One of the most versatile vehicles in a heavy equipment fleet has to be the backhoe. To begin with, it is two vehicles in one – the front is a standard front end loader and the rear is a cut down version of an excavator. Because it has two tools, it can do a wide range of jobs. Backhoes can also be quite nimble so they can work over a variety of terrains. Their large heavy treaded wheels also help, even when the weather turns sour.

To become a backhoe operator you need to learn the skills of both a loader operator and an excavator operator. For this reason, heavy equipment training programs that introduce students to a variety of machinery are more important than programs that train an individual in a single vehicle. The skills learned across that range of equipment prepares the student well for a career as a backhoe operator – it also provides the student with more options once they have completed their training.

You will find backhoes working everywhere from home construction sites to large buildings. They are also often used to prepare the way for in-ground swimming pools or to dig trenches for underground services such as gas, electricity, and telephone. Backhoes are also often found on demolition sites, particularly during the end stages when a site is being cleared. Backhoes and excavators have many similarities and this includes a wide range of tools that can be added to the rear of the vehicle. These tools can do any number of jobs including digging post holes and breaking up concrete slabs or large rocks in preparation for removal. The loader can then be used to help load the material onto a truck.

Backhoes are a popular choice for those graduating from our heavy equipment training programs. They are also one of the most popular choices when it comes to setting up your own small business. The wide range of jobs that a backhoe can do means it is in constant demand. Interested in a career as a backhoe operator? Contact ATS for more information on our heavy equipment operator training programs.

Looking at all the toy stores this Christmas, it seems that bulldozers are still one of the favorites toys for youngsters. Mind you, I notice a newish toy on the market that has taken a lot of attention, and that’s a sit-on excavator that works very much like the real thing. What is good to see is that there is still an avid interest from our youngsters when it comes to heavy equipment.

Unfortunately, once they reach their teens, medicine, law, and many other professions seem to take precedence. But whenever there is heavy equipment at work, there are plenty of people who stop and watch – perhaps that’s the child in them coming out and remembering their toys. It’s amazing how many people reach that first career change challenge then turn to industries such as heavy equipment operations, truck driving, and crane operations. And what is the most popular unit of heavy equipment? The bulldozer.

Working as a bulldozer operator can be challenging. It is certainly rewarding in both job satisfaction and remuneration. Bulldozer operators get to do many of the jobs that, as children, they practiced in their back yards. And if you think it’s restricted to boys, think again. Girls love to play with bulldozers just as much as boys, and in the workplace they are proving to be just as skilled as their male counterparts.

We may not be attracting the youth into the profession, but we are attracting those a little later in life. Are you one of those going through a career reassessment phase? If you are, you should check out what a career in heavy equipment offers. Bulldozer operators are well-trained professional operators that are well rewarded for their efforts. There is always some demand for new operators, and this will certainly grow as winter starts to leave us. Will you be trained and ready for action when the demand for new operators climbs?

Have you ever considered a career as a truck driver or heavy equipment operator? If you have, ATS have some great news for you as we head into 2011. Our successful free heavy equipment and CDL workshops are continuing on into the New Year and they present the perfect opportunity to find out all there is to starting a career in these industries. These workshops are conducted on Saturdays only and are only conducted one every three weeks – so if you’re interested, book early to secure your place.

While we call them a workshop, they actually represent a free day’s training. Schedules differ from location to location, but the general thrust is a morning of classroom training introducing you to either heavy equipment operations or truck driving. The afternoon is then spent with equipment demonstrations and hands on practical experience. For those who successfully complete the morning’s activities, the day could be rounded off with the presentation of a $500 scholarship towards the cost of a full training enrollment.

Don’t look at this opportunity at being just a demonstration either. You will complete an actual training module from the full training course, which, if nothing else, should give you an indication of whether or not you could successfully complete the full course. It should also give you an idea as to whether or not truck driving or heavy equipment is a good career choice for you.

Heavy equipment and truck driving careers are well paid and there is always demand for operators or drivers, particularly as the economy starts to pick up. By taking one Saturday and experiencing one of our workshops, you’ll experience a career changing move for the better. There’s only one way to find out: Call us on 800-383-7364 to find out where and when our next workshop is planned. You can also check out our free heavy equipment/CDL workshop web page for more information.

NOTE: The information in this post will no longer be valid after December 31, 2010.

If you talk to some of the old timers, they will tell you that our modern equipment is too easy. A child could operate it. In a way, it’s true. The equipment that was around 50 years ago was heavy, awkward, and often took brute strength to operate. Today, some of the controls could be operated using one finger. But has it made the job easier?

