Driving On A Construction Site

Operating heavy machinery, including trucks, should always be approached with great caution and concern for the safety of everyone around you. Nowhere is this more critical than on a construction site. Because job sites feature rough terrain, lots of activity, and little in the way of paved roads, they’re overflowing with unpredictability. Truck drivers need to make safe practices a top priority every day. Read on to learn some helpful safety tips to ensure you do so.

Equip Trucks With Warning Systems

Although it’s impossible for drivers to see 360 degrees around them at all times, there are numerous ways to improve visibility and alert others on the site to their presence. Rear- and side-view mirrors are the most obvious of these, but manufacturers are adding video cameras to newer vehicles to help you see more of your surroundings. If you have an older fleet, there are aftermarket systems available that make it easier to increase awareness of what’s going on around you. Backup warning alerts enhance safety by letting others know when the vehicle is in reverse and the driver may not be able to see directly behind him or her.

Stay Focused at All Times

Driving while distracted is never a good idea, but it can be tragic on the Jobsite. Wearing headphones or using a cell phone while driving creates a potentially dangerous situation in a construction area. This is why truck drivers need to keep their eyes and minds on their jobs at all times. Avoiding distractions inside the cab ensures that you’re more alert and aware when you need to be most.

Inspect Your Trucks Every Day

Many times, unsafe conditions are created by mechanical issues with the vehicles themselves, not operator error. This is why it’s crucial to perform visual inspections of each vehicle in your fleet before each shift. Checking for worn brakes, broken tail lights, frayed wiring, and similar issues mean you can catch them before they have a chance to lead to serious accidents. Any potential problems you discover should be dealt with as quickly as possible.

Invest in Training

Safe drivers are made, not born. If you’re in charge of a job site, you should provide adequate training on all necessary safety protocols and regulations. Safety Tips: If you’re a driver, ask what kind of education programs exist at your employer to keep everyone up to date and aware of their responsibilities.

Create a Temporary Roadway

One of the most important things you can do to ensure safe driving conditions at your site doesn’t even involve being behind the wheel. Using timber mats to create temporary roads for trucks and other heavy equipment makes areas safer. This is because they provide a sturdy, stable platform for machines to cross without worrying about slippery or soft soils creating unpredictable situations.

Safety Tip: Driving safely in the cramped, bustling environment of the average construction site may be more difficult than on the open road, but it’s absolutely imperative. Take these tips to heart, and you can ensure that everyone on the job can go home safely each night.

After spring flooding, pothole season is underway. Highway departments across the country are scrambling for workers to repair potholes. According to some data released by different agencies, the average pothole costs $23 for Department of Transportation workers to repair and $129 for contractors to repair. Sealing cracks, which usually happen along with pothole repairs, costs about $327 per square mile when state workers do the job but cost, even more, when the job is done by contractors.

Knowledgeable individuals who can handle operating equipment, and repairing roads and potholes are needed by independent contractors as well as state and local highway departments. Pothole season is usually in full force by spring and this is especially true after a wet winter followed by spring rains.  The increased traffic can also affect the roadways and contribute to potholes and cracks. During pothole season, additional helpers may be needed to take care of pothole repairs.

Damage Caused By A Pothole

AAA reports that damage to vehicles caused by potholes costs drivers $3 billion annually. That doesn’t include the costs of fixing the potholes. Potholes are created when the top asphalt layer is penetrated by water through cracks in the roadway. After that water freezes, it will expand. Then when it melts, it will leave a void. Cars drive across that void and then the asphalt gets broken up, and a pothole is created. 

There is a demand for employees who can repair potholes. ATS offers training for a variety of jobs, including those that involve repairing roadways and filling potholes. To learn more about the construction training programs available year-round, contact ATS today. Being on the road construction crew is a great job that offers steady work. It pays well and ensures job security.

Learn more on US infrastructure and building the future.

Progress continues with the HWY 151 rebuilding project

All over the country, large-scale roadworks are taking place to ensure that the essential transport links that keep goods moving are maintained. One such project is the Highway 151 rebuilding project in Sun Prairie, WI, which covers the road between Sun Prairie to Beaver Dam. This significant project covers a considerable length of the highway and this first stage aims to replace southbound pavement and shoulders, while the northbound will be patched and resurfaced, and bridgework improvements will be carried out at the same time. Further stages which are expected to commence between 2019 and 2025 include extending turn lanes and other roadway redesigns.

The rebuilding construction project began on May 1^st, 2018, and has progressed on schedule since. One of the interesting things about this operation is the scheduling has allowed the work to take place without significant traffic impact. While turnoffs are out of use and require a short detour, in general, the traffic has been allowed to flow smoothly all through construction.

