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Description
Set up, operate, or tend machines to crush, grind, or polish materials, such as coal, glass, grain, stone, food, or rubber.
  • • Clean work areas.
  • • Read work orders to determine production specifications and information.
  • • Observe operation of equipment to ensure continuity of flow, safety, and efficient operation, and to detect malfunctions.
  • • Move controls to start, stop, or adjust machinery and equipment that crushes, grinds, polishes, or blends materials.
  • • Record data from operations, testing, and production on specified forms.
  • • Examine materials, ingredients, or products, visually or with hands, to ensure conformance to established standards.
  • • Weigh or measure materials, ingredients, or products at specified intervals to ensure conformance to requirements.
  • • Clean, adjust, and maintain equipment, using hand tools.
  • • Notify supervisors of needed repairs.
  • • Set mill gauges to specified fineness of grind.
  • • Reject defective products and readjust equipment to eliminate problems.
  • • Transfer materials, supplies, and products between work areas, using moving equipment and hand tools.
  • • Dislodge and clear jammed materials or other items from machinery and equipment, using hand tools.
  • • Inspect chains, belts, or scrolls for signs of wear.
  • • Tend accessory equipment, such as pumps and conveyors, to move materials or ingredients through production processes.
  • • Test samples of materials or products to ensure compliance with specifications, using test equipment.
  • • Collect samples of materials or products for laboratory testing.
  • • Mark bins as to types of mixtures stored.
  • • Turn valves to regulate the moisture contents of materials.
  • • Load materials into machinery and equipment, using hand tools.
  • • Add or mix chemicals and ingredients for processing, using hand tools or other devices.
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Source
Tasks & skills: O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge). Learn more
Sources & Standards: This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
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