With oil slicks threatening the beaches in the south there is a good chance that loader operators will be called in to help alleviate some of the problems. One of the easiest ways to handle polluted beaches is to simply move the affected areas away for decontamination. Doing it in situ can be difficult, especially if harsh chemicals are required to clean the pollutant.

Loader operators can often be found on beaches after huge storms, working to either replace or reposition sand that has been affected by the storms. In some areas, wild storms have been known to strip beaches of the sand while at other times to bring in tons of sand. With the summer rapidly approaching, our beaches are one the strongest drawcards when it comes to tourism – having them fit for swimmers and surfers is a must.

Operating a loader on a beach can be tricky with the sand often moving beneath the loader’s wheels. Some of the smaller loaders are ideal for this work as their weight doesn’t cause any difficulties, or do any further damage. Operators that are skilled at working in sandy conditions are always in demand when these events occur.

Becoming a loader operator is actually a fairly simple task. Heavy equipment often overwhelms people, yet if they could see how simple some of this equipment was to operate, they would be surprised. Loaders are certainly not complicated machinery and most individuals can become proficient in a range of heavy equipment in as little as three weeks. Contact us for more information on loaders and heavy equipment training – your first step to a heavy equipment career starts with a good training program and that’s where we can help.

Think excavators and you probably think ditches. However, the modern excavator does far more than just dig ditches. You will find excavators at work on rivers doing dredging work, in forestry plantations, in the mining industry, in road and rail construction and in general construction. Wherever there is earth moving involved, you’re likely to find an excavator or it’s cousin, the backhoe.

Excavator training is not really a difficult course to get through. They may look like technically complex machines, and from an engineering point of view, they are. From an operators point of view, operating an excavator is only a matter of learning what the levers and pedals actually do – get a grasp of that and you’re halfway there. Of course, you also need to learn other components such as safety, basic maintenance and how an excavator performs in different soil types.

It only takes three weeks to complete a heavy equipment training program that includes excavator operator training. At the completion of the three weeks of training, you should be proficient in a number of machines including bulldozers, graders, loaders and excavators. Once you have completed your training, the most important part of your career begins – on-the-job training – and that lasts a lifetime.

Does operating an excavator sound like a career for you? If so, contact ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools for details on our next training course and the location of the nearest training school to you. Excavator operators are well paid in today’s workforce and their careers are interesting and involve a lot of variety – the one thing you won’t be doing is digging ditches all the time.

For many, a backhoe is weird look vehicle that has a bucket at one end and a scoop at the other. The bucket digs trenches like an excavator does while the scoop acts in pretty much the same manner as a traditional loader. In reality, operating a backhoe is far more complex. When it comes to buckets, there are a range of sizes that are interchangeable. This can range from a narrow 12 inch wide bucket to a fairly decent 40 inches – but interchangeable buckets are just the start.

The range of attachments is fairly broad. In fact, think of a device used in construction, logging or mining and their is most likely an attachment available for a backhoe that does the same job. Jackhammers, augers or drills, grapple hooks, logging tools – you name it, there is a tool available for the job.

As a backhoe operator, you will be expected to know how to change attachments. It would also help if you knew how to use each attachment. The latter is not so hard since the controls remain the same – change attachment, take five to get a feel for it, and away you go. Professional heavy equipment training is the key to understanding how to change attachments and to use many of them.

You can find professional training through ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools. You can complete your training in as little as three weeks and be on your way to a career as a professional heavy equipment operator in next to no time – backhoes included.

Undertaking a heavy equipment training program at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools gives you one advantage – you receive training across a range of equipment. When it comes to working as a backhoe operator, you need to combine the skills of several units of equipment into one.

Backhoes are the odd one out when it comes to heavy equipment. At one end you have an excavator style digging tool while at the other end you have a loader tool – being proficient with an excavator and a loader would certainly be handy.

Backhoes are one of the most versatile units when it comes to heavy equipment and earth moving. Being wheeled vehicles, you will often see them driving down the road with their ‘back hoe’ folded in a little like a scorpion’s tail. Their ability to work in reasonably confined spaces is a help but their real value comes in the flexibility of the tools they can use.

