45-2091.00 · Learning planner
Agricultural Equipment Operators: a task-based learning plan
Drive and control equipment to support agricultural activities such as tilling soil; planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops; feeding and herding livestock; or removing animal waste. May perform tasks such as crop baling or hay bucking. May operate stationary equipment to perform post-harvest tasks such as husking, shelling, threshing, and ginning.
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Understand the profile before choosing priorities
The table shows the ten highest importance ratings among 33 skills with usable ratings. Skills tied on importance can share a rank. Importance (1–5) and level (0–7) describe different dimensions. A level of 4 is not 4/7 of a course, and neither scale is your personal score. Source dates refer to the underlying rating, not the database release date.
| Skill | Importance / 5 | Level / 7 | Rating date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operation and Control | 3.88 | 3.75 | 08/2019 · Analyst |
| Operations Monitoring | 3.75 | 3.62 | 08/2019 · Analyst |
| Troubleshooting | 3.12 | 3.00 | 08/2019 · Analyst |
| Equipment Maintenance | 3.00 | 3.00 | 08/2019 · Analyst |
| Repairing | 3.00 | 3.00 | 08/2019 · Analyst |
| Active Listening | 3.00 | 2.88 | 08/2019 · Analyst |
| Quality Control Analysis | 3.00 | 2.75 | 08/2019 · Analyst |
| Critical Thinking | 2.88 | 2.75 | 08/2019 · Analyst |
| Social Perceptiveness | 2.88 | 2.12 | 08/2019 · Analyst |
| Speaking | 2.75 | 2.62 | 08/2019 · Analyst |
Anchor the plan in an actual task
Choose one reported task you want to understand better. Then choose one to three skills and describe an appropriate learning activity, evidence you will review and a date. For practical work requiring authorization, choose relevant coursework, observation or supervised training.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for agricultural equipment operators.
Level 4: Adjust the speed of assembly line equipment based on the product being assembled
Level 2: Navigate the settings on an office printer to print on both sides of the paper
Which authorized training and documented operating limits would you need to understand first?
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for agricultural equipment operators.
Level 4: Monitor machine functions on an automated production line
Level 2: Monitor completion times while running a computer program
Which indicator would you observe, what is its expected range, and how would you record an exception?
Troubleshooting
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for agricultural equipment operators.
Level 2: Identify the source of a leak by looking under a machine
Level 4: Identify the circuit causing an electrical system to fail
Which observations would distinguish two possible causes before changing anything?
Equipment Maintenance
Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for agricultural equipment operators.
Level 2: Add oil to an engine as indicated by a warning light
Level 4: Clean moving parts in production machinery
What maintenance record or approved schedule would help you understand the task?
Repairing
Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for agricultural equipment operators.
Level 2: Tighten a screw to get a door to close properly
Level 4: Replace a faulty hydraulic valve
What fault evidence, authorized training and documented repair procedure would be needed?
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.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for agricultural equipment operators.
Level 2: Take a customer's order
Level 4: Answer inquiries regarding credit references
What would you ask the other person to clarify, and how would you confirm you understood?
Quality Control Analysis
Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for agricultural equipment operators.
Level 2: Inspect a draft email for errors (e.g., grammar, punctuation)
Level 4: Assess new parts for precision and accuracy to specifications
What is being checked, what defines a defect, and what evidence would be retained?
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for agricultural equipment operators.
Level 2: Determine whether a subordinate has a good excuse for being late
Level 4: Evaluate customer complaints and determine appropriate responses
What assumption could change your conclusion, and what evidence would you check first?
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for agricultural equipment operators.
Level 2: Notice that customers are angry because they have been waiting too long
Level 4: Be aware of how a coworker's promotion will affect a work group
What perspective or concern might another person bring to this task?
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for agricultural equipment operators.
Level 2: Greet tourists and explain tourist attractions
Level 4: Interview applicants to obtain personal and work history
How would you explain the task, audience needs and next step in a short conversation?
Review the result
Your plan should explain why the selected skills matter for your chosen task, what you will do next and what evidence you will examine. Revisit the plan after that activity. Completing a worksheet or matching an occupation’s ratings does not establish professional competence.
Keep your worksheet
Download before leaving this page. Unsaved writing remains only in the page and is cleared on refresh. Notes and learning actions are not sent to a server. This guide describes an occupation and supports study planning; it does not provide clinical, legal or equipment-operating procedures.
Source and practice material
Occupational context uses the O*NET® 31.0 Database from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under CC BY 4.0. View the occupation.
Skill Workbench selected and adapted the occupational information and added its own fictional cases, calculations, guidance and worksheets. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.