Backhoe operators are always in demand and those that are very good at their jobs soon gain a reputation that only serves to increase the demand for their services. How then do you gain a reputation for being a proficient operator? Like all careers, it’s not that difficult with time and patience being your best attribute. The following tips will certainly help you reach your goal.

Foundation – you can only become truly proficient at something if you have a good skills base to begin with. Learn bad habits early and they can become very difficult to change later in life. Learn good habits early and you have the start of a good foundation. For backhoe operators, start by undertaking an accredited heavy equipment training program that exposes you to a range of heavy equipment. Naturally, the training program should include hands-on experience behind the controls of a backhoe.

Practice – finding an employer that is prepared to let you build your skills on the job is the next step in the learning process. Some training organizations have career services that can help you get that first job.

Variety – over time, you can really hone your skills by seeking employment with businesses that will provide you with a wide variety of work. You need a solid training base with a good work history to move into a position where the work requires a higher skill level. However, if you have the patience and you’re prepared to learn as much as you can along the way, you will find employers happy to hire you in these more advanced positions.

It all starts with good training and a willingness to continue learning on the job. If that sounds like you then a career as a backhoe operator is waiting. If you expect to undertake some basic training then move into a high paying highly skilled position – think again – even doctors can’t achieve that.

If I had a crystal ball that could see into the future there is one thing I know I will see – tougher heavy equipment safety requirements. In fact, I can see a day when all operators will require certification of some type. We have it in the form of licenses for truck drivers for decades; from July, it seems that all crane operators will need certification with the NCCCO one of the preferred certification bodies; and with recent workplace accidents, including the mine explosion this week, it will only get tougher for general heavy equipment operators.

You may look at the Montcoal mine explosion and wonder why that will impact on heavy equipment safety. It won’t directly – but it will impact on all workplaces over time. Workplace safety is becoming a fairly large issue so whenever there is a major incident, all workplace practices come under scrutiny. If there is a workplace incident that involves heavy equipment in the near future, it too will suddenly come under the microscope.

Workplace safety is important and for heavy equipment this has been recognized by including safety training in all accredited training programs. In fact, a heavy equipment training program cannot now become accredited unless there are safety training components included. The subject is not one we take lightly at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools. Our heavy equipment training programs are all accredited to national standards.

If you are considering a career as a heavy equipment operator then do make sure your training includes workplace safety components. If in doubt, contact us here at ATS, we will happily supply you with information related to our accredited training programs and the heavy equipment safety standards included in that training.

There is a lot of activity in and around many of our towns and cities now with landscapers repairing winter’s damage and preparing for summer. Skip loaders have become a weapon of choice for many landscapers. They can get into tight areas, are versatile when it comes to the type of work involved and very economical, particularly when you compare the cost of doing a job by hand.

One area you will see skips loaders and skid steer loaders at work these days is in the area of re-turfing lawns that have been damaged over winter. Skip loaders can be handy tools for these jobs. They are able to get under the old turf and slice through it like you would a cake. The old turf can then be dumped into trucks for removal. Skip loaders are also handy when it comes to moving new rolls of turf ready for laying in place. If you have ever manually laid turf, you will know how heavy each roll can be. The skip loader makes short work off carrying a load to the area to be laid.

Loaders are versatile machines and, in spring, in high demand. Operators that run their own business often find that spring brings so much work they are booked out for weeks in advance and have to refuse new work. Whether you’re operating skip loaders or full size loaders, the demand for operators is there and with training only requiring three weeks of your time; you could be ready for work well before the end of spring.

If you want to join the landscaping profession as a loader operator, consider a heavy equipment training program that provides skills across a range of light and heavy equipment. With skills across a range of heavy equipment, you will be surprised at how many landscapers snap you up for work.

Sometimes news stories have ramifications that go beyond the initial story. An article in the Equipment Trader Online magazine from early March discusses the proposed move by Caterpillar of their excavator construction arm from Japan to the States. That, of course, will be a big plus for local workers in the manufacturing sector with production expected to triple. What does it mean for local excavator operators?

