National Occupation Code (NOC): 73400

Heavy equipment operators operate heavy equipment used in the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, airports, gas and oil pipelines, tunnels, buildings and other structures; in surface mining and quarrying activities; and in material handling work. They are employed by construction companies, heavy equipment contractors, public works departments and pipeline, logging, cargo-handling and other companies. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.

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Job Duties for Heavy equipment operators

• Operate heavy equipment such as backhoes, bulldozers, loaders and graders to excavate, move, load and grade earth, rock, gravel or other materials during construction and related activities
• Operate bulldozers or other heavy equipment to clear brush and stumps prior to logging activities and to build roads at logging and surface mining sites
• Operate heavy equipment with pile driver head to drive piling into earth to provide support for buildings, bridges or other structures
• Operate heavy dredging equipment to deepen waterways or reclaim earth fill
• Operate heavy paving and surfacing equipment to lay, spread or compact concrete, asphalt and other surface materials during highway and road construction
• Operate power shovels to excavate rock, ore or other materials from open-pit mines, strip mines, quarries or construction pits
• Operate heavy equipment to move, load and unload cargo
• Conduct pre-operational checks on equipment and clean, lubricate and refill equipment.

Alternate Job Titles

• Aerial Tram Operator
• Apprentice Heavy Equipment Operator
• Asphalt Batch Plant Operator
• Asphalt Plant Operator
• Asphalt Roller Operator
• Asphalt Spreader Operator
• Asphalt Street Paver Operator
• Asphalt-grooving Machine Operator
• Asphalt-paving Machine Operator
• Asphalt-paving Screed Operator
• Backhoe Operator
• Bituminous Paver Operator - Heavy Equipment
• Bobcat Operator
• Boom-conveyor Operator
• Bucketwheel Operator
• Bucketwheel-excavator Operator
• Buggy-operator Skinner
• Buggy-scraper Operator
• Bulldozer Driver
• Bulldozer Operator
• Cat Operator
• Cat Skinner
• Caterpillar Car Operator
• Caterpillar Operator
• Concrete Spreader Operator - Heavy Equipment
• Concrete-grooving Machine Operator
• Concrete-paving Machine Operator
• Construction Equipment Operator
• Continuous Bucket Excavator Operator
• Crawler Tractor Operator
• Ditcher Operator - Construction
• Ditching Machine Operator
• Dozer Operator
• Dredge Operator
• Dredge Runner
• Earth-moving Equipment Operator
• Electrical Equipment Operator - Shovel
• Elevating Grader Operator
• Elevating Scraper Operator
• Excavating Machine Operator
• Excavator Operator
• Forest Road Machine Operator
• Front End Loader Operator
• Gradall Operator
• Grader Operator
• Groove-cutting Machine Operator
• Grooving Machine Operator - Heavy Equipment
• Heater-planer Operator
• Heavy Construction-equipment Operator
• Heavy Equipment Operating Engineer
• Heavy Equipment Operator
• Heavy Equipment Operator Apprentice
• Heavy-duty Equipment Operator
• Heavy-duty Equipment Operator Apprentice
• Ho-ram Operator
• Horizontal Earth-boring Machine Operator
• Hydraulic Excavator Operator
• Industrial Backhoe Operator
• Loader Operator - Construction
• Marine Railway Operator
• Mining Shovel Operator (except Underground)
• Mole Operator
• Mucker Operator - Construction
• Mucking Machine Operator - Construction
• Paver Operator
• Payloader Operator
• Peat-moss-cutting Machine Operator
• Peat-moss-gathering Machine Operator
• Pile Driver Winch Operator
• Pile-driving Hammer Operator
• Pipelayer Operator
• Power Grader Operator
• Power Shovel Operator
• Pulvimixer Operator
• Ripper Operator - Heavy Equipment
• Road Grader Operator
• Road Mixer Operator
• Road Planer Operator
• Road Roller Operator
• Roller Operator
• Rotary Trencher Operator
• Scarifier Operator
• Scraper Operator
• Shield Operator
• Shovel Operator - Heavy Equipment
• Side Boom Operator - Pipeline Construction
• Side Boom Tractor Operator
• Snow Removal Equipment Operator - Private Home
• Snow-grooming Machine Operator
• Spreader Operator - Heavy Equipment
• Stacker Operator - Heavy Equipment
• Street Paver Operator
• Stripping Shovel Operator
• Structural Hydraulic Jack Erector
• Surface Mining Equipment Operator
• Track-loader Operator
• Tractor Operator - Construction
• Tractor-excavator Operator
• Trench-digging Machine Operator
• Trenching Machine Operator
• Tunnelling Machine Operator
• Vibratory Road Roller Operator
• Vibratory Roller Operator