Mega Mechanics - Season 1, Episode 05: Off Track

Mining draglines and bucket wheels, excavators and airlines, crushers and ship lifts, dredgers and dozers - these are just some of the mega machines that drive multi billion dollar industries. Breakdowns can be catastrophic so it's up to the skill and experience of Mega Mechanics to keep the wheels in motion, the gears turning and the hydraulics pumping. Mega Mechanics is a new 6 x 48 minute observational documentary series following some of Australia's best mechanics, fitters and engineers as they work on the biggest machines in the country. Whether it's replacing jet engines on an A330 or craning a 10 tonne jig elevator bucket out of the roof of a 5 story coal preparation plant, cutting a half a million dollar high-voltage cable or holding back a flood of more than 1.7 million megalitres of water to maintain a dam wall - the dangers are very real, the risks constant and, a mistake could be fatal. The conditions, as well as the machines, are tough; our Mega Mechanics work beside mountains of coal, or in a mining pit with temperatures soaring past 40 Degrees Celsius. Jobs take them to the highest heights and deep underground. There's machinery that has been around for more than one hundred years and then there's the latest technology leading the way. Go behind the scenes with Mega Mechanics and see what it takes to keep huge machines operational. Meet the people who must maintain these heavy metal wonders of industry, who are on the job constantly faced with challenges to overcome and who must manage extreme risks on a day to day basis.