Chemical Equipment Operators
On the Job
Chemical Equipment Operators run equipment that controls chemical changes or reactions. They may work on devulcanizers, steam-jacket kettles, or reactor vessels.
Typical Work Tasks
People who work in this career often:
- Monitor instruments to ensure proper production conditions.
- Watch operating equipment to detect malfunctions.
- Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements.
- Review blueprints or other instructions to determine operational methods or sequences.
- Estimate material requirements for production.
- Compare physical characteristics of materials or products to specifications or standards.
- Inspect production equipment.
- Test chemical or physical characteristics of materials or products.
- Operate chemical processing or water treatment systems or equipment.
- Operate pumping systems or 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.
- Exposure to contaminants (like gases or odors).
- Exposure to hazardous conditions.
- Responsibility for others' health and safety.
- Working with a group or team.
- The importance of being accurate or exact.
- Working indoors in non-environmentally controlled conditions.
- A work pace that is determined by the speed of equipment.
- Serious consequences if mistakes are made.
- Freedom to make decisions without supervision.
- Standing.
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.