Bulldozers, they really are one of the muscle machines when it comes to construction and land clearing. Their job is not to dig so much as to carve and push huge quantities of dirt. These days though, a bulldozer is also built to include a touch of finesse to its work. Watch a bulldozer spreading gravel or road base; they come pretty close to achieving what the older road graders used to achieve.

Modern bulldozers have all sorts of mod cons. Some come equipped with GPS, others with laser, many with both. Computer systems are becoming the norm in new heavy equipment and bulldozers haven’t been spared the technology. At this rate, it won’t be long and you will need control room training rather bulldozer operator training.

Maybe it won’t quite get to that point. I still think that knowing what the dirt is doing is half the job. A machine will never be able to replicate fully what we can do with our hands and eyes. Even so, bulldozer training is becoming more involved all the time. The need for training on fairly modern equipment is also becoming important. I know of some training firms that are using equipment that is 20-30 years old – they should be in museums rather than on training grounds.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools have a proud record of providing industry with skilled bulldozer operators – operators that are ready to work the day they finish their training. Not only are our operators highly skilled, they have a good working knowledge of technology and how it affects their day to day operations. If you have ever considered a career as a bulldozer operator, now is a great time to act. Complete your training now and be ready for an expected jump in demand as winter ends and spring sees the start of hundreds of construction projects. Contact ATS for more information on bulldozer operator training.

If there is one problem with our modern society it is that we are never satisfied. We are constantly looking to update, upgrade, modernize and/or invent new things in the belief it will make life easier. Sometimes it is true. Crane operator training is one area that has to try to keep up with all new technology. Sometimes it can be difficult with new devices and new ways of doing things coming out with the release of every new model.

Of course, manufacturers do it on purpose. If they didn’t bring out new equipment with more modern technology then no one would bother updating – at least not until the old equipment was beyond repair. What does this mean for students studying to become crane operators? Heavy equipment operations, and cranes are included here, is a job that is a constant learning cycle. Whether it is a new technique, a new soil type, or a brand new technology – these all require a new phase of learning, often by the seat of your pants in the cab.

Take laser and GPS technology. There are courses you can take to learn this technology. However, most operators were simply given a ten minute run through and left to their own devices (when the technology was first introduced). Imagine what it was like when magnetic cranes were first introduced – it really was seat-of-the-pants learning back then.

Fortunately, we have top quality training providers that try to maintain equipment that has all the latest technologies on board. Simply being familiar with the technology is a good start to your career. Crane operator training is not a training program you attend once and it’s finished. Once you’re on the job you will continue learning – at least until you decide to retire.

Heavy equipment operators used to be tough old nuts. They had reputations for being hard talking, hard drinking and hard working people. I wonder what they would think of the latest equipment on the market? Not a lot I should think. Take the latest in motor graders. I said armchair comfort and I am not joking.

The latest offering from heavy equipment giants John Deere include seats with comfortable armrests (that makes it an armchair doesn’t it?). So what, you say – believe it or not, their G-series grader is controlled using armrest mounted finger-tip controls. It still has a steering wheel but you can steer using lever steering if that is your preference.

John Deere are not the only manufacturers. Caterpillar, a famous name in heavy equipment for decades, produce graders that do away with the steering wheel altogether and use joysticks instead. Those joysticks handle more than just the steering as well.

Fortunately for the old time grader operators, there are still traditional manufacturers around like Komatsu. They still produce motor graders with steering wheels, foot pedals and levers. With the new control systems proving to be popular it won’t be long before they follow Caterpillar and John Deere I am sure.

Are you ready to take on a career that is technically improving all the time? If you are then take on the challenge of a heavy equipment career by undertaking grader operator training. There are positions opening up all the time, particularly as older operators call it quits as new technology moves in. As they move out – you can be the one that moves in.