Continuous Mining Machine Operators

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Check the stability of roof and rib support systems before mining face areas.
• Install casings to prevent cave-ins.
• Repair, oil, and adjust machines, and change cutting teeth, using wrenches.
• Hang ventilation tubing and ventilation curtains to ensure that the mining face area is kept properly ventilated.
• Move levers to raise and lower hydraulic safety bars supporting roofs above machines until other workers complete framing.
• Guide and assist crews laying track and resetting supports and blocking.
• Operate mining machines to gather coal and convey it to floors or shuttle cars.
• Drive machines into position at working faces.
• Move controls to start and regulate movement of conveyors and to start and position drill cutters or torches.
• Observe and listen to equipment operation to detect binding or stoppage of tools or other equipment malfunctions.
• Apply new technologies developed to minimize the environmental impact of coal mining.
• Determine locations, boundaries, and depths of holes or channels to be cut.
• Conduct methane gas checks to ensure breathing quality of air.
• Reposition machines to make additional holes or cuts.
• Guide and assist crews laying track and resetting supports and blocking.
• Scrape or wash conveyors, using belt scrapers or belt washers, to minimize dust production.

Skills

• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.

Abilities

• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.

Knowledge

• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

Education

Education

No formal educational credential

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

U.S. Annual Salary

63380/yr

U.S. Hourly Wage

30.47/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

30

Yearly Projected Openings

0

Personality

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

• Stress Tolerance
• Cautiousness
• Attention to Detail
• Dependability
• Perseverance
• Self-Control

Tools

• Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
• Adjustable wrenches
• Air exhausters
• Belt conveyors
• Boom bolters
• Bulk material carriers
• Continuous mining equipment
• Goggles
• Grease fitting
• Grease guns
• Hard hats
• Jacks
• Locking pliers
• Open end wrenches
• Power drills
• Protective gloves
• Respiration air supplying self contained breathing apparatus or accessories
• Screwdrivers
• Shovels
• Single gas monitors
• Sledge hammer
• Tape measures
• Track bulldozers

Technology

• Analytical or scientific software
• Mobile location based services software
• Office suite software
• Presentation software
• Spreadsheet software
• Word processing software