Heavy equipment safety has become an important issue and many states now insist on operators having some form of safety training. Employers themselves are now starting to see the worth of safety training. Consider the two sides of the issue. Accidents mean stoppages, injuries, inquiries, possibly fines, and the job finishing behind schedule. No accidents means – well, the opposite. No injuries, no inquires, no stoppages, a happier workplace and jobs finishing ahead of schedule.

Southern Industrial Constructors are a classic example. They have just celebrated a full year with zero accidents in the workplace. You may think “so what?.” However, consider this: they employ 750 employees at sites spread around the country. This means safety is a prime concern, not in one place, but in multiple places. As one of the nation’s biggest employers of construction workers and heavy equipment operators, this is a record to be proud of.

How have they managed to achieve this record? Safety training, including ongoing training on a regular basis, has formed an important part of their safety platform. Workers are rewarded for working within safety guidelines. More importantly, using crane operators as an example:

(…source)The company advocates nationally for industry safety standards requiring its crane operators to be certified by the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO).

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools along with ATS Crane Operator Schools have long promoted safety in the workplace. All nationally accredited training includes safety components as laid down by the relevant national bodies for each equipment type. For our crane operators, we offer training that has been accredited and graduates can be assessed at our training centers for accreditation by the NCCCO. Heavy equipment safety training is helping to reduce workplace accidents – just ask Southern Industrial Constructors.

Heavy equipment training is by no means cheap. I wouldn’t call it expensive either, at least not when you consider the rewards available at the end of your training. Financial aid is one of those areas that can be a stumbling block for many considering a career change. Yet, it shouldn’t be.

Training to operate heavy equipment generally only takes three weeks. This means you can complete your training and enter the lucrative trade fairly quickly. If you have borrowed money to undertake training, there is a good chance your new wage could quickly have that loan paid off.

Finance is an important consideration, but it is one that should be weighed up against several factors. The first of course is how quickly you can be in the workplace and earning. As already mentioned, training is only three weeks so time is not a problem. What about opportunities? There are plenty of opportunities around at present. Middle to late spring is one of the prime recruitment seasons for heavy equipment operators so vacancies should be on the increase.

The second factor to consider is the wage rate. Heavy equipment operators are well paid so there is a good chance your new wage could be considerably higher than your current wage. Working hours are good and the work itself, while often a challenge, is extremely satisfying.

Are you suited to this field? This is the third and most important question. You shouldn’t be paying (or borrowing) for a training program if your heart and soul is not in it. There is a good chance you won’t remain in the trade for long and every obstacle will become a huge negative. Those with a positive attitude see obstacles as another challenge to defeat – and they succeed as heavy equipment operators.

There is plenty of financial aid around at present including very competitive student loans. With a new career and a lucrative wage in hand, taking out a student loan shouldn’t be too much of a burden. Call us to discuss your situation and to find out what financial aid options are available for you.

As the weather starts to clear you will see more and more bulldozers hard at work on many of our back roads. Over winter, snow, ice and water sit on these back roads and are generally only accessible using off-road vehicles. Off-road vehicles tend to have larger tires with large tread patterns so you can imagine the effect they have as they grind snow, ice and mud against the road surfaces.

Once the weather has cleared – and the snow, ice and water has gone – these back roads are almost impassable due to the large pot holes that have been gouged into the roads. Bulldozers are often called in to start the repair processes. They carve out the rough patches of road ready for either a repair crew to resurface the road or for gravel, which the bulldozer then spreads over the surface.

Bulldozer operators are always in high demand at this time of the year. They are normally the first heavy equipment operators called into any construction area as they prepare the way for new buildings or new roads. Because of this demand, it is also a great opportunity for those who are looking to start a career as bulldozer operators.

By undertaking your heavy equipment operator training through ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools you are giving yourself the best advantage possible in starting this career. Training only takes three weeks so you are ready to snap up any opportunities that arise. ATS has an excellent record when it comes to producing skilled operators. Future employers will often show preference for our graduates over those from other training schools. If you’re ready for a career operating bulldozers, give yourself the ATS advantage and contact us now for details on the next training course in your area.

I think there are times when we underestimate the value of simple machinery like loaders. On the face of it, they have a limited range of tasks and most of those are related to carrying. They can’t dig very well, they are not really suited to any bulldozing and they can’t do a lot when it comes to demolition, except carry away the demolished material.

