About ATS Drilling
Business directories list ATS Drilling as a caisson and foundation drilling contractor based in the Fort Worth area, with an address in Haltom City. According to its Dun & Bradstreet profile, the company began operating in 1989 as a division of Austin Traffic Signal Construction Company. We did not find an official company website to link, so this page sticks to what those listings say and to the general nature of drilled pier work.
What gets lifted on a drilled shaft job
Drilled piers and caissons carry the loads of bridges, buildings, towers and signal structures in North Texas clay and limestone. The drill rig makes the hole, but much of the remaining work is crane work:
- Rebar cages. A long cage is flexible. Picking it off the ground without kinking it usually takes two hook points or a spreader, and a tailing operation to bring it vertical before it is lowered into the shaft.
- Temporary casing. Steel casing is set and later pulled, sometimes with a vibratory hammer hanging from the crane. Pulling casing puts dynamic load on the rigging and the crane.
- Drilling tools. Augers, core barrels and belling buckets get swapped and moved around the site.
- Concrete. Tremie pipe and buckets are handled by crane where a pump can't reach.
Every one of those picks needs someone who can rig the load correctly and someone who can signal the operator, often with the hook out of the operator's direct view.
Matching courses to a foundation crew
On a typical drilling crew, a few people run the crane and most of the others are helpers, laborers and drillers who do the hooking and signaling. The training splits the same way.
| Role | Course |
|---|---|
| Helpers and drillers who rig cages and casing | 28-hour rigger and signal person course (NCCCO Rigger Level I and Signalperson prep) |
| Operators of crawler cranes with lattice booms | 40-hour lattice course, or 20 hours for an experienced hand |
| Operators of hydraulic cranes on smaller jobs | Fixed/swing cab course, 40 or 120 hours |
Foundation contractors often use crawler cranes because they can walk with a load and sit on mats on soft ground. Our yard has a lattice crawler that students use for the NCCCO lattice practical exam, given on site.
Topics that matter most to drillers
Some parts of our classroom work are especially relevant for drilling crews:
- How a two-crane or crane-and-tail lift shares load as a cage goes from horizontal to vertical.
- Why ground bearing under outriggers or tracks matters next to a freshly drilled hole, and how crane mats spread the load.
- Dynamic loading when extracting casing, and why the load chart's numbers assume a static lift.
- Inspection of wire rope slings and shackles that live in mud and concrete every day.
- Clear signals when noise from the rig makes voice commands useless.
Paying for the training
Most foundation contractors cover tuition directly for the employees they send, and every course price is posted on our funding page so a superintendent can budget before calling. Employees who are veterans may be able to use GI Bill® benefits for an approved course, and some workers ask their local Workforce Solutions office about WIOA funds; that office, not the school, decides eligibility.
For a drilling company, a sensible order is to certify riggers and signal persons first, since there are more of them on each crew and they are on every pick, then add operator certifications as people move up to the crane. Spreading enrollments across several start dates keeps rigs staffed while the training happens.
How to get a crew enrolled
Haltom City is roughly an hour west of our Seagoville yard by I-30 or I-20, so most students from the Fort Worth side commute each day. All training and NCCCO practical exams happen at 304 Tunnell St; we do not run classes at job sites.
To schedule several people at once, start at company classes or reach us through contact us. Tell us how many are operators and how many are riggers, and we'll suggest course dates that keep part of the crew working while the rest train.