Local production could lead to an increase in the number of excavators being sold and with it an increase in the number of operators required. Local production should lead to lower prices, or at least more competitive prices. With local manufacturing, parts and servicing, their products will certainly create greater interest. There is a real possibility that Caterpillar will also require a small team of operators to test equipment as well. That could make for an interesting job, trying all the new models before they hit the market.

Excavators are becoming extremely versatile in the number of different roles they can play in construction. They are by no means restricted to just digging trenches these days. For operators, staying up to date with the latest in technology is almost a necessity and online magazines like Equipment Trader Online (its appears it will be free from May 1) can be ideal places to see what is happening in the world of excavators and heavy equipment in general. Of course, you could just keep coming back here as well.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools have always kept an eye on what is happening in the world of heavy equipment and the new technology that is being released. Our heavy equipment training courses are designed to ensure that graduates are able to move straight into employment after graduation with most graduates having long and successful careers. If a career as a heavy equipment operator sounds interesting, contact us for details on training options available.

So what do bulldozers and Agatha Christie have in common? Not a lot apart from the town of Luxor in Egypt. Now I know Luxor is a long way from here, but for some, it’s not that far. Agatha Christie found a lot inspiration for her books in Luxor and now the whole area is to be turned into a giant open-air museum based around the ancient city of Thebes. This is where the bulldozers come in – they are currently hard at work leveling much of the city of Luxor in order to reveal that ancient city.

Now I know what you are thinking. What does Luxor in Egypt have to do with heavy equipment training here at home apart from the association with bulldozers? At ATS Heavy Equipment Schools, we train our students in a range of equipment and prepare them for the workplace. Heavy equipment is one field of employment where your skills are valuable everywhere – and when I say everywhere I do mean worldwide.

The team of bulldozer operators clearing the way in Luxor is somewhat of an international effort with operators being employed from all parts of the world. There are several US citizens who are currently working as bulldozer operators in Luxor and several local operators owe their skills and knowledge to US operators who trained them.

One of the benefits of training on a range of heavy equipment is the multi-skilling that occurs. You walk away from your training with the skills to operate many different types of heavy equipment, not just a bulldozer. Naturally, you will specialize on one particular machine, but it you keep your skills updated across the board you will find employment opportunities everywhere, including overseas. For younger people just setting out in life, and perhaps wanting to see the world first, training as a heavy equipment operator is definitely an option. Who knows, you could end up in Luxor pulling down one of Agatha Christie’s old haunts.

Show me a construction site and I can almost guarantee that the busiest piece of equipment is a loader. They are versatile pieces of equipment capable of moving material like dirt, sand or debris from one place to another, loading trucks, or carrying anything heavy. Life as a loader operator is just as busy and it takes someone who can remain extremely alert to safely operate one.

Safety on a construction site is always important and it is particularly true of a loader operator. Their equipment is fast compared to most other equipment. Loaders are also fairly nimble, often able to get into places that other equipment cannot. Because of that speed and versatility, operators cannot afford to become complacent. They can quickly come upon an area busy with workers who themselves may be oblivious to the loader’s presence.

Being able to operate a loader in a busy environment is just one skill that an operator requires. They also need good depth perception when emptying a load into a truck. Without that depth perception, they could empty half the contents back onto the ground.

Loaders are one of the pieces of equipment that ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools includes in its heavy equipment training program. This training program is undertaken over three weeks with students gaining sufficient knowledge and skills to be in a position to commence employment as operators. There are not many careers that can start with a three week training program and have you work ready. If you are looking for a change in career and you think you can handle the hustle and bustle associated with being a loader operator, contact ATS and we can discuss your loader operator training options.

Demolition sites are one place that backhoes really do earn their keep. Being one of the most versatile pieces of heavy equipment in use today, they can do everything from pulling down walls to breaking up concrete and then finish the job by loading it all on to dump trucks. I have seen backhoes do a complete demolition job on houses without the help of any other equipment.

Working with a backhoe on a demolition site really does test out a wide range of backhoe operator skills. Pulling walls down is not that difficult. However, changing attachments and using them to complete other tasks is another matter. Breaking up concrete using the equivalent of a large jackhammer is one task, using grabbers to lift large items into dump trucks is another. Backhoe operators are possibly the most multi-skilled of any heavy machinery operator – they are at least on a par with excavator operators who use similar attachments.

