The need for quality crane operator training has become important in recent years. It seems that 2008 was one of the worst years on record when it comes to crane accidents. However, it could have been worse. A recent story on CraneBlogger highlights the need for well trained operators, operators who work closely with their equipment and can almost sense when something is wrong.

Can you imagine sitting in a crane over 33 floors up, and having that crane topple over the side? It has happened in the past, hopefully it won’t into the future, yet for one operator, that was almost the story. Here is what happened:

The crane operator had an unloaded hook. He’s running the crane when he hears a loud bang and feels movement from what feels like the tower. He stops to assess what has caused it.

I won’t go into all the details of what was wrong. What was important is that the operator was aware of what was normal and what wasn’t. Let’s face it, on a construction site there is a lot of noise. A lot of banging, a lot of shouting and the sound of power tools everywhere. This operator heard a loud bang. I would suggest that as well as ‘hearing’ the bang, he also ‘felt’ the bang. And he stopped.

That last is the most important. He stopped, got out and went and had a look. From the story, it seems he couldn’t readily see any problems. That didn’t stop him reporting it and getting an engineer in to check. Fortunately, for him, he did. It appears the crane was effectively standing on only three legs and could have gone over the side at any time.

It is only through quality crane operator training that individuals can be prepared to work safely on construction sites. Whilst safety is always a prime concern, one of the best safety factors around is the knowledge an operator builds of their equipment. This is almost like having a sixth sense. As an operator, you are at one with the machine and can feel immediately when something starts to wrong. Get the best in crane operator training and you are well on the road to a safe working career.

What do dump trucks, bulldozers and beaches have to do with each other? Every year our coastline is ravaged by storms. Some areas are hit harder than others resulting in tons of beach sand being washed out to sea. Our beaches are popular recreation areas and with no sand, these beaches looks fairly uninviting to say the least. Add to this the fact that many communities rely on the summer beach trade for their survival, you will understand why we do everything possible to prevent these occurrences, and when they do happen, we get in and fix them.

How do we fix them? There is only one way. Fleets of dump trucks ferry in tons of sand and the bulldozers get to work spreading that sand over the area that has been stripped. It can be an incredible site. One day there is wonderful playground – the sand, the sun and the surf. Along comes a storm and all you are left with is a barren strip of coastline that is rocky and totally unusable. Bring in the dump trucks and bulldozers, and before the weekend arrives, the beach is back to its glorious self.

There is a lot of job satisfaction in not only seeing the beach restored, but being able to once again use it. Fortunately, it doesn’t happen that frequently to the one beach. However, every year there is a beach somewhere that needs some form of restoration.

This is just one example of the type of work that dump trucks and bulldozers undertake. There is no special dump truck driver training required – it fits within the scope of normal everyday work. The same is true of the bulldozer operators – they don’t require any special bulldozer operator training – it fits within the normal duties of a bulldozer operator.

You may not need specialist training, but when it comes to a tired old empty beach that has been stripped of her glory, dump trucks and bulldozers certainly know how to give her a fresh new face! You can guarantee there are thousands of families that are glad she is wearing a new face.

One of the most popular heavy equipment occupations is that of a bulldozer operator. In fact, it is one of the most widely used machines with uses ranging from farming and the farm gate to final factory processing. Along the way bulldozers are used to help construct roads and highways, clear land for factories and homes and in the demolition (or destruction) of old buildings and roads.

To be a successful bulldozer operator starts with an accredited training program that covers all the important areas of bulldozer operations. This includes safety, walk around maintenance inspections and, of course, hands on practical training in real world environments.

In the past, bulldozer training involved standing behind an operator for an hour or so then jumping in the hot seat and using the equipment with the trainer standing behind you. Once he considered you knew enough to do the current job, he left you to it. Safety training was nonexistent.

