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Construction & Extraction · Updated Aug 2026

Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators

Operate one or several types of power construction equipment, such as motor graders, bulldozers, scrapers, compressors, pumps, derricks, shovels, tractors, or front-end loaders to excavate, move, and grade earth, erect structures, or pour concrete or other hard surface pavement. May repair and maintain equipment in addition to other duties.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
AI Exposure
43/100
Moderate

How much of this occupation’s work can be materially affected by current AI systems.

Replacement Risk
31/100
Low

How likely exposure is to translate into reduced human demand.

Includes provisional estimates for AI adoption pressure and labour-market resilience. How this is measured

Evidence quality
Confidence82/100
Task coverage86%

Confidence reflects task coverage, mapping and capability-evidence quality, and how much of the score rests on provisional inputs.

Task-level evidence

What is driving the score?

Occupation scores are built from the task mix—not a single prediction about a job title.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
TaskImportanceAI impactExposure
Take actions to avoid potential hazards or obstructions, such as utility lines, other equipment, other workers, or falling objects.High
64
Check fuel supplies at sites to ensure adequate availability.High
67
Coordinate machine actions with other activities, positioning or moving loads in response to hand or audio signals from crew members.High
64
Operate tractors or bulldozers to perform such tasks as clearing land, mixing sludge, trimming backfills, or building roadways or parking lots.High
64
Adjust handwheels and depress pedals to control attachments, such as blades, buckets, scrapers, or swing booms.Medium
67
Talk to clients and study instructions, plans, or diagrams to establish work requirements.High
60
Keep records of material or equipment usage or problems encountered.Medium
65
Locate underground services, such as pipes or wires, prior to beginning work.High
66
Connect hydraulic hoses, belts, mechanical linkages, or power takeoff shafts to tractors.High
67
Monitor operations to ensure that health and safety standards are met.High
31
Start engines, move throttles, switches, or levers, or depress pedals to operate machines, such as bulldozers, trench excavators, road graders, or backhoes.High
20
Signal operators to guide movement of tractor-drawn machines.High
36
Operate compactors, scrapers, or rollers to level, compact, or cover refuse at disposal grounds.Medium
64
Load and move dirt, rocks, equipment, or other materials, using trucks, crawler tractors, power cranes, shovels, graders, or related equipment.High
20
Drive and maneuver equipment equipped with blades in successive passes over working areas to remove topsoil, vegetation, or rocks or to distribute and level earth or terrain.High
18
Repair and maintain equipment, making emergency adjustments or assisting with major repairs as necessary.High
22
Align machines, cutterheads, or depth gauge makers with reference stakes and guidelines or ground or position equipment, following hand signals of other workers.High
19
Operate loaders to pull out stumps, rip asphalt or concrete, rough-grade properties, bury refuse, or perform general cleanup.Medium
21
Drive tractor-trailer trucks to move equipment from site to site.Medium
18
Select and fasten bulldozer blades or other attachments to tractors, using hitches.High
13
Most exposed

Where AI can do more

Routine, digitized, and highly repeatable tasks face the greatest pressure.

  1. Check fuel supplies at sites to ensure adequate availability.67
  2. Adjust handwheels and depress pedals to control attachments, such as blades, buckets, scrapers, or swing booms.67
  3. Connect hydraulic hoses, belts, mechanical linkages, or power takeoff shafts to tractors.67
  4. Locate underground services, such as pipes or wires, prior to beginning work.66
Hardest to automate

Where people still matter

These tasks score lowest on automation feasibility—physical presence, judgement, accountability and real-world variability all resist end-to-end automation.

  1. Select and fasten bulldozer blades or other attachments to tractors, using hitches.01
  2. Drive and maneuver equipment equipped with blades in successive passes over working areas to remove topsoil, vegetation, or rocks or to distribute and level earth or terrain.02
  3. Drive tractor-trailer trucks to move equipment from site to site.03
  4. Align machines, cutterheads, or depth gauge makers with reference stakes and guidelines or ground or position equipment, following hand signals of other workers.04
  5. Start engines, move throttles, switches, or levers, or depress pedals to operate machines, such as bulldozers, trench excavators, road graders, or backhoes.05
Where else this work leads

Related occupations

Occupations O*NET links to this one. Relatedness reflects shared work, not a claim that these roles are safer.

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Beyond AI capability

Adoption and labour-market outlook

Structural factors are kept separate from raw capability so you can see what actually resists automation. Adoption pressure and labour-market resilience are still provisional models—25% of this occupation’s replacement-risk weight rests on them.

Human dependency78
Physical dependency75
Adoption pressure31
Labour-market resilience79
Methodology & sources

O*NET 30.3 occupational data interpreted through the JobsVsAI capability, automation and structural-constraint models.

Confidence82/100
CalculatedAug 21, 2026
Read methodology →