Construction Equipment Operators

Construction Equipment Operators typically perform the following 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. • Start engines, move throttles, switches, or levers, or depress pedals to operate machines, such as bulldozers, trench excavators, road graders, or backhoes. • Coordinate machine actions with other activities, positioning or moving loads in response to hand or audio signals from crew members. • Align machines, cutterheads, or depth gauge makers with reference stakes and guidelines or ground or position equipment, following hand signals of other workers. • Locate underground services, such as pipes or wires, prior to beginning work. • Signal operators to guide movement of tractor-drawn machines. • Repair and maintain equipment, making emergency adjustments or assisting with major repairs as necessary. • 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. • Operate tractors or bulldozers to perform such tasks as clearing land, mixing sludge, trimming backfills, or building roadways or parking lots. • Monitor operations to ensure that health and safety standards are met. • Connect hydraulic hoses, belts, mechanical linkages, or power takeoff shafts to tractors. • Select and fasten bulldozer blades or other attachments to tractors, using hitches. • Operate loaders to pull out stumps, rip asphalt or concrete, rough-grade properties, bury refuse, or perform general cleanup. • Operate equipment to demolish or remove debris or to remove snow from streets, roads, or parking lots. • Keep records of material or equipment usage or problems encountered. • Adjust handwheels and depress pedals to control attachments, such as blades, buckets, scrapers, or swing booms. • Check fuel supplies at sites to ensure adequate availability. • Talk to clients and study instructions, plans, or diagrams to establish work requirements.