How to operate a variety of heavy equipment is the obvious thing you learn while in heavy equipment school. You’ll learn to operate everything from a backhoe to an all-terrain forklift. But that’s not all. There are six other things you’ll learn that will help you throughout your heavy equipment career.

1. Grade Reading – Do you know how to read a grade? It’s very important for a lot of the work you’ll do, from excavation to clearing. You’ll learn how to tell the difference between a 45-degree grade and a 49-degree grade.
2. Laser Levels – Laser levels are construction measuring tools that you’ll see a lot and you should know how to operate them.
3. Soils – Different types of soils are more difficult to move than others. We’ll teach you how to identify the types of soil and how to operate the various equipment in each type of soil.
4. Safety – Heavy equipment safety is one of the most important lessons you’ll ever learn. We give you the full scoop.
5. Site Layouts – Layout management is very important in construction work. You don’t want to create collision courses between your various heavy equipment, so you’ll need to learn a little bit about how to layout a construction site so that your team is more efficient and more safe.
6. Heavy Equipment Maintenance – If you don’t maintain your equipment, it won’t last. We’ll teach you everything you learn and need to know at the operator’s level to keep your equipment operating smoothly for the job.

In heavy equipment school, you learn more than just sitting in a bucket and pulling levers. You learn how to succeed on the construction site.

It is extremely important that heavy equipment operators keep their equipment well maintained and in working order at all times, so the equipment can operate reliably when needed on the work site. When maintenance is kept up to date, the operator can keep his equipment in top condition and be able to visually inspect for repairs that need to be made. If done on a regular basis, these inspections and maintenance can keep heavy equipment in top shape and keep them from major costly and time consuming repairs.

Daily heavy equipment maintenance should include a visual inspection, which should be comprised of a walk around the equipment while looking for leaking fluids and worn parts or belts. Fluid levels should also be checked and topped off during this inspection as well as any dry linkage should be greased where necessary. Lastly, the air pressure levels in the equipment’s tires should be checked and filled as necessary.

Quarterly maintenance should be performed every three months or every 500 hours of use. At this inspection, an oil and filter change should be performed, also, the hydraulic oil filter should be changed. Finally, the diesel fuel filter should be replaced at this quarterly maintenance inspection.

Yearly, or at the end of the season, the hydraulic oil and transmission fluids should be completely replaced. A thorough cleaning should also be done at this point, and a close inspection performed to look for any repairs that should be completed. Lastly, the tires should be given a very close inspection to ensure proper tread, and if they are not up to standards, they should be replaced immediately.

As can be seen in the above steps, there is not a whole lot to maintaining a piece of heavy equipment, as long as a maintenance and inspection schedule is maintained. Like any other type of vehicle, the better shape things are kept in the longer they will last. Hours that are needed for costly repairs are also hours that the piece of machinery is not doing its job on the work site. Through maintenance and inspection, heavy equipment can keep getting the job done and money in the operator’s pocket.

Do you know what skills employers are looking for in excavator operators. Just as importantly, do you know what skills your excavator training organization is going to teach you? It makes sense, when looking at training programs for excavator operators, to find out who delivers training that provides graduates with the skills that employers are looking for.

Is there a basic set of skills that employers are looking for? It seems I have all the questions – do I have all the answers? I sure do.

When it comes to core skills, there are four that every heavy equipment operator needs to possess. These are:

• Soil knowledge. Can you differentiate between different soil types? This is an important part of any heavy equipment operator’s working day. Different soils can often require different approaches. Sandy soils, for example, may need support to prevent the sides constantly filling a trench.
• Safety. I think it is fairly obvious that safety issues would be up amongst the most important skills required by an operator. It is not just knowledge of safety that is important – it is the ability to work putting in place safety practices.
• Site layouts. Understanding blueprints and how to access sites under construction is also important. You cannot just barge in and start work. Often you have to navigate in and around other areas of the site to get to your part of the job.
• Heavy equipment maintenance. Like safety, heavy equipment maintenance is an important issue. Every hour of down time is an hour of lost income for an employer. If they are working to a tight schedule, the employer may be forced to hire in a replacement machine. Preventative maintenance is key area of any operator’s job.

Of course, those four core skills form the basis for other skills. The fifth skill that I haven’t mentioned is machine specific and that of course relates to actually operating an excavator. Can you actually use an excavator or can you just tell me how to operate one? Naturally, being able to competently operate an excavator is the important skill.

If you don’t have all of these skills, don’t worry. At ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools we have you trained and ready for the workforce in next to no time. Furthermore, you will have all the skills that employers are looking for.