Occupation Summary

Logging Equipment Operators

O*NET 45-4022.00

Description:

Drive logging tractor or wheeled vehicle equipped with one or more accessories, such as bulldozer blade, frontal shear, grapple, logging arch, cable winches, hoisting rack, or crane boom, to fell tree; to skid, load, unload, or stack logs; or to pull stumps or clear brush. Includes operating stand-alone logging machines, such as log chippers.

Annual Wages:
$54,176.00
Employment Rate:
Employment is expected to increase by -3.58%.
Education Level:
Less than a High School Diploma. According to O*Net, the majority of people employed in this occupation have this level of education.
Endorsement:
Business and Industry

  1. Inspect equipment for safety prior to use, and perform necessary basic maintenance tasks.
  2. Drive straight or articulated tractors equipped with accessories such as bulldozer blades, grapples, logging arches, cable winches, and crane booms to skid, load, unload, or stack logs, pull stumps, or clear brush.
  3. Drive crawler or wheeled tractors to drag or transport logs from felling sites to log landing areas for processing and loading.
  4. Drive tractors for building or repairing logging and skid roads.
  5. Grade logs according to characteristics such as knot size and straightness, and according to established industry or company standards.
  6. Control hydraulic tractors equipped with tree clamps and booms to lift, swing, and bunch sheared trees.
  7. Drive and maneuver tractors and tree harvesters to shear the tops off of trees, cut and limb the trees, and cut the logs into desired lengths.
  8. Fill out required job or shift report forms.
  9. Calculate total board feet, cordage, or other wood measurement units, using conversion tables.


National Industry Employment Patterns


Industry % of Logging Equipment Operators employed Annual Growth Rate
Logging 52.4 -0.44
Sawmills and wood preservation 9.4 0.59
Services to buildings and dwellings 3 0.00


Labor Market Information


2024 Statewide average hourly wage $26.05
2024 National average hourly wage $25.01
2022 National employment 35,300
2022 Texas employment 1,395
Texas projected employment by 2032 1,345
Texas projected annual employment and Turnover openings through 2032 190




TEXAS COUNTY MAP BY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AREA
* Due to confidentiality rules, not all regions may have the data displayed. The sum of all the regions may not be equal to the state total.


Top 10 Relevant Knowledge Areas Relevant Importance Levels
Mechanical
Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
84.20%
Public Safety and Security
Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
70.00%
Production and Processing
Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
67.60%
Transportation
Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
53.20%
Administration and Management
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
46.00%
Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
41.60%
Engineering and Technology
Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
40.00%
Mathematics
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
38.40%
Physics
Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
38.40%
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
38.00%


Top 10 Relevant Skill Areas Relevant Importance Levels
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
80.00%
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
75.00%
Equipment Maintenance
Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
62.40%
Troubleshooting
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
60.00%
Quality Control Analysis
Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
60.00%
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
60.00%
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
60.00%
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
57.60%
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
57.60%
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
57.60%


Top 10 Relevant Abilities Relevant Importance Levels
Control Precision
The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
80.00%
Reaction Time
The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
77.60%
Arm-Hand Steadiness
The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
75.00%
Multilimb Coordination
The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
75.00%
Depth Perception
The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
72.40%
Far Vision
The ability to see details at a distance.
70.00%
Response Orientation
The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
70.00%
Rate Control
The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
70.00%
Problem Sensitivity
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
70.00%
Near Vision
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
65.00%


  • Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment
    -- Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.
  • Controlling Machines and Processes
    -- Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
  • Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment
    -- Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
  • Getting Information
    -- Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
    -- Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Other Activities


  • Independence
    - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
  • Support
    - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.

No certifications found.


Tools

Articulating boom lift: Truck mounted boom loaders;

Cargo trucks: Log transport trucks;

Chain saw: Heavy duty chainsaws;

Claw hammer: Nailing hammers;

Conventional truck cranes: Tractor cranes;

Desktop computers: Desktop computers;

Flatbed trailers: Log trailers; Equipment trailers;

Forestry saws: Tree saws;

Forestry skidders: Grapple skidders; Cable skidders;

Grapples: Yarding grapples; Loading grapples;

Hoes: Forestry hoes;

Lumbering equipment: Delimbers; Drive-to-tree feller bunchers; Felling heads; Forestry swing machines; Forwarders; Grapple yarders; Harvesting heads; Log forks; Log loaders; Knuckleboom loaders; Processing heads; Tracked feller bunchers; Tracked harvesters; Wheeled harvesters;

Measuring tapes: Loggers' tapes;

Pocket knives: Pocket knives;

Safety glasses: Protective safety glasses;

Scarifiers: Scarifier attachments;

Stackers: Log stackers;

Tablet computers: Tablet computers;

Tire pressure gauge: Digital tire pressure gauges;

Treedozers: Forestry crawler dozers;

Two way radios: Mobile radios;

Winches: Log winches;


Technology

Data base user interface and query software: BCS Woodlands Systems The Logger Tracker;

Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook;

Enterprise resource planning ERP software: SAP software;

Human resources software: TradeTec TallyWorks TimeTracker;

Inventory management software: TradeTec TallyWorks Logs;

Office suite software: Microsoft Office software;

Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel;

Word processing software: Microsoft Word;


Related O*NET occupational titles for Logging Equipment Operators include:
  • 45-2091.00 Agricultural Equipment Operators
  • 47-5041.00 Continuous Mining Machine Operators
  • 53-7021.00 Crane and Tower Operators
  • 47-5022.00 Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
  • 45-4021.00 Fallers
  • 53-7041.00 Hoist and Winch Operators
  • 53-7051.00 Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
  • 47-5044.00 Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining
  • 45-4023.00 Log Graders and Scalers
  • 47-2073.00 Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators


Sources of Additional Information
  • For information about timber-cutting and logging careers, visit: Forest Resources Association
  • Fallers
  • Log Graders and Scalers
  • Logging Equipment Operators
  • Logging Workers, All Other

  • Contact Texas Workforce Commission
    Labor Market and Career Information  |  101 E. 15th Street, Annex Room 0252  |  Austin, Texas 78778
    Official Website  |  1-800-822-PLAN (7526)  |  512.936.3200

    ** The information in this report may be derived from many sources like O*NET, BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), OOH (Occupational Outlook Handbook), and Career One Stop.