With that sort of description, who would want to operate one? In fact, who would want to undertake loader training? However, if you stop and think about what they can do, it’s a different story. A loader can move an awful lot of material in a very short time. Take loading sand into a truck. It would take at least 20 men at least an hour to load a pile of sand into a truck. In fact, getting it into the truck would be the difficult part. Perhaps they could use a couple of buckets tied to rope. The loader, of course, could move the pile in two or three scoops.

It’s not recommended these days, but in the past many tradesman relied on the scoop to raise them high enough to perform special tasks. Cherry pickers or specialist hoists do the job these days. Loaders can also be used, in a limited way, to level out the ground. This is done by adding loose material with the scoop being used like a giant rake to level out the loose material.

Almost every building site has a loader of some shape and size, even if it’s just a compact loader. They are versatile when it comes to carrying and moving objects, whether it is loose material like sand and dirt or solid material like rock and concrete. They are also useful for moving hardware like pipes, steel or timber and any other object that will fit into its scoop.

Loader operators are always in demand, which is fortunate since loaders can also be one of the easiest ways into the heavy equipment industry. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools can have you qualified and in the operator seat of a loader in just three weeks. Call us and find out how.

Are you sitting at home wondering where your next job is going to come from? Have you considered undertaking a few weeks training to learn new skills? If you haven’t then maybe it’s time you did because it only takes three weeks to learn the skills required to become a backhoe operator. In fact, it only takes three weeks to acquire the skills to operate most forms of heavy equipment.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools are one of the most respected heavy equipment schools around, having supplied the construction industry with literally thousands of new recruits. Our graduates are noted for being skilled and ready for employment through training that is accredited to national standards.

Now all that sounds like one big ad doesn’t it? Yet, it’s all true. Let’s take a step back.

The construction industry has been on the crest of a wave over the last 12 months thanks to the injection of massive amounts of money by the Federal Government. This funding is going into basic infrastructure programs like roads, bridges and schools. More importantly, it has created a lot of new jobs across the board including heavy equipment. Backhoe operators have been particularly blessed with plenty of work because of the versatility of their equipment.

On the flip side of the coin, there are many hard working Americans who are now out of work, simply because the economist and the bankers got it all wrong. If you are one of them (hard working American that is, not an economist or banker) then you can get your working life back on track by taking on a career as a backhoe operator. These jobs are well paid with good work conditions and a terrific camaraderie. Just be sure you gain your heavy equipment training through an accredited, well-respected heavy equipment training company. Call us and reclaim your career – it only takes three weeks.

One of the more commonly seen yet unusual uses of an excavator is on the back of a barge helping to dredge the floor of a river. They are more common than people realize with many excavators permanently attached to the barge – that is their life’s work. For an operator, it can be one of those ‘cushy’ jobs.

Sitting on barges, the excavator’s role is no different than digging a trench on land, the only difference being the trench is under water. The mud is scooped up and dumped into another barge, the water-based version of a dump truck. The work is relatively easy with the biggest danger being bridges and underwater cables.

Despite being an easy job, they are hard to come by since they can be very popular amongst operators. The skills required to operate a barge-mounted excavator are no different than those required to operate a land-based excavator. Standard heavy equipment operator training is all that you require together with a reasonable amount of experience.

If you are considering a career as an excavator operator then you will be entering a field that can be interesting and varied. Excavators are no longer restricted to just digging trenches; they operate in a wide range of environments including my favorite, demolition. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools offer a comprehensive training course that prepares graduates for work in a variety of fields. Our training is accredited and recognized nationally. This means your training credentials qualify you for employment as a heavy equipment operator across the country. If this sounds like a career for you, contact us now to discuss your training options.

Some people consider a job placement service to be just that, a service that finds a job, any old job, and sends you off to it. These days, no one can afford to do that if they want to remain credible within the industry. Some employers want resumes, others want application letters whilst many others want both. Knowing what employers expect is part of a modern job placement service and the only way you can develop that knowledge is through experience.

Just because you have completed your heavy equipment training doesn’t mean you will be guaranteed employment. In fact, finding your first job can be harder than the training itself. There are many employers that simply won’t employ green operators. They want operators with experience, often many years experience. It’s a bit of an oxymoron at times. How can you get the experience they require if they refuse to employ green operators that are looking to gain some experience.

