Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators

Career Description: Operate or tend machinery equipped with scoops, shovels, or buckets, to excavate and load loose materials.

Industry: Transportation and Material Moving

Other Job Titles for Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators:

• Realistic: Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
• Investigative: Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
• Artistic: Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
• Social: Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
• Enterprising: Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
• Conventional: Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
• First Interest High-Point: Primary-Rank Descriptiveness
• Second Interest High-Point: Secondary-Cutoff/Rank Descriptiveness
• Third Interest High-Point: Tertiary-Cutoff/Rank Descriptiveness

• Move levers, depress foot pedals, and turn dials to operate power machinery such as power shovels, stripping-shovels, scraper loaders, or backhoes.
• Set up and inspect equipment prior to operation.
• Observe hand signals, grade stakes, and other markings when operating machines so that work can be performed to specifications.
• Become familiar with digging plans, machine capabilities and limitations, and with efficient and safe digging procedures in a given application.
• Operate machinery to perform activities such as backfilling excavations, vibrating or breaking rock or concrete, and making winter roads.
• Create and maintain inclines and ramps, and handle slides, mud, and pit cleanings and maintenance.
• Lubricate, adjust, and repair machinery, and replace parts such as gears, bearings, and bucket teeth.
• Move materials over short distances, such as around a construction site, factory, or warehouse.
• Measure and verify levels of rock or gravel, bases, and other excavated material.
• Receive written or oral instructions regarding material movement or excavation.
• Adjust dig face angles for varying overburden depths and set lengths.
• Drive machines to work sites.
• Perform manual labor to prepare or finish sites, such as shoveling materials by hand.
• Direct ground workers engaged in activities such as moving stakes or markers, or changing positions of towers.
• Direct workers engaged in placing blocks and outriggers in order to prevent capsizing of machines when lifting heavy loads.
• Affix identifying information to materials or products, using hand tools.
• Distribute materials, supplies, and equipment to work stations, using lifts and trucks.
• Move, assemble, and connect hoses or nozzles to material hoppers, storage tanks, conveyor sections or chutes, and pumps.
• Observe packages moving along conveyors in order to identify packages and to detect defective packaging.
• Measure dimensions of bundles, using rulers, and cut battens to required sizes, using power saws.
• Press console buttons to deflect packages to predetermined accumulators or reject lines.
• Join sections of conveyor frames at temporary working areas, and connect power units.
• Thread strapping through strapping tools; then secure battens with strapping to form protective pallets around extrusions.
• Plan and formulate flight activities and test schedules and prepare flight evaluation reports.
• Pilot airplanes or helicopters over farmlands at low altitudes to dust or spray fields with fertilizers, fungicides, or pesticides.
• Check the flight performance of new and experimental planes.

Emerging Tasks

• Perform maintenance on dredge equipment, such as changing engine oil.
• Collect tickets or cash fares from passengers.
• Drive vehicles over specified routes or to specified destinations according to time schedules, complying with traffic regulations to ensure that passengers have a smooth and safe ride.
• Handle passenger emergencies and disruptions.
• Maintain cleanliness of bus or motor coach.
• Record information, such as cash receipts and ticket fares, and maintain log book.

• Analyzing Data or Information: Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
• Assisting and Caring for Others: Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
• Coaching and Developing Others: Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
• Communicating with Persons Outside Organization: Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Controlling Machines and Processes: Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
• Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others: Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
• Developing and Building Teams: Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
• Developing Objectives and Strategies: Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
• Documenting/Recording Information: Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
• Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment: Providing documentation, detailed instructions, drawings, or specifications to tell others about how devices, parts, equipment, or structures are to be fabricated, constructed, assembled, modified, maintained, or used.
• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships: Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
• Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information: Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
• Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards: Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
• Getting Information: Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates: Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
• Handling and Moving Objects: Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events: Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material: Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• Interacting With Computers: Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
• Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others: Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
• Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People: Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings: Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• Monitoring and Controlling Resources: Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.
• Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment: Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or water craft.
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work: Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• Performing Administrative Activities: Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
• Performing for or Working Directly with the Public: Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
• Performing General Physical Activities: Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
• Processing Information: Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
• Provide Consultation and Advice to Others: Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
• Repairing and Maintaining Electronic Equipment: Servicing, repairing, calibrating, regulating, fine-tuning, or testing machines, devices, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of electrical or electronic (not mechanical) principles.
• Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment: Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
• Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others: Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
• Scheduling Work and Activities: Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
• Selling or Influencing Others: Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
• Staffing Organizational Units: Recruiting, interviewing, selecting, hiring, and promoting employees in an organization.
• Thinking Creatively: Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
• Training and Teaching Others: Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge: Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Detailed Work Activities

• direct and coordinate activities of workers or staff
• inspect material moving equipment
• load, unload, or stack containers, materials, or products
• maintain or repair construction machinery or equipment
• measure, weigh, or count products or materials
• operate crane in construction, manufacturing or repair setting
• operate earth-moving or other heavy construction equipment
• operate material moving, loading, or unloading equipment
• perform safety inspections in construction or resource extraction setting
• read work order, instructions, formulas, or processing charts
• use hand or power tools
• use measuring devices in construction or extraction work
• perform safety inspections in transportation setting
• plan or organize work
• provide customer service in surface transportation
• read maps
• sell merchandise
• service vehicle with water, fuel, or oil
• transport passengers or cargo
• use established traffic or transportation procedures
• use knowledge of sales contracts
• use local or regional geographical knowledge to transportation
• use vehicle repair tools or safety equipment
• use two-way radio or mobile phone
• understand technical operating, service or repair manuals
• use aircraft safety regulations
• use established traffic or transportation procedures
• use knowledge of geographic coordinates
• use local or regional geographical knowledge to transportation
• use two-way radio or mobile phone
• use visual flight procedures
• work as a team member

Overall Experience
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience may be helpful in these occupations, but usually is not needed. For example, a teller might benefit from experience working directly with the public, but an inexperienced person could still learn to be a teller with little difficulty.

Job Training
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees.

Education
These occupations usually require a high school diploma and may require some vocational training or job-related course work. In some cases, an associate's or bachelor's degree could be needed.

Examples
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include sheet metal workers, forest fire fighters, customer service representatives, pharmacy technicians, salespersons (retail), and tellers.

• Average hourly wage (2007) -$16.37
• Average annual wage (2007) - $34,050.00

• Projected growth (2006-2016): 8.31%
• Projected need (2006-2016): 6,662
• Employment (2006): 80,157

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