring heavy equipment operators with Class-A CDL.
• Merrimac, WI hiring heavy equipment operators with Class-A CDL.
• Sun Prairie, WI hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• Whitewater, WI hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• Wyandanch, NY hiring mobile crane operators.

These are just a few of the job opportunities for truck drivers, mobile crane operators, and heavy equipment operators. Companies in these industries are always looking for new and experienced operators.

If you are thinking about a job in truck driving or becoming a heavy equipment operator, ATS heavy equipment school is a great place to start. We offer instructive classes as well as in-the-seat training for various machinery. You can also find more information about jobs in your area or across the U.S. through the Total Resources Network job board which is accessible to all students and graduates of Associated Training Services and Diesel Driving School. Please contact us for more information and begin your exciting new career as a heavy equipment operator, mobile crane operator, or commercial truck driver today!

The rigger is a very important part of any heavy equipment team. More than just a driver, a rigger performs six different but essential heavy equipment tasks every day. Here are those six tasks.

1. Lifting – A rigger uses hoists and pulleys to lift heavy items such as equipment, loads, and cargo. To accomplish this task, they may provide the mechanical, electrical, and other tools to accomplish the lifting on the job site.
2. Moving – A rigger is responsible for moving heavy loads from one end of a work site to another. This may entail using a crane to lift and move large boxes, vehicles, or other heavy cargo on a dock, in a warehouse, or across a construction site.
3. Transporting – Riggers are also responsible for transporting heavy equipment, machinery, and cargo. This could involve the use of flatbed trucks, cargo ships, and other heavy industrial equipment.
4. Positioning – Sometimes, loads shift. A rigger is responsible for ensuring heavy loads do not shift during transport or, in the event that a shift has occurred, re-positioning loads for further transport.
5. Pulling – Riggers are responsible for pulling loads and heavy equipment or cargo. That may entail the use of wenches, pullies, dollies, jacks, and other useful mechanical equipment.
6. Security – Equipment security is very important. A rigger must ensure a load is safe and secure before, during, and after transport. This may involve securing a load with straps, bands, weights, and other equipment designed to keep cargo from shifting during transport or to ensure cargo isn’t burglarized or vandalized.

Heavy equipment riggers are a very important part of the heavy equipment team.