More capable machinery could bring more capable systems, but what does it mean for the people operating them? Could smarter controls help close the skills gap, or will they create new demands for human expertise?
There is more to this shift than smarter machinery. This article explores where intelligent controls could help address the skills gap, how they may change the balance between traditional machinery expertise and automation skills, and what that could mean for the workforce ahead.
Heavy equipment continues to play an important role in construction where it supports tasks such as excavation, earthmoving, lifting, and material handling across projects. The scale of this reliance can be seen in global equipment sales.
According to The Business Research Company, a UK-based market research firm, its Off-Highway Machinery Global Market Report 2026 estimates that the global off-highway machinery market will grow from $218.32 billion in 2025 to $232.37 billion in 2026, with the market expected to reach $300.85 billion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate of 6.7%.
The category includes heavy machinery such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, and motor graders, which are widely used for earthmoving, excavation, and material handling.
This reliance on heavy equipment also translates into a need for skilled operators. In Australia, the Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) reports that 51,400 people are employed as Earthmoving Plant Operators.
The occupation covers workers who operate excavators, bulldozers, graders, loaders and backhoes to excavate, move, load and level earth, rock and other materials. Earthmoving Plant Operators are also among the 10 largest employing occupational groups in Australia’s construction industry, which employed around 1.37 million people in February 2026.
Yet the skills required to operate this equipment may not remain tied entirely to conventional machine controls. New developments are beginning to change how operators interact with heavy machinery, with systems that can guide machine movements and even automate repetitive tasks.
Komatsu, a global manufacturer of construction, mining and forestry equipment, announced in a March 2026 press release that its upcoming PC158USLCi-12 excavator will feature the latest IMC 3.0 machine-control technology. The system uses semi-autonomous 3D machine control to guide movements in real time, alongside features such as auto swing, swing-to-line, and travel-along-line functions designed to support more precise excavation while keeping the operator in control.
The technology is moving beyond operator assistance, too.
While systems like these are designed to assist operators, other developments are beginning to take part of the work itself. At the recent 2026 CONEXPO-CON/AGG, a major construction equipment trade show held in Las Vegas, the Hitachi Construction Machinery demonstrated an excavator fitted with technology from Gravis Robotics that could be taught by an operator to perform a trenching task before carrying out the repetitive excavation autonomously.
Furthermore, the shift is not only happening in what machines can do, but also in how people control them. In August 2026, engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) introduced a new excavator controller designed to make operation more intuitive. Instead of conventional joysticks, the system uses a miniature mechanical arm that mirrors the movements of the excavator, giving users a more direct way to control the machine.
For operators, these developments could change where expertise is most valuable. Rather than focusing only on manual control, the role may increasingly involve understanding automated functions, interpreting machine feedback, and knowing when human input is needed. But as these technologies become more capable, where should the balance sit between experience earned on the machine and knowledge of the technology behind it?
The balance may lie in combining hands-on machinery knowledge with the ability to work confidently with digital systems. Operators still need to understand how equipment behaves, respond to changing site conditions, and make practical decisions in the field.
At the same time, growing automation makes skills in data interpretation and digital troubleshooting increasingly relevant.
Engineering Institute of Technology (EIT) Lecturer Dr. Hadi Harb highlighted the relationship between technology and engineering judgement in EIT’s All Things Engineering podcast episode “Managing Automation Projects Without Losing Your Mind”. As he puts it, “machine learning is purely data. This is where engineering professionals enter to determine and check if the output is correct.” The value of these skills becomes clear as automation takes on a greater role in heavy equipment.
From this sense, according to Dr. Harb, smarter controls could help narrow parts of the skills gap by making some machine operations more accessible and reducing the amount of repetitive manual work required. They do not, however, remove the need for skilled professionals. Instead, the gap may shift towards engineering professionals who can understand the equipment and apply sound judgement when technology cannot account for the realities of the job.
For engineering students and professionals, developing this combination of skills can start with an education that connects engineering fundamentals with emerging technologies. Engineering programs that incorporate areas such as control systems and practical applications can help learners build the technical breadth needed to work across traditional machinery and intelligent equipment.
With this, EIT helps students connect classroom concepts with the changing realities of intelligent machinery and prepares them to work confidently as the role of the operator continues to evolve within the automation industry.
References
Off-Highway Machinery Global Market Report 2026
This article was published October 5th, 2026 and the content is current as at the date of publication.
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