83110 Logging machinery operators

What this occupation covers

Logging machinery operators operate cable yarding systems, mechanical harvesters and forwarders and mechanical tree processors and loaders to fell, yard and process trees at logging sites. They are employed by logging companies and contractors.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 3 main duties for this code.

• Operate machines to transport trees from logging areas to landing or log loading sites in mountainous terrain in western Canada.
• Assess site and terrain and drive heavy equipment to perform a combination of felling, slashing, bucking, bunching and forwarding operations at logging areas.
• Operate a variety of machines which perform a combination of slashing, bucking, chipping, sorting and loading logs or trees at landing sites.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 3 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 84110 Chain saw and skidder operators
• 73400 Heavy equipment operators
• 84111 Silviculture and forestry workers
• 82010 Supervisors, logging and forestry
• 73300 Transport truck drivers

Excluded from this code

• Chain saw and skidder operators (See 84110 Chain saw and skidder operators)
• Heavy equipment operators (See 73400 Heavy equipment operators)
• Silviculture and forestry workers (See 84111 Silviculture and forestry workers)
• Supervisors, logging and forestry (See 82010 Supervisors, logging and forestry)
• Transport truck drivers (See 73300 Transport truck drivers)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

bunk skidder operator · cable yarding operator · cable yarding system operator · chipping machine operator · chipping machine operator - logging · crane and claw operator - logging · delimber and buncher operator · delimber operator · feller buncher operator · feller delimber operator · feller forwarder operator · forwarder operator - logging · grapple loader operator - logging · grapple operator - logging · grapple yarder operator - logging · linehorse operator · loader operator - logging · log loader operator · log loading machine operator · log process operator · log processor operator · logging crane operator · logging machinery operator · logging truck loader

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school may be required.
• On-the-job training from three to 16 months is provided, depending on the complexity of machinery operated and the type of woodlands operation.
• Experience requirements vary depending on the complexity of machinery operated.
• Mechanical harvester and forwarder operators may require logging experience as a chain saw and skidder operator.
• Feller buncher operators and cable yarder operators usually require three to five years of logging experience.
• Mechanical tree processor and loader operators usually require one to three years of logging experience.
• Certification as a heavy equipment operator may be required.
• Company certification for mobile logging machinery operation may be required.
• Provincial air brake certification may be required in British Columbia, depending on the type of equipment operated.
• Workplace hazardous materials information system (WHMIS) and first aid certificates may be required.
• Knowledge of tree harvesting regulations is required.