AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 47-2073.00

Will AI replace Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators?

Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators: AI does not yet handle any of the role's 26 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs an efficient-tier model.

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Every task, scored

The 26 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators, from most to least exposed. None reaches 60, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
Coordinate machine actions with other activities, positioning or moving loads in response to hand or audio signals from crew members. 50 Estimated Efficient 4.5
Talk to clients and study instructions, plans, or diagrams to establish work requirements. 50 Estimated Efficient 4.2
Repair and maintain equipment, making emergency adjustments or assisting with major repairs as necessary. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.4
Operate equipment to demolish or remove debris or to remove snow from streets, roads, or parking lots. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.8
Learn and follow safety regulations. 15 Estimated No tier 4.9
Take actions to avoid potential hazards or obstructions, such as utility lines, other equipment, other workers, or falling objects. 15 Estimated No tier 4.7
Check fuel supplies at sites to ensure adequate availability. 15 Estimated No tier 4.7
Start engines, move throttles, switches, or levers, or depress pedals to operate machines, such as bulldozers, trench excavators, road graders, or backhoes. 15 Estimated No tier 4.6
Locate underground services, such as pipes or wires, prior to beginning work. 15 Estimated No tier 4.5
Align machines, cutterheads, or depth gauge makers with reference stakes and guidelines or ground or position equipment, following hand signals of other workers. 15 Estimated No tier 4.5
Signal operators to guide movement of tractor-drawn machines. 15 Estimated No tier 4.4
Load and move dirt, rocks, equipment, or other materials, using trucks, crawler tractors, power cranes, shovels, graders, or related equipment. 15 Estimated No tier 4.3
Operate tractors or bulldozers to perform such tasks as clearing land, mixing sludge, trimming backfills, or building roadways or parking lots. 15 Estimated No tier 4.3
Monitor operations to ensure that health and safety standards are met. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Connect hydraulic hoses, belts, mechanical linkages, or power takeoff shafts to tractors. 15 Estimated No tier 4.1
Select and fasten bulldozer blades or other attachments to tractors, using hitches. 15 Estimated No tier 4.1
Operate loaders to pull out stumps, rip asphalt or concrete, rough-grade properties, bury refuse, or perform general cleanup. 15 Estimated No tier 4.0
Adjust handwheels and depress pedals to control attachments, such as blades, buckets, scrapers, or swing booms. 15 Estimated No tier 3.8
Keep records of material or equipment usage or problems encountered. 15 Estimated No tier 3.8
Push other equipment when extra traction or assistance is required. 15 Estimated No tier 3.6
Operate road watering, oiling, or rolling equipment, or street sealing equipment, such as chip spreaders. 15 Estimated No tier 3.4
Operate compactors, scrapers, or rollers to level, compact, or cover refuse at disposal grounds. 15 Estimated No tier 3.3
Test atmosphere for adequate oxygen or explosive conditions when working in confined spaces. 15 Estimated No tier 3.2
Turn valves to control air or water output of compressors or pumps. 15 Estimated No tier 3.1
Drive and maneuver equipment equipped with blades in successive passes over working areas to remove topsoil, vegetation, or rocks or to distribute and level earth or terrain. 8 Estimated No tier 4.3
Drive tractor-trailer trucks to move equipment from site to site. 8 Estimated No tier 3.8

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 26 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 26 of 26. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.

The model tier this role needs

An efficient-tier model or lower covers 16% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 16% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 84% is hands-on.

Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.

Wages, employment and outlook

US employment
478,090
Median annual wage
$59,850
Middle half of earners
$48,680 to $77,170
Projected change, 2024 to 2034
+3.6%

Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.

Adjacent roles

The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.

Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.

Questions about Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators and AI

Will AI replace Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators?

Not on current evidence. None of the 26 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation reaches a task exposure of 60, the level at which JobRoute counts a task as handled by AI, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 18 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears.

What is the AI exposure of Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators?

18 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 26 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 26 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators tasks can AI already do?

None reaches 60 yet. The most exposed task is: Coordinate machine actions with other activities, positioning or moving loads in response to hand or audio signals from crew members, at 50 out of 100.

What AI model tier does this role need?

An efficient-tier model or lower covers 16% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 84% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.

How many people work as Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators, and what do they earn?

478,090 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $59,850 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +3.6% from 2024 to 2034.

How to cite

Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.

JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/operating-engineers-and-other-construction-equipment-operators

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