That doesn’t mean the jobs aren’t out there nor does it mean that every employer is like that. A good job placement service knows which employers are willing to take on someone new to the industry. There are some employers who will take on green operators, but only if they come through certain training schools – the ones with good training reputations.

We are fortunate here at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools – or rather, our graduates are. We have a job placement service that helps new operators put together job applications. We also have a good track record for providing employers with well trained operators. Finally, we know the employment market. With over 25 years experience in training, we have developed a strong rapport with employers. There are employers who will take on our new graduates and help them gain experience.

The heavy equipment operator job market is starting to open up. Employers are being forced to take on new recruits because of the lack of experienced operators. Now is the best time to commence your training and to make use of our job placement service to snare that first job and to start gaining the experience required to become a well sought after operator. The jobs are there; the training is here; where are you?

If you have been considering a career in heavy equipment, particularly as a grader operator, then I suggest you do something about it now. I don’t mean to be pushy, but, spring is only a day away and spring heralds the start of the busy earth moving season. By the time summer starts, most heavy construction jobs will be in full swing; employers will have completed their hiring; and heavy equipment operators will be hard at work trying to complete contracts on time so they can sneak more in before winter returns.

Becoming a grader operator is not as difficult as it seems. Sure, they are complex beasts and the role they fill is one where precision is a necessity. However, with onboard computer technology, this is often fairly easy to achieve. Training in the field of heavy equipment can be completed in as little as three weeks and have you ready to enter the workplace.

Training programs such as those at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools include all the skills necessary to gain and keep well paid employment. Our heavy equipment training is accredited nationally, which means your skills will be recognized nationwide. It also means that employers know you have been trained to a certain level of skill. In fact, once they see the ATS logo on your documentation they know you have received quality training.

Now is the time to act – if you enroll now you should have your training completed and be ready for work by the end of March, just in time for the mid-spring heavy equipment operator recruitment drives.

A recent report has highlighted the stimulus spending effects on the construction industry in general. The news is good with heavy equipment careers set to boom over the next 12 months. In fact, if you have had any thoughts of entering the industry, now is the time to act or you run the risk of missing out.

The report estimates that stimulus spending has saved or created 280,000 direct construction jobs. If around 8% of all construction jobs are heavy equipment related, that equates to around 25,000 heavy equipment related jobs – with more to come. The report also pointed to transport projects as being the one construction area to really grow over the past 12 months. Transport projects (road and bridge construction) have a heavy reliance on heavy equipment.

With the current employment situation favoring construction, now is the best to enter the industry. Heavy equipment operator numbers have steadily decreased in recent years as our population has aged. For the industry, it is has not just seen a loss of operators, it has seen a loss of operators that have had decades of experience, something that cannot be replaced overnight.

Is a heavy equipment career right for you? The only person who can answer that is you. However, there is one tool that you can make use of that may just help you decide. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools has a totally free online training program. You can register for this training program and undertake the lessons, all from the comfort of your own home on your own computer. Once you have completed the training program, you can then decide whether or not a heavy equipment career is right for you. The jobs are there – we just need the right operators to fill those jobs. Are you potentially one of them?

For most people, the image of a bulldozer is that of a machine that pushes dirt around all day. In simple terms, they are right. However, in the hands of a skilled operator, bulldozers are land sculptors. Rather than just pushing dirt around, they carve areas ready for whatever the intended use is.

If you take a housing development, the land is cleared. This is the bulldozer at its beasty best. It uses brute strength to carve away the top of the area to be developed. However, once the initial work has been completed, the bulldozer then starts to carve out areas. Roads may be carved a little deeper than the surrounding home sites. Playgrounds or shopping precincts may be carved a little deeper still or at least cleared to a large flat surface. In the hands of a skilled operator, this work can be completed with precision in fairly quick time.

The operative words there are ‘skilled operator’. The bulldozer is going nowhere unless it has an operator. The more skilled the operator, the better the machine performs. Becoming a skilled operator takes two steps – training and practice. Training, of course, provides the skill and knowledge base that practice (or experience) builds on. Like any building, lay a faulty foundation and the chances are that building will collapse. Develop a poor skills base and no amount of practice will help – not if you are practicing poor work habits.

Quality training starts with a quality training organization like ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools. ATS deliver quality bulldozer training through their nationally accredited heavy equipment training program, a program that can have you work ready in as little as three weeks. If you fancy the challenge of operating a beast to carve out the landscape then consider bulldozer operator training.