The site itself features a large number of heavy machines in use daily, including dozers, graders, rollers and wheel loaders, and represents a significant opportunity for Wisconsin heavy machinery operators, who are enjoying increased demand for their skills. It is important to remember the importance of trained professional operators and their ability to operate machines safely in any conditions, even among flowing traffic as they do every day on this project.

For the construction industry, this is a rebuilding project that highlights the opportunity for heavy machinery operators today, not just in this project, but in similar ones all over the country, offering a great chance to build a career, while also being part of a country-wide initiative that is rebuilding the country to give America the infrastructure it needs for the 21^st century. Because of projects like this one, heavy machinery operators are in high demand, and the surge in road construction provides a fantastic platform for new operators to begin their careers. With this project continuing on through stages over the next 6 years, and similar projects in almost every county and state, this is a demand that is not going to reduce any time soon.

If you are rebuilding your current career, or even starting your first career, training to become a heavy machinery operator is an exceptional investment in yourself and an industry that is growing quickly. Well-paid, reliable work that employers are actively looking for, and operator skills are a great way to grab that new opportunity.

A dump truck is a large-wheeled truck, although they do vary in size, designed to transport and unload loose material in the volume. While they are capable of carrying a variety of substances, on-site, they mostly transport sand, gravel, soil, and waste, such as the rubble resulting from demolition.

The dump truck is easily identified through its unique feature, an open box rear bed that has a hydraulic system that allows the front of the bed to be raised, causing the load to slide out of the rear, dumping it at the desired location, and that is where the name comes from.

Operators of dump trucks can have varied jobs, enough that every day is different, and dump trucks are used in so many situations, from site work to disaster clearance, mining transport to demolition removals and so many more. In each of these situations, the dump truck is performing similar tasks, but environments and approaches can be different, with new challenges for drivers in each.

Dump Truck Drivers

For drivers, it’s all about the rules and processes on-site, because safety is the most important aspect of any operation, but especially for trucks that are operating on sites where other contractors or workers are nearby and a potential hazard. This is important in all situations, but on construction sites where there are workers also on foot, then safe operating procedures become even more important than ever.

From routes taken to speed, everything matters when it comes to safety on site, and any training for dump truck work is always focused on the safety aspects of the job. However, safety rules aside, the usual task for a dump truck, whether on a construction site, at a mine, or anywhere else, is to pick up material, transport it to a new location, and deposit it. This often requires precision driving, as sites often have restricted space, and dump trucks are generally large vehicles.

Some dump trucks are designed for one specific situation, and a good example of this would be the Haul Truck, used in the mining industry. These massive trucks are some of the largest rigid framed trucks ever made and are built to drive the flat, wide gradients of modern mines, removing material in huge volumes.

Driving these vehicles places you in charge of hundreds of tons of machine and material, and the experience is one many drivers fall in love with. While the repetition of load/unloading journeys may seem like a dull job, nothing could be farther from the truth with dump truck drivers. The skill, concentration, and dedication required to make it a rewarding, enjoyable career, one that pays well and is in much demand all over the country.

Dump trucks are the driving force behind any site, moving material to provide the environment that allows the project to be completed. It may not be the most glamorous machine you see on a site, but it’s arguably the most important.

Recent Minnesota figures have shown increasing construction expenditure right across the state, with projects as diverse as high-speed railroads to major new hotels breaking ground in almost every state as well. For heavy equipment operators, this means more opportunities, more demand, and a healthy career, with the industry growing steadily.

One large construction initiative has just launched in Minnesota, where a massive program of road improvement, under the ‘Corridors of Commerce’ initiative, has been given $400 million of funding for work this year. That makes it one of the larger road projects in the country, and it sees four individual projects break ground to deliver improved traffic flow and reduce congestion right across the state.

Minnesota Road Projects Include

Converting Highway 169 into a freeway, the addition of MnPASS lanes on Highway 494, expanding I-94 from four to six lanes, and construction of a new turbine interchange between northbound I-35W to westbound I-494 traffic. Projects were chosen from numerous options based on the modeled effect on traffic congestion and throughput, with these four offerings having the broadest effect on the traffic problems that Minnesota has been struggling with for a while.

Of course, with such a significant amount of road construction, heavy equipment operators will be in high demand throughout the state, with a variety of machinery in use across these projects, including motor graders. Rollers, excavators, wheel loaders, and cranes. It represents a terrific opportunity for skilled operators, however, it is not restricted to Minnesota road building. While this project is a fitting example of the effects of the country focusing on improving infrastructure, this is just one project.

