Signal and Track Switch Repairer Install, inspect, test, maintain, or repair electric gate crossings, signals, signal equipment, track switches, section lines, or intercommunications systems within a railroad system.
Signal and Track Switch Repairer is Also Know as
In different settings, Signal and Track Switch Repairer is titled as
- Railroad Signal Maintainer
- Signal and Communications Maintainer
- Signal Inspector
- Signal Maintainer
- Signal Maintenance Technician
- Signal System Testing Maintainer
- Signal Technician
- Signalman
- Train Control Electronic Technician
- Train Control Technician
Education and Training of Signal and Track Switch Repairer
Signal and Track Switch Repairer is categorized in Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
Experience Required for Signal and Track Switch Repairer
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Education Required for Signal and Track Switch Repairer
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Degrees Related to Signal and Track Switch Repairer
- Bachelor in Electrician
- Associate Degree Courses in Electrician
- Masters Degree Courses in Electrician
Training Required for Signal and Track Switch Repairer
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Related Ocuupations
Some Ocuupations related to Signal and Track Switch Repairer in different industries are
- Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay
- Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers
- Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment
- Power Distributors and Dispatchers
- Lighting Technicians
- Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment
- Rail Car Repairers
- Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door
- Avionics Technicians
- Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers
- Electricians
- Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers
- Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists
- Radio, Cellular, and Tower Equipment Installers and Repairers
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers
- Locomotive Engineers
- Helpers--Electricians
- Electronic Equipment Installers and Repairers, Motor Vehicles
- Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers
- Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers
What Do Signal and Track Switch Repairer do?
- Install, inspect, maintain, and repair various railroad service equipment on the road or in the shop, including railroad signal systems.
- Inspect and test operation, mechanical parts, and circuitry of gate crossings, signals, and signal equipment such as interlocks and hotbox detectors.
- Inspect switch-controlling mechanisms on trolley wires and in track beds, using hand tools and test equipment.
- Drive motor vehicles to job sites.
- Tighten loose bolts, using wrenches, and test circuits and connections by opening and closing gates.
- Inspect electrical units of railroad grade crossing gates and repair loose bolts and defective electrical connections and parts.
- Replace defective wiring, broken lenses, or burned-out light bulbs.
- Record and report information about mileage or track inspected, repairs performed, and equipment requiring replacement.
- Inspect, maintain, and replace batteries as needed.
- Lubricate moving parts on gate-crossing mechanisms and swinging signals.
- Clean lenses of lamps with cloths and solvents.
- Maintain high tension lines, de-energizing lines for power companies when repairs are requested.
- Test air lines and air cylinders on pneumatically operated gates.
- Test and repair track circuits.
Qualities of Good Signal and Track Switch Repairer
- Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
- Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
- Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
- Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
- Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
- Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
- Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
- Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
- Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
- Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
- Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
- Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
- Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
- Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
- Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
- Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
- Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
- Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
- Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
- Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
- Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
- Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
- Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
- Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
- Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
- Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
- Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
- Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
- Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
- Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
- Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
- Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
- Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Tools Used by Signal and Track Switch Repairer
- Adjustable hand wrenches
- Articulating aerial lift equipment
- Audio spectrum analyzers
- Brush cutting equipment
- Clamp-on ammeters
- Closed circuit television CCTV systems
- Digital oscilloscopes
- Digital still cameras
- Digital timers
- Digital voltage meters
- Frequency specific volt meters
- Hotbox detectors
- Inkjet computer printers
- Inkjet fax machines
- Laptop computers
- Mechanical lifts
- Meggers
- Multi-tip screwdrivers
- Multipurpose hammers
- Personal computers
- Power drills
- Power grinders
- Relay testers
- Shovels
- Slip joint pliers
- Spectrum analyzers
- Switch machines
- Switch obstruction gauges
- Terminal post wrenches
- Wheel forklifts
- Wire crimpers
Technology Skills required for Signal and Track Switch Repairer
- Maintenance management software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Word
- Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software
- Web browser software