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Career Description

Control or operate entire chemical processes or system of machines.

What Job Titles Chemical Plant and System Operators Might Have

• Chemical Operator
• Operator
• Process Operator
• Process Technician

What Chemical Plant and System Operators Do

• Monitor recording instruments, flowmeters, panel lights, or other indicators and listen for warning signals, to verify conformity of process conditions.
• Regulate or shut down equipment during emergency situations, as directed by supervisory personnel.
• Control or operate chemical processes or systems of machines, using panelboards, control boards, or semi-automatic equipment.
• Move control settings to make necessary adjustments on equipment units affecting speeds of chemical reactions, quality, or yields.
• Inspect operating units, such as towers, soap-spray storage tanks, scrubbers, collectors, or driers to ensure that all are functioning and to maintain maximum efficiency.
• Draw samples of products and conduct quality control tests to monitor processing and to ensure that standards are met.
• Record operating data, such as process conditions, test results, or instrument readings.
• Patrol work areas to ensure that solutions in tanks or troughs are not in danger of overflowing.
• Turn valves to regulate flow of products or byproducts through agitator tanks, storage drums, or neutralizer tanks.
• Interpret chemical reactions visible through sight glasses or on television monitors and review laboratory test reports for process adjustments.
• Confer with technical and supervisory personnel to report or resolve conditions affecting safety, efficiency, or product quality.
• Start pumps to wash and rinse reactor vessels, to exhaust gases or vapors, to regulate the flow of oil, steam, air, or perfume to towers, or to add products to converter or blending vessels.
• Notify maintenance, stationary-engineering, or other auxiliary personnel to correct equipment malfunctions or to adjust power, steam, water, or air supplies.
• Repair or replace damaged equipment.
• Gauge tank levels, using calibrated rods.
• Calculate material requirements or yields according to formulas.
• Direct workers engaged in operating machinery that regulates the flow of materials and products.
• Supervise the cleaning of towers, strainers, or spray tips.
• Defrost frozen valves, using steam hoses.

What Chemical Plant and System Operators Should Be Good At

• 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.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• 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).

What Chemical Plant and System Operators Should Be Interested In

• 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.

What Chemical Plant and System Operators Need to Learn

• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.