Material moving occupationsMaterial moving workers are categorized into two groups—operators and laborers. Operators use machinery to move construction materials, earth, petroleum products, and other heavy materials. Generally, they move materials over short distances—around a construction site, factory, or warehouse. Some move materials onto or off of trucks and ships. Operators control equipment by moving levers or foot pedals, operating switches, or turning dials. They may also set up and inspect equipment, make adjustments, and perform minor repairs when needed. Laborers and hand material movers manually handle freight, stock, or other materials; clean vehicles, machinery, and other equipment; feed materials into or remove materials from machines or equipment; and pack or package products and materials. Material moving occupations are classified by the type of equipment they operate or goods they handle. Each piece of equipment requires different skills to move different types of loads. (For information on operating engineers; paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators; and piledriver operators, see the statement on construction equipment operators elsewhere in the Handbook.) Industrial truck and tractor operators drive and control industrial trucks or tractors equipped to move materials around a warehouse, storage yard, factory, or construction site. A typical industrial truck, often called a forklift or lift truck, has a hydraulic lifting mechanism and forks. Industrial truck and tractor operators also may operate tractors that pull trailers loaded with materials, goods, or equipment within factories and warehouses, or around outdoor storage areas. Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators operate or tend machinery equipped with scoops, shovels, or buckets, to dig and load sand, gravel, earth, or similar materials into trucks or onto conveyors. Construction and mining industries employ the majority of excavation and loading machine and dragline operators. Dredge operators excavate and maintain navigable channels in waterways by operating dredges to remove sand, gravel, or other materials from lakes, rivers, or streams. Underground mining loading machine operators operate underground loading machine to load coal, ore, or rock into shuttle or mine car or onto conveyors. Loading equipment may include power shovels, hoisting engines equipped with cable-drawn scraper or scoop, or machines equipped with gathering arms and conveyor. Crane and tower operators operate mechanical boom and cable or tower and cable equipment to lift and move materials, machinery, or other heavy objects. They extend or retract a horizontally mounted boom to lower or raise a hook attached to the loadline. Most operators coordinate their maneuvers in response to hand signals and radioed instructions. Operators position the loads from the onboard console or from a remote console at the site. While crane and tower operators are noticeable at office building and other construction sites, the biggest group works in primary metal, metal fabrication, and transportation equipment manufacturing industries that use heavy, bulky materials. Hoist and winch operators control movement of cables, cages, and platforms to move workers and materials for manufacturing, logging, and other industrial operations. They work in such positions as derrick operators and hydraulic boom operators. Many hoist and winch operators are found in manufacturing or construction industries. Pump operators and their helpers tend, control, or operate power-driven pumps and manifold systems that transfer gases, oil, or other materials to vessels or equipment. They maintain the equipment to regulate the flow of materials according to a schedule set up by petroleum engineers and production supervisors. Gas compressor and gas pumping station operators operate steam, gas, electric motor, or internal combustion engine-driven compressors. They transmit, compress, or recover gases, such as butane, nitrogen, hydrogen, and natural gas. Wellhead pumpers operate power pumps and auxiliary equipment to produce flow of oil or gas from wells in oilfields. Tank, car, truck, and ship loaders operate ship loading and unloading equipment, conveyors, hoists, and other specialized material handling equipment such as railroad tank car unloading equipment. They may gauge or sample shipping tanks and test them for leaks. Conveyor operators and tenders control or tend conveyor systems that move materials to or from stockpiles, processing stations, departments, or vehicles. Shuttle car operators operate diesel or electric-powered shuttle car in underground mine to transport materials from working face to mine cars or conveyor. Laborers and hand freight, stock, and material movers manually move materials or perform other unskilled general labor. These workers move freight, stock, and other materials to and from storage and production areas, loading docks, delivery vehicles, ships, and containers. Their specific duties vary by industry and work setting. Specialized workers within this group include baggage and cargo handlers, who work in transportation industries, and truck loaders and unloaders. In factories, they may move raw materials or finished goods between loading docks, storage areas, and work areas as well as sort materials and supplies and prepare them according to their work orders Hand packers and packagers manually pack, package, or wrap a variety of materials. They may inspect items for defects, label cartons, stamp information on products, keep records of items packed, and stack packages on loading docks. This group also includes order fillers, who pack materials for shipment, as well as grocery store courtesy clerks. In grocery stores, they may bag groceries, carry packages to customers� cars, and return shopping carts to designated areas. Machine feeders and offbearers feed materials into or remove materials from automatic equipment or machines tended by other workers. Cleaners of vehicles and equipment clean machinery, vehicles, storage tanks, pipelines, and similar equipment using water and other cleaning agents, vacuums, hoses, brushes, cloths, and other cleaning equipment. Refuse and recyclable material collectors gather trash, garbage, and recyclables from homes and businesses along a regularly scheduled route, and deposit the refuse in their truck for transport to a dump, landfill, or recycling center. They lift and empty garbage cans or recycling bins by hand, or operate a hydraulic lift truck that picks up and empties dumpsters. Related news articles Ride will be halfway up; hikers can go rest of way - Oct 1, 2006 Arizona Daily Star,..."There will continue to be material moving through the system, coming off those hillsides until they're stabilized," Griffiths said. ... Cosmic doughnuts linked to massive stars - Sep 28, 2006 CNN..."For the first time, we have revealed the simultaneous presence in the same massive object of material moving outward, material moving inward, and rotation ... NASA orbiter HiRISE camera sends images of Victoria crater - Oct 7, 2006 Hindu,HiRISE's stunning overview of Victoria crater shows a distinctive scalloped shape to its rim. This is formed by eroding crater wall material moving downhill. ... Hispanic Heritage Month September 15 - October 15; Hispanic ... - Sep 18, 2006 RTO Online,...sales and office jobs, 15 percent in construction, extraction and maintenance jobs and 19 percent in production, transportation and material moving occupations ... Extent of Sabino Canyon damage still being assessed - Oct 1, 2006 KVOA.com,..."There will continue to be material moving through the system, coming off those hillsides until they're stabilized," said Peter Griffiths of the USGS. ... South state counties' wages beat the national average - Sep 29, 2006 OCRegister,...in Southern California fell below the national average: Production workers earned 1 percent less and those in transportation and material moving were 3 percent ... A hard drive for success - Sep 29, 2006 Bradenton Herald,...occupations. Men used computers less often in occupations that included construction and transportation and material-moving jobs. ... Index: St. Louis job market improved in August - Sep 20, 2006 St. Louis Business Journal,The five areas that experienced a slowdown were: life, physical and social science; health-care support; transportation and material moving; and military ... Report puts employee compensation at $26.86 per hour - Sep 22, 2006 Reliable Plant Magazine,Sales and office occupations averaged 57 cents; production, transportation and material moving occupations, 82 cents; and natural resources, construction and ... Below average - Sep 29, 2006 Ocala.com,...it. Of nine occupational groups, Ocala equaled the national average pay in only one - transportation and material moving. Scores ... More information on Material moving occupations from The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook Overview of Material moving occupations occupation Number of Material moving occupations in the U.S. Salary and earnings for Material moving occupations Working conditions for Material moving occupations Significant points for Material moving occupations Training requirements for Material moving occupations Labor Information Home | Occupational data by city | Search Rainforests | Madagascar | What's new |