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Tim Chandler, Journeyperson Heavy Equipment Operator
As Tim Chandler sees it, operating heavy equipment is the best seat on a construction site.
Tim started out in the construction industry as a labourer. He enjoyed it more than his previous job as a grocery clerk. “The money was better (in construction) and it was day work,” he says. But when he found work as a heavy equipment operator, he knew he’d found his niche.
“My father always told me when I was a labourer to keep my head up, pay attention and find a trade that I was interested in. It just so happened that running equipment was what interested me the most.”
Growing up in rural Ontario, Tim had lots of experience running tractors and loaders. “I’ve always been interested in anything with a motor on it,” he says. Now, he can add a few more machines to that list. In almost 20 years as a heavy equipment operator, he’s worked with backhoes, trim dozers, bulldozers, excavators, rock trucks and loaders – to name a few.
“Simply because of the variety of machines used in construction, I’ve learned to run equipment the old fashioned way – on the job – and I’ve also learned to use equipment by being trained formally through a school program.”
Even at age 42, Tim is continually developing new skills. He’s currently learning to operate a grader on a Toronto construction site where he and the crew members are installing a new water main and restoring existing roads.
As far as Tim is concerned, learning is an on-going and integral part of the industry. And he enjoys being a part of that process. After attending a course through the International Union of Operating Engineers, he was asked to stay on as an instructor. “I went back and taught for five years. I want to go back eventually.”
For now, though, Tim isn’t ready to give up his first love – being out in the field. “There are days when you start out behind schedule, because of weather or many other conditions, and it can just seem so impossible. But by the end of the day, you have it done.” For Tim, that’s what the career is all about: “Being satisfied with what you have accomplished at the end of the day.”