Heavy Equipment Operator Jobs

The oil and gas industry is all about locating, extracting, and transporting resources, and it takes heavy equipment and skilled operators to get the job done. An oilfield heavy equipment operator might run a variety of types of equipment, including:

• Bulldozers to push large amount of dirt, sand, rock, and gravel to tear up terrain
• Caterpillars, sometimes called “Cats,” which may refer to hydraulic excavators, backhoe loaders, motor graders, off-highway trucks, and wheel loaders made by the company Caterpillar, the world’s largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment
• Road graders use “blades to spread and level the earth to build and maintain dirt and gravel roads
• Trenchers to dig trenches for laying pipes or cables, or installing drainage
• Backhoes  to dig trenches and ditches, and load, scoop, and dump heavy materials such as dirt and rock
• Power shovels to dig and load dirt and rock, and also to extract minerals from the earth
• Bobcats to push materials from one location to another or load it into a truck or trailer
• Forklifts to lift and carry materials around the job site

One of the most important aspects of the job is to operate heavy equipment in a safe and effect manner, minimizing the risk of injury and property damage. Operators must be well-rounded, with knowledge of safety, equipment operation and maintenance, and the ability to work independently and maintain a busy work schedule.

What Heavy Equipment Operators Do