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Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

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.

Related: Cement Masons & Concrete Finishers Construction Laborers Excavating & Loading Machine & Dragline Operators, Surface Mining Operating Engineers & Other Construction Equipment Operators Segmental Pavers

Industries: Construction Government

Summary
Details

Set up and tear down equipment.
Operate machines that clean or cut expansion joints in concrete or asphalt and that rout out cracks in pavement.
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.
Observe distribution of paving material to adjust machine settings or material flow, and indicate low spots for workers to add material.
Set up and tear down equipment.
Place strips of material, such as cork, asphalt, or steel into joints, or place rolls of expansion-joint material on machines that automatically insert material.
Install dies, cutters, and extensions to screeds onto machines, using hand tools.
Operate tamping machines or manually roll surfaces to compact earth fills, foundation forms, and finished road materials, according to grade specifications.
Observe distribution of paving material to adjust machine settings or material flow, and indicate low spots for workers to add material.
Place strips of material, such as cork, asphalt, or steel into joints, or place rolls of expansion-joint material on machines that automatically insert material.
Inspect, clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using mechanics' hand tools, or report malfunctions to supervisors.
Inspect, clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using mechanics' hand tools, or report malfunctions to supervisors.
Inspect, clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using mechanics' hand tools, or report malfunctions to supervisors.
Cut or break up pavement and drive guardrail posts, using machines equipped with interchangeable hammers.
Cut or break up pavement and drive guardrail posts, using machines equipped with interchangeable hammers.
Operate oil distributors, loaders, chip spreaders, dump trucks, and snow plows.
Coordinate truck dumping.
Light burners or start heating units of machines, and regulate screed temperatures and asphalt flow rates.
Shovel blacktop.
Control traffic.
Control paving machines to push dump trucks and to maintain a constant flow of asphalt or other material into hoppers or screeds.
Operate machines to spread, smooth, level, or steel-reinforce stone, concrete, or asphalt on road beds.
Drive and operate curbing machines to extrude concrete or asphalt curbing.
Operate oil distributors, loaders, chip spreaders, dump trucks, and snow plows.
Operate machines that clean or cut expansion joints in concrete or asphalt and that rout out cracks in pavement.
Operate machines to spread, smooth, level, or steel-reinforce stone, concrete, or asphalt on road beds.
Set up forms and lay out guidelines for curbs, according to written specifications, using string, spray paint, and concrete or water mixes.
Set up forms and lay out guidelines for curbs, according to written specifications, using string, spray paint, and concrete or water mixes.
Drive machines onto truck trailers, and drive trucks to transport machines and material to and from job sites.

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

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

Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
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.
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.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
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.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
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.
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.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
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.
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.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
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.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
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.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
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.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
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

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

77180/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

37.11/hr

Currently Employed

1,050

Yearly Projected Openings

120

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

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Integrity
Independence
Self Control
Achievement/Effort

Adjustable wrenches
Asphalt finishers
Bituminous material distributors
Chip Spreaders
Claw hammer
Cold planers
Compactors
Concrete paving strike offs
Curbing machines
Desktop computers
Dump trucks
Flatbed trailers
Graders
Kettle exchangers
Level sensors or transmitters
Levels
Locking pliers
Measuring tapes
Milling machines
Non contact sensors
Nut drivers
Paint sprayers
Paving breakers
Paving material mixers
Personal computers
Pneumatic hammer
Power saws
Rakes
Respiration air supplying self contained breathing apparatus or accessories
Respirators
Road pavers
Road surface heater planers
Rollers
Screwdrivers
Skid steer loaders
Snowplow attachments
Straight edges
String or twine
Tampers
Two way radios
Wheel loaders

Computer aided design CAD software
Data base user interface and query software
Electronic mail software
Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
Office suite software
Project management software
Spreadsheet software
Time accounting software
Word processing software

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