NAHETS membership in ANSI (American National Standards Institute) is the next step in strengthening it’s position as a leader in heavy equipment operator training, assessment and certification. Participation in ANSI activities will provide international as well as national recognition of NAHETS standards.
These organizations joined a federation that represents more than 125,000 companies and well over 3.5 million professionals. Under the Institute’s umbrella, this diverse constituency works together to strengthen the competitiveness of businesses operating in the global marketplace and to improve the quality of life for all citizens by developing, implementing, and promulgating voluntary consensus standards and related conformance assessment systems.
“Active participation in ANSI and its programs can serve as both a strategic and tangible asset for an organization,” said Brian Meincke, the Institute’s director of membership development. “Not only will they gain access to information and business intelligence that is not available elsewhere, but they will also receive discounts on many products and services. Equally important, they can build relationships that empower them with a voice and influence over the standardization and conformity assessment decisions that directly affect their business.
New and Used Heavy Equipment Buyers and Sellers Introduced on Industrial Classifieds
The on-line B2B marketplace Industrial Classifieds, has launched a newly designed Web site specifically for construction equipment dealers, contractors and buyers of heavy construction equipment in North America and Europe.
Westborough, MA, June 28, 2008 –(PR.com)– Industrial Classifieds, an international business-to-business marketplace for the industrial and construction communities, and a division of the Industrial Leaders Group, today announced the release of its new Heavy Equipment Classifieds website at http://industrialsaver.com/classifieds/index.php/cat/2. According to Robert Huff, spokesman for the company, the site includes offerings to buy and sell a wide range of new and used heavy equipment from companies based in or serving the North American and European marketplace.
Huff said Industrial Classifieds also provides an online heavy equipment auction hosted by IndustrialSAVER. The auction allows companies and individuals to explore, bid on and offer all kinds of heavy construction equipment such as bulldozers, skid loaders, wheel loaders, tractors, heavy trucks, excavators, forklifts, cranes, dump trucks, hauling trailers, trenchers, deep hole drilling machines, graders and other new and used earth moving equipment and allied products at http://www.industrialsaver.com/stores/construction/Construction/Heavy-Equipment-and-Trailers
“With the launch of our new heavy equipment marketplace Industrial Classifieds now provides those in the market to purchase or sell heavy equipment the opportunity to meet potential suppliers and buyers all over the world,” said Huff. He added, “Whether one is seeking to buy heavy machinery locally or just looking to liquidate their own equipment, there are numerous social networking tools and other marketing resources available on Industrial Classifieds registered users are able to access at no charge.”
According to Huff, in effort to further its global reach, Industrial Classified will soon launch a specialized trade leads program enabling companies to submit RFQ’s to heavy equipment dealers and other suppliers in domestic and international markets. Huff explained the program will be designed to help develop trading partnerships among construction buyers and sellers worldwide with emphasis on Europe and North America. Details of the program is expected to be announced by mid-July at the company’s annual cookout to celebrate the first year anniversary of the Industrial Classifieds website being launched.
About Industrial Classifieds
Industrial Classifieds connects buyers and suppliers of industrial and construction products at http://www.IndustrialSAVER.com/classifieds. Users can post and explore free ads to buy/sell all kinds of industrial and construction equipment, machinery and supplies.
Contact Information
IndustrialLeaders.com
Donald LaBelle
508-987-1947
info@industrialleaders.com
http://www.IndustrialLeaders.com
The Oklahoma College of Construction (OCC), a NAHETS institution, was published in the May issue of the American Crane & Transport Magazine. Previously Wade Vakulick, director of industry relations and safety, contacted American Crane & Transport and invited them to visit the OCC campus to gather material for their upcoming May issue, which deals with crane operator safety and training. Although the site visit ended up not working out, American Crane & Transport called Wade and held a phone interview. The content of the interview is published in the article.
The article is entitled, “How safe is safe?” and focuses on crane safety and training . . .
On May 12 Channel 9 News (News9) covered a story on the Oklahoma College of Construction (OCC), a NAHETS member school, in response to the recent crane accidents that have been in national news . The coverage features an overview and demonstration of the OCC Crane Operator Training Program. OCC’s crane program is designed to provide the most skilled and experienced entry-level crane operators, which will help minimize crane accidents out in the field. You can visit www.ok-cc.com to see the video coverage or click on the image below for full coverage. Make sure to watch the video!
All of us have seen the “yellow metal” on the road side while driving to work, but many of us do not know exactly what those machines are capable of doing, let alone know how to operate them. Sure we know that a backhoe can move dirt around and dig holes. Surely it can’t be that hard to get in a backhoe and just drive it around. But the matter of fact is that you don’t use a backhoe just to drive it around; you use a backhoe to operate it, and that may take more skill and experience than one may think . . . and surely there is more to a backhoe besides just moving dirt around…
To illustrate what it takes to be a true heavy equipment operator on a daily basis, we’ll take a look at a video hot tip from a NAHETS online industry resource–Yellow Metal TV. In response to an actual question from a heavy equipment operator in Wisconsin, Blake Vernon–Heavy Equipment Instructor for the Nevada School of Construction (NVSC)–takes us through a specific scenario on how to jump a ditch with a backhoe while a form board is already in place . . .
Last month, seven people died when a crane collapsed in Manhattan, NY; two others died in Miami after a crane collapsed. The incidents have not only triggered modifications for crane safety in these cities, but in other cities across the country. With only 15 states and 6 cities currently requiring crane certification, these recent events have caused many to visit and revisit the proposal for city and state laws concerning the matter.
Background
With few state regulations in place, the federal government oversees crane safety, largely through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). One requirement is having a “competent person” to inspect all crane equipment before use. Although few cities require some form of pre-operations inspection, this responsibility currently falls mostly to the employers, who have authority to designate a “competent person” to inspect cranes. Employers are also responsible to make sure all employees (crane operators) are “competent,” “qualified,” or “certified” to perform their tasks; however, there is no set regulation on specific training programs or certifications.
