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Conveyor Operators and Tenders

Control or tend conveyors or conveyor systems that move materials or products to and from stockpiles, processing stations, departments, or vehicles. May control speed and routing of materials or products.

What you’d do

  • Stop equipment or machinery and clear jams, using poles, bars, and hand tools, or remove damaged materials from conveyors.
  • Load, unload, or adjust materials or products on conveyors by hand, by using lifts, hoists, and scoops, or by opening gates, chutes, or hoppers.
  • Observe conveyor operations and monitor lights, dials, and gauges to maintain specified operating levels and to detect equipment malfunctions.
  • Observe packages moving along conveyors to identify packages, detect defective packaging, and perform quality control.
  • Position deflector bars, gates, chutes, or spouts to divert flow of materials from one conveyor onto another conveyor.
  • Clean, sterilize, and maintain equipment, machinery, and work stations, using hand tools, shovels, brooms, chemicals, hoses, and lubricants.
  • Record production data such as weights, types, quantities, and storage locations of materials, as well as equipment performance problems and downtime.
  • Inform supervisors of equipment malfunctions that need to be addressed.

Skills that matter

  • Operation and Control
  • Operations Monitoring
  • Monitoring
  • Active Listening
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking

How to get there

Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

Also called

  • Chipper Operator
  • Machine Operator
  • Packaging Line Operator
  • Process Operator
  • Conveyor Operator
  • Conveyor Tender

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