Task statements

  • Read plans, instructions, or specifications to determine work activities.
  • Tend pumps, compressors, or generators to provide power for tools, machinery, or equipment or to heat or move materials, such as asphalt.
  • Lubricate, clean, or repair machinery, equipment, or tools.
  • Signal equipment operators to facilitate alignment, movement, or adjustment of machinery, equipment, or materials.
  • Measure, mark, or record openings or distances to layout areas where construction work will be performed.
  • Clean or prepare construction sites to eliminate possible hazards.
  • Dig ditches or trenches, backfill excavations, or compact and level earth to grade specifications, using picks, shovels, pneumatic tampers, or rakes.
  • Load, unload, or identify building materials, machinery, or tools, distributing them to the appropriate locations, according to project plans or specifications.
  • Position, join, align, or seal structural components, such as concrete wall sections or pipes.
  • Perform site activities required of green certified construction practices, such as implementing waste management procedures, identifying materials for reuse, or installing erosion or sedimentation control mechanisms.
  • Control traffic passing near, in, or around work zones.
  • Install sewer, water, or storm drain pipes, using pipe-laying machinery or laser guidance equipment.
  • Operate or maintain air monitoring or other sampling devices in confined or hazardous environments.
  • Smooth or finish freshly poured cement or concrete, using floats, trowels, screeds, or powered cement finishing tools.
  • Erect or dismantle scaffolding, shoring, braces, traffic barricades, ramps, or other temporary structures.
  • Provide assistance to craft workers, such as carpenters, plasterers, or masons.
  • Spray materials, such as water, sand, steam, vinyl, paint, or stucco, through hoses to clean, coat, or seal surfaces.
  • Raze buildings or salvage useful materials.
  • Mop, brush, or spread paints, cleaning solutions, or other compounds over surfaces to clean them or to provide protection.
  • Position or dismantle forms for pouring concrete, using saws, hammers, nails, or bolts.
  • Grind, scrape, sand, or polish surfaces, such as concrete, marble, terrazzo, or wood flooring, using abrasive tools or machines.
  • Place, consolidate, or protect case-in-place concrete or masonry structures.
  • Mix ingredients to create compounds for covering or cleaning surfaces.
  • Mix, pour, or spread concrete, using portable cement mixers.
  • Operate jackhammers or drills to break up concrete or pavement.
  • Apply caulking compounds by hand or caulking guns to protect against entry of water or air.
  • Tend machines that pump concrete, grout, cement, sand, plaster, or stucco through spray guns for application to ceilings or walls.

Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.