When you need to remove accumulated sediment from the bottom or sides of a body of water, you will need to dredge. Dredging is a process that removes the accumulated sediment. Dredging can be used to remove sediment from the bottom of the river, stream, pond, lake, or off the banks or sides. A dredge is a special kind of equipment that creates a vacuum to suck up and then pump out the unwanted debris and sediment.

A natural process, sedimentation occurs when debris along with sand and silt accumulate on the bottom of the body of water – the canal, stream, pond, lake, or river – with the passage of time. The general public depends on these bodies of water to transport goods to their destination, for recreation, and for fishing. When sedimentation occurs, these bodies of water can be environmental hazards and they can become more challenging to navigate safely.

Removing the sediment that has accumulated often becomes necessary. Dredging becomes a necessity for the health of the waterway so it can be used for commercial processes and applications. Dredging offers fast, efficient, and affordable solutions. Not all dredges are the same, and different kinds of dredges take care of the sediment removal process in different ways.

During the dredging process, the dredge is either completely or partially submerged in the water. The dredge operator will be able to gather the sediment and get it moved to another location. After the dredging project is done, the sediment is relocated to another location and can be used for various things, such as construction fill, flood defense on the beach, or mixed with additives so topsoil can be enhanced and improved.

You will need specialized training to operate a dredge. ATS offers specialized heavy equipment training. To learn more about the specialized programs from ATS, call today at (800) 383-7364.

Take a look at any construction site in the country and chances are that you will see at least one excavator. Easily recognizable, the excavator is identified by its tracked body and long, jointed boom, and large bucket at the front, but the reason that it is found everywhere is that it can be used in so many ways. Of course, as the name suggests, the main use of an excavator on any site is to remove material, and digging trenches, holes, and foundations. The flexible boom means they usually load the material directly onto trucks for disposal, but such is the flexibility of the design, they are frequently used for so many more tasks as well.

Use of an Excavator and its industries

For instance, you will often find excavators being used in forestry works as well, where they can be used for moving felled trees and other tasks, and they are also a common site on mining sites, where they are used as general equipment to dig, lift and move material around. The flexibility of the design really does come into its own away from the construction site and allows the excavator to take on so many different tasks.

It’s not just building things either, you can often find excavators on demolition sites, where they are used to pull down buildings and other construction. They are often used to perform the duties of a small crane, lifting and moving heavy objects around the site. You can find excavators almost anywhere construction is being done, and on very small construction sites, you find mini-excavators! It really has become the go-to heavy machine for so many different tasks, you even find excavators being used for dredging rivers and marinas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT_js2TBYWg

This is one of the reasons that so many people love being excavator operators, the flexibility of the machine itself means that you can find yourself in almost any situation as an operator, it’s a heavy machinery job that will never get boring. Wherever you go, there will always be a need for excavators and the skilled operators who drive them, and whether you are working on a new highway or demolishing an old factory, every day is different when you operate an excavator.

For many, this combination of in-demand skills and varied work makes being an excavator operator the perfect career, and with year-round opportunities and good rates, it is easy to see why. There are many career opportunities in heavy machinery, but very few that can match the excavator for variety and job satisfaction wherever you are in the country.

Excavators of course do one job extremely well, they excavate. However, that term can be applied quite loosely. For example, mining is one area where excavators perform quite well yet we may not consider it excavating. The same could be said for quarrying and a range of other tasks. Technically, any job that entails digging is excavating – so why not use an excavator?

With that in mind, it is a good thing that this excavator has such a long reach. As the photo shows, the excavator is reaching into the middle of the river. Excavators are used a lot around waterways. They help to keep the bottom clean of debris, silt and rocks, allowing the river to flow cleanly. Some excavators are employed full time, working from one point on a river to another. Once it gets to the end point, it is time to go back to the start again.

There are some areas around the world where excavators are used to ‘mine’ river beds. The floor of the river is dug up and any minerals, particularly gold, are removed before being placed back into the river.

Other rivers use excavators as land based dredges. they can be quite effective in removing silt deposits from the floor of the river. This is often necessary to ensure boats and leisure craft are able to negotiate the river freely.

Working as a heavy equipment operator is not always going to be in a traditional area like construction or road building. There are a lot of unusual or different uses for heavy equipment – some more demanding on skills than others. If you’re looking for a demanding job in heavy equipment, you may want to consider excavator training. You could be working at a mine, in a quarry, on a building site or perhaps in a river – you just never no.