There have been a lot of changes made to heavy equipment over the last 50 years. At the same time, the actual work that heavy equipment does has remained very much the same. A bulldozer is still nothing more than a tractor with a large blade at the front designed to push dirt. There is a similarity to modern cars – they still take us from A to B, however, there have been big changes made to motors and to the interiors of cars. Heavy equipment is no different.

Modern heavy equipment is being made to be more environmentally friendly. Lower emissions, better fuel economy, and much improved hydraulic systems have made modern equipment easier to operate, and very efficient. There have been big changes inside the operators cab as well. Many are sealed from the outside environment and rely on airconditioning to maintain a comfortable work space. It has also meant that computer technology’s reliability has improved – there’s no dust, dirt and high humidity entering the cab to create problems.

Some of the biggest improvements can be found in the controls that now face an operator. They look very similar to those of 50 years ago, and their use is very much the same. The new technology comes in the form of electronics. This makes the controls very touch sensitive, however, in the hands of an experienced operator, able to perform fine movements. There is one regular contest held each year that tests an operator’s skills in this area – they have to pick up an egg using the bucket of a backhoe – that does take a lot of skill.

Heavy equipment operators now work in a comfortable environment with finely tuned controls. This makes the job a little more demanding in that fine motor skills are required, however, this has made working as a heavy equipment operator much more enjoyable – the operator is at one with their equipment, unlike the past where they spend all day wrestling their equipment. For equipment owners, efficiencies are much improved, as is reliability. If there is a downside, it comes in the form of more complex maintenance, and a higher cost when it comes to breakdowns – but then, good operators try to prevent breakdowns by regularly checking their equipment and undertaking basic maintenance regularly. Like all areas of industry, technology is having a big impact on heavy equipment operations.

Workplace safety has become such a huge issue in some places that one could almost be forgiven for assuming a degree of paranoia. This is especially true of government bodies who are constantly coming out with new regulations for workplaces. When it comes to heavy equipment operations, awareness is really one of the central issues. Like driving a car, heavy equipment operators need to be constantly on the look out for problems created by others, not necessarily themselves. This could be someone walking in front (or behind) your equipment or someone driving or operating other vehicles or machinery around you.

There is a bit of a paradox that can develop over time for heavy equipment operators. As an operator becomes highly skilled at operating their equipment, it requires less direct attention. For example, an experienced operator never needs to look at their controls – they know instinctively which lever or pedal they operating. You would think that this would enable an operator to spend more time focusing on what their equipment is doing, and what others are doing around them. Sometimes, the opposite is true – the operator wanders into a daydream-like state, operating their equipment on auto pilot – car drivers often experience this, often driving from A to B and not remembering anything about the trip.

So whilst awareness is an important issue, it is only going to be effective if you can remain focused on what you are doing and not letting your mind wander. Much of this will stem from your heavy equipment training. Operators who are trained to constantly monitor their equipment and the environment around them are generally much safer. This focus on the task is a habit that must be learned then developed in the workplace.

When undertaking heavy equipment training, check to see if your training organization has an effective safety component in their training rather than a token safety module that really doesn’t develop good habits. Develop those habits during training and you’ll be starting your career off on the right foot.

Truck driving can be a lucrative career, especially if you can land a job that pays well by the mile. One of this week’s job vacancies is for truck drivers and it pays in excess of 40 cents per mile – that equates to $40 per 100 miles and at average speeds of 45-50 mph on the highway, around $20 per hour. Truck drivers who put in 50 hours a week at this rate would earn in excess of $50,000 per year. That’s a fairly good return for a career that only requires five weeks truck driver training to get started. This week’s jobs include:

Truck Drivers
Madison, WI
Local delivery drivers required for building products. Local driving means you’re home each night.

Heavy Equipment Operators
Decorah, IA
Applications are being accepted from heavy equipment operators for IA and MN projects

Truck Drivers
WI, MN, IA, IN
Employer is hiring CDL-A driver with mileage pay in the .40’s

Truck Drivers
Decorah, IA
Applications being accepted from truck drivers for IA and MN projects.

Visit our dedicated jobs website for more information on these and other job vacancies as they are being accepted. If you require more information on how to start a career in heavy equipment, crane operations or truck driving, fell free to visit our training website.

One of the most common accidents on a construction site is where heavy equipment comes into contact with a worker. With backhoes and excavators, this can often be the bucket striking an individual as it is being swung around. Other accidents include running into workers, particularly when reversing, and crushing workers between the heavy equipment and a stationary object – often another vehicle, or the side of a building.

