# Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

> Operate equipment used for applying concrete, asphalt, or other materials to road beds, parking lots, or airport runways and taxiways or for tamping gravel, dirt, or other materials. Includes concrete and asphalt paving machine operators, form tampers, tamping machine operators, and stone spreader operators.

- **SOC code:** 47-2071.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-47-2071-00
- **Also known as:** Equipment Operator (EO), Paver Operator, Roller Operator, Screed Operator, Asphalt Paver Operator, Asphalt Paving Machine Operator, Asphalt Raker, Asphalt Roller Operator
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Start machine, engage clutch, and push and move levers to guide machine along forms or guidelines and to control the operation of machine attachments.
- Fill tanks, hoppers, or machines with paving materials.
- Control paving machines to push dump trucks and to maintain a constant flow of asphalt or other material into hoppers or screeds.
- Observe distribution of paving material to adjust machine settings or material flow, and indicate low spots for workers to add material.
- Coordinate truck dumping.
- Drive machines onto truck trailers, and drive trucks to transport machines and material to and from job sites.
- Inspect, clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using mechanics' hand tools, or report malfunctions to supervisors.
- Set up and tear down equipment.
- Operate machines to spread, smooth, level, or steel-reinforce stone, concrete, or asphalt on road beds.
- Light burners or start heating units of machines, and regulate screed temperatures and asphalt flow rates.
- Control traffic.
- Place strips of material, such as cork, asphalt, or steel into joints, or place rolls of expansion-joint material on machines that automatically insert material.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Control Precision _(ability)_
- Building and Construction _(knowledge)_
- Operations Monitoring _(transferable_skill)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Operation and Control _(transferable_skill)_
- Multilimb Coordination _(ability)_
- Mechanical _(knowledge)_
- Monitoring _(essential_skill)_
- Rate Control _(ability)_
- Reaction Time _(ability)_
- Static Strength _(ability)_
- Trunk Strength _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Visualization _(Specialized Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Excel _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Depth Perception _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Finger Dexterity _(Common Skill)_
- Equipment Maintenance _(Specialized Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Database software
- Email software
- HCSS HeavyBid
- Time report software
- Warehouse management system WMS

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 2nd percentile (Low) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 11th percentile (Low) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 3rd percentile (Low) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 1st percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 68th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 3.2% growth (About average); 4k annual openings; 47k → 48.6k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $51,650; 45,680 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-47-2071-00_