What Do Cleaning, Washing and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders Do

• Add specified amounts of chemicals to equipment at required times to maintain solution levels and concentrations.
• Observe machine operations, gauges, or thermometers, and adjust controls to maintain specified conditions.
• Set controls to regulate temperature and length of cycles, and start conveyors, pumps, agitators, and machines.
• Draw samples for laboratory analysis, or test solutions for conformance to specifications, such as acidity or specific gravity.

Typical day

• On a daily basis, Cleaning Equipment Operators adjust, clean, and lubricate mechanical parts of machines, using hand tools and grease guns. They load machines with objects to be processed and unload them after cleaning, placing them on conveyors or racks.

  • Measure, weigh, or mix cleaning solutions, using measuring tanks, calibrated rods, or suction tubes.
  • Drain, clean, and refill machines or tanks at designated intervals, using cleaning solutions or water.
  • Add specified amounts of chemicals to equipment at required times to maintain solution levels and concentrations.
  • Observe machine operations, gauges, or thermometers, and adjust controls to maintain specified conditions.
  • Operate or tend machines to wash and remove impurities from items such as barrels or kegs, glass products, tin plate surfaces, dried fruit, pulp, animal stock, coal, manufactured articles, plastic, or rubber.

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Cleaning Equipment Operators also add specified amounts of chemicals to equipment at required times to maintain solution levels and concentrations. They may also measure, weigh, or mix cleaning solutions, using measuring tanks, calibrated rods, or suction tubes.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Cleaning Equipment Operators draw samples for laboratory analysis, or test solutions for conformance to specifications, such as acidity or specific gravity. They might also drain, clean, and refill machines or tanks at designated intervals, using cleaning solutions or water.

In addition, they record gauge readings, materials used, processing times, or test results in production logs.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them examine and inspect machines to detect malfunctions.

To some Cleaning Equipment Operators, it is also their responsibility to operate or tend machines to wash and remove impurities from items such as barrels or kegs, glass products, tin plate surfaces, dried fruit, pulp, animal stock, coal, manufactured articles, plastic, or rubber.