• Shape the earth with more than 20 pieces of heavy equipment, including bulldozers, excavators and loaders

• Work daily at a simulated construction site on campus

• Assist with landscaping, snow removal and other outdoor projects on LCTI’s 47 acres

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Building a home, installing a sewer line and widening a road are a few examples of the myriad tasks that require heavy equipment. In our Heavy Equipment Operations & Preventive Maintenance program, students explore the diverse employment opportunities for heavy equipment operators. As they learn about the role of mobile machinery in various industries, students master the following skills:

• Operating articulated dump trucks, bulldozers and excavators
• Operating backhoe loaders, crawler loaders, skid-steer loaders and wheel loaders
• Inspecting equipment systems and performing preventive maintenance
• Using hand and electric or gas power tools ranging from hammers to jackhammers
• Surveying, site preparation and grading; employing erosion and sediment control

Instruction begins with job-site safety, blueprint reading, equipment rigging, and other fundamentals before advancing to activities like building a pad, backfilling a trench and slot dozing. Working in one of the nation’s best-equipped program labs of its kind, students learn to use more than 20 machines made by Case, Caterpillar, John Deere, Volvo and other big-name manufacturers.

Exercises on virtual equipment simulators are followed by plenty of practice with the real thing on an expansive outdoor training course. Students gain real-world experience by assisting with maintenance projects on the school’s 47-acre campus and off-site jobs supervised by their instructor.

Industry Credentials

Heavy Equipment Operations & Preventive Maintenance students can earn the following certifications and credentials in high school:

• Flagger Training via Associated Pennsylvania Constructors
• OSHA Certification via CareerSafe®
• Pennsylvania Skills Certificate via NOCTI®

College Credit

A statewide articulation agreement known as SOAR allows students to earn college credit for their work in the Heavy Equipment Operations & Preventive Maintenance program.

Career Paths

with credentials:

• Agricultural Equipment Operator
• Construction Equipment Operator
• Logging Equipment Operator

with credentials and experience:

• Construction Foreman
• Mobile Equipment Technician
• Surveying Technician

with postsecondary training or college degree:

• Construction Manager
• Civil Engineer
• Civil Engineering Technician
• Surveyor