How to Train Heavy Equipment Operators
Very few large construction jobs are completed without using several pieces of heavy equipment, making people who are skilled in operating this equipment indispensable to the building industry. Being a heavy-equipment operator, like other construction jobs, is a physically demanding career choice that requires ability to work outdoors, often in extreme weather and under extreme conditions. While several schools and certification programs offer training in heavy equipment, in the construction industry, it's hands-on experience on a real construction site that is the best teacher, according to Brian Ferrato, a heavy-equipment operator with 12 years experience.
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Things You'll Need
- Several pieces of hand-use equipment (i.e. jackhammers and other attachments)
- Several pieces of non-advanced heavy equipment (such as forklifts, excavators and loaders)
- Concrete, dirt and any other materials that would need to be excavated, dug up or moved.
Instructions
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Classes and Certifications
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Find a trainee with a class A drivers license or encourage him or her to get one. While the procedure for getting this type of license, as well as what the license will allow a heavy equipment operator to do, can vary from state to state, a class A license will, for the most part, allow the trainee to drive commercial vehicles, including trucks over a certain weight. Because most heavy-equipment operators have to be able to use a big rig to tow their own equipment, according to Ferrato, having a license that allows you to do that is a key part of the training process for heavy-equipment operators.
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Enroll your trainee in a forklift training and safety program. These courses, which are usually about four hours in length, will keep the trainee compliant with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards, and most industrial companies require their heavy equipment operators to have them.
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Have your trainee invest in certification if they want to operate items such as cranes, rigs, dump trucks and asphalt machines. Certification programs for these machines take 10 to 15 hours to complete. Taking classes in heavy-equipment operation may be necessary and, in some states, is even required for operators of larger equipment.
Hands-On Training
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Allow your trainee to practice using various types of hand equipment before getting behind the wheel of any driven equipment. Ferrato recommends starting them out doing smaller, less sophisticated projects such as digging pools or breaking up concrete. At this stage, the trainee should be using attachments such as jackhammers and hydraulic breakers on the ground. Once the trainee is comfortable with how these pieces of equipment operate, you can move on to the next step.
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Get behind the wheel. Ferrato recommends "jumping in the Bobcat" and giving your trainee some behind-the-wheel experience. Allow them to experiment with moving the various heavy-equipment pieces around over various terrains and learning how they move.
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Show the trainee how to connect attachments to various pieces of equipment. Let them experiment with using this equipment on smaller projects, with you not too far away, until they are comfortable taking on big projects with minimal supervision.
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Tips & Warnings
Find out what the laws are in your state for becoming a heavy-equipment operator, including what licenses are required and what, if any, schooling your trainee may need before starting the training program.
