Will “Mechanical Shovel Operator” be Automated?

Core Skills & Abilities

• Guide and stop cars by switching, applying brakes, or placing scotches, or wooden wedges, between wheels and rails.

• Signal workers to move loaded cars.

• Pry off loose material from roofs and move it into the paths of machines, using crowbars.

• Move mine cars into position for loading and unloading, using pinchbars inserted under car wheels to position cars under loading spouts.

• Measure, weigh, or verify levels of rock, gravel, or other excavated material to prevent equipment overloads.

• Observe and record car numbers, carriers, customers, tonnages, and grades and conditions of material.

• Drive machines into piles of material blasted from working faces.

• Clean, fuel, service, and perform safety checks on all equipment, and repair and replace parts as necessary.

• Move trailing electrical cables clear of obstructions, using rubber safety gloves.

• Observe hand signals, grade stakes, or other markings when operating machines.

• Maintain records of materials moved.

• Advance machines to gather material and convey it into cars.

• Oil, lubricate, and adjust conveyors, crushers, and other equipment, using hand tools and lubricating equipment.

• Monitor loading processes to ensure that materials are loaded according to specifications.

• Read written instructions or confer with supervisors about schedules and materials to be moved.

• Stop gathering arms when cars are full.

• Control conveyors that run the entire length of shuttle cars to distribute loads as loading progresses.

• Handle high voltage sources and hang electrical cables.

• Direct other workers to move stakes, place blocks, position anchors or cables, or move materials.

• Drive loaded shuttle cars to ramps and move controls to discharge loads into mine cars or onto conveyors.

• Replace hydraulic hoses, headlight bulbs, and gathering-arm teeth.

• Operate levers to move conveyor booms or shovels so that mine contents such as coal, rock, and ore can be placed into cars or onto conveyors.

• Push or ride cars down slopes, or hook cars to cables and control cable drum brakes, to ease cars down inclines.

• Examine roadway and clear obstructions from the path of travel.

• Clean hoppers, and clean spillage from tracks, walks, driveways, and conveyor decking.