Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
Medium34.02%
Found in Industries:
Salary Range
Low (10th %)$38,080
Median$50,050
High (90th %)$77,240
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Operate or tend machinery at surface mining site, equipped with scoops, shovels, or buckets to excavate and load loose materials.
The occupation "Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining" is assigned an automation risk of 34.0%, slightly lower than the base risk of 34.4%. This suggests that while many aspects of the job are susceptible to automation, significant portions of the work remain reliant on human skills and judgment. A key factor influencing the automation risk is the nature of the equipment used and the mining environment, which often requires adapting to changing physical and safety conditions. Although autonomous vehicles and tele-operated machinery are advancing, full automation across different surface mining conditions is not yet feasible. The top three most automatable tasks for this occupation include operating power machinery through levers, pedals, and dials; setting up or inspecting equipment prior to use; and understanding machine capabilities, limitations, and digging procedures for application. These tasks are generally structured, repetitive, and rule-based, making them highly suitable for automation through robotics, sensors, and programmable controls. Automated systems can already perform many of these functions with precision and consistency, especially in well-mapped or predictable environments typical in parts of surface mining operations. Conversely, the most automation-resistant tasks are those that require flexibility, real-time problem solving, or physical intervention. These include manually shoveling materials to prepare or finish sites, driving machines to various work locations, and adjusting dig face angles to accommodate varying overburden depths and set lengths. These tasks depend on adaptability, physical dexterity, and on-the-spot decision making, especially in unstructured or dynamic mining settings. Bottleneck skills such as originality—scored at only 2.0% and 2.1%—highlight a modest but critical need for creative thinking and adaptability within the occupation. These skills serve as barriers to full automation, ensuring that human involvement will remain a necessary component of surface mining operations for the foreseeable future.
Filter by Automatable Status
Set up or inspect equipment prior to operation.
Partially Automatable
Become familiar with digging plans, machine capabilities and limitations, and efficient and safe digging procedures in a given application.
Partially Automatable
Observe hand signals, grade stakes, or other markings when operating machines so that work can be performed to specifications.
Partially Automatable
Operate machinery to perform activities such as backfilling excavations, vibrating or breaking rock or concrete, or making winter roads.
Partially Automatable
Receive written or oral instructions regarding material movement or excavation.
Automatable
Move materials over short distances, such as around a construction site, factory, or warehouse.
Partially Automatable
Create or maintain inclines or ramps.
Partially Automatable
Lubricate, adjust, or repair machinery and replace parts, such as gears, bearings, or bucket teeth.
Non-Automatable
Handle slides, mud, or pit cleanings or maintenance.
Non-Automatable
Direct workers engaged in placing blocks or outriggers to prevent capsizing of machines when lifting heavy loads.
Non-Automatable
Measure and verify levels of rock or gravel, bases, or other excavated material.
Partially Automatable
Adjust dig face angles for varying overburden depths and set lengths.
Partially Automatable
Drive machines to work sites.
Partially Automatable
Move levers, depress foot pedals, and turn dials to operate power machinery, such as power shovels, stripping shovels, scraper loaders, or backhoes.
Non-Automatable
Direct ground workers engaged in activities such as moving stakes or markers, or changing positions of towers.
Partially Automatable
Perform manual labor to prepare or finish sites, such as shoveling materials by hand.
Non-Automatable
Reading ComprehensionActive ListeningLearning StrategiesMonitoringComplex Problem SolvingOperations MonitoringEquipment MaintenanceSystems AnalysisManagement of Personnel ResourcesWritingSpeakingMathematicsScienceCritical ThinkingActive LearningSocial PerceptivenessCoordinationPersuasionNegotiationInstructingService OrientationOperations AnalysisTechnology DesignEquipment SelectionInstallationProgrammingOperation and ControlTroubleshootingRepairingQuality Control AnalysisJudgment and Decision MakingSystems EvaluationTime ManagementManagement of Financial ResourcesManagement of Material Resources
Arm-Hand SteadinessAuditory AttentionCategory FlexibilityControl PrecisionDeductive ReasoningDepth PerceptionDynamic FlexibilityDynamic StrengthExplosive StrengthExtent FlexibilityFar VisionFinger DexterityFlexibility of ClosureFluency of IdeasGlare SensitivityGross Body CoordinationGross Body EquilibriumHearing SensitivityInductive ReasoningInformation OrderingManual DexterityMathematical ReasoningMemorizationMultilimb CoordinationNear VisionNight VisionNumber FacilityOral ComprehensionOral ExpressionOriginalityPerceptual SpeedPeripheral VisionProblem SensitivityRate ControlReaction TimeResponse OrientationSelective AttentionSound LocalizationSpatial OrientationSpeech ClaritySpeech RecognitionSpeed of ClosureSpeed of Limb MovementStaminaStatic StrengthTime SharingTrunk StrengthVisual Color DiscriminationVisualizationWrist-Finger SpeedWritten ComprehensionWritten Expression
