Will “Traveling Plant Operator” be Replaced By Robots? 🤔

Job Description

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

Job Details

• The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code is 47-2071.00
• The Mean Annual Wage in the U.S. is $ 43,800.00
• The Mean Hourly Wage is $ 21.00
• Currently, there are 51,880 people on this job

☝️ Information based on the reference occupation “Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators”.

Also Known As…

• Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
• Truck Driver
• Screed Operator
• Roller Operator
• Paver Operator
• Operator
• Maintenance Equipment Operator (MEO)
• Heavy Equipment Operator
• Equipment Operator (EO)
• Asphalt Raker
• Asphalt Paver Operator
• Transportation Maintenance Worker
• Tamping Machine Operator
• Strike Off Machine Operator
• Stone Spreader Operator
• Steam Roller Operator
• Self-Propelled Hot-Mix Roller Operator
• Roller Machine Operator
• Roadway Technician
• Road Roller Operator
• Road Packer Operator
• Road Oiling Truck Driver
• Road Mixer Operator
• Road Grader
• Reinforcing Steel Machine Operator
• Paving Machine Operator
• Paving Foreman
• Mud Jack Operator
• Mechanical Spreader Operator
• Loader Operator
• Laydown Machine Operator
• Laborer
• Joint Machine Operator
• Joint Cleaning and Grooving Machine Operator
• Highway Maintenance Worker
• Heater-Planer Operator
• Grade Foreman
• Form Tamper Operator
• Form Tamper
• Form Grader
• Excavation Laborer
• Curb Machine Operator
• Crew Team Member
• Concrete Paving Machine Operator
• Concrete Finishing Machine Operator
• Concrete Finisher
• Concrete and Asphalt Equipment Crew Member
• Blacktop-Paver Operator
• Black Top Spreader Machine Operator
• Black Top Roller
• Black Top Paver Operator
• Black Top Machine Operator
• Bituminous Paving Machine Operator
• Asphalt Tamping Machine Operator
• Asphalt Surface Heater Operator
• Asphalt Spreader Operator
• Asphalt Screed Operator
• Asphalt Roller Person
• Asphalt Roller Operator
• Asphalt Paving Superintendent
• Asphalt Paving Machine Operator
• Asphalt Paving Foreman
• Asphalt Paver
• Asphalt Distributor Tender
• Asphalt Distributor Operator

Tasks for “Traveling Plant Operator”

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

Related Technology & Tools

• Straight screwdrivers
• Dump trucks
• Paving curbing machines
• Adjustable wrenches
• Robotic paving machines
• Rubber-track asphalt pavers
• Hot mix material transfer devices
• Tamping machines
• Rolling machines
• Straightedges
• Nut drivers
• Cold in-place recyclers
• Personal computers
• Asphalt mixing equipment
• Static rollers
• Desktop computers
• Rubber-tired asphalt pavers
• Chip spreaders
• Pneumatic paving breakers
• Self-contained breathing apparatus
• Pavement marking machines
• Locking pliers
• Surveying tapes
• Two way radios
• Respirators
• Wheel loaders
• Asphalt distributor trucks
• Paving finishing machines
• Road heater-planers
• Manual rollers
• Skid steer loaders
• Jackhammers
• Concrete saws
• Power extendable screeds
• Profiling equipment
• Liquid asphalt storage equipment
• Vibrating concrete screeds
• Slip form machines
• Windrow pickup machines
• Asphalt paving machines
• Asphalt heating equipment
• Flatbed truck trailers
• Milling machines
• Vibratory rollers
• Laser levels
• Motor graders
• Automatic paving control systems
• Cold planers
• Concrete paving machines
• Self-propelled material transfer devices
• Asphalt rakes
• Oil distributors
• Pneumatic rollers
• Compactors
• Snowplows
• Claw hammers
• String lines
• Transit levels

• Spreadsheet software
• Email software
• HCSS HeavyBid
• Word processing software
• Database software
• Microsoft Office
• Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D
• Time report software
• Microsoft Excel