Equipment Operator I

Public Works Construction and Road Maintenance

The purpose of the class is to operate heavy machinery in the performance of various Public Works construction and road maintenance duties throughout Richland County. This class works according to established procedures but determines how and when work is performed.

Essential Functions:

• Maintains and operates a variety of heavy machinery, including dump trucks, excavators, farm tractors, dozers, skid steers, front-end loaders, and backhoes, in the performance of assigned duties.
• Operates Class A trucks and trailers.
• Assists with road and concrete construction and maintenance, including preparing and paving roads; repairing concrete and asphalt driveway aprons; and removing and replacing sidewalks, curbs, and roads.
• Assists with digging ditches and the placement and installation of underground pipes.
• Performs daily inspections and field checks of current and future projects.
• Delivers gravel and other materials to work sites.
• Operates lawn maintenance and light machinery equipment, including weed eaters, leaf blowers, chainsaws, and lawnmowers, to maintain sidewalks and roadways and clear debris from walkways and roads.
• Assists with debris removal from residences, roadways, and other locations throughout the County.
• Monitors assigned equipment to ensure proper operating condition and performs preventive maintenance as needed.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Education and Training:

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• One (1) year of related experience.

-or-

• Any combination of education and experience that meets the requirements for performing the essential functions of this job.

Licenses/Certifications/Other:

• Must possess a valid state Class A commercial driver's license or be able to obtain within six months of hire.

Minimum Qualifications and Standards Required:

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Data Involvement: Requires coordinating or determining time, place, or sequence of operations or activities based on analysis of data or information and may implement and report on operations and activities.
• People Involvement: Requires counseling or instructing/training others through explanation, demonstration and supervised practice or making recommendations based on technical expertise.
• Involvement with Things: Requires handling or using machines requiring moderate instruction and experience such as specialty equipment and tools, computers, and software programs such as word processing, spreadsheets or custom applications.
• Reasoning Requirements: Requires performing skilled work involving rules/systems with constant problem-solving.
• Mathematical Requirements: Requires using mathematics involving the practical application of fractions, percentages, ratios and proportions, or measurements, logarithmic or geometric construction.
• Language Requirements: Requires reading routine sentences, instructions, regulations, procedures or work orders; writing routine sentences and completing routine job forms and incident reports; speaking routine sentences using proper grammar.
• Mental Requirements: Requires doing clerical, manual, or technical tasks requiring a wide range of procedures and requiring intensive understanding of a restricted field or complete familiarity with the functions of a unit or small division of an operating agency; requires normal attention with short periods of concentration for accurate results or occasional exposure to unusual pressure.
• Computer Requirements: Must be proficient in use of Microsoft Office.
• Judgments and Decisions: Is under general supervision; must be able to apply independent judgment and discretion.

Physical Requirements:

The work is heavy to very heavy work which requires the person to occasionally exert in excess of 100 pounds of force occasionally, and/or in excess of 50 pounds of force frequently, and/or in excess of 20 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Additionally, the following physical abilities are required:

• Balancing: Maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling while walking, standing, or crouching on narrow, slippery, or erratically moving surfaces. The amount of balancing exceeds that needed for ordinary locomotion and maintenance of body equilibrium.
• Climbing: A scending or descending ladders, stairs, scaffolding, ramps, poles and the like, using feet and legs and/or hands and arms. Body agility is emphasized.
• Crouching: Bending the body downward and forward by bending leg and spine.
• Feeling: Perceiving attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature or texture by touching with skin, particularly that of fingertips.
• Grasping: Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm.
• Handling: Picking, holding, or otherwise working, primarily with the whole hand.
• Hearing: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination in sound.
• Kneeling: Bending legs at knee to come to a rest on knee or knees.
• Lifting: Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position-to-position. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires substantial use of upper extremities and back muscles.
• Manual Dexterity: Picking, pinching, typing, or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand as in handling.
• Mental Acuity: Ability to make rational decisions through sound logic and deductive processes.
• Pulling: Using upper extremities to exert force in order to draw, haul or tug objects in a sustained motion.
• Pushing: Using upper extremities to press against something with steady force in order to thrust forward, downward or outward.
• Reaching: Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction.
• Repetitive Motion: Substantial movements (motions) of the wrist, hands, and/or fingers.
• Speaking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including the ability to convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately and concisely.
• Standing: Particularly for sustained periods of time.
• Stooping: Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires full motion of the lower extremities and back muscles.
• Talking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly. Shouting in order to be heard above ambient noise level.
• Visual Acuity: Have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; and/or extensive reading. Including color, depth perception, and field vision. Visual Acuity to determine the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of the work assigned or to make general observations of facilities or structures. Have visual acuity to operate motor vehicles and/or heavy equipment.
• Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another.

Work Environment:

May be required to work hours other than the regular schedule including nights, weekends, and holidays. This position requires regular and reliable attendance and the employee's physical presence at the workplace. The job may risk exposure to bright/dim light, dusts and pollen, extreme heat and/or cold, wet or humid conditions, extreme noise levels, vibration, fumes and/or noxious odors, traffic, moving machinery, electrical shock, heights, toxic/caustic chemicals. Work is performed in an environment with heavy equipment and machinery that could result in bodily harm to co-workers or others.

EEO and ADA Message:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the essential job functions satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the primary job functions described herein. Since every duty associated with this position may not be described herein, employees may be required to perform duties not specifically spelled out in the job description, but which may be reasonably considered to be incidental in the performing of their duties just as though they were written out in this job description.

Richland County is an Equal Opportunity Employer. ADA requires the County to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Prospective and current employees are invited to discuss accommodations.

Richland County has the right to revise this job description at any time. This description does not represent in any way a contract of employment.