Building modern roads would be rather difficult without motor graders. One of the reasons we have such good highways is because of the work done by motor graders. They put the finish on the foundations of our roads.

When we drive along a highway, what we see is the finished product. What we don’t see is what is sitting below the road’s surface. In most cases, bulldozers and loaders work together to cut out a rough road. Motor graders then come in and cut that rough road back to a level and smooth base. If road base or other materials need to be added, it is the grader that levels this out, once again to a smooth surface.

I said that motor graders provide a level surface. This is not quite right. All roads have a slight slope to them. This slope is very precise since it is designed to help cars stay on the road yet encourage water to quickly run off the road. Motor graders use laser technology to get that precise slope in the road’s foundation.

Motor grader operators are amongst the elite when it comes to heavy equipment operations. The position is well paid when compared to other operations, the work more precise and hence more challenging, and they are a part of a well oiled team that steadily builds our highways.

Becoming a motor grader operator is not that difficult. Complete a heavy equipment operator training course that includes motor grader skills then hit the workplace to put your new skills into practice. Before you know it, you will be one of the elite operators on a construction team – leading the way to providing us with first class roads to drive on.

Crane operator training at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools covers both fixed cab and swing cab mobile hydraulic cranes. Crane operator training is conducted over three levels with each level building on the previous. Training is designed to prepare graduates for both the written and practical exams for certification through the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO).

As you can imagine, training for certification is fairly intense. However, the information is presented in an easy to understand format, which makes learning both enjoyable and uncomplicated. Training involves both classroom based activities and hands on in the operator seat training. Some of the material covered in training includes:

Level 1:
Basic Principles of Cranes
Crane Safety
Operating A Crane

Level 2:
Machine Power Flow
Preventive Maintenance
Computer Aids/Operator Aids

Level 3:
Advanced Operational Techniques
Emergency Procedure
Transporting Requirements

You can get a full module list with short description by visiting our crane operator training pages.

Crane operators are amongst the highest paid heavy equipment operators in the country and there is always a demand for operators. By enrolling in our crane operator training course you will also be entitled to access our job placement program. This program assists graduates in finding suitable employment once they have completed their training. You may also be entitled to financial assistance – this will depend on your circumstances at the time of enrolling.

Our crane operator training program is recognized nationally as is the certification process at the conclusion of your training. National recognition is important because it means your qualification as a crane operator will be recognized in all states. If a career as a crane operator sounds right for you – contact us for the dates of our next training program.

Becoming a backhoe operator is not that difficult although the skill levels are slightly more diverse than, say, an excavator operator or a loader operator. The reason of course is that a backhoe incorporates the skills required for both of those machines. You may wonder if there are any special skills or attributes needed to be a successful backhoe operator.

All heavy equipment operators need a basic set of skills and attributes. Like all workplaces, reliability is a key factor as is attention to detail. Being able to follow orders is important, but more importantly, you need to be able to stick to a plan.

Being physically fit is important along with general good health. Having good eyesight helps although being able to estimate distances and depths is an important attribute. Hand-eye coordination is also an important skill.

If you can tick each of those areas off then you are a step away from becoming a backhoe operator. The missing step of course is to undertake backhoe operator training. Heavy equipment is a field of employment that can be suitable for people of most ages and genders. Whether you’re twenty or forty; male or female; there is no discrimination when it comes to heavy equipment operator training – this includes backhoes.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools offer heavy equipment training in ten locations around the country. If you’re considering a career as a backhoe operator, or in heavy equipment in general, then give us a call to determine what training options are available for you. It’s a call you’ll never regret making.

Heavy equipment safety is one of the most important aspects of any heavy equipment training program. Sure, learning to operate a piece of heavy equipment is mighty important, but doing it safely is actually more important. In fact, most employers would rather you didn’t operate the equipment at all if you don’t know how to do it safely.

This has been backed up over the past decade with legislation at both a Federal and State level which now requires work sites to operate to a certain level of safety standards. There are safety inspectors touring workplaces and undertaking safety audits. If a business fails its safety audit there can be rather large fines issued.

