Will “Laborer” be Replaced By Robots? 🤔

Job Description

Operate equipment used for applying concrete, asphalt, or other materials to road beds, parking lots, or airport runways and taxiways, or equipment used for tamping gravel, dirt, or other materials. Includes concrete and asphalt paving machine operators, form tampers, tamping machine operators, and stone spreader operators.

Job Details

• The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code is 47-2071.00
• The Mean Annual Wage in the U.S. is $ 43,800.00
• The Mean Hourly Wage is $ 21.00
• Currently, there are 51,880 people on this job

☝️ Information based on the reference occupation “Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators”.

Also Known As…

• Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
• Truck Driver
• Screed Operator
• Roller Operator
• Paver Operator
• Operator
• Maintenance Equipment Operator (MEO)
• Heavy Equipment Operator
• Equipment Operator (EO)
• Asphalt Raker
• Asphalt Paver Operator
• Traveling Plant Operator
• Transportation Maintenance Worker
• Tamping Machine Operator
• Strike Off Machine Operator
• Stone Spreader Operator
• Steam Roller Operator
• Self-Propelled Hot-Mix Roller Operator
• Roller Machine Operator
• Roadway Technician
• Road Roller Operator
• Road Packer Operator
• Road Oiling Truck Driver
• Road Mixer Operator
• Road Grader
• Reinforcing Steel Machine Operator
• Paving Machine Operator
• Paving Foreman
• Mud Jack Operator
• Mechanical Spreader Operator
• Loader Operator
• Laydown Machine Operator
• Joint Machine Operator
• Joint Cleaning and Grooving Machine Operator
• Highway Maintenance Worker
• Heater-Planer Operator
• Grade Foreman
• Form Tamper Operator
• Form Tamper
• Form Grader
• Excavation Laborer
• Curb Machine Operator
• Crew Team Member
• Concrete Paving Machine Operator
• Concrete Finishing Machine Operator
• Concrete Finisher
• Concrete and Asphalt Equipment Crew Member
• Blacktop-Paver Operator
• Black Top Spreader Machine Operator
• Black Top Roller
• Black Top Paver Operator
• Black Top Machine Operator
• Bituminous Paving Machine Operator
• Asphalt Tamping Machine Operator
• Asphalt Surface Heater Operator
• Asphalt Spreader Operator
• Asphalt Screed Operator
• Asphalt Roller Person
• Asphalt Roller Operator
• Asphalt Paving Superintendent
• Asphalt Paving Machine Operator
• Asphalt Paving Foreman
• Asphalt Paver
• Asphalt Distributor Tender
• Asphalt Distributor Operator

Tasks for “Laborer”

• Inspect, clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using mechanics' hand tools, or report malfunctions to supervisors.
• Light burners or start heating units of machines, and regulate screed temperatures and asphalt flow rates.
• Set up forms and lay out guidelines for curbs, according to written specifications, using string, spray paint, and concrete or water mixes.
• Control traffic.
• Control paving machines to push dump trucks and to maintain a constant flow of asphalt or other material into hoppers or screeds.
• Fill tanks, hoppers, or machines with paving materials.
• Operate oil distributors, loaders, chip spreaders, dump trucks, and snow plows.
• Set up and tear down equipment.
• Operate machines to spread, smooth, level, or steel-reinforce stone, concrete, or asphalt on road beds.
• Coordinate truck dumping.
• Observe distribution of paving material to adjust machine settings or material flow, and indicate low spots for workers to add material.
• Cut or break up pavement and drive guardrail posts, using machines equipped with interchangeable hammers.
• Place strips of material, such as cork, asphalt, or steel into joints, or place rolls of expansion-joint material on machines that automatically insert material.
• Shovel blacktop.
• Operate machines that clean or cut expansion joints in concrete or asphalt and that rout out cracks in pavement.
• Drive machines onto truck trailers, and drive trucks to transport machines and material to and from job sites.
• Drive and operate curbing machines to extrude concrete or asphalt curbing.
• Operate tamping machines or manually roll surfaces to compact earth fills, foundation forms, and finished road materials, according to grade specifications.
• Install dies, cutters, and extensions to screeds onto machines, using hand tools.
• Start machine, engage clutch, and push and move levers to guide machine along forms or guidelines and to control the operation of machine attachments.

Related Technology & Tools

• Asphalt mixing equipment
• Asphalt rakes
• Concrete paving machines
• Straightedges
• Straight screwdrivers
• Windrow pickup machines
• Locking pliers
• Laser levels
• Static rollers
• Dump trucks
• Adjustable wrenches
• Robotic paving machines
• Wheel loaders
• Rubber-track asphalt pavers
• Profiling equipment
• Cold in-place recyclers
• Rolling machines
• Vibrating concrete screeds
• Liquid asphalt storage equipment
• Jackhammers
• Power extendable screeds
• Pneumatic paving breakers
• Pneumatic rollers
• Automatic paving control systems
• Transit levels
• Chip spreaders
• Hot mix material transfer devices
• Skid steer loaders
• Snowplows
• Personal computers
• Road heater-planers
• Nut drivers
• Concrete saws
• Pavement marking machines
• Flatbed truck trailers
• Compactors
• Milling machines
• Surveying tapes
• Asphalt paving machines
• Cold planers
• Paving curbing machines
• Paving finishing machines
• Asphalt heating equipment
• Respirators
• Self-contained breathing apparatus
• Self-propelled material transfer devices
• Manual rollers
• Rubber-tired asphalt pavers
• String lines
• Two way radios
• Claw hammers
• Slip form machines
• Desktop computers
• Asphalt distributor trucks
• Vibratory rollers
• Tamping machines
• Motor graders
• Oil distributors

• Spreadsheet software
• Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D
• Database software
• Time report software
• Email software
• HCSS HeavyBid
• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Excel
• Word processing software