An operating engineer is a highly skilled worker who operates and maintains heavy construction equipment on a construction site. They are also known as heavy equipment operators, and they cover a variety of job classifications in industries such as highway and building construction. Operating Engineers are the first on a construction job and the last off, and they are responsible for surveying the sites, making the cuts, hoisting the steel and slabs, doing the final grading, operating and maintaining the finished product. They operate a wide range of heavy equipment, including cranes, bulldozers, front-end loaders, rollers, backhoes, graders, dredges, hoists, drills, pumps, and compressors. They work in private industry and in various areas of public employment such as hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and government complexes.
Being an operating engineer requires good hand-eye coordination and a high level of physical stamina. The work is sometimes hazardous, and the equipment is very noisy. Almost all of the work performed by Operating Engineers, including some of the mechanics work, takes place outdoors, in all kinds of weather and conditions.
In summary, an operating engineer is a highly skilled worker who operates and maintains heavy construction equipment on a construction site. They are responsible for surveying the sites, making the cuts, hoisting the steel and slabs, doing the final grading, operating and maintaining the finished product. They operate a wide range of heavy equipment, and they work in private industry and in various areas of public employment such as hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and government complexes.
