Conveyor Operators and Tenders - 53-7011.00

Control or tend conveyors or conveyor systems that move materials or products to and from stockpiles, processing stations, departments, or vehicles. May control speed and routing of materials or products.

Sample of reported job titles: Chipper Operator, Debarker Operator, Flumer, Line Operator, Machine Operator, Package Line Operator, Packaging Line Operator, Packing Line Operator, Process Operator, Strapper Operator

Tasks

• Inform supervisors of equipment malfunctions that need to be addressed.
• Observe conveyor operations and monitor lights, dials, and gauges to maintain specified operating levels and to detect equipment malfunctions.
• Record production data such as weights, types, quantities, and storage locations of materials, as well as equipment performance problems and downtime.
• Load, unload, or adjust materials or products on conveyors by hand, by using lifts, hoists, and scoops, or by opening gates, chutes, or hoppers.
• Stop equipment or machinery and clear jams, using poles, bars, and hand tools, or remove damaged materials from conveyors.
• Distribute materials, supplies, and equipment to work stations, using lifts and trucks.
• Observe packages moving along conveyors to identify packages, detect defective packaging, and perform quality control.
• Collect samples of materials or products, checking them to ensure conformance to specifications or sending them to laboratories for analysis.
• Position deflector bars, gates, chutes, or spouts to divert flow of materials from one conveyor onto another conveyor.
• Repair or replace equipment components or parts such as blades, rolls, and pumps.
• Manipulate controls, levers, and valves to start pumps, auxiliary equipment, or conveyors, and to adjust equipment positions, speeds, timing, and material flows.
• Weigh or measure materials and products, using scales or other measuring instruments, or read scales on conveyors that continually weigh products, to verify specified tonnages and prevent overloads.
• Read production and delivery schedules, and confer with supervisors, to determine sorting and transfer procedures, arrangement of packages on pallets, and destinations of loaded pallets.
• Operate consoles to control automatic palletizing equipment.
• Press console buttons to deflect packages to predetermined accumulators or reject lines.
• Clean, sterilize, and maintain equipment, machinery, and work stations, using hand tools, shovels, brooms, chemicals, hoses, and lubricants.
• Affix identifying information to materials or products, using hand tools.
• Move, assemble, and connect hoses or nozzles to material hoppers, storage tanks, conveyor sections or chutes, and pumps.
• Thread strapping through strapping tools and secure battens with strapping to form protective pallets around extrusions.
• Contact workers in work stations or other departments to request movement of materials, products, or machinery, or to notify them of incoming shipments and their estimated delivery times.
• Measure dimensions of bundles, using rulers, and cut battens to required sizes, using power saws.
• Operate elevator systems in conjunction with conveyor systems.
• Join sections of conveyor frames at temporary working areas, and connect power units.

Technology Skills

• Data base user interface and query software - Data entry software
• Industrial control software - Control system software; Conveyor control software; Sortation software
• Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software - Intelligrated InControlWare
• Operating system software - Microsoft Windows

Tools Used

• Automobiles or cars - Automobiles
• Bar code reader equipment - Handheld scanners
• Batching plants or feeders - Hoppers
• Belt conveyors - Belt conveyors systems; Boom conveyors
• Chain conveyors - Chain conveyor systems
• Desktop computers
• Digital camcorders or video cameras - Digital video cameras
• Ear plugs - Hearing protection plugs
• Elevators - Elevator systems
• Floor or platform scales - Digital floor scales
• Forklift or elevator accessories or supplies - Scoops
• Forklifts - Wheeled forklifts
• Grease guns - Grease dispensing guns
• Hoists - Electric hoists
• Hydraulic pumps - Gate pumps
• Hydraulic truck cranes - Hydraulic booms
• Laser fax machine - Laser facsimile machines
• Lifts - Hydraulic lifts
• Light trucks or sport utility vehicles - Pickup trucks
• Minivans or vans - Light industrial vans
• Oil can - Oil dispensing cans
• Pallet trucks - Pallet jacks
• Palletizers - Automatic palletizing equipment
• Power saws - Portable power saws
• Protective gloves - Safety gloves
• Restraint straps or buckles or accessories or supplies - Strapping tools
• Rulers - Precision rulers
• Safety glasses - Protective safety glasses
• Screw conveyor - Grain conveyors; Screw conveyors
• Spot welding machine - Spot welders
• Sump pumps
• Two way radios - Mobile radios
• Vibrating conveyors
• Water hoses - Watering hoses

Knowledge

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Skills

• Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
• Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities

• Control Precision - The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• 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 there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• 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.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• 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.
• Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
• 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.
• Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.
• 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.
• 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.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Static Strength - The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
• 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.
• 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.
• Hearing Sensitivity - The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
• 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).
• 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.
• 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.
• Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Interests

• Interest code: RC
  • Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
  • Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Work Context

• Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets - 100% responded “Every day.”
• Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment - 79% responded “Extremely important.”
• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate - 64% responded “Extremely important.”
• Exposed to Contaminants - 80% responded “Every day.”
• Sounds, Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable - 61% responded “Every day.”
• Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls - 66% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
• Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results - 58% responded “Very important results.”
• Responsible for Others' Health and Safety - 59% responded “Very high responsibility.”
• Work With Work Group or Team - 50% responded “Extremely important.”
• Structured versus Unstructured Work - 53% responded “A lot of freedom.”
• Time Pressure - 68% responded “Every day.”
• Duration of Typical Work Week - 54% responded “More than 40 hours.”
• Very Hot or Cold Temperatures - 44% responded “Every day.”
• Frequency of Decision Making - 63% responded “Every day.”
• Outdoors, Exposed to Weather - 66% responded “Every day.”
• Spend Time Standing - 46% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
• Coordinate or Lead Others - 53% responded “Very important.”
• Face-to-Face Discussions - 37% responded “Every day.”
• Outdoors, Under Cover - 52% responded “Every day.”
• Contact With Others - 27% responded “Constant contact with others.”
• Level of Competition - 35% responded “Extremely competitive.”
• In an Open Vehicle or Equipment - 49% responded “Every day.”
• Consequence of Error - 38% responded “Fairly serious.”
• Exposed to Hazardous Equipment - 52% responded “Every day.”
• Freedom to Make Decisions - 27% responded “A lot of freedom.”
• Telephone - 40% responded “Never.”
• Importance of Repeating Same Tasks - 26% responded “Extremely important.”

Education

Percentage of Respondents	Education Level Required
70%	Less than high school diploma
24%	High school diploma or equivalent
5%	Some college, no degree

Work Styles

• Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
• Self Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
• Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
• Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
• Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
• Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
• Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
• Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
• Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical.
• Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
• Social Orientation - Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
• Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
• Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

Work Values

• Support - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
• Relationships - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
• Independence - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

Wages & Trends

• Median wages (2017)
  • $15.53 hourly, $32,300 annual
• Employment (2016)
  • 28,000 employees
• Projected growth (2016-2026)
  • Little or no change (-1% to 1%)
• Projected job openings (2016-2026)
  • 3,700