Milling and Planing Machine Operators
On the Job
Milling and Planing Machine Operators set up, operate, or tend milling or planing machines to mill, plane, shape, groove, or profile metal or plastic work pieces.
Physical Demands 
This career requires time standing, walking, or running.
Typical Work Tasks
People who work in this career often:
- Operate grinding equipment.
- Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements.
- Review blueprints or other instructions to determine operational methods or sequences.
- Adjust equipment controls to regulate coolant flow.
- Align parts or workpieces to ensure proper assembly.
- Construct patterns, templates, or other work aids.
- Feed materials or products into or through equipment.
- Mount attachments or tools onto production equipment.
- Mount materials or workpieces onto production equipment.
- Remove products or workpieces from production equipment.
Typical Working Conditions
- Wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, hard hats, or life jackets.
- Having face-to-face discussions.
- The importance of being accurate or exact.
- Standing.
- Meeting strict deadlines.
- Exposure to sounds or noise levels that are distracting or uncomfortable.
- Frequent decision-making.
- Exposure to hazardous equipment.
- Working with a group or team.
- Working indoors in non-environmentally controlled conditions.
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.