Decisions to invest in new infrastructure, or to improve existing provisions such as this one are being taken in every state, and funding is being given to such projects almost every week. This road project at $400 million is a large one, but there are new construction projects starting up all over the country in a similar way. Some are larger, some smaller, some are building roads, some railroad lines, and others are transforming derelict land into affordable places to live, but all require the skills of heavy machinery operators, crane operators, and other construction professionals.

All over the country, as infrastructure is being recognized for its importance, investment is growing, and for skilled construction workers, opportunities for well-paid, satisfying careers are growing with them. As the country sets itself to rebuild, it is the construction workers who will the backbone of those efforts.

Winter may be rapidly approaching but that does not seem to have reduced the demand for grader operators. If anything, demand has continued to climb. Grader operators are generally employed to assist with road construction projects – of course, these have exploded in number in recent months thanks to increases in Federal funding. Winter also sees the arrival of snow in many places. Grader operators can sometimes be found also helping to remove snow from our roads.

Operating a grader is perhaps one of the most technically demanding jobs on a building site. Grader operators have a lot of variables they need to constantly watch. Unlike most construction site equipment, graders are driven over very long stretches of new road. Fellow workers are just one aspect that needs to be watched. At the same time the operator needs to be watching what the blade is doing as the grader cuts, removes and level a stretch of ground.

These days a grader is often guided by laser technology. This is another instrument that must be given attention. With so much going on inside the cab, and a lot going onside the cab, the operator needs to concentration skills and an ability to multi-task. Fortunately, a grader is a relatively easy machine to learn to operate.

Heavy Equipment Operator Schools have grader training programs commencing all the time. If you are interested in a career as a motor grader then I suggest you contact us to inquire about our next training program starting soon.

I bet you didn’t know that dump trucks built roads. In a way, they do. Sure, they don’t smooth out the road base and they don’t lay the seal, but they do play a big role in building our roads. In fact, if you care to stop and watch a team as they build a new road, you will be amazed at how involved a dump truck is.

Without getting too technical in how a new road is built, there are steps which are pretty obvious. The stretch of land where a new road is to be built has to be cleared of vegetation. A road crew will often remove the top foot or so of soil – sometimes much more. This is generally the role of a bulldozer and a front end loader. The loader of course dumps the cleared waste into – a dump truck.

From there, graders get to work leveling the new road. Once they have a smooth platform to build a road on, the assembly of a new road begins. And that is what it is – an assembly project. Dump trucks bring in road base, a material used to make the foundations of the road. This could be a gravel and cement mixture, for example. The dump trucks don’t just dump and run. If you watch them you will see they start the tipper action and as the base starts to flow out, they drive slowly down the new road evenly spreading the road base. This makes life easier for the grader who follows and smooths out the material.

There are several other processes such as driving rollers over this area, which compact and level out the road base. It is then ready for the final seal. This could be cement or a hot mix. Either way, a special machine is used to lay the seal. Once again, dump trucks are used to carry the mix – they dump it in to the machine laying the new road. Wave after wave of trucks come in and they are able to empty their contents without the machine stopping. This enable a completely smooth road to be laid without any seams.

Dump trucks are involved in some way in every step of road making. You can work as a dump truck driver once you complete a truck driver training program. The pay is good, the hours are great, and the job never boring. At the end of the day, you can look back on a piece of road that you have helped build – a permanent record of your hard work.

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.

If you were to place a bulldozer and road grader side-by-side you would have to admit they were completely different machines. About the only similarity between the two is they both have blades. The bulldozer’s blade is front and center whilst the road grader’s blade is somewhat smaller in height, often wider, and slung under the machine. Looking at them, you would imagine they would do completely different types of work.

That was true several years ago. The bulldozer was the ‘bull’ of a construction site. Its job was to virtually tear everything up and leave the area relatively flat. The grader’s job was then to come in and do all the fine work to exact measurements.

As Bob Dylan once sang, ‘times they are a changing’. With the inception of modern technology such as GPS and laser leveling, bulldozers can now do many of the tasks often left to the road graders. Modern technology can now do wonders – in this case, taking a big powerful brute of a machine and turning it into a gentle machine that do a lot of the fine tuning once the domain of a road grader.

This doesn’t mean that road graders are now defunct. One of the reasons that laser leveling was introduced was to ease the load on road graders. They can now be left to perform the final finishing touches to a new road – the real ‘grading’ needed before the hard surface is laid.

What does this mean when it comes to employment opportunities and training? First, it reinforces the need to undertake training that includes experience on a variety of equipment. Secondly, it lifts the skill levels of operators. Bulldozer operators need to learn to use laser leveling and the art of grading using a dozer blade, whilst road grader operators need to hone their skills in the area of fine or finishing grading. It all comes back to training. Your heavy equipment training should include experience on both bulldozers and road graders – that will set you up to perform either role with ease.

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.