Abstract: As a continuous machine，surface miner integrates the technology of perforation，blasting and mining，which is widely used in separating coal from gangues.Three damage factors for surface miner play an important role in the safe production of surface miner，affecting stability of total mine，as well as guaranteeing the face advance.According to the on-site investigation，three damage factors for surface miner include human factors，equipment factors and environmental factors，and then are analyzed specifically.Based on this，the AHP model was established.Through MATLAB programming to deal with the results，the overall prioritization of damage factors is concluded after consistency test.The results show that sloppy staff work，contrary to the rules and low service quality are the top three factors，and the sum of the three factors' weight value accounted for more than half of the whole.The corresponding 5 improvement advices are given.The conclusion has reference value to the surface mines under similar conditions.

Key words: Surface mine, Surface miner, AHP, Damage factor