To avoid accidents, one of the skills an operator must learn is awareness, and that process should start with their heavy equipment training. Heavy equipment operators need to be able to see clearly around them, and when there are obstructions, to call on the help of other workers to guide them. This is common practice with crane operators. If a crane operator cannot see the load, they will use a rigger or signal person to guide them and warn them of any dangers. The same process is available to heavy equipment operators in situations where vision is impaired for any reason.

All vehicles (including ordinary passenger cars) have ‘blind spots’. These are areas close to, and often behind, the equipment that an operator cannot see. Modern heavy equipment technology does have reversing monitors in place, however, they are only of use when the vehicle is actually reversing. Heavy equipment often also utilizes a warning system when reversing, a system that provides an audible beeping to warn other workers about the heavy equipment’s presence.

Workplace safety is everyone’s responsibility, and work colleagues do owe you a little respect as well. They are as much responsible for their actions around heavy equipment as the operator is. That being said, the heavy equipment operator is the person in control of the equipment, and they are in a position to stop or prevent an incident should someone impinge on their work area. Heavy equipment safety is vitally important – obviously from a human life perspective but also from a cost perspective. Accidents can bring a whole work site to a standstill until investigators have completed their investigation into the causes. Think safe, work safe, and you’ll protect yourself as well as your work colleagues.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools ranks heavy equipment safety highly and includes comprehensive training modules in workplace safety. When looking for a heavy equipment training school, be sure they rank workplace safety highly as well – employers will consider your application for employment.

In an era where job uncertainty remains a big factor, having a skill that is still in demand is like pure gold. Truck driving, crane operations and heavy equipment operations are three skill areas that remain strong despite the economy. Whilst legislators around the nation are looking to cut expenditure wherever possible, services such as schools, hospitals, roads and bridges still remain as priorities. More importantly, there are some sectors of the economy, particularly mining, that are growing, and their need for these skilled workers is growing – sometimes outstripping supply. The jobs that have come into our jobs website this month include:

Equipment Operator Fuels
Pardeeville, WI
Alliant Energy is currently recruiting for an Equipment Operator. We are a publicly traded energy holding company with over 4,000 employees. Alliant Energy is committed to providing an inclusive work environment for all our employees and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. In this challenging role you will operate fuel-handling equipment and performs related coal yard and plant tasks at a steam generating station.

Truck Driver
Madison, WI
Capitol Warehouse needs a tanker driver for mostly WI and surrounding state runs, home most nights.

Truck Drivers
Sun Prarie, WI
Schneider will be hiring CDL-A drivers at DDS on 01/15/2013 at 4PM

Truck Drivers
Marshfield, WI
Roehl at Marshfield hiring CDL-A drivers for Dairy Tankers runs, WI and MN

Heavy Equipment Operators and Laborers
Nationwide Contracting – Oklahoma
Heavy Equipment Operators and Laborers Experience required. Must have valid D.L., be able to work ex­tended hours.

If you are looking for a career that has strong demand despite the ills of the economy, consider heavy equipment operations, truck driving and/or crane operations. Our training website has details on training programs that will prepare you for the workplace – and a career that is well paid and always in demand.

Every sector of the market goes through a process of peaks and troughs. Sometimes the economy is booming and there is a high demand for workers. At other times, as we have seen in the recent past, there is a slump in the economy and work can be hard to find. Of course, there are often times when one sector of the market appears to buck the trend with demand for workers remaining high despite a market slump. Unfortunately, there are many workers who are not in a position to protect themselves from market slumps – they end up on merry-go-round swinging from plenty of work to no work at all. Heavy equipment operators are not immune from these market swings, although it is interesting to note that demand has remained high over the last couple of years.

Heavy equipment operators can protect themselves from these market (and sometimes seasonal) swings. The easiest way is to simply diversify your talents. Rather than being a master of one type of equipment with a little bit of knowledge of others, become a master of as many different types of equipment as possible. It is also advisable to add truck driving skills (and a commercial drivers license) to your skills list. Other equipment operating skills that could be worth considering include crane operations (particularly mobile cranes) and fork lift trucks.

No sector of the economy is ever totally immune to peaks and troughs. Heavy equipment operator careers can be frustrating at times for those who do specialize in just one type of equipment. The market is fickle and you could find that this month, bulldozers are in high demand, yet next month, no one wants to know a bulldozer operator – the need is on grader operators, or loader operators.

