Paving / Surfacing / Tamping Equipment Operator

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

O*NET reports this occupation under titles such as: Asphalt Paver Operator; Asphalt Paving Machine Operator; Asphalt Raker; Asphalt Roller Operator; Equipment Operator (EO); Loader Operator; Maintenance Equipment Operator (MEO); Paver Operator; Roller Operator; Screed Operator

Tasks

• Start machine, engage clutch, and push and move levers to guide machine along forms or guidelines and to control the operation of machine attachments.
• Fill tanks, hoppers, or machines with paving materials.
• Control paving machines to push dump trucks and to maintain a constant flow of asphalt or other material into hoppers or screeds.
• Observe distribution of paving material to adjust machine settings or material flow, and indicate low spots for workers to add material.
• Coordinate truck dumping.
• 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.
• Set up and tear down equipment.
• Operate machines to spread, smooth, level, or steel-reinforce stone, concrete, or asphalt on road beds.
• Light burners or start heating units of machines, and regulate screed temperatures and asphalt flow rates.
• Control traffic.
• Shovel blacktop.
• Operate tamping machines or manually roll surfaces to compact earth fills, foundation forms, and finished road materials, according to grade specifications.
• Operate oil distributors, loaders, chip spreaders, dump trucks, and snow plows.

Knowledge

• Building and Construction
• Mechanical

Skills

• Monitoring
• Critical Thinking

Abilities

• Control Precision
• Problem Sensitivity
• Multilimb Coordination
• Rate Control
• Reaction Time
• Static Strength
• Trunk Strength
• Far Vision
• Oral Comprehension
• Oral Expression
• Deductive Reasoning
• Information Ordering
• Visualization
• Selective Attention
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
• Manual Dexterity
• Response Orientation
• Extent Flexibility
• Depth Perception
• Speech Recognition
• Speech Clarity