What Are Some Heavy Equipment Construction Skills?
If your desire is to work on construction sites, perhaps executing tasks such as operating a dump truck to transport dirt, then acquire the skill and expertise to safely and efficiently operate heavy equipment used in construction. To aid you, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has specific rules and guidelines that all construction equipment operators must learn. Even if you never use every piece of equipment, you must know what each one is used for.
Other People Are Reading
-
Crane Operation
-
Crane operation is a skill construction equipment operators use in residential and commercial construction. Roof trusses are built on the ground or purchased premade. So you'd use a crane to lift them to the top of the building. Also use a crane to lift air-conditioning equipment to the top of commercial buildings. Always have a person on the ground giving you guidance -- the "rigger." The rigger gives instructions, using hand signals, which indicate what direction to move the load.
Bulldozers, Scrapers and Graders
-
Bulldozers, scrapers and graders are usually the first pieces of equipment you use on a construction site. Completely clear and level the land by using a bucket attached to the front of the bulldozer to scoop up and smooth out the ground. Also use the bulldozer to load trucks with dirt, sand gravel or other material that you must remove from the site. Use scrapers and graders for the final leveling of the ground and for driveways and garage entrances on construction sites.
-
Backhoes
-
Use a backhoe for digging on construction sites. You might start with the footings for the building. Dig trenches for buried cables, such as electric, gas, sewer and water lines. Operating a backhoe requires extensive knowledge on digging trenches. OSHA has specific guidelines that you must follow to keep the trenches safe for workers. Some of these rules pertain to the mechanical support that you may need and the regulations on the angle of the slope of the trench walls.
Forklifts and Front Loaders
-
Use forklifts to move materials that are on the ground to specific locations on the site, for example, stacks of plywood, drywall, lumber and roofing materials. The stacks are normally on pallets so you can pick them up with the forks on the front of the forklift. A front loader, or front-end loader, does not have forks but has a large bucket, which you can use for lifting as well.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