Like excavators, there are scores of different types of tools that can be attached. There are also different types of scoops at the opposite end of the vehicle – some that can be opened at the bottom for faster emptying. Having a broad range of skills then is essential if you wish to become a proficient backhoe operator. Those skills can only be obtained through training followed by experience on the job.

At ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools, we take a holistic approach. Your backhoe training is important and needs to be across a range of equipment. Just as importantly, being able to quickly find employment where you can use your newfound skills will help to hone them. We don’t just train you, we also help you find this employment through our career services department. Put together, this means you can become a highly proficient operator in a very short time.

Across the nation right now you will find hundreds of backhoe operators hard at work digging out foundations for new buildings and new homes. Backhoes are one of the key tools used by builders to prepare the way for their construction gangs. When you think about it, backhoes are perfect for the job. They can clear the area using their front scoop then turn around and use their buckets to dig the required trenches.

Backhoe operators have one of the most varied jobs out of all the heavy equipment operators. They need to be able to work as a loader operator using the scoop and then turn around in their seat and to start working as an excavator operator. Like excavators, backhoes come with a range of attachments that can be used for all sorts of jobs.

Heavy equipment training through ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools prepares students for work as backhoe operators. Not only do you gain experience and training using a backhoe, you also gain experience and training using front end loaders, excavators and bulldozers and that is just to name a few. This provides graduates with a broad range of skills and for backhoe operators, prepares the well for the workplace.

If you are looking for a change of pace, a change in careers, and to get out into the great outdoors then a career as a heavy equipment operator could be just the ticket. Training only requires three weeks of your time – three weeks that will set you on the path to a brand new career.

Dump trucks are one of the busiest vehicles on any construction site. If they are not bringing in truck loads of building materials they are carting truck loads out. At times, they will do both, bringing in, say, a load of sand and then filling up with a load debris that needs to be removed.

The role of a dump truck driver is never boring. In fact, you are on the go almost all day. The only time you get to pause is when your truck is being filled. These days, that doesn’t take very long at all. There are many areas that utilize hoppers – you simply drive your truck under the hopper, the hopper is opened and within a minute you have a full load. At the construction site, loaders. backhoes and excavators can quickly fill a dump truck with material that needs carting away.

Career prospects for dump trucks are good with demand for drivers fairly steady all year round. The peak in demand around the middle to the end of spring as construction companies take on new drivers to help meet contract deadlines. Now is one of the best times to gain one’s qualifications as a dump truck driver since that recruitment drive for drivers will soon start in earnest.

ATS Truck Driver Schools can have you trained and ready for work in as little as three weeks. Dump truck driver training is undertaken using both in class and behind the wheel training sessions. Behind the wheel sessions involve you doing the driving, not watching someone else doing the driving. Every kid wants to be a dump truck driver when playing in their sand pit, but is the big kid in you still wanting to drive a dump truck in a real life sand pit?

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools have 10 training locations spread around the nation. Each training school offers heavy equipment training in a variety of equipment. Each training school is different and the range of equipment available at each one may vary.

Heavy equipment covers a very broad range of equipment. Small skid steer loaders are considered heavy equipment and the range goes up to include some of the super machinery used in mining. It is impossible to offer training in every type of machinery, however, by providing a cross section of equipment in training, students gain skills in the most common types in use. This equipment may include:

• Backhoes
• Wheel loaders
• Scrapers
• Excavators
• Bulldozers
• Road graders
• Rock trucks
• Skid Steers and
• All-Terrain Forklifts

Many of the skills are interchangeable to a certain extent. What most people don’t realize is that heavy equipment operation involves many different skills. For example, hand-eye coordination is important in most jobs. However, for some heavy equipment your hands may be going in different directions. A good example is an excavator where one hand is perhaps pushing the boom out, the other hand is opening the bucket to release the contents while the feet are controlling the swing of the entire unit. This coordination is a skill that is transferable to other machinery, even if the controls are unfamiliar at first.

