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48% Chance of Automation

“Pillar Man” 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 “Pillar Man”

Repair electrical instruments, using electricians' hand tools.
Insert waterproof sealers, bullets, and/or powder charges into guns, and screw gun ports back into place.
Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed.
Move and store inventories of explosives, loaded perforating guns, and other materials, according to established safety procedures.
Signal hoist operators to lower torpedoes or sample-taking guns into wells and to raise equipment for sampling from blast holes after detonation.
Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions.
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.
Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws.
Set up and operate short-wave radio or field telephone equipment to transmit and receive blast information.
Measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures.
Lay primacord between rows of charged blast holes, and tie cord into main lines to form blast patterns.
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.
Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material.
Insert powder charges into chambers of sidewall sample-taking cylinders, and assemble cylinders, using special wrenches.
Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites.
Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary.
Obtain samples of earth from sidewalls of well boreholes, using electrically exploding devices.
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.
Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends.
Clean, gauge, and lubricate gun ports.
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.
Set up and operate equipment such as hoists, jackhammers, or drills, in order to bore charge holes.
Observe odometers, weight indicators, and instrument panels in trucks in order to position guns at predetermined points in wells.
Verify detonation of charges by observing control panels, or by listening for the sounds of blasts.
Repair and service blasting, shooting, and automotive equipment, and electrical wiring and instruments, using hand tools.
Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives.
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.
Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions.

Related Technology & Tools

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

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