Heavy Equipment Operator – A Brief Overview

Many people think they have it all figured out when it comes to picking out their profession. But often, they have no idea what a worker in that field really does on a day-to-day basis. A quick review of what a Heavy Equipment Operator does may help in this decision making process.

Operators are generally going to be working at a construction site, an industrial site or a road paving site, so for the most part the job will be outside in the elements. A Heavy Equipment Operator may operate numerous pieces of machinery such as: excavators, loaders, bulldozers, scrapers and more. Other operators might become highly effective with one piece of equipment and focus their efforts on just that facet of the job.

Another aspect of the Heavy Equipment Operator’s job is the physical work — very rewarding work, but tough none the less. An operator has to have good balance and physical strength to maintain control of his equipment in rough terrain. He also has to have great eye-hand-foot coordination to ensure he can manipulate the equipment with the precision necessary to complete the project. At times, an operator may need to even climb down off of his equipment and help the laborers to get a job done.

One overlooked and less glamorous part of the job is the maintenance and cleaning of the equipment. Minor repairs are often required to be made by the Heavy Equipment Operator on site to ensure the work schedule is maintained. When needed, the equipment will need to be cleaned by the operator to ensure it is maintained in working order at all times.

The life of a Heavy Equipment Operator can be a great one with good pay and a true sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. But, as with anything in life, great rewards come from hard work and responsibility, and the life of a Heavy Equipment Operator epitomizes this phrase.