Bulldozer operators are expected to look after their equipment. This does not just mean careful use of the machine. Being constantly aware of how well your machine is performing is an important part of equipment maintenance with minor issues caught before they become major issues.

Road construction relies on bulldozers being able to quickly and efficiently clear an area ready for the road crews to start ‘building’ the road. This can often involve tearing up old sections of road so that a new base can be laid.

In effect, as a bulldozer operator, your job will start with the destruction of one road in order to construct a new one.

Bobcat loaders are the little relatives of skid steer loaders. They have become popular machines due to their ability to get into small areas. They do the same work as their larger loader relatives such as the front-end loader, just in miniature.

You will often find these machines buzzing around construction sites cleaning up once all the major construction work has been completed. I have seen them at work on demolition sites as well, taking part in the final clean up.

A story on Twitter was passed on to me yesterday and I must admit I hadn’t come across this situation before. Imagine demolishing a house using a bobcat loader – from the inside? I am not joking, you can read the story here.

In a nutshell, the operator, after a dispute with his neighbor, simply drove his bobcat loader into the house and started knocking the walls down. How he didn’t end up with the roof crashing down around his ears I don’t know – perhaps he knew a little about demolition work.

This is definitely a case of how not to operate a bobcat loader. They are expensive machines that are becoming very popular. Whilst they can and do work effectively on demolition sites, the heavy part is normally left to the larger heavy equipment. It certainly sounds like the ultimate way of seeking revenge.

Loader training will provide you with the skills required to operate skill steer loaders and bobcat loaders, however, before deciding to demolish a home, make sure the home owner gives their permission first.

Backhoes have one major advantage over most other heavy equipment. After they have finished digging a hole, they can turn around and use their scoop to clean up the mess they have made. Bulldozers can move mountains, but they still need a loader to load the unwanted material onto trucks.

Excavators can at least dig a hole and deposit the material straight into a truck. However, it can be a slow process considering how much a bucket holds compared to a scoop. For the backhoe, it can dig a trench as long as necessary, help to lower the pipes, for example, into that trench then use the scoop to back fill the trench before loading the leftover material straight into a truck. The complete all-in-one package.

Many operators shun backhoes considering them to be the babies of the heavy equipment fleet. They are often smaller in size than some of the other machines in use, however, don’t be fooled. There are some decent sized backhoes around as well. In fact, the skills required to operate a backhoe encompass several machines.

To operate a backhoe effectively, you require the skills of an excavator operator together with those of a loader operator. It also helps to have a little knowledge of crane operations as well. Of course, this all depends on what attachments have been added.

If you are looking at a career as either an excavator or loader operator then you may want to consider combining both skills to become a backhoe operator. You can still operate an excavator or loader whilst having the backup skills for the backhoe. For most training institutions, backhoe operator training is undertaken as part of a broader heavy equipment training program. It makes sense these days to multi-skill – you will always be employable then.

If there is one thing that irks construction companies more than anything else it is the loss of their heavy equipment. New heavy equipment technology is now helping with loss prevention devices being fitted to most new machinery.

You would be surprised at how brazen some thieves can be. They have been known to turn up in broad daylight with a flatbed tractor-trailer and simply load up the machinery of their choice and take off. This normally happens on a weekend, or in the early evening when there is no one on the site to protect the equipment. There have, however, been situations where they have turned up on a working day, with what appears to be an authentic work order, and loaded up right in front of the construction crew. Let’s face it, if the equipment is not being used at the time then it makes sense to move it to a new site – how are the onsite workers to know any different?

The latest heavy equipment technology includes GPS devices that are constantly on. They are often self powered and hidden so even the removal of the equipment’s battery won’t bypass the security system. If the machine is stolen at any time, it can be found, often very quickly, simply by tracking the GPS signal. Security firms will eventually have monitors for all heavy equipment fitted with these devices and an alarm will be raised should one be moved without authorization.

