Will “Heavy Equipment Operator” 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)
• 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
• Laborer
• Joint Machine Operator
• Joint Cleaning and Grooving Machine Operator
• Highway Maintenance Worker
• Heavy Equipment Operator
• 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 “Heavy Equipment Operator”

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

Related Technology & Tools

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

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