According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Learn and follow safety regulations. | 97% |
| Take actions to avoid potential hazards or obstructions, such as utility lines, other equipment, other workers, or falling objects. | 93% |
| Check fuel supplies at sites to ensure adequate availability. | 93% |
| Start engines, move throttles, switches, or levers, or depress pedals to operate machines, such as bulldozers, trench excavators, road graders, or backhoes. | 91% |
| Coordinate machine actions with other activities, positioning or moving loads in response to hand or audio signals from crew members. | 90% |
| Align machines, cutterheads, or depth gauge makers with reference stakes and guidelines or ground or position equipment, following hand signals of other workers. | 89% |
| Locate underground services, such as pipes or wires, prior to beginning work. | 89% |
| Signal operators to guide movement of tractor-drawn machines. | 88% |
| Repair and maintain equipment, making emergency adjustments or assisting with major repairs as necessary. | 87% |
| Load and move dirt, rocks, equipment, or other materials, using trucks, crawler tractors, power cranes, shovels, graders, or related equipment. | 86% |
| 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. | 85% |
| Operate tractors or bulldozers to perform such tasks as clearing land, mixing sludge, trimming backfills, or building roadways or parking lots. | 85% |
| Perform specialized work, using equipment, such as pile drivers, dredging rigs, drillers, or concrete pumpers. | 85% |
| Talk to clients and study instructions, plans, or diagrams to establish work requirements. | 84% |
| Monitor operations to ensure that health and safety standards are met. | 84% |
| Connect hydraulic hoses, belts, mechanical linkages, or power takeoff shafts to tractors. | 82% |
| Select and fasten bulldozer blades or other attachments to tractors, using hitches. | 81% |
| Operate loaders to pull out stumps, rip asphalt or concrete, rough-grade properties, bury refuse, or perform general cleanup. | 79% |
| Operate equipment to demolish or remove debris or to remove snow from streets, roads, or parking lots. | 76% |
| Adjust handwheels and depress pedals to control attachments, such as blades, buckets, scrapers, or swing booms. | 76% |
| Keep records of material or equipment usage or problems encountered. | 76% |
| Drive tractor-trailer trucks to move equipment from site to site. | 76% |
| Push other equipment when extra traction or assistance is required. | 72% |
| Operate road watering, oiling, or rolling equipment, or street sealing equipment, such as chip spreaders. | 68% |
| Operate compactors, scrapers, or rollers to level, compact, or cover refuse at disposal grounds. | 66% |
| Test atmosphere for adequate oxygen or explosive conditions when working in confined spaces. | 64% |
| Compile cost estimates for jobs. | 62% |
| Turn valves to control air or water output of compressors or pumps. | 61% |