Training to become a backhoe operator is not that difficult. In fact, at ATS Heavy Equipment Operators Schools we can have you trained and ready for the workplace in as little as three weeks. That includes training on a range of equipment including a backhoe.

Demolition work is not easy. It requires skills and the ability to foresee problems that may arise. Safety is always a big issue with demolition sites often having higher injury rates than construction sites. If demolition work is a field that you would like to enter, consider training to become a backhoe operator. It’s a field of work where your learning never stops.

Have you heard the joke about the heavy equipment operator that refused to do any safety training? No? Neither have I! In fact, it really isn’t a joking matter. Heavy equipment safety is serious, deadly serious you might say, since, as an operator, you have the lives of a lot of people in your hands.

Bulldozers can do a lot of damage. Have you seen the footage of the person who stole a bulldozer and drove through a suburb with police giving chase. He certainly destroyed a lot of property – it was very similar to the person who stole an army tank and went on destruction mission. Another operator who had lost half his house in a property dispute with his ex-wife, drove his backhoe through the front door and proceeded to cut the house in half – what a mess.

As you can see, heavy equipment can be quite destructive. Off course, those operators went out of their way to be destructive. Operators that fail to follow safety procedures can do just as must damage just through sheer negligence. On many of today’s construction sites, operators are not allowed on site unless they have completed some form of accredited heavy equipment safety training.

All nationally accredited training programs now include heavy equipment safety components. This is to ensure that, over time, all operators in the nation are working to the same set of standards. This all means that all operators know what they can expect from other operators or workers who are working nearby. If everyone is following the same set of safety precautions then work is more predictable and less accidents likely.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools delivers nationally accredited training that includes heavy equipment safety training. If you are looking to undertake training in this field, make sure the company delivering the training is also accredited. Better yet – just contact us.

It may be March and spring may be in the air but try telling that to the residents of Homer in Alaska. They had to call on every grader in the area to help clear out several feet of snow that had fallen in a late blizzard. One of the joys of operating heavy equipment like road graders is that you never know what sort of job you could be called on to do next.

For the people of Homer, I am sure they are happy to have had graders and grader operators in their midst. Mind you, many of the students may not have been. Their schools were closed for the first time in over 20 years and it wasn’t until road graders had cleared the way that they could re-open. For those of us in warmer climates, moving snow at this time of the year is probably the last thing on our mind.

Becoming a grader operator is not as difficult as many people would imagine. A three week heavy equipment training program will provide sufficient skills and knowledge to gain a start in the workforce. From there, it’s really a matter of gaining as much experience as possible. With experience comes more knowledge and over time experience in more trying conditions.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools deliver nationally accredited training in a wide range of equipment including road graders, excavators, bulldozers and backhoes. Each training course runs for three weeks and we have training schools across the country. If you are interested in operating heavy equipment like road graders (perhaps not in Alaska), then give us a call. We can advise on course start dates and heavy equipment operator school close to your location.

Now there is a question that will raise the eyebrows of many old time operators – can robotics and new heavy equipment technology take over from operators? I think, first and foremost, before getting too heavily into any arguments, no technology has ever really replaced an operator. Sure, one person may now control a variety of machines, but there is still a human controlling them in some manner. What about heavy equipment then?

In some areas, robotics have replaced humans at the work place. Instead, they control the vehicle using remote control technologies. Again, there is still a human operating the remote control device. While operators as we know them may be replaced, in the short to medium term, this will only be in jobs that involve considerable danger like mining and the creation of tunnels and perhaps in certain demolition roles. The emphasis at present is not on robotic technology for heavy equipment, it is focused more on fuel efficiencies, greener vehicles and computer technology like GPS that enables more accurate work at much faster rates.

At present, heavy equipment technology is something that present or future operators need to worry over. Research is aimed at making their jobs quicker, smoother and safer whilst still looking after the environment. If you are considering a career in heavy equipment, technology should not be an issue that creates any long term career fears.

Here at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools, we embrace new technology and try to include the latest advances into our training programs (of course, it’s not possible to include every advance – but we try). If you are considering a career as a heavy equipment operator, talk to us about your training options. You can be assured that our heavy equipment training will have you well prepared for the workplace including aspects of modern heavy equipment technology.