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.

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.

Heavy equipment safety has become one of the most important components in an accredited heavy equipment training program. There is good reason for it as well. Over the years, heavy equipment accidents have resulted in deaths, serious injuries and millions of dollars in damages to properties. In most states, all employees need to be following a work place safety plan and businesses can be fined large amounts for breaches in safety procedures.

Unfortunately, heavy equipment safety is very much an attitude issue. In the past, heavy equipment operators were seen as rough, tough, heavy drinking loudmouths that worked with a break or who have a break-through type attitude. We still see this stereotype as heavy equipment operators, but that mentality is no longer the dominant force in this industry.

It may seem strange, but heavy equipment safety needs to become a subconscious act, not a conscious act. Sure, you need to be thinking safety, but your subconscious is what is always watching what is taking place around you. Some people call it a sixth sense. The term doesn’t matter – heavy equipment safety just needs to become second nature.

We do it in our cars as we drive around. We are not constantly thinking about safety, we just do it. The same is true when it comes to heavy equipment safety. This all starts with your attitude and the type of training you receive. Your heavy equipment training should be accredited and should include heavy equipment safety training components (if it’s accredited it will – it’s part of the accreditation process).

Here at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools we have a well earned reputation for providing industry with well trained graduates who are ready for employment. This means they have been trained to national standards including heavy equipment safety. If you are looking to become a heavy equipment operator – train with the best to ensure that your skills and knowledge are what employers are looking for.

Backhoe contractors are amongst the busiest workers in the earth moving industry. In fact, backhoes are often in such demand that heavy equipment hire yards have waiting lists for available machinery. One of the qualities that makes a backhoe a popular choice is its versatility.

For operators, a day’s work for their backhoe could range from digging a trench to removing debris from a demolition site. Along they way they may be required to use any number of attachments for jobs such as breaking up concrete. Because backhoes are so versatile, they require skilled operators, operators that know how to use their machines and know how to use the various attachments.

Becoming a backhoe contractor is not as difficult as you may think. Training is the first step and when selecting a training company, you really should look at those that are accredited to deliver nationally recognized training. That is a sign of a well respected heavy equipment training company.

Following your training you should find employment for a business that uses backhoes in a variety of situations. This is where you can develop your skills and become a truly professional operator. It is also an ideal environment for networking and building a reputation for being a skilled operator.

The final step is the hardest – and most expensive. Once you have developed a network of businesses that regularly use backhoe contractors, and a reputation for being one of the best, you will need to acquire a backhoe of your own. They are expensive and many new contractors look to buy older used models. Just remember that with a used backhoe, or any piece of heavy equipment, you could be buying someone else’s problem machine. Give the backhoe a good workout before outlaying any cash.

Backhoe contractors earn a good living, they are their own boss and can set their own work hours and work days. It can be a hard road getting there but you will never achieve it unless you take those first steps. Those steps start with quality heavy equipment training.

Loaders are already working away, preparing the way to spring and summer work. Spring is not that far away although you wouldn’t know it given some of the weather conditions at present. However, in some areas, the snow is turning to water and starting to run off. What it is leaving behind is often churned up mud and pot holes. Dump trucks can’t get in with fill so it is left to loaders to do the work – they at least can get across boggy ground.

That is one of the advantages of loaders, they can cover a diverse range of terrains and offer construction companies a lot of diversity. Loaders are also efficient, being able to carry large payloads with respect to their overall size. Not only can they carry these payloads, they can spread the material fairly evenly, effectively carrying out two jobs.

Loader operators are the key. Well trained, they can get loaders to do a lot of tasks, tasks that others may find beyond them. That training starts with a credible training organization that understands what skills employers need and how to train students to meet those needs safely. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools has the accreditation to deliver nationally recognized heavy equipment training. This includes training on loaders, bulldozers, excavators and motor graders.

Entering the profession of heavy equipment operations is not as difficult as most people imagine. You can start by undertaking a comprehensive three week training program that provides the skills to get you into the work place. Like many occupations, you deliver higher skills on the job – provided, of course, that you have a good foundation of skills.

If you’re looking to enter the profession then gain that good skills foundation through ATS – contact ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools now to discuss your training needs and for more information on our next heavy equipment training program.

As we improve the technology of modern heavy earthmoving equipment the skills of operators are becoming more refined. This is especially true of grader operators who have laser and GPS technology to deal with. Add to this the introduction of computerized controls and the machinery now, although looking similar to those of yesterday, can be far different to operate.

The key to surviving as a grader operator is the quality of the training you receive. Grader operator training shouldn’t just rely on how to operate the controls. That is only one component of the job. These days, a good grader operator can read plans, is able to identify different soil types and how they react when worked, and have a thorough understanding of workplace safety. Soil types is one area where training can provide the basics, but it is only through experience that you can build a thorough understanding of the topic.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools doesn’t just train to the basic operator skills. We include plan reading, soils, safety and general equipment maintenance – all the skills that employers now require of their operators. Of course, we also include hands on use of the equipment; grader operator training wouldn’t be training without it.

Our graduates are well respected within the industry so gaining useful employment after your training is not a big issue. If you are interested in a career as a grader operator, consider enrolling in our heavy equipment training program. You can be on your way to a successful career as a grader operator in as little as three weeks.

