Before the asphalt paving crew can work together as a cohesive unit, each member of the team has to know what he’s going to be responsible for. Each person on the crew needs to know what is expected of him, how to do what is expected of him, when to do what is expected of him, and how to do it safely.

That’s not to say each person will take a job description, memorize it, and do no other jobs. Personnel can be cross-trained and should understand what other crew members do, so they can help one another on the job, so they can watch out for one another to improve safety, so they can fill in when someone calls in sick, and so they can move up the ladder of their career.

For an example, look at this picture of the pneumatic-tire roller operator. He is actually the tack wagon driver for his company. He also performs some of the responsibilities you would assign to a general laborer. Because the company cross-trains its workers and has workers like this driver who wish to advance on the crew, each member of the crew is able to do more than just his assigned job duties.

Let’s take a closer look at each member of the asphalt paving crew, focusing on each job description and the basic job responsibilities for each position during a typical paving project.­