We at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools take safety seriously and include all relevant safety practices within our training. We do not consider a student competent to operate heavy equipment unless they can do so according to those safety standards. In fact, we go one step further and insist our trainers are fully conversant with safety procedures before allowing them to train others. As a student, our expectation is that you will take heavy equipment safety seriously as well. Otherwise you could cause serious injury to yourself, a fellow student or one of our instructors during training.

Believe it or not, heavy equipment safety starts at home. Your work gear may be a part of the safety requirements. Steel toe boots and most likely a hard hat as well. However, that is just the external coverings. Heavy equipment safety starts from within; it requires an alert mind, eyes that can see, and an attitude that ensure you operate according to procedures. Dull any of these through substance abuse, poor sleep or an all night party and suddenly everyone could be in danger.

Yes – heavy equipment safety is important and it does start at home.

If you’re considering becoming a bulldozer operator then the first thing you will need to consider is bulldozer operator training. If you pick up a telephone book, newspaper or search on line you will find hundreds of places that offer this training. Your task is to find a training provider that is close to home; provides accredited training; is well respected within the industry; and can offer a job placement service should you need it. Depending on your circumstances you may also need to consider how you are going to fund your training.

We have thought of all of these factors and can provide bulldozer operator training in ten locations around the country. ATS Heavy Equipment Operators Schools has been accredited to deliver heavy equipment training for many years. We have a reputation for producing well trained work ready operators – in fact, we have many businesses coming to us looking for new operators. Our ten training centers are located in:

• Sun Prairie, Wisconsin;
• Columbus, Ohio;
• Brentwood, New Hampshire;
• Rapidan, Virginia;
• Pelzer, South Carolina;
• Lecanto, Florida;
• Wills Point, Texas;
• Watkins, Colorado;
• Victorville, California ; and
• Eldorado Hills, California.

When it comes to funding your bulldozer training, we can help out there as well. Fill in an online loan application and we will process it and get back to you – often within 48 hours ( a little longer for weekends).

Are you looking at the role of a bulldozer operator as a possible career? Let ATS Heavy Equipment Operators Schools help you take the first steps.

Whilst backhoes, excavators and bulldozers do all the hard work digging and pushing dirt around, it is the loader that invariably gets the job of cleaning up after it’s brothers. Of course, backhoes have loader scoops at the front so for the purpose of this post we will include them in the category of loader. The other aspect to remember is that loaders come in all sizes, from the small compact loaders to the mighty beasts that are used in mining.

Before anyone argues the point with me, I know some loaders can also undertake a degree of digging and earthmoving, but for the big jobs, the specialist machinery is generally called in relegating the loader to cleanup detail. If it sounds like I am putting loaders down, I’m not. Cleaning up is of equal importance to any other aspect of a job.

Wheel loaders are really quite special. They are quite maneuverable and can travel fairly quickly over the ground. They can also move a lot of material fairly quickly. Loaders are probably one of the fastest machines used on a construction site. Even the larger models can move quickly. If you ever watch a loader at work you will see how quickly they can load a truck; zipping forward to scoop up material then in reverse to line up with the truck. And all done at a fair speed.

Loaders rely a lot on hand-eye coordination with eyesight quite important – you need to be sure the scoop is over the truck before tipping the load. If your eyesight is askew you could be dumping the load just short of the truck all the time.

You can undertake loader training as part of a general heavy equipment training program. This will also equip you with skills to handle backhoes, loaders, excavators and bulldozers. Loaders may do all the clean up work, but without them we would have pretty awful looking buildings.

Excavators are a part of the earth moving family but what are they exactly? Some people mistakenly refer to all digging machinery as excavators, backhoes included. This is not quite correct – excavators are machines in their own right and have distinct differences to other machinery like backhoes.

An excavator can be identified by several features. The first is a distinctive scorpion like appearance. The scorpions tail in this case is an articulated arm with a bucket attached to the end (other attachments can be used instead of a bucket). What makes an excavator different to a backhoe (the backhoe also has the articulated arm) is the platform the articulated arm is connected to. Forward of the articulated arm is an operators cab that also sits on the rotating platform.

