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What They Do
About This Career
Sets up, operates, or tends machines to saw, cut, shear, slit, punch, crimp, notch, bend, or straighten metal or plastic material.
This career is part of the Manufacturing cluster Production pathway.
A person in this career:
- Measures completed workpieces to verify conformance to specifications, using micrometers, gauges, calipers, templates, or rulers.
- Examines completed workpieces for defects, such as chipped edges or marred surfaces and sorts defective pieces according to types of flaws.
- Sets stops on machine beds, changes dies, and adjusts components, such as rams or power presses, when making multiple or successive passes.
- Starts machines, monitors their operations, and records operational data.
- Sets up, operates, or tends machines to saw, cut, shear, slit, punch, crimp, notch, bend, or straighten metal or plastic material.
- Tests and adjusts machine speeds or actions, according to product specifications, using gauges and hand tools.
- Installs, aligns, and locks specified punches, dies, cutting blades, or other fixtures in rams or beds of machines, using gauges, templates, feelers, shims, and hand tools.
- Reads work orders or production schedules to determine specifications, such as materials to be used, locations of cutting lines, or dimensions and tolerances.
- Positions guides, stops, holding blocks, or other fixtures to secure and direct workpieces, using hand tools and measuring devices.
- Positions, align, and secure workpieces against fixtures or stops on machine beds or on dies.
Working Conditions and Physical Demands
People who do this job report that:
- You would often handle loads up to 50 lbs., sometimes up to 100 lbs. You will need a lot of strength at this level.
- Work in this occupation involves bending or twisting your body more than one-third of the time
- Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
- Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
- Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
- Exposed to hazardous equipment such as saws, machinery, or vehicular traffic more than once a month
- Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
- Work in this occupation involves making repetitive motions more than one-third of the time
- Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time
Working in this career involves (physical activities):
- Judging how far away an object is, or which of several objects is closer or farther away
- Seeing clearly at a distance
- Seeing clearly up close
- Identifying and understanding the speech of another person
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying objects
- Using abdominal and lower back muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring
Work Hours and Travel
- Overtime work
- Rotating shift work
Specialty and Similar Careers
Careers that are more detailed or close to this career:
- Die Setter
- Fabrication Operator
- Machine Operator
- Machine Setter
- Press Operator
- Punch Press Operator
- Saw Operator
- Set-Up Operator
- Slitter Operator
Every year the U.S. Department of Labor conducts national surveys of wage data by occupation in every state and in all industry divisions. These surveys are conducted through the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program.
The statistics collected for one year are published the next fall. For example, 2013 wage information was published in the fall of 2014.
There are over 800 occupations in the surveys, and these occupations cover the entire U.S. labor market. The surveys ask for reports in a scale of ranges for both hourly wages and annual wages.
In many cases, these occupations are broad enough to cover many more detailed specialties of an occupation. A specific occupation may be included in a broader occupational category for which labor market data is available. When you look at the statistics for a broad category, be aware that the salary data for a specific career may differ.
For more details about how wage information is collected and calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor, visit their website at http://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm.
Every year the U.S. Department of Labor conducts a national survey of over 400,000
employers in every state and in all industry divisions. This survey is conducted
through the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program. Every other year the
department publishes outlook information based on these surveys.
Each outlook period covers 10 years. For example, in 2003 the outlook information
was published for 2004-2014. Employers are asked to report the number of employees
in about 770 different occupations that cover the entire U.S. labor market.
From this information, staffing patterns for different industries are established.
Industry growth is projected into the future based on past trends and current economic
conditions. Industry staffing patterns are then applied to the industry projections
to obtain occupational projections.
In many cases, these occupations are broad enough to cover many more detailed specialties
of an occupation. A specific occupation may be included in a broader occupational
category for which labor market data is available. When you look at the statistics
for a broad category, be aware that the employment data for a specific field may
differ.
For more details about how employment information is collected and calculated by
the U.S. Department of Labor, visit their website at http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.
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