Motor graders come in different sizes and configurations, but their primary purpose is to cut, fill, and move soil or other material with a blade to a specified finish grade.

• Rough grading involves removing irregularities from an existing surface and creating the desired consistency at the desired elevation.
• Windrowing and mixing of material for either removal or mixing with other materials.
• Spreading new material that has been dumped or piled in a location.
• Finish grading, i.e., to finish a graded surface to a specified elevation and slope.
• Ditch cutting and clearing, where a grader’s blade can be extended out to the side of the machine to enable the equipment to cut and clean ditches.
• Snowplowing, by clearing snow from rural roads and local streets.

Specialty blades can be used in place of a regular blade.

• Serrated blades are sometimes used to spread and smooth unique material.
• A straight blade can be attached to a grader with front mounting connectors. Straight blades are used for light dozing, backfilling, and spreading gravel or fill material.
• A scarifier attachment consists of a set of thin teeth mounted on shanks and is used to scrape through soft soil and loosen it for mixing or scraping

Rippers can be mounted on the rear of the grader.

• A ripper attachment consists of large teeth mounted on shanks at the rear of a grader. Rippers are used to breaking up hard soil or pavement. 

• Earthwork grading
• Base/sub-base grading

• Before beginning work with a motor grader, conduct a daily or walk-around inspection. This inspection should be done before starting the engine to identify potential problems that could lead to breakdowns.
• Effective grader operation requires a good sense of material placement and the ability to plan.
• Always follow operating guidelines, pay attention to all instruments and controls, and keep a constant watch for people and hazards around the equipment.
• Mount the equipment using three points of contact, get organized in the operator’s cab and become familiar with all the instruments and controls’ layout and purpose.