Heavy equipment operator

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Heavy equipment operator
US Navy 060324-5328N-N-324 Using a mini excavator, a heavy equipment operator with the Pittsburgh, Pa.-based, Dick Corp. carefully covers the remains of a wrecked wooden ship aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola.jpg
A mini excavator uncovers the remains of a wooden ship
Occupation
Occupation type
Vocation
Activity sectors
Construction
Description
Fields of
employment
construction
Related jobs
excavator operator, Driver
A wheeled front loader at work. This wheeled tractor is equipped with a large bucket, which can be raised or lowered by hydraulic arms. Frontloaderorange.jpg
A wheeled front loader at work. This wheeled tractor is equipped with a large bucket, which can be raised or lowered by hydraulic arms.

A heavy equipment operator operates heavy equipment used in engineering and construction projects. [1] [2] Typically only skilled workers may operate heavy equipment, and there is specialized training for learning to use heavy equipment.

Contents

Operator training

Various organizations set standards for training for heavy equipment operators. Such organizations typically offer what in the US is called "effective safety training". Specific organizations include the following:

Safety

Much publication about heavy equipment operators focuses on improving safety for such workers. The occupational medicine field researches and makes recommendations about safety for these and other workers in safety-sensitive positions. Hand signals are also important for machinery operators as it facilitates visual aid for safe work in spite of factors such as noise and a crowded environment. [3]

Notable heavy equipment operators

Types

These subdivisions, in this order, are the standard heavy equipment categorization.

Tractor

Grader

Excavator

Backhoe

Timber

Pipelayer

Scraper

Mining

Articulated

Compactor

Loader

Track loader

Skid-steer loader

Material handler

Paving

Underground

Hydromatic tool

Hydraulic machinery

Highway

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military engineering vehicle</span> Battlefield support vehicle

A military engineering vehicle is a vehicle built for construction work or for the transportation of combat engineers on the battlefield. These vehicles may be modified civilian equipment or purpose-built military vehicles. The first appearance of such vehicles coincided with the appearance of the first tanks, these vehicles were modified Mark V tanks for bridging and mine clearance. Modern military engineering vehicles are expected to fulfill numerous roles such as; bulldozer, crane, grader, excavator, dump truck, breaching vehicle, bridging vehicle, military ferry, amphibious crossing vehicle, and combat engineer section carrier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skid-steer loader</span> Compact heavy equipment with differential steering

A skid loader, skid-steer loader (SSL), or skidsteer is any of a class of compact heavy equipment with lift arms that can attach to a wide variety of buckets and other labor-saving tools or attachments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Excavator</span> Type of construction equipment

Excavators are heavy construction equipment primarily consisting of a boom, dipper, bucket and cab on a rotating platform known as the "house" - although the largest form ever, the dragline excavator, eliminated the dipper in favor of a line and winch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulldozer</span> Mobile machine which uses a frontal blade to push large volumes of material

A bulldozer or dozer is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous tracks, though specialized models riding on large off-road tires are also produced. Its most popular accessory is a ripper, a large hook-like device mounted singly or in multiples in the rear to loosen dense materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loader (equipment)</span> Heavy equipment machine

A loader is a heavy equipment machine used in construction to move or load materials such as soil, rock, sand, demolition debris, etc. into or onto another type of machinery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Backhoe</span> Type excavating equipment (vehicle)

A backhoe—also called rear actor or back actor—is a type of excavating equipment, or excavator, consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. It is typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader, the latter forming a "backhoe loader". The section of the arm closest to the vehicle is known as the boom, while the section that carries the bucket is known as the dipper, both terms derived from steam shovels. The boom, which is the long piece of the backhoe arm attached to the tractor through a pivot called the king-post, is located closest to the cab. It allows the arm to pivot left and right, typically through a range of 180 to 200 degrees, and also enables lifting and lowering movements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heavy equipment</span> Vehicles designed for executing construction tasks

Heavy equipment, heavy machinery, earthmovers, construction vehicles, or construction equipment, refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. Heavy equipment usually comprises five equipment systems: the implement, traction, structure, power train, and control/information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volvo Construction Equipment</span> Company developing equipment for construction

Volvo Construction Equipment - Volvo CE - is a major international company which develops, manufactures, and markets equipment for construction and related industries. It is a subsidiary and business of the Volvo Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dump truck</span> Truck which can tip its bed, dumping its contents