Fortunately for operators, heavy equipment technology like this doesn’t require any special training. In fact, most operators won’t even know of its existence unless told or warning labels are placed on the equipment. Heavy equipment training will only be affected in the short term by the introduction of GPS equipment when it is being used to complete a job – that, however, is a story for a future post.

Undertaking training and gaining a commercial drivers license doesn’t always have to lead to employment. There are thousands of individuals who have their CDL yet they rarely actually drive a truck. You may wonder why then they go to the bother of getting that license.

There are thousands of jobs around where a commercial drivers license is not a requirement, but it can be a ‘handy to have’ skill. Consider the type of work involved in a warehouse. Your day-to-day task would involve moving stock around, loading and unloading trucks, and keeping records of all the stock movements. If there is an urgent call for some stock, or a driver has called in sick, then the person with the truck license may well be the one called upon to fill in.

Heavy equipment operators can also find themselves in a similar situation. Their machine is required at a particular site, but there is no truck driver available to transport it. If you have your commercial drivers license then you are in a position to transport your own machine.

As I mentioned, there are thousands of jobs ranging from the farm to the docks and everywhere in between. If apply for a vacancy in a position where trucking could be useful, and you have your commercial drivers license, you may find that your application is considered more favorably than some else’s who doesn’t have that license.

If you are looking to expand your skills or to make yourself more employable, consider adding the commercial drivers license to your list of qualifications. It may just give you the edge over others applying for the same position. Commercial drivers license training doesn’t have to be undertaken because you want a career as a trick driver. People do the training often just to increase their skills base and to open up their employment options.

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.

Have you ever paid any attention to heavy equipment safety campaigns like the ‘Look Up and Live’ campaign? One of the leading causes of death to heavy equipment operators is by accidentally coming into contact with overhead power-lines. Whilst the experience for the operator is not that great, energy consumers in the area won’t be thrilled either when they lose their power.

Whether you operate a farm tractor, an excavator, crane or any other heavy equipment, being aware of power-lines has always got to be at the back of your mind. Those working around you have also got to be aware of those power-lines so they can guide you safely around them. As one of the leading causes of death for heavy equipment operators, it is not an issue that can be taken lightly.

Most heavy equipment safety training programs include a component on overhead power-lines. This is because of the number of deaths and injuries that occur each and every year. Unfortunately, there is not a lot that can be done to protect operators should they come into contact with those power-lines. The simple solution of course is to avoid contact with them.

This is just one of many issues that heavy equipment operators need to consider in their day-to-day working lives. If you are planning on training to become a heavy equipment operator, one attribute that is going to be very important is your ability to pay attention to factors not directly related to what you are doing.

Heavy equipment training will always focus on three areas – the equipment itself, providing skills to operate that equipment, and knowledge of heavy equipment safety.

Job placement is one of the hardest components to starting a new career. In fact, it is often the main reason why many decide against embarking on a new career. The biggest fear that human’s possess is the fear of the unknown. When it comes to employment, no employment means no income and that can have a huge impact on our lives.

There is little doubt now that employment in the heavy equipment field is rising. Over the last five years there has been a high attrition rate, mainly affected by those reaching retirement age although many are lost to other careers. This high attrition rate together with the boom in construction is starting to lead to a shortage in qualified operators – and that is where we can help.

ATS has developed a reputation for producing very capable operators through our heavy equipment training schools. This reputation has led to employers approaching us at times looking to recruit new operators, often before they have completed their training. ATS has also established a strong relationship with a network of employers. You have access to this network of employers when you start your heavy equipment training program.

Job placement is an important issue and ATS recognizes the impact that being jobless can have on your life. More importantly, we have discovered that the sooner a graduate can put their skills to work, the more effective their training is as the skills learned are reinforced.

If you are considering a career change and a career as a heavy equipment operator is high on your list, don’t let job placement be the deciding factor. We can help you find those vacancies, you need to concentrate on developing the skills to be effective in that job – after all, your success is our success.