A certified rigger is a worker who has undergone the proper training to become certified to move loads. The specific certification level depends on the individual’s training, knowledge, experience, skill base, and ability to handle functions that pertain to the proper selection, use, and inspection of rigging equipment.

A rigger is a skilled worker who specializes in the lifting, landing, and assembly of heavy or large objects. The task often requires the help of a block and tackle and pulley, crane, derrick, chain hoists, or capstan winch. Riggers are needed for a variety of building and construction projects, so it is a role that is in high demand.

Riggers work in various roles, including construction and shipbuilding. Vacancies in the construction field for riggers have increased by 9.46 percent across the U.S., and there is an average growth of 1.58 percent in the field per year, which means that there is a need for trained rigging professionals. According to recruiter.com, the average salary of a rigger is $43,500 per year. Those who work in professional, scientific, and technical services are paid somewhat more, averaging $62,680 per year for their services.

Rigger Certificate Training

To become certified so you can seek employment as a rigger, you will need to go to an established school where you can receive professional training. Associated Training Services (ATS) includes heavy equipment operation, trucking, mobile crane operation, and rigger/signalperson certification. ATS has an OSHA-compliant rigger training program that provides students with the optimal level of expert instruction, and practical and written testing.

With the ATS rigger training program, you will become qualified to be certified with the new OSHA crane mandate while having the skills that you need to perform rigging tasks. You will have the knowledge, the skills, and the capabilities to handle the job safely and help protect other workers from being injured while you are performing your job duties. To learn more about ATS Training programs, please call (800) 383-7364 today.

If you want to work in the heavy equipment industry, there should be no obstacles holding you back. There are plenty of jobs going around, and with the Baby Boomers retiring, plenty more positions will be opening up for the Millennial generation. You’ll be first in line if you have the proper training and motivation.

Here’s how to land a heavy equipment job in five easy steps:

1. Attend a heavy equipment training school and receive all the necessary training on each piece of equipment you are likely to encounter on the job site.
2. Get the certification that you need to be fully qualified to work in the heavy equipment industry within your state. This might include specialized certifications like mobile crane operations, rigger/signalperson, and a CDL truck driver license.
3. Prepare a resume
4. Learn effective interviewing, networking, and other “soft” job search skills. Associated Training Services (ATS) will assign a career counselor to you to help you hone these skills so that you have a leg up in the interviewing process once you start looking for a job.
5. Search for the best heavy equipment job opportunities in your area. Total Resources Network can be an invaluable resource as you search for heavy equipment jobs where you live.

ATS has been training heavy equipment operators since 1963. We started with diesel truck drivers and expanded to other types of heavy equipment starting in 1996. We have become the most recognized heavy equipment training school in the United States with the very best instructors in the business. And we have special deals for veterans.

There’s no law that limits you to how much career training or jobs you can receive. A general rule of thumb is this: The more you know and the more you can do, the more valuable you’ll be to potential employers. For that reason, we recommend training on as many different types of heavy equipment as possible.

In the Heavy Equipment School basic course, you’ll be trained to operate the following equipment as a matter of course:

• Backhoes
• Front end loaders
• Wheel Loaders
• Skid steers
• Scrapers
• Bulldozers
• Road graders
• Excavators
• All-terrain forklifts
• Articulated haul trucks

You’ll also learn valuable and useful skills such as grade reading, soil identification, laser levels, worksite safety, reading site layouts, and basic heavy equipment maintenance. We won’t leave anything to chance. Your education will set the course of your heavy equipment career, so we take it seriously.

How to Get a Leg Up With Employers

Learning how to operate the basic heavy equipment you’ll see on most construction sites is the best way to get a foot in the door of a heavy equipment career, but going beyond that will enhance your career prospects and make you more employable. You’ll also earn more once you are on the payroll. That’s why we recommend the following training courses, as well:

• Mobile crane operations
• Truck Driving
• Rigging/Signalpersons training

With each of these specialized training courses, you’ll be certified to work in the heavy equipment industry as you learn important skills from the best instructors in the business. The sooner you enroll in training, the sooner you’ll be employable and make good money in a heavy equipment career.

One of the most important jobs on the construction work site is that of a rigger. The rigger is responsible for the safety of personnel working on the site, especially mobile crane operations. But they are subject to regulation and the regulatory authority for riggers is OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The Heavy Equipment School Rigging/Signalperson training program will prepare you to be a world-class rigger and pass all certification tests and safety requirements of OSHA. We have the best program in the industry.

So what makes it such a good training program? All of the below:

• It meets and exceeds the OSHA qualification standards for rigger and signalperson training
• You’ll receive written and practical training and testing on those standards
• The qualification program offers 8 to 12 hours of instruction, depending on the number of students in class
• The certification program offers a 4-day intensive of 32 to 36 hours, again depending on the number of students in the program
• All graduating students will receive a qualification compliance card upon successful completion of the Rigger/Signalperson Qualification Program
• Students graduating from the Rigger/Signalperson Certification Program will be certified by the National Commission for Certification of Crane Operators

Associated Training Services (ATS) offers several ways to take this training. You can come to us and be trained in our world-class facilities, or, if your company is certifying several riggers and signalpersons at once, then we’ll arrange to come to your work site and administer the training.

OSHA standards are tough, but they are necessary for a safe work site. ATS is committed to training riggers and signalpersons in the latest qualification and certification standards for crane operations.

If you want to be a rigger, you’ll have to learn two things: The language and the tools. Heavy Equipment School will teach you all about hooks, shackles, hitches and more.

What Kind of Hooks Do You Need To Learn?

