Mine Cutting and Channeling Machine Operators Go Back to List Operate machinery such as longwall shears, plows, and cutting machines to cut or channel along the face or seams of coal mines, stone quarries, or other mining surfaces to facilitate blasting, separating, or removing minerals or materials from mines or from the Earth's surface. Includes shale planers.

Tasks
	Position jacks, timbers, or roof supports, and install casings, to prevent cave-ins.
	Reposition machines and move controls to make additional holes or cuts.
	Cut entries between rooms and haulage ways.
	Observe indicator lights and gauges, and listen to machine operation to detect binding or stoppage of tools or other equipment problems.
	Replace worn or broken tools and machine bits and parts, using wrenches, pry bars, and other hand tools, and lubricate machines, using grease guns.
	Press buttons to activate conveyor belts, and push or pull chain handles to regulate conveyor movement so that material can be moved or loaded into dinkey cars or dump trucks.
	Move planer levers to control and adjust the movement of equipment, the speed, height, and depth of cuts, and to rotate swivel cutting booms.
	Cut slots along working faces of coal, salt, or other non-metal deposits to facilitate blasting, by moving levers to start the machine, and to control the vertical reciprocating drills.
	Signal that machine plow blades are properly positioned, using electronic buzzers or two-way radios.
	Cut and move shale from open pits.

Skills
	Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
	Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
	Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
	Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
	Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
	Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
	Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
	Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
	Equipment Maintenance - Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
	Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.

Knowledge
	Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
	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.
	Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
	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.
	English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
	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.
	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.
	Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
	Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Search for Jobs on Connecticut's Labor Exchange (CTJOBcentral)
	(Please note that some searches may not produce any results.)

Education & Training   Education:   These occupations usually require a high school diploma.   Related Experience:   Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Browse Through a List of Businesses That Employ People With Your Same Skills
	Potential Employer Search

Related Occupations
	Mine Shuttle Car Operators
	Hoist and Winch Operators
	Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators
	Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
	Molding and Casting Workers
	Refractory Materials Repairers, Except Brickmasons
	Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators
	Roof Bolters, Mining
	Helpers--Extraction Workers
	Pipelayers

	Some of the occupational information on this page is formulated from O*NETTM v17.0 data. O*NETTM is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.