Feature -- by Mark Sproxton

Smoothing over what seems like kilometres of dirt, the big, loud yellow grader hardly brings to mind the word sensitive. But housed inside the cab, the operator is exactly that, sensitive to the needs of job. Most roads are built with a two per cent grade, and despite being perched high above the ground behind pounds and pounds of horsepower, the operator can tell by instinct whether or not the ground is set right.

"You get a feel for things after a few years of running them," said Bruce, a grading foreman with Pro-Con Road Works Ltd. "After a while you get the feel from sitting in the grader." And even though the long-time operator said his grader is small compared to some mining trucks, it still weighs 20 tons.

With 25 years experience operating various types of heavy equipment, Bruce has had ample opportunity to enjoy the fruits of his labour. "The best thing about the job is looking behind you and seeing what you've accomplished," he said. As much as he enjoys the work, like any other career, not everything is perfect. "The worst thing is the time you spend in the machine. You do put in a lot of hours."

Working for Pro-Con, Bruce spends the majority of his days helping to build roads, parking lots and with paving. His springs, summers and falls are filled with 10-13 hour days and in the winter, when the industry slows down due to weather, he works in the shop doing maintenance work such as repairing equipment and giving the machines oil changes.

As a kid in high school, Bruce had no idea where his move from the classroom to the work world would lead. "I started out and had an opportunity to run heavy equipment," he said. "I started running a scraper and progressed from there. It's not for everybody, but if you enjoy running heavy equipment you learn every day, from the young guys and the old guys." Regardless of what kind of heavy equipment someone operates, most people begin their career on a smaller machine and learn on-the-job how to handle bigger and more complicated machinery.

Learning is one thing all grader operators must do. To control the equipment, operators use a series of five levers on either side of the steering wheel to move the machine's blade and other parts as required. "You run them all together," Bruce said. "Your hands are busy all day." Even if people say they know how to run equipment, he said there's often one component missing from their list of abilities. "There's a certain type guy it takes to run heavy equipment. You kind of have a knack for it. A lot of guys don't have the common sense to operate equipment at a high level."

And operating at that elevated standard is required as road crews usually set steep daily goals for themselves meaning everyone has to do his job quickly and effectively. A grading crew typically has three to four people that sees gravel get hauled in and spread over an area, packed, watered and graded to specification. Constant communication with others and checking of plans is required.

Over the years Bruce has seen many operators come and go, but recently, even with job opportunities available, he's noticed fewer and fewer young people wanting work as a heavy equipment operator. "It's got kind of a bad rap," he said. "When you first get into this you're making $10 to $12 and hour and people don't stick it out (to see their wage increase). A lot of guys have made a good living at it."

But that good living won't come after the first summer of work. "It takes a few years to where you can support yourself and family," Bruce said. "If you want to make it as a career, work hard and show you want to learn things. Show you're interested. If you ask enough dumb questions you're going to ask a good one eventually. People will respect you more if you ask questions rather than pretend to know everything."