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48% Chance of Automation

“Tunnel 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 “Tunnel Man”

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

Related Technology & Tools

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

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