OSHA does recognize NCCCO certification as verification of meeting OSHA training requirements. The NCCCO is a private certifying organization for crane operation. The 15 states and 6 cities that require certification use NCCCO certification.
Taking effect March 28, three days after the March 25 accident, this is a local ordinance in the Miami-Dade County. The ordinance was proposed by Audrey Edmonson, County Commissioner of the Crane and Heavy Advisory Committee. The proposal requires trained experts to inspect all crane equipment, the certification of all crane operators, as well as a hurricane preparedness plan. This proposal will ultimately give inspectors and building officials authority to inspect and decide if the cranes safe enough to operate; they will also have authority to revoke or suspend building permits if the cranes fail to meet safety standards.
This ordinance also defines tower cranes as “permanent structures,” instead of “temporary structures.” This basically means that the cranes have to meet the same safety requirements as high rise buildings, which means there will be more requirements to meet.
On April 29 the City Council’s Housing and Building Committe will hold a hearing to discuss changes in construction site safety at high-rise sites. In light of the Manhattan accident, the participants’ main focus is to ensure that all sites are safe for all workers and the public who walk around the developments on a daily basis.
The Buildings Department also started inspecting all crane sites on March 20. New York City officials have also ordered that inspectors must be on site to raise or lower any cranes.
After a successful initial contact, in February 2008 NAHETS came in contact with Construction Crossing once again. In talking with Robin Salisian at Construction Crossing and Mary Waldron at Education Crossing, we were able to write another article, “Heavy Equipment Operation Now a Specialized Education.” This article focuses on the specialization of NAHETS heavy equipment and crane operator education . . .
Today, education exists largely because one thing–specialization. Every educational institution has programs and degrees focusing on certain areas of expertise; this specialized education allows individuals to excel in fields of their choice, thus helping society as a whole.
Until recently, the process of training heavy equipment operators lacked the degree of specialization found in other career specific training . . . see article
The National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools (NAHETS) launched its new corporate website–www.NAHETS.org–on February 28, 2008. Unique from the existing NAHETS sites, NAHETS.org is an information-based site that focuses solely on sharing relevant company information and industry news with an expanded audience–partners, industry companies and associations, and employers.
What is the purpose NAHETS.org?
Already with a universal site (www.NAHETS.com), a leading job placement site (www.yellowmetalusa.com), and program and curriculum-based sites (www.heavy-equipment-school.com & www.yellowmetalbootcamp.com), NAHETS discerned the need for a website that was filtered to the business relationships of the heavy equipment industry. NAHETS.org is unique because its primary purpose is to communicate to industry companies, partners, and employers, instead of primarily towards students as other NAHETS sites.
Central to NAHETS.org is that it avoids the heavy traffic from students while maintaining a credible reputation for the industry. Although the NAHETS.com site is a more “all-inclusive” site, its heavy focus on students can detract from the experience of those not looking to attend the schools; i.e., partners, employers, and industry associations. NAHETS.org maintains enough design and information to be useful to students, but mostly meets the demands of non-student visitors by focusing on relevant content for NAHETS and the heavy equipment and construction industries.
Where did it come from? Who was involved? How long did it take?
The concept of “employers vs. students,” or in other words, the idea of website communication to the business relations of NAHETS, in addition to students, has been a goal of Executive Director, Matt Klabacka, since he founded NAHETS in 2005. After various evolutions of the main NAHETS.com site, Klabacka realized that one site, by itself, was not enough to create the desired student and business relationships. After discussing the matter with NAHETS personnel, Klabacka launched the NAHETS.org undertaking.
With ideas coming from Klabacka and other personnel, including Mike Martens (Director of Operations), Rhett Nielson (Creative Director), and Brian Thornton (Technology and Marketing Director), Klabacka turned the creation of the site over to Mike Wille, Internet Manager. Wille spent months designing and testing the site before its February 2008 take off.
What are its features?
Wille created the site using a modern design scheme, making it compatible with the appearance of related industry sites. NAHETS.org also incorporates the latest in website technology:
Cold Fusion to power the website with the most current information and news from a database
Video Streaming in the “Schools” and “Videos” sections
RSS Feed from the company and video blogs to the “News” section of the website
Just the beginning
This release of NAHETS.org is just the beginning. The site is designed to continually grow with updated company and industry information and news. We invite everyone to come back and visit the site frequently, as well as pass the word along to family, friends, employers, etc.
Help is on the way for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, but not in its usual form. This time “help” is the “JCB High Mobility Engineer Excavator (HMEE),” a.k.a. the “world’s fastest backhoe loader.” I like to think of it as the “Batmobile of Heavy Equipment.” Its speed, mobility, and design will improve the capabilities of field commanders in front patrols. See batmobile of heavy equipment for the original article. See website directly below for video and other multi-media HMEE resources.
A few highlights of the article:
Specs
The HMEE travels up to 60 mph on paved roads and cross country surfaces
Full suspension and ABS brakes
Computer diagnostics
Run-flat tires and roll-over protection
17.55 tons with armor and 15.75 tons without armor
6.7-liter diesel
Lifts 2.2 tons, digs 13 ft deep
Purpose
Provide battlefield commanders more capabilities in front patrols
Increase Mobility and counter-mobility
Provide water and supplies, build burms, lay electrical lines, etc.
JCB Construction Equipment is the creator of the HMEE. It was 4 years in the making and built specifically for the U.S. Military. JCB is the world’s largest privately owned construction business.
Here is a brief video about some other JCB military equipment.
Brooklyn Hearing Scheduled for Crane Regulations
