It’s that time of year again, to prepare for winter road work. Winter is here for most states or is fast approaching for others, the weather is getting colder and the possibility of snow is rising every day in many parts of the country. So, what does your state government do to prepare for the winter, especially in those places where mountains of snow need to be cleared every week?

They obviously need to collect the equipment and materials needed in central compounds, ready to be deployed, which means snowplows, trucks, and other heavy equipment of course, along with the materials they use. It can vary from state to state, depending on how severe the winter is expected to be, but in general, there are two treatments for roads to protect from ice and snow.

The first is for anti-icing, which is to stop ice buildup on the roads, to begin with. Here, they use a liquid solution to lower the temperature at that water freezes and stops snow and ice from sticking to the road and pavement surfaces. You may be used to salt being the anti-ice solution, but high winds can blow salt off the road before the snow turns up, or the way salt is applied leads to it bouncing everywhere, often way from the road surface, losing its effectiveness. Instead, the liquid solution, usually liquid brine, stays where it is sprayed, so less waste and it works better. In the very cold temperatures of some states, they use liquid magnesium chloride instead, which is more expensive but remains effective at much lower temperatures.

During a snowstorm, and afterward, the process used is de-icing, and here is where snowplows are used to clear the surface snow and ice, while further de-icing materials are used to loosen the grip of the snow and ice on the road surface, for this rock salt is an economical and effective material to use. This combination of de-icing material and the snowplows and dump trucks can usually clear roads fairly quickly and get people on the move again.

So, to prepare, states and counties assemble their liquid brine, rock salt, spray trucks, and snowplows in strategic locations around the road network, ready to be deployed as needed but to be effective, they really need to apply the anti-icing measures before the storm arrives. To do that, they use the highly accurate national weather service forecasts, helping them to see storms coming and then, as they move closer, to track in real time via satellite. This ensures the heavy machinery operators know when and where treatments need to be applied for the best results.

Next time the snow starts to fall, think about the work, machinery, and manpower that is behind the efforts to keep your roads clear. For machinery operators, whether that is a snowplow, or spray truck putting the de-icing or anti-icing treatment down, this is one contract where a job well done can make a difference to thousands of people the very next day.

We all know education is important when it comes to our careers, but while some think that a 4-year college degree is the only answer, is that really true? With ever-increasing costs and uncertainty of future employment reflecting that investment, there are alternatives to look at when it’s time to build a foundation for your career like a vocational school.

Your Career Can Benefit From Vocational School

Instead of spending four years racking up a lot of bills and probably debt, a short-term vocational class can give you the skills to start earning quickly and building a successful career with it. As we see many graduates earning less, the right career from a vocational course can match and exceed graduate earnings as well, without the huge costs to get you there.

With a career as a truck driver or heavy machine operator, you don’t have to wait four years, with a short term vocational school course measured in weeks rather than years that give you in-demand skills, you can be earning money sooner rather than later, and with great earning potential as well. The other advantage of the cheaper vocational school option is that there is much less stress. After a 4-year degree, there is an immediate stress of knowing the amount of debt that needs repaying, or just how much that education cost and that kind of stress really is the last thing you need as you take your first footsteps into a new career.

Taking a short-term vocational school course doesn’t just benefit you financially either, for many of us, it can simply be a better learning environment. Classes are smaller, not only meaning more attention from tutors but can simply be a less intimidating environment that helps people flourish and achieve their potential. Not everyone suits the college environment. Of course, a vocational course also mixes classroom study with hands-on training, and this again can be a better fit for many people, who find they learn more, much easier, in this kind of approach.

The other thing such hands-on training does is better prepare you for the work environment, and this is an area where a vocational school has a tangible advantage over colleges. For those taking their first steps in a new career, having practical experience in that working environment can be incredibly valuable, not just to you as a worker, but to the employer too. The transition from student to employee is not straightforward, and having practical experience from a vocational school can make it a much easier process.

Today, a 4-year college course is not the only route to a successful career. Whether it is financial reasons, or that as a student vocational learning simply suits you better, or even that you want to get your career started sooner rather than later, a high-quality vocational school course can provide a route into a successful, prosperous career, so think about what is best for you, today.

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.

When you train for a career in construction operating heavy machinery, there is a lot to learn. Not just the skills to control the equipment safely and effectively, to get it to do exactly what you want every time, but the teamwork and first aid safety required on site, the way communications work on the modern construction site, and how to approach the job on a day-to-day basis. Everyone learns these things and looks forward to putting it all into practice on-site on their first construction project.

