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48% Chance of Automation

“Driftman” will probably not be replaced by robots.

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Job Description

Place and detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials. May perform specialized handling, storage, and accounting procedures. Includes seismograph shooters.

Job Details

The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code is 47-5031.00
The Mean Annual Wage in the U.S. is $ 54,580.00
The Mean Hourly Wage is $ 26.00
Currently, there are 6,310 people on this job

☝️ Information based on the reference occupation “Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters”.

Also Known As…

Tasks for “Driftman”

Insert waterproof sealers, bullets, and/or powder charges into guns, and screw gun ports back into place.
Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends.
Light fuses, drop detonating devices into wells or boreholes, or activate firing devices with plungers, dials, or buttons, in order to set off single or multiple blasts.
Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed.
Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites.
Repair and service blasting, shooting, and automotive equipment, and electrical wiring and instruments, using hand tools.
Clean, gauge, and lubricate gun ports.
Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives.
Lay primacord between rows of charged blast holes, and tie cord into main lines to form blast patterns.
Verify detonation of charges by observing control panels, or by listening for the sounds of blasts.
Place safety cones around blast areas to alert other workers of danger zones, and signal workers as necessary to ensure that they clear blast sites prior to explosions.
Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary.
Set up and operate short-wave radio or field telephone equipment to transmit and receive blast information.
Obtain samples of earth from sidewalls of well boreholes, using electrically exploding devices.
Set up and operate equipment such as hoists, jackhammers, or drills, in order to bore charge holes.
Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions.
Observe odometers, weight indicators, and instrument panels in trucks in order to position guns at predetermined points in wells.
Repair electrical instruments, using electricians' hand tools.
Place explosive charges in holes or other spots; then detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials.
Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material.
Lower perforating guns into wells, using hoists; then use measuring devices and instrument panels to position guns in correct positions for taking samples.
Connect gun chambers to electric detonating devices, and operate controls at panelboards, in order to detonate charges in guns or to ignite chemical charges.
Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws.
Insert, pack, and pour explosives, such as dynamite, ammonium nitrate, black powder, or slurries into blast holes; then shovel drill cuttings, admit water into boreholes, and tamp material to compact charges.
Signal hoist operators to lower torpedoes or sample-taking guns into wells and to raise equipment for sampling from blast holes after detonation.
Insert powder charges into chambers of sidewall sample-taking cylinders, and assemble cylinders, using special wrenches.
Measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures.
Move and store inventories of explosives, loaded perforating guns, and other materials, according to established safety procedures.
Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions.

Related Technology & Tools

Digital ammeters
Seismic activity recorders
Non-contact voltage testers
Blasthole drills
Electricians' knives
Detonating cords
Hard hats
Meggers
Ring gauges
Wire loop pullers
Vernier calipers
Hydraulic pressure gauges
Extension ladders
Lowering hooks
Explosive blasting caps
Folding knives
Mobile radios
Grappling hooks
Stake flags
Hand shears
Longnose pliers
Fuse testers
Tongue and groove pliers
Torpedo levels
Blast hole tubing
Wire cleaning brushes
Millivoltmeters
Weighted tape measures
Digital ohmmeters
Stakebed trucks
Insulated pliers
Warning sirens
End cutting pliers
Digital multimeters
Harpoon retrievers
Tractor-trailer trucks
Safety cones
Portable signal generators
Blasting cap crimpers
Transport trucks
Explosives funnels
Plastic plugs
Overhead cranes
Protective safety glasses
Personal computers
Explosives time delay fuses
Digital voltmeters
Phillips head screwdrivers
Portable air compressors
Portable cranes
Protective respirators
Padded gloves
Hole savers
Long period delay detonators
Conduit bending tools
Tamping rods
Tie-down equipment
Remote blasting systems
Fuse cutters
Fixed blade knives
Electronic shock tube initiators
Perforating capsule guns
Laser rangefinders
Hoisting equipment
Non-electric delay detonators
Day boxes
Surveyors leveling rods
Safety goggles
Discharge hoses
Balance scales
Wood wedges
Blasting machines
Spring scales
Pallet jacks
Coated gloves
Right angle prisms
Loading poles
Precision tweezers
Pneumatic drilling equipment
Clinometers
Forklifts
Wire strippers
Remote firing devices
Explosives handling robots
Laptop computers
Jackhammers
Equipment dollies
Crescent wrenches
Rubber mallets
Temperature data loggers
Phase rotation meters
Dewatering pumps
Wire cutting tools
Hacksaws
Ammonium nitrate fuel oil ANFO loaders
Hand chisels
Digital micrometers
Shock tube detonators
Surface connector blocks
Wheeled wire dispensers
Flashing warning lights
Perforating casing guns
Short-wave radios
Test lamps
Short period delay detonators
Digital calculators
Resistance testers
Safety fuses
Avalaunchers
Instantaneous electrical detonators
Bore hole thermometers
Depth measurement gauges
Protective ear plugs
Digital wattmeters
Safety harnesses
Plumb bobs
Electrical circuit testers
Galvanometers

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Microsoft PowerPoint
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DetNet ViewShot
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