The rotating platform of an excavator can rotate through 360 degrees. The platform sits on either a set of wheels, or more commonly a set of tracks. Excavators don’t have the same freedom of movement that a backhoe possesses but what it lacks in maneuverability it makes up for with shear digging capabilities. An excavator can dig a deeper and wider trench than backhoe over a similar period of time.

Like backhoes, excavators work in a variety of jobs including demolition, lifting and placing heavy materials especially pipes, for mining, river dredging, landscaping and of course digging trenches. You can find employment in excavators ranging from the mini excavator right up to huge excavators used in mining. Excavator training is generally undertaken as part of a broad heavy equipment training program that includes other earth moving equipment.

Think of a wheel loader and you probably think of the loaders you see running around a construction site loading rubble onto dump trucks. They do a great job too but did you know they were the teens of the family? The bobcat is probably the baby of the family and just like a baby that has learned to crawl, they zip all around the place – always under your feet.

If the bobcat is the baby of the family, you should see the grandpappy of the family. Compact loaders weigh in at around 10,000 pounds and draw around 50 horse power. The grandpappy’s weigh as much as 430,000 pounds and draw as much as 1500 horse power. That is one big machine – do the maths. That’s 43 times larger and 30 times more powerful.

Wheel loaders of that size of course are used in specialist roles such as mining and, yes, helping to move mountains – large hills anyway. One scoop load would fill a standard dump truck with plenty to spill over. Imagine the size of the wheels!

While these machines are giants in their class, the skills needed to operate them are not much greater than those required to operate a standard loader. Experience is the key to operating a machine of this size and that experience starts with a wheel loader training program that prepares you for the workplace.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools may not get you into the cab of one of these monsters straight away. They will, however, provide the training that can get you into the cab of a standard wheel loader where you can start to build the experience required. Discover more about our wheel loader training programs and the opportunities that await.

Heavy equipment technology is a little like new car technology. It doesn’t matter what they do under the hood or inside the cab, operating the equipment (or car) is still the same. Many of the changes we see now relate to computerized components, the use of lasers and GPS, or the addition of new tools.

The introduction of laser or GPS technology often requires a little training to operate effectively, however, the equipment still operates in the same fashion. Like a car, if you add a GPS device, you will need to learn how to operate the device. The car will still be driven using the existing skills.

The addition of tools is a different matter. Here you may need to learn a few new operator skills. Using the car analogy again, it would be similar to adding a boat or trailer – the basic operations remain the same, you just need to learn to drive with the load. With heavy equipment, the levers and pedals still do the same job, you just need to learn that new job.

Cranes are a good example of the introduction of new technology. You can add a lot of devices such as cameras and in-cab video screens, but the basic principles of lifting a load remain the same and the initial training you receive is still relevant.

When it comes to training for a career in heavy technology, it is not always possible to include every new device that has come onto the market. Backhoes and excavators have attachments that number into the hundreds. If you were to learn each and every one of them, it would probably take a year of training. Getting the basics right is the first step to a long career as a heavy equipment operator. As heavy equipment technology arrives, you undertake training only if it is appropriate. The bottom line – there is no change to your normal operating practices.

Changing careers can be a rather scary experience and this is particularly true if you try to do it without some type of job placement assistance. Before commencing training, your knowledge and life experiences have all centered around your previous career(s). For many just starting out in heavy equipment, they have little knowledge of the industry itself, let alone potential employers.

It’s not just knowing who the potential employers are. Once you have been in the industry for several years you become aware of who are good employers and who you need to steer away from. An industry specific job placement service already has this information – by the bucket load.

Training organizations such as ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools have been able to build a reputation, not over years, but over decades, for providing well trained operators to the industry. ATS have also seen employers come and go with the more successful businesses providing good employment opportunities for graduates.

As a graduate of ATS you are able to access their job placement service and take advantage of the wealth of knowledge and information they have been able to gather. There are employers that come to ATS when seeking new operators for their businesses. Why? Because of the reputation that ATS has.

If you are considering a career change to heavy equipment operations, be sure to check what post training assistance there is to help you find that first work opportunity. If they don’t offer a decent job placement service then I suggest you look at other training providers. The cost of heavy equipment training is not low – you need to ensure that every dollar you spend is used to its fullest -this includes making use of their heavy equipment job placement service.