Logging Equipment Operators

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Drive crawler or wheeled tractors to drag or transport logs from felling sites to log landing areas for processing and loading.
• Grade logs according to characteristics such as knot size and straightness, and according to established industry or company standards.
• Inspect equipment for safety prior to use, and perform necessary basic maintenance tasks.
• Drive and maneuver tractors and tree harvesters to shear the tops off of trees, cut and limb the trees, and cut the logs into desired lengths.
• Drive tractors for building or repairing logging and skid roads.
• Fill out required job or shift report forms.
• Inspect equipment for safety prior to use, and perform necessary basic maintenance tasks.
• Control hydraulic tractors equipped with tree clamps and booms to lift, swing, and bunch sheared trees.
• Calculate total board feet, cordage, or other wood measurement units, using conversion tables.
• Drive straight or articulated tractors equipped with accessories such as bulldozer blades, grapples, logging arches, cable winches, and crane booms to skid, load, unload, or stack logs, pull stumps, or clear brush.
• Drive and maneuver tractors and tree harvesters to shear the tops off of trees, cut and limb the trees, and cut the logs into desired lengths.

Skills

• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

Abilities

• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.

Knowledge

• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

Education

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

74400/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

35.77/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

2,830

Yearly Projected Openings

380

Personality

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

• Dependability
• Initiative
• Self Control
• Adaptability/Flexibility
• Cooperation
• Independence

Tools

• Articulating boom lift
• Cargo trucks
• Chain saw
• Claw hammer
• Conventional truck cranes
• Desktop computers
• Flatbed trailers
• Forestry saws
• Forestry skidders
• Grapples
• Hoes
• Lumbering equipment
• Measuring tapes
• Pocket knives
• Safety glasses
• Scarifiers
• Stackers
• Tablet computers
• Tire pressure gauge
• Treedozers
• Two way radios
• Winches

Technology

• Data base user interface and query software
• Electronic mail software
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software
• Human resources software
• Inventory management software
• Office suite software
• Spreadsheet software
• Word processing software