Global positioning system or GPS, for short, has become an important tool for navigation. We see cars equipped with such technology; even airlines are now shifting from standard radar to GPS to monitor air traffic; and of course in heavy equipment operation, GPS has become an essential technology not only for surveying and grading purposes but in many aspects such as equipment monitoring and grading and leveling.

Adding heavy equipment GPS training to your credential can have lasting benefit. Any operator who has GPS training can surely gain a competitive advantage over the other candidates when applying for a job.

So if you are a heavy equipment operator who is looking for such training, a construction foreman or a surveyor who is requiring this training for the job, or an individual who wants to go into this profession, having such training can definitely boost your chance of getting promotion, improving skill and landing a job. It is now a specialized skill and standard requirement by an employer.

If you are interested taking this training, here are the schools where you can enroll.

 

 

Heavy Equipment Schools that Offer GPS Training in Heavy Equipment Operation

Associated Training Services
Their Ohio school provides GPS training
To make an inquiry, contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Tel: (800) 383-7364; Fax: (608) 825-6752

Interior Heavy Equipment Operator School
#2 - 10058 HWY 97 North, Winfield, British Columbia, V4V 1P8
Phone: 250-766-3853, Toll Free: 1-866-399-3853, Toll Free Fax: 1-877-347-6384
Has a separate course on GPS training, the length is 4 days and the fee is $2,995

Bridgerland Technical College
1301 North 600 West, Logan, UT 84321
Toll Free: 866-701-1100, Local: 435-753-6780, TDD: 800-346-4128, Fax: 435-752-2016

SITECH
3206 S WW White, San Antonio, TX 78222
2615 North Forum Dr., Grand Prairie, Texas 75052
Phone: (877) 385-8032

Western States Operating Engineers
23500 S. Operating Engineers Ln, Spangle, WA 99031
Phone: 509-235-9393; Fax: 509-235-9395
Has separate training course on GPS/Grade Checking

Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario (OETIO)
Morrisburg campus
12580 County Road 2, Box 636, Morrisburg, Ontario, Canada K0C 1X0
Phone: (613) 543-2911 or 1-877-543-3549, Fax: (613) 543-4136
Oakville campus
2245 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ontario, Canada L6L 6X8
Phone: (905) 469-9299 or 1-877-793-4863

NCK Tech
Beloit Campus
Po Box 507, 3033 Us Hwy 24, Beloit, Kansas 67420
Phone:1-800-658-4655785-738-2276; Fax: 785-738-2903
Hays Campus
2205 Wheatland Ave., Hays, Kansas 67601
Phone: 1-888-567-4297785-625-2437; Fax: 785-623-6152

International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE)
There are local in different state, contact the one nearest to you
Here’s the link to their website.

These schools may either have a GPS training incorporated into their heavy equipment operation training curriculum or a separate course. When making an inquiry, ask what they have to cater to your need.

Who Should Get GPS Training

Who should get the training? That would depend on the size of the company. In a small to medium size company, the owner itself can have this GPS training. While in bigger company, their supervisors and operators who directly involved in earthmoving and surveying activities should take GPS training.

Estimators should also get such training so that they can better know what the process have an affect on bids and for accurate cost calculation of the proposed project. By analyzing GPS data, estimators of the company have more precise estimates, managers then can submit a more competitive bids resulting to awarding of the project and healthy profit after completion.

Grademan can also benefit from GPS. GPS gets rid of the staking required on site and reduces the idle time of the heavy equipment operators to start working before the staking is finished.

With the help of GPS, foreman can monitor several grading work at a time. This eliminates the need for teams of surveyors who are taking manual measurements on various projects.

See How Heavy Equipment GPS Tracking Saves a Construction Contractor Time & Money

 

 

Uses of GPS in Heavy Equipment Operation

  • Given the high cost of heavy equipment, the company would want to keep an eye on of their asset. This is mostly true for a bigger company that has a large fleet of equipment and army of operators. It is an utmost important to monitor the movement of their equipment to ensure efficiency. Asset monitoring through GPS can determine which equipment they do not need so that they can pull it out on site to cut operational cost.

  • With GPS, the company can observe the location of heavy equipment on site. They can direct a piece of equipment to go where it needs to be allowing to manage multiple work sites.

  • Dozens of heavy equipment are being stolen each day and only a few of those are recovered, you would not want to have your equipment stolen, would you? Having a GPS to monitor the movement and location can significantly reduce the risk of it being stolen.

  • With GPS installed on the equipment, you can monitor the engine hours and idle time of the equipment, giving you an accurate data to optimize the repair and maintenance to prevent downtime of the equipment and to reduce the cost of fuel needed to run it.

  • If heavy equipment operators are on the field, it is difficult to monitor their work. With GPS, you can tract the work log hours with its accurate activity reports. You significantly reduce labor cost.

  • With GPS installed on the machine, you can optimize the best route to take to work location and to react with real time data thus increasing the efficiency of the usage of the equipment.

  • You can verify the machine's proper use preventing breakdown and improving safety of the operators while at work.

To Make a Conclusion

GPS training on heavy equipment operation is now a specialized skill that you need to have since this technology has become standard in many aspects of the construction industry.

Grader equipment may come with GPS and laser technology enabling for precise measurement, if you are a grader operator you may perhaps wants to learn GPS to better understand how it works, thus you will need GPS training. This is one of the many aspects where GPS can be used in the civil and construction projects.

Surveyors, supervisors, foremen, estimators, pointmen and operators are the ones who should take GPS training.


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