For those just starting out in this industry, start to protect your future from day one of your heavy equipment operator training. If it’s at all possible, gain some knowledge and experience on a range of heavy equipment. When you enter the workplace, aim for a position with an employer that uses a wide range of heavy equipment, and let it be known you want to gain experience on as many different types of equipment as possible. Employers will show a preference for you in the future since you can be moved from equipment to equipment as needed. Protect your heavy equipment from market slumps by diversifying your skills – you’ll hardly ever be out of work then.

There’s no better way to start the new year than with a new job, and we have an interesting range to choose from this week. You can find details on these and other heavy equipment jobs on our dedicated jobs website. If you are interested in a career as a heavy equipment operator, then check out your options on the heavy equipment operator training website.

Pit Loader Operator
Kentucky
Experienced pit loader/heavy equipment operator—pit loaders, 40-55 ton haul trucks, front end loaders, etc. Job includes operating a pit loader in a rock quarry with the main duty of loading 40-55 ton haul trucks in an underground limestone mine to keep the primary crusher supplied with rock. Also, may include driving/operating a variety of heavy equipment including driving haul trucks, dumping products in hoppers, loading haul trucks, general work around the quarry operation, and other duties as assigned. This is for first-shift work. Overtime is required as needed and may include Saturdays.

Crane Operator
North Carolina
now accepting applications for full-time Crane Operators working in Eastern Ohio, Western PA, and North Central WV. Minimum Qualifications:

Crane Operator (MOBILE)
San Diego, CA
The Navy and Marine Corps team offers innovative, exciting, and meaningful work linking military and civilian talents to achieve our mission and safeguard our freedoms. Department of the Navy provides competitive salaries, comprehensive benefits, and extensive professional development and training. From pipefitters to accountants, scientists to engineers, doctors to nurses-the careers and opportunities to make a difference are endless. Civilian careers-where purpose and patriotism unite!

Crane/Boom Operator – CDL Driver
Greenville, WI
Under moderate supervision, drives the delivery vehicle to transport materials to a location or production site that requires the operation of a crane or boom in the loading and off-loading of materials. Operates crane or boom on a delivery truck, including rigging, planning, and hoisting of a variety of heavy construction materials. Requires a CDL license to operate delivery vehicle in excess of 26,001 pounds. Requires a crane or boom operator certification.

Equipment Operator – Overhead
Alexandria, LA
Work safely while performing new construction, maintenance, or repair work of energized and de-energized overhead work.

Mobile Equipment Operator Leader
Herlong, CA
Civilian employees serve a vital role in supporting the Army mission. They provide skills that are not readily available in the military but are crucial to support military operations. The Army integrates the talents and skills of its military and civilian members to form a Total Army.

Heavy Equipment Operator
Fort Bliss, TX
Must be available to start immediately. FT/ Temporary position – 2 to 3-month duration. The Heavy Equipment Operator operates heavy equipment used to excavate, load, or move dirt, gravel, or other materials.

Rental Yard Worker
Madison, WI
Currently seeking a Rental Yard Worker in Madison, WI. Responsible for providing effective customer service by providing material support for the accurate and efficient fulfillment of rental orders. This position primarily consists of handling concrete forms, forming equipment, and forming cleaning machines with some driving duties.

Heavy Equipment Operator(s)
Wisconsin
Seeking experienced Heavy Equipment Operator(s) to support a three-month-long dredging and environmental remediation operations in Marionette, WI. The Heavy Equipment Operator(s) must be able to demonstrate the safe operation of assigned equipment based on changing operating conditions. The Heavy Equipment Operator is expected to use his/her experience and judgment to make decisions within his/her limits of authority.

Heavy Equipment Operators
United States
Prince Contracting, LLC is accepting applications for Heavy Equipment Operators.

Heavy equipment operators are generally involved with the construction industry. Not all jobs, and there are occasional openings for jobs that can be a lot of fun. These jobs are often seasonal, lasting two or three months. Other seasonal jobs can last six months and if not ‘fun’, they are at least interesting. Some of these jobs include:

Snow field grooming – small bulldozer-like machinery is used to groom snow fields. This is generally done very early in the morning, and whilst it’s cold work, it’s certainly interesting and does require a lot of skills. Bulldozer operators are perfect for these positions, however, being specialized work, there are few vacancies and high demand. Related work that can give you some of the skills required includes snow plowing streets.

Beach grooming – like snow field grooming, beach grooming uses bulldozers of varying sizes to groom beaches. There is also often work available restoring beaches following heavy storms. Some heavy equipment operators move from the snow fields to the beaches each year.