We are entering an era where the skills of yesterday may not be adequate enough to continue with today’s equipment. At the same time, who wants to lose skilled and knowledgeable employees just because of new equipment. On-training is perhaps the next big step in employer-employee relations. This is where Associated Training Services and their heavy equipment, crane operator and truck driver training schools can be of assistance.

ATS has been providing in-the-workplace customized training for many years now. We have a well trained and highly dedicated team of trainers that can design and implement training programs for your employees based on your actual needs. Wherever possible, we align these training programs to national standards. This provides employers with well trained employees and at the same time offering these employees skills that are recognized nationwide.

Customized training can be delivered at any one of our ten training centers or, if it’s more practical, in the workplace. Training covers a broad spectrum, including heavy equipment associated with earth moving; mobile cranes and lattice boom cranes; and CDL truck driver training.

The advantage of undertaking customized training in the workplace is that employees can be trained on the actual equipment in use in the environment it is being used in. They are trained to use the equipment to deliver maximum productivity for specific tasks.

For more information on customized training, contact us at 1.800.383.7364 and we can discuss your training requirements. Customized training in the workplace helps to reduce employee stress in situations where they are failing to cope with the demands of the job through lack of up-to-date skills. By providing training that updates those skills, you will be increasing confidence levels and reducing stress and you’ll be rewarded with increased productivity and less downtime.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools are all accredited by the National Center for Construction Education Research otherwise known as the NCCER. In today’s world, there are several areas in training that both students and employers need. These include standardization of training and portability and the two go hand in hand.

Standardization is fairly straightforward. The skills you learn training to operate heavy equipment in Florida should be the same set of skills you would learn if you were training in Texas, New England or any other state. Obviously, if everyone is trained to the same set of standards, it doesn’t matter where you did your training, your skills would still be recognized – that’s portability. You can work in any state and your training and skills are recognized.

Many years ago, if you were trained in one state the chances were those skills were not recognized in the next state, even though the border was only a mile away. To work in both states, you had to undertake training in both states. A little ridiculous really so industry has established minimum standards that all graduating students should achieve.

Because we are accredited through NCCER, our students can be Nationally Certified by NCCER and receive certifications and credentials from NCCER. Details of their accomplishment is recorded on a national registry. This reinforces the portability aspect of nationally accredited training.

ATS has been accredited for many years. In fact, we are one of the leaders when it comes to accredited heavy equipment training. We have a proud tradition of producing quality graduates, graduates that employers are often keen to hire. If you’re considering a career in heavy equipment, first ensure your training provider as national accreditation for their training programs. If you have any doubts, call us, we have training centers in over ten locations around the country. What does national heavy equipment certification really mean? Peace of mind for students, graduates and employers and the knowledge that training has been delivered to very specific standards.

Excavator operators need a keen sense of placement in their environment since the job itself takes them and their excavator right to the edge – literally. If you look closely at this image, another couple of feet and the excavator would be in the trench rather than creating it. Knowing where you are and, just as importantly, knowing what is happening under you are crucial when it comes to safety.

Depending on the soil type, any excavation has the potential for the edges to collapse. As an operator, you should be ‘feeling’ the ground under you as you work. For experienced operators, it becomes second nature. It’s a little like ‘feeling’ the road through the steering wheel when driving a car without even thinking about it. Excavator operators do exactly the same except instead of road it’s the area around their machine.

It is hard to teach people how to interpret sensations that are felt through the hands, feet and seat of the pants. What we can do is provide training time in the operator’s seat. Being able to ‘feel’ the ground really comes from experience. The more time you have in an operator’s seat, the more attuned you will become with the machine and your environment. However, without the right basic training, the only thing you’re likely to become attuned to is sitting in the bottom of that trench.

At ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools, we strongly believe in using a two-pronged attack when it comes to heavy equipment training. Safety and other issues are generally taught in a classroom situation. Learning to operate an excavator, for example, is done by sitting in the operator seat and doing the work yourself. Of course, we guide you and provide instruction on which levers, pedals and buttons to use, but you get a feel for how the machine works by doing the operating yourself.

Do you like living on the edge? Become an excavator operator and do it almost every day.

With a commercial drivers license you open the door to a lot more opportunities. We are not talking about being a truck driver here although it does of course involve driving trucks. I am looking more at those who have careers in heavy equipment operations like operating a bulldozer or excavator. At present, if a bulldozer is required on a site somewhere, it takes it two operators to complete the job – one to drive the bulldozer to the site and one to operate the bulldozer.

How many employers would jump at the chance of employing one person to do both jobs? There are a lot of employers that would grab the opportunity at present, particularly if they are taking contracts for land clearing type jobs where only one piece of equipment is needed. The operator takes the equipment out to the site, does a days work then drives the truck back to base. The truck is then free for other jobs. The operator uses their vehicle to get to the site then.

Once the job is almost complete, the operator takes the truck back, finishes the work then takes the whole lot back to base. Job done and only one operator required. The saving in wages for that employer can be huge if spread over several pieces of machinery.

If you are one of those operators that is also holding a commercial drivers license, you are more likely to be employed these days than someone who doesn’t have their CDL. Obtaining your CDL only takes three weeks of training through ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools. The training is followed by a licensing test carried out by your state licensing authority. Once licensed, you can have a greater say in where and for whom you are going to work – that has to be good.