If you are looking at a career in heavy equipment then ATS could be a smart choice when it comes to heavy equipment training. The wide range of equipment means you will gain a good grounding of skills. Add to this the in-class training in areas such as safety, soils and site layouts and you have the complete training package.

Excavators come in a variety of sizes these days. From giant lumbering beasts to compact units that can get into some pretty tight places. Not only are they available in a range of sizes, they also have a wide range of attachments, making them extremely versatile machines. Gone are the days when an excavator was only useful for digging trenches – show me a hand tool and I can almost guarantee there is an excavator attachment to match.

Despite the range in sizes, the wide variety of attachments that an excavator can use, learning to operate one is not as difficult as it sounds. In fact, you can go from zero to a competent operator in as little as three weeks. Not only that, but along the way you could also pick up operator skills in bulldozers, graders, backhoes and loaders.

Exposure to a range of equipment during training helps you appreciate their power and their limitations, important knowledge when you are working as part of an earth moving team. The main role of an excavator is still to dig trenches. Their attachments help them to achieve this quickly without having to call in other equipment. However, they are not restricted to trenching.

Excavators have been used as part of demolition teams, in the mining industry, and in very different roles such as removing silt from the bottom of rivers to make them deeper. The role of an excavator operator is varied, challenging and well paid.

Does a career as an excavator sound interesting? Find out more by contacting us at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools to see when our next heavy equipment training program starts.

It may be winter and the ground may be frozen solid, but if a trench is needed, the excavator is the machine for the job. Frozen ice may be too hard for the bucket, but excavators come with a range of tools that can used, including ground breaking picks. They say that backhoes are versatile, but so too are excavators.

Backhoes are versatile machines and often a lot easier to use when it comes to tight spaces. However, for every attachment that a backhoe has, an excavator has an equivalent. Where the excavator often excels is in in pure power. Size for size, the excavator can often exert a lot more grunt so when it comes to icy ground – call in the excavator, they are muscled up and ready.

Excavator operators are often multi-skilled as well. If you can operate an excavator then you should be able to transfer some of those skills to the backhoe. The reverse is true also. If your original training is undertaken through an accredited training company then there is a good chance you have been trained on both – and the loader as well.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools train their students across a range of heavy equipment that includes excavators and backhoes, loaders, bulldozers as well as graders. These are the main machines used in excavating, construction and mining, the major users of heavy equipment operators. For those looking to enter the field of heavy equipment, we have new heavy equipment training programs starting all the time so the wait for the next course is always minimal.

If you are looking for a job operating an excavator – you need the training first. Contact us and we can discuss your training options and what is needed to become qualified.

Backhoes were once the machinery of choice when it came to ‘light’ excavations. These are jobs like shallow trenches, foundations for houses and landscape gardening. Backhoes were smaller, lighter and more flexible than other heavy equipment – they could go in, get the job done and be out again in next to no time. This preference is now being challenged by excavators – albeit mini-excavators.

Where a mini-excavator does lose popularity is in the area of flexibility and the fact that mini-excavators still rely on tracks rather than wheels. However, some mini-excavators are smaller than the smallest backhoes so flexibility doesn’t enter the equation – that just leaves those tracks.

Backhoes have a real advantage having wheels rather than tracks – they can drive quite quickly on public roads. Excavators, with their tracks, are still slow in comparison. However, despite some of these negatives, mini-excavators are gaining in popularity and it is at the expense of backhoes.

With this trend, what should you specialize in, backhoes or excavators? I’ll let you in on a little secret – you can do both. Backhoes, excavators and loaders all complement each other when it comes to skills. Yes, each piece of equipment is operated differently. However, sometimes those differences are not that great. With a backhoe, you have the combined skills of an excavator and a loader.

To gain these skills you need to complete a heavy equipment training program such as that offered by ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools. Our training program will provide you with experience on a range of heavy equipment including backhoes, excavators and loaders. Our training programs are nationally recognized, which means your skills upon graduation will be recognized nationally. Excavators may be trying to take over from backhoes but they will never do it – if they do, you will have all the skills necessary to operate either one – and a loader as well.