Land restoration – there is a lot of work going on around the nation to restore land to its natural state. Bulldozers and backhoes are often found working in these areas along with smaller equipment like skid steer loaders.

Landscape gardening – skid steer loaders and backhoes are often found working as a part of a landscape gardening team. Team work is important as is following carefully designed plans.

Demolition work – there’s a little bit of the devil in all of us and that can often find an outlet in demolition work. The downside, you can’t just go in and destroy everything. These days, buildings are demolished carefully, sometimes because the materials removed are being recylced (or have the potential for recycling), or because there is a possibility of asbestos and other troublesome materials. Bulldozers, backhoes, loaders and excavators are often found working as a part of a demolition team.

Whilst there is not an abundance of work available in these areas, opportunities do arise. If you have gained good skills in heavy equipment operations, then you never know, you could find yourself working in a ‘fun’ or interesting job. It all starts with heavy equipment operator training and your first job.

There is a wide range of heavy equipment in use around the country these days. You can operate equipment that digs holes, pushes dirt, or delivers a perfect finish. Heavy equipment is also used in demolition work, mining, farming and most commonly, construction. You will also find heavy equipment used in forestry, at ports, and in general industry. So what is your preferred unit of machinery? At ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training School you can gain training on:

• Backhoes,
• Wheel Loaders,
• Scrapers,
• Excavators,
• Bulldozers,
• Road Graders,
• Rock Trucks,
• Skid Steers, and
• All-Terrain Forklifts

One suggestion we do make is to learn to operate as many types of heavy equipment as possible. If you get the chance, also learn to drive trucks, particularly those used to transport heavy equipment. That doesn’t mean you cannot specialize in one type of heavy equipment – you can, however, the more varied your skills the more attractive you are to employers.

Learning more than one type of heavy equipment isn’t as difficult as it sounds. Each type of heavy equipment uses a similar set of controls, some more than others, and some that require more technical skills – for example, setting a grader’s blades to precise angles and heights. There are some types of heavy equipment that demand multi-skills – the backhoe is a good example; it requires the skills of an excavator operator and the skills of a loader operator.

Being multi-skilled has a number of benefits. If you become a little bored operating one type of equipment, you can move sidewise to another type. Employers obviously find multi-skilled employees more attractive. They can be set to work on any project and not left sitting around waiting. What’s your favourite type of heavy equipment? Now pick a few more to broaden your talents.

Crane operators are back in demand this week along with heavy equipment operators with skills across a range of equipment. If you are looking for employment in the field of heavy equipment operations, truck driving, or crane operations, then visit our job site. You’ll find more information on these and any other jobs that have been listed.

CRANE OPERATOR
Newport, KY
An industry leader in scrap metal recycling and processing has an immediate need at our Newport location for a first-shift crane operator.

CRANE OPERATOR
Jane Lew, WV
Operates traveling or stationary overhead crane (cab or ground controlled) to lift, move, and position loads, such as machinery, equipment, products, and solid or bulk materials, using hoisting attachments, such as hook, sling, or bucket.

CRANE OPERATOR
Boston, MA
Do you desire to protect American interests and secure our Nation while building a meaningful and rewarding career? If so, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is calling. DHS components work collectively to prevent terrorism, secure borders, enforce and administer immigration laws, safeguard cyberspace, and ensure resilience to disasters.

HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATOR
Cherry Hill, NJ
We currently have a position available in the northern Delaware area. This would be a 1-2 month contract with a well-established construction company. MUST have recent heavy equipment operating experience, 300+ excavator experience, D6+ dozer experience, and loader experience. Looking for someone to start as soon as possible. This would be a 40-hour+-a-week position.

EQUIPMENT OPERATOR
Raleigh, NC
Position Overview: Equipment Operator is an entry-level position in the construction, maintenance, and repair of electrical underground distribution systems.

MOBILE EQUIPMENT OPERATOR
Independence, LA
Must have at least one year of experience in the operation of mobile equipment.

CRANE OPERATOR
Kansas City, KS
Applicants must have Knowledge of heavy-equipment operating principles; Ability to operate equipment under varying working conditions; Minimum of 2 years previous experience operating a track-hoe, excavator, and/or hydraulic crane, preferably in the scrap metal industry; Working knowledge of hazards and safety precautions common to heavy equipment operations; Ability to understand and carry out written and oral instructions; and Ability to meet attendance schedule with dependability.

If you’re interested in a career as a heavy equipment operator, truck driver, or crane operator, then take a moment to call us. We can offer you more information on these careers, and your training options and send you a free brochure that you can peruse at your leisure.