But there is one thing we teach our students that is incredibly important, and yet it is the one piece of training everyone hopes they will never have to use. That is, of course, the first aid training we provide for our students.  We provide comprehensive and practical training that focuses on giving every student the confidence and knowledge to deal with potential problems they may meet on-site.

While we never like to think of the worst things happening, and great strides have been made with onsite safety over the last few decades, construction still does carry a certain level of risk and accidents do happen. That is why our first aid training is so important, giving you the knowledge to provide the all-important immediate care that a victim may need after suffering an accident. Studies have shown that those first few minutes after an accident before an ambulance can arrive can be crucial to the outcome in severe accidents and having the knowledge, and just important confidence to provide the necessary first aid can be significant.

Of course, most accidents that happen onsite are minor, and being able to treat a minor injury, or recognize something more serious, is again important both to an individual and to the site team and organization running the site.

There is another aspect of our first aid training that helps each of our students that experience it, and that is an increased awareness of the potential issues around them on site. Because first aid training prepares us for the results of accidents, we become more aware of the possibility of accidents, becoming proactive in safety rather than simply reacting if something goes wrong. This provides a safer working environment for everyone. indeed, it has been shown that sites become safer with an increased number of first-aid-trained staff on site.

We value our first aid training for this and many more reasons, and while we are diligent in providing the high-quality, comprehensive training that will make a difference, we also hope that this is the one skill we teach that our students never have to make use of. You can never be too prepared for an accident, and we ensure that our students do not just have the knowledge, but the ability to act on that knowledge when needed, to make a difference when called upon.

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 is no surprise the growth in construction and telecommunications throughout America has led to an increased need for directional drills to bury fiber optics, electrical lines, water pipes, sewer lines, etc. Further, the use of backhoes or excavators isn’t always practical, feasible, or economical, due to existing hazards or terrain. That leaves Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) as the most efficient option and the fastest-growing type of equipment for utilities, municipalities, contractors, and the communications industry. Associated Training Services has the knowledge, curricula, and instructional staff to deliver your organization the highest quality training for your directional drill operators.

Primary Objective:

Through a combination of classroom and field training sessions, participants will acquire the knowledge and skills required for operating a directional drill efficiently and safely.

Training Subjects:

Standard training subjects are as follows:

• HDD Safety
• General Maintenance of Equipment
• Pre-Planning
• Field Operation
• Tracking Electronics
• Drilling Fluids
• Maintenance
• Locator Equipment / Operations
• Downhole Tools

Some of us don’t think much about it until we start to build a new building near our home or work.  Then, we usually just complain about how the construction affects traffic and slows everything down.

But stop to think about it: what would life be without construction; without heavy equipment? Before heavy equipment, everything was done by hand. Picks and shovels; wheelbarrows; and long hours of hard work.

Heavy Equipment Development

Through the early 1900s, the horse-driven and steam-powered heavy equipment revolutionized the construction industry, increasing productivity and shortening the length of time construction projects took to complete. With the invention of the internal combustion engine, the industry began to change even more.

The Interstate Highway System construction during the 1960s was the boom time for the construction and heavy equipment industries.  This type of work called for high-horsepower equipment and new types of equipment.

The high horsepower scrapers were developed to move the massive amounts of materials produced by the highway system construction.  There were hundreds of scrapers at work on these projects.

The 1960s was also the “monster machine” decade.  Machines grew in size and horsepower; the surface mining industry called for machines that are still the largest, even today, including the 360-ton haul truck, which has grown to a 400-ton haul truck, becoming more productive and efficient, but not much bigger.

The 1970s faced the Arab oil embargo.  This produced an increased need for coal, which increased the demand for heavy equipment.  The demand was so great, that ordering a large machine found a 2 to 3-year waiting list.

In the 1980s, a recession transformed the industry, with a lot of companies failing.  The recession also changed the future of the four major heavy equipment manufacturers: International Harvester,  Euclid, Caterpillar, and Allis Chalmers.

By the 1990s, only Caterpillar remained with its original name.  In the mid-’90s, a wave of environmental laws forced manufacturers to begin making cleaner and more efficient diesel engines.

The most recent recession in 2008 caused the focus to change from ownership to leasing of heavy equipment. Currently, over 40% of all equipment is bought by rental companies.  The pressure on manufacturers continues, to produce more energy-efficient heavy equipment.  Continued development of electrification of major engine components and more energy-efficient alternatives to conventional powertrain systems are the expected future of heavy equipment.