First, you need to know that not all hooks are created equal. There’s a different kind of hook for different tasks, and HES will show you which ones you need to know about and how to deploy them. Here’s a sample list of hooks we’ll teach you how to use:

• Two-Legged connection hook
• Eye hook
• Swivel hook
• Hook block
• Overhaul ball

We’ll also teach you something about buckles and bridles. Next up, shackles (and we don’t mean the medieval kind).

What Kind of Shackles Should You Know About?

Just as their are different kinds of hooks, there are different configurations of shackles.

• Two-legged connection shackle
• Screw pin shackle
• Safety shackle

And if that isn’t enough, we’ll teach you all about hoists and slings.

A Bevy of Hitches We’ll Teach You How To Use

Hitches serve a useful purpose, as well. Here are a handful of hitches you’ll learn how to use in Heavy Equipment School’s Rigger Certification Course.

• Two-legged choker
• Choker hitch
• Basket hitch

Some of these hitches can be deployed numerous ways. And, of course, we’ll teach you how make a hoist too.

If you’re bent on being a rigger, let us teach you all about the tools and techniques to be a successful one.

You’ve seen that guy, or gal, in the reflective clothing with the flags and radios. Sometimes they are on the road, directing traffic. Most of the time, though, they are on the job site keeping everybody safe. Without a qualified rigger/signalperson, the load on the crane might be unstable and fall. The equipment could run into somebody and hurt them badly. The cost of not having a signalperson who knows their job is high, so everybody pays attention to what the signalperson says is going on.

Associated Training Services offers two levels of rigging/signalperson training:

1. The Rigging/Signalperson Qualification Program
2. The Rigging/Signalperson Certification Program

The Qualification program is the basic foundational training that has been mandated by OSHA and it will meet many of the job requirements on most sites. It takes 8-12 hours of instruction, written and practical training and testing, and you get a qualification compliance card at the end showing you meet all OSHA qualification standards.

The Certification program is more intense, with 32-36 hours of training (four days) and the same careful written/practical training and testing in more detail. By the end of this program, you will exceed the OSHA qualification standard for rigging/signalperson training and receive NCCCO Rigging Level One as well as NCCCO Signalperson Certifications.

Associated Training Services is fully qualified to administer the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) national certification program. We are experienced in preparing students for the CCO certification exams, which are offered regularly. Take a look at our NCCCO schedule and see what dates will work for your plans so that you will be the guy everyone pays attention to.

Associated Training Services would like to wish all truck drivers, their families, ATS students and their families, and all future truck drivers a Happy New Year. We’re getting started on the right foot. Are you?

We encourage you to check out our training schedule for the coming months and choose a time and place that is right for you.

This coming Monday (January 6, 2014), we will start a new truck driver training course in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Three weeks later, on January 27, 2014, we’ll start another one. You can get a free brochure for our upcoming training classes and be in the know so that you don’t miss any.

Now is the time to set your career goals for the year – and beyond. No matter what kind of equipment you want to train on, ATS can help you get trained and certified.

Our training programs include:

• Commercial truck driving
• Crane operator training
• OSHA-certified rigger/signalperson training
• Heavy equipment training

Whether you want to operate a bulldozer, a forklift, or a backhoe (or all of the above), Associated Training Services can help you get the training and the certification you need to get your first job in heavy equipment. Our job services department assists all graduates with landing their first jobs. Our graduates also go on to have the best careers.

So go ahead. Pick your training and join in.

Why OSHA? Who is OSHA? OSHA is a U.S. federal government agency that is responsible for ensuring workplace safety across many industries. It’s an acronym that stands for Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Riggers and signalpersons are certified by OSHA because they are important people on the heavy equipment work site. By ensuring that only well-qualified and well-trained personnel are operating in this critical work site position, OSHA can influence the risk factor on heavy equipment job sites. The result is fewer accidents, fewer critical injuries, and a lot fewer injuries overall.

If you take your rigger and/or signalperson training from Associated Training Services, you will be certified by OSHA to work on any heavy equipment job site in the country.

The rigger and signalperson qualification and certification programs meet all OSHA standards for training and will qualify you to work as a rigger or signalperson on the job site.

In the qualification training class you’ll receive practical training with 8-12 hours of rigging/signalperson instruction. At the end of the course, you’ll receive a qualification compliance card signifying that you’ve been trained and meet all OSHA requirements. Employers look on this card favorably because they know that you are qualified and certified by the federal government.

Over 4 days in the certification program, you’ll receive a total 32-36 hours of training. At the end of the course you’ll receive two OSHA-approved certifications:

• NCCCO Rigging Level One Certification
• NCCCO Signalperson Certification

You can’t beat a course that will give you two work place certifications. You’ll be qualified to work in two very critical positions within the heavy equipment industry. Get OSHA certified today.

If you’re going to be a success in your heavy equipment career, then you should seek formal training as soon as possible. The more equipment you are trained on, the more employable you’ll be in love with the money you’ll make. Associated Training Services (ATS) offers prospective heavy equipment operators several types of equipment training. Here are 5 types of heavy equipment training you can enroll in right now, today.

1. Mobile Crane Operator Training – This includes lattice boom cranes, hydraulic cranes, fixed and swing cab trains, and articulated cranes. Get your National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) certification today and start making more money.
2. Commercial Truck Drivers Training – You can get your CDL license through ATS. Train to take the test or train to improve your skills.
3. Rigger / Signalperson Training – Get 12 full hours of OSHA-compliant training in one of the most important specialties of the heavy equipment industry.
4. Bulldozers – Learn to operate a bulldozer the right way. Construction sites always need a good bulldozer operator. You can start your career in heavy equipment easily if you can operate one of these machines.
5. Loaders – There are all kinds of loaders – front end loaders, skid steer loaders, and much more. You can learn to operate a wide variety of loaders, making you a more versatile heavy equipment operator. You can start right away.

The best heavy equipment operators on the workforce are those who have some type of formal training. Join the ranks. Start today.