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Operate construction or excavation equipment

Work activity · O*NET

Operate construction or excavation equipment is an intermediate work activity in the O*NET database — a concrete task that recurs across many occupations , grouped under Controlling Machines and Processes. 24 occupations report doing it as part of their work.

What it involves

The most common detailed activities O*NET records under this category, ranked by how many occupation tasks map to each.

  • Operate heavy-duty construction or installation equipment
  • Break up rock, asphalt, or concrete
  • Operate excavation equipment
  • Operate road-surfacing equipment
  • Operate drilling equipment
  • Operate equipment or vehicles to clear construction sites or move materials
  • Operate detonation equipment
  • Operate mining equipment

How AI is applied to this activity

Microsoft's "Working with AI" study mapped real Bing Copilot conversations to O*NET work activities. The figures below are their measurements for this activity — they describe how AI is used today in one assistant's data, not a forecast that the activity will be automated.

AI completes it successfully 100.0% When Copilot attempts this activity, how often it finishes the task
Scope AI handles 0.0% How much of the activity AI carries within a conversation
How often AI is applied here 4th pct Percentile across all measured activities by how often AI performs them

Source: Microsoft "Working with AI" (working-with-ai). A high completion rate means AI can assist the activity in isolation — it does not mean an occupation that performs it is being automated, since every job blends many activities.

Detailed work activities

The more granular units of work O*NET groups under this activity, ordered by how many occupations perform them.

Occupations that perform this activity

Ranked by how many of the occupation's tasks map to this activity.

Occupation Tasks
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators 10
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators 9
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators 6
Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas 5
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining 4
Rock Splitters, Quarry 4
Continuous Mining Machine Operators 3
Dredge Operators 3
Helpers--Electricians 3
Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters 2
Highway Maintenance Workers 2
Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining 2
Pile Driver Operators 2
Roof Bolters, Mining 2
Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas 2
Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners 2
Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas 2
Biomass Plant Technicians 1
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers 1
Construction Laborers 1
Fence Erectors 1
Helpers--Extraction Workers 1
Pipelayers 1
Terrazzo Workers and Finishers 1
Exposure quadrant: AI task-overlap percentile vs Median pay AI task-overlap (horizontal) versus median pay (vertical), each as a percentile across all scored occupations, for 24 occupations in occupations that perform Operate construction or excavation equipment.. Overlap measures shared tasks with AI, not automation. Lower overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · lower pay Lower overlap · lower pay Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers Helpers--Extraction Workers Pile Driver Operators Roof Bolters, Mining Construction Laborers Continuous Mining Machine Operators Helpers--Electricians Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters Biomass Plant Technicians AI task-overlap percentile → ↑ Median pay
Occupations that perform Operate construction or excavation equipment., by AI task-overlap and median pay

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Operate construction or excavation equipment." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/activities/operate-construction-or-excavation-equipment

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Operate construction or excavation equipment. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/activities/operate-construction-or-excavation-equipment

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-operate-construction-or-excavation-equipment,
  title  = {Operate construction or excavation equipment},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/activities/operate-construction-or-excavation-equipment}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.