Even with all of the changes, the global heavy equipment market is estimated to be around 192 billion U.S. dollars in 2017. During 2017, it is expected that around 809,000 construction machines will be sold worldwide, with approximately 186,000 delivered to customers in North America.

No matter what you think about construction and heavy equipment: no roads, no buildings, no houses; nothing in our lives could be constructed without heavy equipment and the construction industry, and the people who run the heavy equipment.  Together with the trucking industry, everything in our lives, from our homes to where we shop, depends on the construction, heavy equipment, and trucking industries.

When you get your training at Associated Training Services (ATS), you increase your value as an employee. Our Heavy Equipment Operator programs are recognized by employers all over the excavation, earth-moving, and construction industries. That means graduates of ATS are already respected because they have been proven to be up to the professional standards these industries require.

Comprehensive Training Programs

Students of ATS get more than a knowledge of the machine. They learn how to read grades, use laser levels, identify soils, understand site layouts, maintain their equipment, and operate safely on the job site.

The classes use a curriculum developed by the industry and instructors have national certification. That means the standards of training have the respect of employers everywhere because ATS graduates meet the standards their insurance companies demand. It also means they get employees who know their stuff.

Multiple Types of Heavy Equipment Experience

ATS training starts out in the classroom but does not stop there. After a thorough grounding in the head knowledge you need to operate heavy equipment safely, there’s the in-the-seat operation of many types of heavy equipment.

This practical, whole-body training means ATS grads have experience with real heavy equipment. They sit in the driver’s seat of backhoes, wheel loaders, scrapers, excavators, bulldozers, graders, skid steers, articulated haul trucks, and all-terrain forklifts. They run the machines, feel the way it tilts or shudders on uneven ground, and learn to operate in the types of job sites the future holds.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Programs are the reason our graduates are more valuable to potential employers and the reason they get hired.

There are times when a heavy equipment company must look at the painful reality of needing some specialized training before that company can be competitive. Whether that specialized training is needed for a few of your staff or an entire crew, ATS Specialized Training is designed to help you meet the challenge.

Associated Training Services can design the perfect training program that meets all the various requirements. Legalities, changing industry standards, unique operating environments, and customer requests all can be addressed by our instructors while maintaining the highest standards of quality and integrity.

These classes can be held at the Sun Prairie, Wisconsin location or at remote sites all over the country. Beginner-level or customized training can be provided in these areas and more:

• NCCCO Crane Operator Training, Testing, and Certification.
• NCCCO Rigger-1 & Signalperson Training, Testing, and Certification.
• OSHA Compliant Rigging & Signal Person Training, Testing, and Qualification.
• NCCER Heavy Equipment Training, Testing, and Qualification.
• Class-A CDL Commercial Driver Training, Testing, and Licensing.
• Credentials.

ATS is a nationally accredited, family-owned, private vocational school that has been providing professional training for over five decades. As the industries have changed, we have kept up with the changes. That means we can help you make the changes that keep your company competitive.

Enhance the safety consciousness of your workforce and increase productivity while fulfilling regulatory or insurance requirements by letting ATS provide specialized training. We cover a broad spectrum of subjects relating to the heavy equipment field and more.

Heavy equipment jobs are a dime a dozen. You just have to know where to look. And, frankly, they’re all over the place. From New York City to San Diego, California, you’ll find heavy equipment jobs of all sorts. From Miami, Florida to Seattle Washington, there are heavy equipment jobs just waiting for you to take over. Even in Alaska and Hawaii, you’ll find heavy equipment jobs. This week, we’re going to share a couple of those with you from the Associated Training Services heavy equipment job board.

• PASADENA, TX. Hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• INDEPENDENCE, MO. Hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.

Okay, so we’re talking about Class-A CDL truck-driving jobs. That isn’t exactly heavy equipment, but you’ll see the truck driving jobs on heavy equipment work sites. In fact, a lot of construction companies employ dump truck drivers to haul dirt their excavators and bulldozers push around. And truck drivers are some of the highest-paid heavy equipment operators. We thought you should know that.

If you’d like to become a heavy equipment operator or a Class-A CDL truck driver, buckle up and sign up. The next class starts on Monday, August 1, 2016. It’s not too late to sign up. We offer employment assistance upon graduation, tuition assistance upon enrollment, and housing assistance once accepted into the class.

If August 1 is too soon, we have other classes starting later. There’s a mobile crane operator school starting later in August and a rigger/signalperson training class starting on the last Monday. For the full schedule of August training dates, consult our training calendar.