Details for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
Description
Operate one or several types of power construction equipment, such as motor graders, bulldozers, scrapers, compressors, pumps, derricks, shovels, tractors, or front-end loaders to excavate, move, and grade earth, erect structures, or pour concrete or other hard surface pavement. May repair and maintain equipment in addition to other duties.
Tasks
- Learn and follow safety regulations.
- Take actions to avoid potential hazards or obstructions, such as utility lines, other equipment, other workers, or falling objects.
- Adjust handwheels and depress pedals to control attachments, such as blades, buckets, scrapers, or swing booms.
- Start engines, move throttles, switches, or levers, or depress pedals to operate machines, such as bulldozers, trench excavators, road graders, or backhoes.
- Locate underground services, such as pipes or wires, prior to beginning work.
- Monitor operations to ensure that health and safety standards are met.
- Align machines, cutterheads, or depth gauge makers with reference stakes and guidelines or ground or position equipment, following hand signals of other workers.
- Load and move dirt, rocks, equipment, or other materials, using trucks, crawler tractors, power cranes, shovels, graders, or related equipment.
- Drive and maneuver equipment equipped with blades in successive passes over working areas to remove topsoil, vegetation, or rocks or to distribute and level earth or terrain.
- Coordinate machine actions with other activities, positioning or moving loads in response to hand or audio signals from crew members.
- Operate tractors or bulldozers to perform such tasks as clearing land, mixing sludge, trimming backfills, or building roadways or parking lots.
- Repair and maintain equipment, making emergency adjustments or assisting with major repairs as necessary.
- Check fuel supplies at sites to ensure adequate availability.
- Connect hydraulic hoses, belts, mechanical linkages, or power takeoff shafts to tractors.
- Operate loaders to pull out stumps, rip asphalt or concrete, rough-grade properties, bury refuse, or perform general cleanup.
- Select and fasten bulldozer blades or other attachments to tractors, using hitches.
- Test atmosphere for adequate oxygen or explosive conditions when working in confined spaces.
- Operate compactors, scrapers, or rollers to level, compact, or cover refuse at disposal grounds.
- Talk to clients and study instructions, plans, or diagrams to establish work requirements.
- Signal operators to guide movement of tractor-drawn machines.
- Operate road watering, oiling, or rolling equipment, or street sealing equipment, such as chip spreaders.
- Perform specialized work, using equipment, such as pile drivers, dredging rigs, drillers, or concrete pumpers.
- Push other equipment when extra traction or assistance is required.
- Keep records of material or equipment usage or problems encountered.
- Drive tractor-trailer trucks to move equipment from site to site.
- Turn valves to control air or water output of compressors or pumps.
- Operate equipment to demolish or remove debris or to remove snow from streets, roads, or parking lots.
- Compile cost estimates for jobs.
Interests
- Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
- Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Education, training, experience
- Education - These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
- Training - Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
- Experience - Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Knowledge
None found.
Skills
- Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
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