Watching Snow Plows Struggling Through Europe

Scenes coming out of the UK and Europe do not bode well for a pleasant winter for us. It was mildly amusing to watch the various equipment that had been modified as snow plows. Old tractors with dozer blades, bulldozers themselves, graders, and what looked like a modified beetle with a blade attached to the front – how that generated the horsepower required has got me. What it has done is remind me of how many operators are required when heavy snow falls do set in.

One news story showed a small village almost lost in seven or eight feet of snow. There were at least six units of machinery working to try and clear the roads of snow, and that, like I said, was one small village. I don’t know if we are better organized here, although that was unusually heavy and early snow. However, we do organize operators and equipment early with most areas already equipped and ready to roll.

The most popular heavy equipment used to clear snow, apart from dedicated snow plows, are bulldozers, graders, and loaders (either wheel loaders of backhoes). The only real requirement to operate this heavy equipment to clear snow is experience. If you have had a lot of experience working with various soils and terrains, it is a simple transition to clearing snow.

To gain experience as a heavy equipment operator, you need to gain employment and, in today’s working environment, that means being trained by respected trainers. One of the most respected training organizations around today is ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training. While operators are busy clearing snow, that means there are opportunities elsewhere for new operators. Opportunities that will give you the experience that will one day enable you to work in areas where the community relies on you to clear the snow.