While the equipment has become easier to operate, the range of jobs required from that heavy equipment has broadened considerably. Heavy equipment like a bulldozer can now venture into terrain where older equipment never dared to go. Look at how easy some of these machines work on sandy beaches, restoring the sand after a storm. They maneuver over the top of that sand like it was a concrete highway.

So, while heavy equipment technology has made the operation of some equipment easy, it has not necessarily made the job easier. Heavy equipment operators now require more skills than they did 50, or even 20, years ago. Knowledge of soils and how they react when moved, being able to read site plans, and, today, being able to operate equipment such as GPS units come together to make the job more taxing on the brain rather than the brawn.

The one thing that new heavy equipment technology has done is influence the way new operators are trained. When those old timers learned to operate their equipment, it was virtually a trial-by-error learning experience. Five minutes instruction from another operator to learn what the levers did, then on to the job. In today’s workplace, that type of training just doesn’t cut it. Employers are looking for operators that have been trained by reputable heavy equipment training companies – companies that have built their reputations on the delivery of skilled and employable graduates.

You know, things haven’t changed that much. Sure, the equipment is more modern and easier to operate. But the training is still delivered by experienced operators – the big difference being that today’s trainers are also qualified to train, and they train to a specific set of skills. Has heavy equipment technology made the job too easy? Definitely not – industry today expects our graduates to be well trained and ready to go to work – and that’s our aim too.

There are many people who look at motor graders driving up and down a stretch of what will soon be a road or highway and think, “that looks so easy.” In a way, for an experienced operator, it is. However, it takes good basic training and a lot of experience before you can say “it’s easy.” The reality is, a motor grader’s job is quite involved and it certainly involves more than just “driving up and down.”

Part of the training that is essential to motor graders is the theoretical, or classroom-based, training. This covers subjects such as:

• grade reading
• grade stakes
• laser levels
• site plans
• site layout
• soils and
• safety

Being able to read site plans is important since a grader operator’s role is to work to precise measurements. This brings in skills such as grade reading and laser levels. If you think about a stretch of road, particularly highways, they are not completely flat. They built with a small amount of slope to them – this is to enable water to flow from the center to either side rather than just pooling in the middle of the road. Corners have a camber to them that makes them safer to drive on at highway speeds.

It takes a lot of skill to get these slopes and cambers just right and that comes back to a grader operator’s ability to read plans, and to work to those precise measurements. Training followed by on-the-job experience is the only reliable way to build these skills. Being a grader operator is not as easy as some people may think. However, with the right heavy equipment training behind you, it’s not that difficult either.

Career Education or career training loans are offered by many different lending institutions. While many have specific criteria for lending, the purpose of these loans remains the same – to help students get through their training. One criteria that is fairly common is that your training has to be undertaken through an accredited training organization. Heavy equipment training through Associated Training Services fits that criteria, so prospective students do at least qualify to apply for a loan.

Why should you choose a career loan? There are number of reasons, and while each lending institution will differ, some of the benefits include:

• Generally lower interest rates
• You can often apply online or by phone and sometimes receive instant pre-approval
• If your credit score is good you won’t need a cosigner
• Some loans offer repayment terms of up to 15 years
• Some loans allow you to borrow to pay your tuition plus any other school-related expenses
• Some career loans offer a six or twelve month deferral before you have to start making payments

Financial aid for heavy equipment training can be difficult, however, career loans are often a little more relaxed in their lending criteria compared to buying a home or a car. If you are going into full time study, then having a full time income is not generally practical – this is taken into account. One of the pluses when studying through ATS is that our training courses are only three weeks in duration. This means you could potentially be employed a month after starting your training. This can be an important factor when your financial institution is considering your application.

If you feel that a career loan is not for you, contact us at ATS and we may be able to help you find alternative financial aid. You never know, you may be entitled to assistance through the many programs being run by state and federal governments.

Winter brings many difficulties, especially in areas that receive heavy frosts and icy overnight conditions. The ground can freeze, water can freeze and rupture water tanks, and equipment can be damaged, making it dangerous. Before starting work each day, a heavy equipment operator’s first task is to give his equipment a full inspection, especially in areas where icy temperatures may cause damages.

We’re pretty smart these days. We put antifreeze in products that may be affected by cold temperatures, however, it is the hoses and pipes that often suffer the most. Start a vehicle and send hot liquids through hoses or pipes that are still very cold and you run the risk of having them rupture. Icy temperatures also cause materials to shrink. This constant shrinking and expanding over winter can create stress fractures in some materials, again causing problems during operations.