AdministrativeEconomics and AccountingSales and MarketingCustomer and Personal ServicePersonnel and Human ResourcesProduction and ProcessingFood ProductionComputers and ElectronicsEngineering and TechnologyDesignBuilding and ConstructionMechanicalMathematicsPhysicsChemistryHistory and ArcheologyPhilosophy and TheologyPublic Safety and SecurityLaw and GovernmentTelecommunicationsBiologyPsychologySociology and AnthropologyGeographyMedicine and DentistryForeign LanguageEnglish LanguageFine ArtsEducation and TrainingTransportationTherapy and CounselingCommunications and MediaAdministration and Management
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or MaterialsMonitoring Processes, Materials, or SurroundingsIdentifying Objects, Actions, and EventsEstimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or InformationGetting InformationJudging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or PeopleProcessing InformationEvaluating Information to Determine Compliance with StandardsAnalyzing Data or InformationMaking Decisions and Solving ProblemsThinking CreativelyUpdating and Using Relevant KnowledgeDeveloping Objectives and StrategiesScheduling Work and ActivitiesOrganizing, Planning, and Prioritizing WorkPerforming General Physical ActivitiesHandling and Moving ObjectsControlling Machines and ProcessesRepairing and Maintaining Electronic EquipmentDrafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and EquipmentDocumenting/Recording InformationInterpreting the Meaning of Information for OthersCommunicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesCommunicating with People Outside the OrganizationEstablishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsAssisting and Caring for OthersSelling or Influencing OthersResolving Conflicts and Negotiating with OthersPerforming for or Working Directly with the PublicCoordinating the Work and Activities of OthersDeveloping and Building TeamsTraining and Teaching OthersRepairing and Maintaining Mechanical EquipmentGuiding, Directing, and Motivating SubordinatesCoaching and Developing OthersProviding Consultation and Advice to OthersPerforming Administrative ActivitiesStaffing Organizational UnitsMonitoring and Controlling ResourcesOperating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or EquipmentWorking with Computers
Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordWord processing softwareSpreadsheet softwareEmail softwareMachine monitoring softwareGoogle GmailMicrosoft WindowsMachine monitoring softwareGoogle GmailMachine control systemsMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordWord processing softwareSpreadsheet softwareEmail softwareMachine control systemsMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office software
Construction Laborers
Low21.08%
Perform tasks involving physical labor at construction sites. May operate hand and power tools of all types: air hammers, earth tampers, cement mixers, small mechanical hoists, surveying and measuring equipment, and a variety of other equipment and instruments. May clean and prepare sites, dig trenches, set braces to support the sides of excavations, erect scaffolding, and clean up rubble, debris, and other waste materials. May assist other craft workers.
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
Low27.26%
Operate equipment used for applying concrete, asphalt, or other materials to road beds, parking lots, or airport runways and taxiways or for tamping gravel, dirt, or other materials. Includes concrete and asphalt paving machine operators, form tampers, tamping machine operators, and stone spreader operators.
Pile Driver Operators
Low24.77%
Operate pile drivers mounted on skids, barges, crawler treads, or locomotive cranes to drive pilings for retaining walls, bulkheads, and foundations of structures such as buildings, bridges, and piers.
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
Medium39.01%
Operate one or several types of power construction equipment, such as motor graders, bulldozers, scrapers, compressors, pumps, derricks, shovels, tractors, or front-end loaders to excavate, move, and grade earth, erect structures, or pour concrete or other hard surface pavement. May repair and maintain equipment in addition to other duties.
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators
Low20.92%
Lay, repair, and maintain track for standard or narrow-gauge railroad equipment used in regular railroad service or in plant yards, quarries, sand and gravel pits, and mines. Includes ballast cleaning machine operators and railroad bed tamping machine operators.
Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
Medium37.50%
Operate a variety of drills such as rotary, churn, and pneumatic to tap subsurface water and salt deposits, to remove core samples during mineral exploration or soil testing, and to facilitate the use of explosives in mining or construction. Includes horizontal and earth boring machine operators.
Continuous Mining Machine Operators
Low31.32%
Operate self-propelled mining machines that rip coal, metal and nonmetal ores, rock, stone, or sand from the mine face and load it onto conveyors, shuttle cars, or trucks in a continuous operation.
Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining
Medium39.66%
Operate underground loading or moving machine to load or move coal, ore, or rock using shuttle or mine car or conveyors. Equipment may include power shovels, hoisting engines equipped with cable-drawn scraper or scoop, or machines equipped with gathering arms and conveyor.
Helpers--Extraction Workers
Low24.71%
Help extraction craft workers, such as earth drillers, blasters and explosives workers, derrick operators, and mining machine operators, by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include supplying equipment or cleaning work area.
Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines
Medium41.90%
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul mobile mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic equipment, such as cranes, bulldozers, graders, and conveyors, used in construction, logging, and mining.
Industrial Machinery Mechanics
Medium49.31%
Repair, install, adjust, or maintain industrial production and processing machinery or refinery and pipeline distribution systems. May also install, dismantle, or move machinery and heavy equipment according to plans.
Maintenance Workers, Machinery
Low32.98%
Lubricate machinery, change parts, or perform other routine machinery maintenance.
Millwrights
Low12.88%
Install, dismantle, or move machinery and heavy equipment according to layout plans, blueprints, or other drawings.
Riggers
Low19.42%
Set up or repair rigging for construction projects, manufacturing plants, logging yards, ships and shipyards, or for the entertainment industry.
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing
Medium44.55%
Set up, operate, or tend woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders, planers, and wood nailing machines. May operate computer numerically controlled (CNC) equipment.
Crane and Tower Operators
Medium38.20%
Operate mechanical boom and cable or tower and cable equipment to lift and move materials, machines, or products in many directions.
Dredge Operators
Medium53.66%
Operate dredge to remove sand, gravel, or other materials in order to excavate and maintain navigable channels in waterways.
Hoist and Winch Operators
Low24.71%
Operate or tend hoists or winches to lift and pull loads using power-operated cable equipment.
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
Medium46.81%
Operate industrial trucks or tractors equipped to move materials around a warehouse, storage yard, factory, construction site, or similar location.
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
Medium36.17%
Manually move freight, stock, luggage, or other materials, or perform other general labor. Includes all manual laborers not elsewhere classified.
Crematory Operators
Low18.75%
Operate crematory equipment to reduce human or animal remains to bone fragments in accordance with state and local regulations. Duties may include preparing the body for cremation and performing general maintenance on crematory equipment. May use traditional flame-based cremation, calcination, or alkaline hydrolysis.
Agricultural Equipment Operators
Medium49.56%
Drive and control equipment to support agricultural activities such as tilling soil; planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops; feeding and herding livestock; or removing animal waste. May perform tasks such as crop baling or hay bucking. May operate stationary equipment to perform post-harvest tasks such as husking, shelling, threshing, and ginning.
Logging Equipment Operators
Medium49.47%
Drive logging tractor or wheeled vehicle equipped with one or more accessories, such as bulldozer blade, frontal shear, grapple, logging arch, cable winches, hoisting rack, or crane boom, to fell tree; to skid, load, unload, or stack logs; or to pull stumps or clear brush. Includes operating stand-alone logging machines, such as log chippers.
Pipelayers
Low22.97%
Lay pipe for storm or sanitation sewers, drains, and water mains. Perform any combination of the following tasks: grade trenches or culverts, position pipe, or seal joints.
Highway Maintenance Workers
Low20.84%
Maintain highways, municipal and rural roads, airport runways, and rights-of-way. Duties include patching broken or eroded pavement and repairing guard rails, highway markers, and snow fences. May also mow or clear brush from along road, or plow snow from roadway.
Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners
Low25.86%
Clean and repair septic tanks, sewer lines, or drains. May patch walls and partitions of tank, replace damaged drain tile, or repair breaks in underground piping.
Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas
Low26.38%
Rig derrick equipment and operate pumps to circulate mud or fluid through drill hole.
Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas
Low27.15%
Set up or operate a variety of drills to remove underground oil and gas, or remove core samples for testing during oil and gas exploration.
Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas
Medium38.98%
Operate equipment to increase oil flow from producing wells or to remove stuck pipe, casing, tools, or other obstructions from drilling wells. Includes fishing-tool technicians.
Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters
Low26.46%
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.
Roof Bolters, Mining
Low17.67%
Operate machinery to install roof support bolts in underground mine.
Roustabouts, Oil and Gas
Low17.13%
Assemble or repair oil field equipment using hand and power tools. Perform other tasks as needed.
Commercial Divers
Low26.77%
Work below surface of water, using surface-supplied air or scuba equipment to inspect, repair, remove, or install equipment and structures. May use a variety of power and hand tools, such as drills, sledgehammers, torches, and welding equipment. May conduct tests or experiments, rig explosives, or photograph structures or marine life.
Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers
Medium40.89%
Drive switching or other locomotive or dinkey engines within railroad yard, industrial plant, quarry, construction project, or similar location.
Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors
Medium40.81%
Collect and dump refuse or recyclable materials from containers into truck. May drive truck.
Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders
Medium44.23%
Load and unload chemicals and bulk solids, such as coal, sand, and grain, into or from tank cars, trucks, or ships, using material moving equipment. May perform a variety of other tasks relating to shipment of products. May gauge or sample shipping tanks and test them for leaks.