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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

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

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

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

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
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.
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.
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.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
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.
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.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
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.
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.
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.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
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.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
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.
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.
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.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

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:

Dependability
Cautiousness

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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Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

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