Continuous Mining Machine Operators

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

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

Skills

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

Abilities

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

Knowledge

• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• 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.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• 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.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• 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.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• 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.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• 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.

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:

• Attention to Detail
• Dependability
• Initiative
• Independence
• Self Control
• Stress Tolerance

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