From a bicycle to an excavator
02.05.2018
The crew-leader and repairman from the excavator and maintenance shop of Mining and Transportation Equipment Maintenance Plant Vitaliy Vedutov was learning to communicate with the machinery closely from his early childhood. One can say that his carrier started from the moment when he repaired his old bicycle for the first time. The years were passing, and mechanisms, which our hero managed to repair, were becoming more serious and complicated...
Vitaliy was born in Dvuruchnyy settlement of Torgay district in Yessil region. His father, Nikolay Vasiliyevich still lives there. Being a pensioner, he continues working as a driver in the local collective farm.
- For his whole life he has been working at the wheel; that is why, he cannot part with it even after his retirement, - our companion says. The father's love to machinery was transferred to his son:
- At first like any other boy I started repairing bicycles. Then I had a motorbike. I liked to disassemble, unscrew, and find out reasons of breakages…. My father worked as a driver, and frequently I was close to him when he was repairing a car. So I started to understand the structure of more complicated machinery.
Having graduated from school and served in the army, in 1997 Vitaliy Vedutov came to Ekibastuz. In the Training Center of Ekibastuzugol Production Association he received the profession of an excavator operator's assistant. Vitaliy had the production practice on EKG-12,5 excavator at the overburden section at Bogatyr coal mine. At that time the head of the overburden complex was Serik Sattarov, the excavator operator - Aleksandr Denisov, his assistant - Vladimir Chepurenko.
After that the hero of our conversation received one more specialty - rolling stock repairman - and was employed in TCh (Traction Section) 19 Ekibastuz. During the following one year and a half his main object for maintenance was rolling stock. However, a young man wanted to conceive something bigger, and he received the specialty of an electric repairman and mining and transportation equipment repairman. From that time with a break by family circumstances per one year his fate has been connected with Bogatyr Coal LLP. 18 years ago in February he was employed in the company as a repairman for maintenance and repair of equipment of the excavator and repair shop at Mining and Transportation Equipment Maintenance Plant, and in 8 years he became a crew-leader:
- On the first day of work I started to participate in the repair of EKG-excavator at Vostochny coal mine. Aleksandr Borey was the crew-leader. I have been working there for many years. After that I myself became a crew-leader. Currently from 5 up to 15 people are subordinate to me depending on the complexity of repair. They are repairmen and welding operators. They are excellent, team-oriented guys. Always and everywhere of assistance.
The crew members carry out repair of machinery with visits of production sections. By all accounts assembly, disassembly, installation of new spare parts take place under the open sky. Some parts are sent to Mining and Transportation Equipment Maintenance Plant for repair.
Spare parts for coal mining machinery are massive. Frequently cranes are a big help in the process of their replacement. The largest machine, which Vitaliy had to repair one day, is a bucket-wheel excavator. Its dimensions are impressive. The diameter of a bucket wheel alone is about 16 meters (!); its height is like of a multi-storey house:
- When I saw a bucket-wheel excavator for the first time I was impressed. It was so mighty, powerful, and magnificent!
Listening to how delighted our companion was with his work one can guess that his long-standing dream to bring to life something colossal and significant came true. Together with the technical devices, which the hand of a true craftsman touched, he himself grew up having become an experienced professional, who is valued in the collective.
Marina PONKRATOVA
Photo by Oleg MALCHUK