While heavy equipment safety is centered on the equipment’s safe use, maintenance does also play a serious role. Start-up and shut-down inspections are important at all times of the year, however, winter does bring its own hazards. Many years ago, operators learned their craft by watching their father or a friend operate their equipment. If they were lucky, they also got to ‘have a play’ during lunch breaks or at the end of the day. That taught people how to operate their equipment, but it failed to teach many of the important safety aspects.

Today, if you want to work as a heavy equipment operator, you require professional training that includes heavy equipment safety training. Heavy equipment in the wrong hands can be very dangerous and we have seen over the years a lot of accidents that have caused serious harm. If you are looking for a career as a heavy equipment operator, make sure your training has the proper focus on heavy equipment safety.

Almost anyone can undertake training to become a heavy equipment operator. It takes a little determination to make a lifelong career of it. However, that doesn’t mean it’s hard, you just need to look for opportunities wherever they present themselves and to then make valuable use of them. The most successful operators are those that have a lot of experience, and those that can operate heavy equipment in a variety of sizes and configurations.

A good example is the backhoe and excavator. They are traditionally used to dig trenches, however, there are a wide variety of attachments that can be added. Having experience in changing and using these attachments will be important if you want a broader range of employment options. The same is true when it comes to size. Heavy equipment ranges in size from the small backyard skid steer loaders to the giant equipment used in mining – and when I say giant, I do mean giant. Heavy equipment operators don’t quite need that breadth of experience, however, having experience on a range of different-sized equipment does increase your employment options and it will make you more attractive to employers.

Gaining this experience is not necessarily that difficult. There are many construction companies in business that use equipment of different sizes – let’s face it, why send a full size loader if a skid steer can do a better job? Your role then is to make it known that you’re interested in gaining experience across that range of equipment – and most employers are willing to oblige since it suits their interests as well.

It all starts with effective training and gaining those base skills. Look for training that includes both in-the-seat experience along with safety and basic maintenance training. Better yet, look for an industry leader in heavy equipment training. They will have a reputation that goes along with the certificate thus making you even more employable.

If you think excavator operators get to put their feet up during winter, then you may want to rethink those thoughts. In some areas, excavators are just as active in winter, and in some situations, could be classified as an essential service. Just to make life more interesting, there are times when they have to work under the most trying conditions.

Consider the location of many of the services running into your home. Underground. When incidents happen, and they do when the weather turns extremely cold, underground pipes can rupture, leading to a loss or reduction to supply of some services and dangerous situations such as gas leaks. With the ground partially frozen, using hand tools can be difficult – dangerous even. This is where excavators come in to their own. They can break through hard ground and dig a trench right down to almost pipe level. This means the hand tools are only required for the last few inches.

Experienced and well-trained operators are obviously in high demand in these circumstances – the last thing you want is a rank amateur trying to do the job. There’s only one way to become an experienced and well-trained excavator operator – that’s by getting the best training possible and then building on that training in the workplace. The industry no longer accepts operators who ‘learned by sitting on dad’s knee’. The industry now insists on formal training that includes safety aspects, maintenance procedures, and plenty of hands on experience.

Excavator training that is highly respected by industry is an essential first step. If your training is not through a recognized body, then most employers won’t even give you a second look. Often, the first thing that employers will ask is “who did you do your training through?” Be sure the answer you give is the one attached to the oldest and most respected heavy equipment training school in the business – ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools.

Heavy equipment technology has come a long way over the last twenty years. Gone are the days of heavy equipment that took brute strength to operate. Now you can almost operate equipment with one finger. What is becoming apparent is that those kids who have had a lot of experience playing console games are finding that learning to operate new heavy equipment quite easy. It’s almost like there is a convergence of the two technologies.

There is sound logic to this. First, there is the obvious. Console games involve the use of small joysticks and steering wheels (and sometimes foot pedals as well) while watching the outcome on screens several feet away. Modern heavy equipment technology is quite similar although there may be more than one joystick to control. The second observation I can make is that related to coordination. Being able to manipulate the console games while watching the game on monitor is fairly similar to the coordination needed to operate heavy equipment.

What students do need to learn is that tactile feel that operating equipment delivers. This is something that game makers have not yet been able to achieve. Being able to feel what your equipment is doing is an important part of heavy equipment operations. However, this is something that comes with experience in the operator’s cab.

For young adults who have had a lot of experience playing console games, a career as a heavy equipment operator is a natural progression. They can put their console gaming experience and coordination to good use learning to become heavy equipment operators. Three weeks hands on heavy equipment training will help to provide those tactile skills that are missing, and prepare them well for a great career as a heavy equipment operator. If you were told your hours playing games where a complete waste of time, prove them wrong and put those skills to good use.