A dump truck, known also as a dumping truck, dump trailer, dumper trailer, dump lorry or dumper lorry or a dumper for short, is used for transporting materials for construction as well as coal. A typical dump truck is equipped with an open-box bed, which is hinged at the rear and equipped with hydraulic rams to lift the front, allowing the material in the bed to be deposited ("dumped") on the ground behind the truck at the site of delivery. In the UK, Australia, South Africa and India the term applies to off-road construction plants only and the road vehicle is known as a tip lorry, tipper lorry, tipper truck, tip truck, tip trailer or tipper trailer or simply a tipper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Case Construction Equipment</span> American construction machine manufacturer

Case Construction Equipment is an Italian manufacturer of construction machinery. Along with CASE IH, Case Construction Equipment is a brand of CNH. Case produces construction equipment including excavators, motor graders, wheel loaders, vibratory compaction rollers, crawler dozers, skid steers, and compact track loaders.

<i>Mighty Machines</i> Canadian television series

Mighty Machines is a Canadian educational children's television series that teaches about machines and how they work. The show premiered in 1994 airing 39 episodes over three seasons until 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compact excavator</span> Small construction excavator

A compact or mini excavator is a tracked or wheeled vehicle with an approximate operating weight from 0.7 to 8.5 tonnes. It generally includes a standard backfill blade and features independent boom swing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euclid Trucks</span> Former American heavy equipment manufacturer

The Euclid Company of Ohio was a manufacturer which specialized in heavy equipment for earthmoving, particularly dump trucks, loaders and wheel tractor-scrapers. It operated in the US from the 1920s to the 1950s, when it was purchased by General Motors. The firm was later bought by Hitachi Construction Machinery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Holland Construction</span> Construction machine manufacturer

New Holland Construction is a multinational construction machinery manufacturer founded in New Holland, Pennsylvania, and now based in Turin, Italy. New Holland Construction produces construction equipment including backhoes, excavators and loaders. Originally formed as the New Holland Machine Company in 1895, the company is now owned by CNH Industrial N. V., a company incorporated in the Netherlands.

LiuGong, officially Guangxi LiuGong Machinery Co., Ltd., is a Chinese multinational construction machinery manufacturing company headquartered in Liuzhou, China. It is the world's 10th-largest construction equipment manufacturer by market share and the world's largest manufacturer of wheel loaders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NAF Neunkirchener Achsenfabrik</span> German construction and agricultural machinery company

The NAF Neunkirchener Achsenfabrik AG is a medium-sized family-run company in Neunkirchen am Brand, Bavaria, Germany. NAF manufactures axles and transfer cases for self-propelled applications for construction, forestry and agriculture machinery. NAF is the market leader for powered bogie axles.

The YTO Group Corporation is a Chinese agricultural machinery and construction machinery manufacturer part of Sinomach, a comprehensive machinery conglomerate. Although composed of many subsidiaries and divisions, the company is best known for manufacturing a range of farming products including tractors and combine harvesters. The company was founded in 1955 and become the largest manufacturer of tractors in China. The company also manufactures construction machinery trucks and diesel engines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CNH Industrial</span> European multinational corporation

CNH Industrial N.V. is an American-Italian multinational corporation with global headquarters in Basildon, United Kingdom, but controlled and mostly owned by the multinational investment company Exor, which in turn is controlled by the Agnelli family. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company is incorporated in the Netherlands. The seat of the company is in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with a principal office in London, England.

Associated Training Services, commonly known as ATS is a heavy equipment training institution based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1959 by Robert Klabacka as the National Institute of Concrete Construction. The institute offers training programs in heavy equipment, mobile cranes, construction-related trucks, rigging, signaling, and commercial motor vehicles. ATS is one of the oldest training institution in United States of America has been an accredited sponsor providing accredited crane operator certification through the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER), in Alachua, Florida since 2003, and the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO)

References

  1. "Construction Equipment Operators : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  2. V. J. Davies, Ken Tomasin (1996). Construction Safety Handbook. Thomas Telford. ISBN   0-7277-2519-X.
  3. "Crane Hand Signals: Vital for Construction Safety". Al Marwan Heavy Machinery. Retrieved 2024-05-27.