Process operators oversee and manage a full production at a manufacturing plant or similar industrial facility by monitoring equipment to ensure its quality, safety, and efficiency remain intact. They also ensure operations run safely and that essential maintenance of the facility’s equipment and instruments is regularly performed, and they troubleshoot these features when necessary. Process operators program and operate the facility’s computer system that directly operates its machinery. They use this system to start a plant up and shut it down and run the production of materials.
Process operators conduct constant inspections and identify abnormalities including broken equipment or safety issues. When a problem is identified, they compose a report and ensure necessary repairs, equipment adjustments, or proper responses have been instituted and that supervisors have been notified. Process operators ensure products under their supervision meet specifications and requirements, leading them to gather samples for lab analysis and perform quality control analysis on the product. Process operators need a high school diploma or equivalency, including a GED and technical or vocational training in safety protocols and heavy machinery.