There has been a lot of discussion here and throughout the news regarding the economic stimulus packages and the effect it will have on employment. This package is having a huge impact on heavy equipment requirements with motor graders in high demand. The economic stimulus package, however, goes beyond dumping a lot of money on infrastructure. There are few a little programs that can impact on grader operator demand in their own right.

One of these programs is the one-time 50-percent tax depreciation bonus that is available for purchases made before December 31, 2009. Heavy equipment manufacturers have jumped on this and made their own offers. This includes payment free six or twelve month periods. This has led many businesses to either replace or add new equipment to their work force. Those that have added new equipment are the businesses that are expecting to be part of the infrastructure construction program in 2010.

Obviously, if you add new equipment to your line up you are going to need additional operators to utilize the equipment. Motor grader sales are up compared to this time last year and the demand on operators continues to grow. This reinforces our opinion that now is the best time to act if you want a career as a motor grader operator. The winter period is one of the best times to gain hands on experience in these machines in preparation for the expected busy spring construction period.

If you are interested in a career as a heavy equipment operator, particularly as a motor grader operator, then act now and give us a call on 1-800-383-7364 to discuss your motor grader training options. It can be tempting to say – ‘I’ll wait until after Christmas’. This could be a big mistake. Act now and come the New Year; you will be well placed to commence a career as a motor grader operator.

Motor grader operators normally work in areas such as new sub-divisions, parking lots, airport runways, highways, country roads, and the final stages of general road construction. Like all heavy equipment operators, they require specialist skills for their equipment. Like crane operators, motor grader operators work to fine measurements often using new technology such as GPS and lasers.

The day starts early for a motor grader operator and they are generally required to start at the site they are to work on. Like all heavy equipment operators there is a standard routine to the morning. A briefing with the site managers to discuss the current state of construction. An inspection of blue prints and the order of work for the day.

Once the operator knows what he/she is doing, it is time to inspect their equipment to ensure everything is ready to go. One of the problems with leaving equipment on a construction site is damage caused by third parties. This could include willful damage by vandals, or damage from animals. One area that motor grader operators need to examine closely are their tires. Other heavy equipment often use caterpillar treads, motor graders use large tires and these need to be checked for cuts, tears and for objects that may have lodged in the tires. If all is well – it is off to start the job.

It may look boring, just driving up and down a new stretch of highway. It’s not. Each pass is made to a specific degree of angle and depth. Even the speed of the vehicle can determine what sort of finish you get. There are times when the grader will work on stretch of new road, move to another stretch that afternoon and be back to the start the following morning after new material such as gravel or road base has been added. Whilst they are concentrating on the task at hand, they must also be vigilant of everything that is happening around them so they can avoid any accidents. Safety is primary in all heavy equipment jobs.

Motor grader operators often work long hours. Their day is not done until the pass they are working on has been completed. Even then, they need to secure their vehicle and perform an end of day inspection of the equipment.

Want to work as a motor grader operator? Training is done in as little as three weeks. Just be sure the motor grader training you receive is from an accredited training organization and that the training itself has been accredited.

As August rolls in there is one thing we know, winter is not that far away. Before you know it many of us will be knee deep in snow and grateful for the grader operators that are at least keeping our roads open. I also know one other thing, come winter, many areas will be calling for grader operators. It will be too late to start your training then, you have to prepare now for when that demand starts.

The counties in the north west are particularly vulnerable to road closures due to snow with most counties employing teams of grader operators to clear the roads. John Deere is one business that recognizes the importance of graders producing machines that specialize in snow clearing.

To be employed as a grader operator often required two things: recognized grader training and some experience in the field – not necessarily in snow, although it helps. By undertaking your grader training now, you will leave yourself with plenty of time to gain on-the-job experience operating a motor grader. There are ample opportunities in construction and road maintenance for new operators to gain experience – all that is missing is the training.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools can fill in that missing piece providing quality training in heavy equipment including motor graders. Many of our schools have motor graders – it’s simply a matter of contacting us to find out which school is closest to you.

You may think that work pushing snow is only limited to the coldest months of the year. That’s not true. Come the end of winter, demand for grader operators often increases as roads that were packed with snow during winter are cleared. This generally happens in spring as it all starts to melt and opens up roads previously only accessed by snowmobiles. In many cases, roads then need grading to repair the damage caused by ice and cold water. Graders can be in demand in some areas for up to five months each year with ongoing work then in highway construction and maintenance. The winter is calling – are you going to be one of our snow clearing grader operators?