Job Profile:      Alfalfa Dehydrator Operator


Set up, operate, or tend machines, such as glass-forming machines, plodder machines, and tuber machines, to shape and form products such as glassware, food, rubber, soap, brick, tile, clay, wax, tobacco, or cosmetics.

51-9041
Job Information
   
   
30,260 42,580 60,980

Select Tasks
Examine, measure, and weigh materials or products to verify conformance to standards, using measuring devices such as templates, micrometers, or scales. Monitor machine operations and observe lights and gauges to detect malfunctions. Press control buttons to activate machinery and equipment.
Turn controls to adjust machine functions, such as regulating air pressure, creating vacuums, and adjusting coolant flow. Review work orders, specifications, or instructions to determine materials, ingredients, procedures, components, settings, and adjustments for extruding, forming, pressing, or compacting machines. Select and install machine components, such as dies, molds, and cutters, according to specifications, using hand tools and measuring devices.
Record and maintain production data, such as meter readings, and quantities, types, and dimensions of materials produced. Notify supervisors when extruded filaments fail to meet standards. Synchronize speeds of sections of machines when producing products involving several steps or processes.
Feed products into machines by hand or conveyor. Clear jams, and remove defective or substandard materials or products. Move materials, supplies, components, and finished products between storage and work areas, using work aids such as racks, hoists, and handtrucks.
Swab molds with solutions to prevent products from sticking. Complete work tickets, and place them with products. Activate machines to shape or form products, such as candy bars, light bulbs, balloons, or insulation panels.
Remove molds, mold components, and feeder tubes from machinery after production is complete. Remove materials or products from molds or from extruding, forming, pressing, or compacting machines, and stack or store them for additional processing. Measure, mix, cut, shape, soften, and join materials and ingredients, such as powder, cornmeal, or rubber to prepare them for machine processing.
Send product samples to laboratories for analysis. Thread extruded strips through water tanks and hold-down bars, or attach strands to wires and draw them through tubes. Ignite burners to preheat products, or use torches to apply heat.
Clean dies, arbors, compression chambers, and molds, using swabs, sponges, or air hoses. Disassemble equipment to repair it or to replace parts, such as nozzles, punches, and filters. Pour, scoop, or dump specified ingredients, metal assemblies, or mixtures into sections of machine prior to starting machines.
Install, align, and adjust neck rings, press plungers, and feeder tubes. Couple air and gas lines to machines to maintain plasticity of material and to regulate solidification of final products. Measure arbors and dies to verify sizes specified on work tickets.





Select Abilities
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity). The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem. 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.
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). 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).
The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways. The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem. The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures. The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns. The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object. The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you. The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted. The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources). The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects. The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects. The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion. The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part. The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears. The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists. The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects. The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object. The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without 'giving out' or fatiguing. The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath. The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs. The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion. The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). The ability to see details at a distance. The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
The ability to see under low light conditions. The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead. The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
The ability to see objects in the presence of glare or bright lighting. The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness. The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated. The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.




Tools Used
Blow torches Burners Compacting machines
Computer numerically controlled CNC Extruders Core cutters Digital bench scales
Digital calipers Digital micrometers Film winders
Forming machines Glass forming machines High speed wrapping machines
Hopper dryers Laser micrometers Machine templates
Microwave extruders Plodder machines Power lifts
Precision rulers Pressing machines Pressure gauges
Rubber extruders Scrap grinders Sheeters
Single screw extruders Slitters Trim grinders
Trim knives Trim winders Tuber machines
Twin-barrel extrusion machines Vulcanizer presses Wheeled forklifts

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