With a tight labor market and construction still booming in many regions of the country, one category of worker that has felt stretched thin has been equipment operators. Generational retirements and a reshuffling of the general workforce known colloquially as the “Great Resignation” has many contractors eager to fill positions, and others are looking at unconventional training regimens and emerging automation solutions to help meet their schedules and budgets.
But while construction goes through its boom and bust cycles, many contractors are using the current situation to examine how the role of the equipment operator is changing as new technologies upend traditional construction processes.