Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Career Overview

Set up, operate, or tend machines to crush, grind, or polish materials, such as coal, glass, grain, stone, food, or rubber.

Also Known As

Grinder
Machine Operator
Miller
Preparation Operator (Prep Operator)

Alternate Job Titles

Abrasive Grinder
Air Bag Buffer
Air Chipper
Automatic Blocker
Automatic Buffer
Automatic Corn Grinder Operator
Automatic Grinding Machine Operator
Automatic Pattern Edger
Back Grinder
Ball Truing Machine Operator
Bark Grinder
Barytes Grinder
Beater Engineer
Bed Rubber
Beveler

What You'll Do

In this role, your typical responsibilities include:

Observe operation of equipment to ensure continuity of flow, safety, and efficient operation, and to detect malfunctions.
Clean, adjust, and maintain equipment, using hand tools.
Tend accessory equipment, such as pumps and conveyors, to move materials or ingredients through production processes.
Move controls to start, stop, or adjust machinery and equipment that crushes, grinds, polishes, or blends materials.
Notify supervisors of needed repairs.
Weigh or measure materials, ingredients, or products at specified intervals to ensure conformance to requirements.
Record data from operations, testing, and production on specified forms.

Essential Skills

Success in this career requires strong skills in:

Operations Monitoring
Operation and Control

Key Abilities

This career requires key abilities in:

Manual Dexterity
Control Precision
Reaction Time
Near Vision
Multilimb Coordination
Rate Control
Arm-Hand Steadiness
Problem Sensitivity
Finger Dexterity
Perceptual Speed

Work Style

People who excel in this career typically demonstrate:

Dependability
Cautiousness
Attention to Detail
Stress Tolerance
Perseverance

What Matters in This Career

This career tends to satisfy these work values:

Support
Relationships
Working Conditions
Achievement
Recognition

Education & Preparation

Typical Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)

Related Work Experience Needed: Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years

On-the-Job Training: Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months

Education Details: Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Experience Required: Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.

Technology You'll Use

Popular Technologies & Software

Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Word
SAP software

Tools & Equipment

Adjustable wrenches
Ammeters
Belt scales
Chipping hammers
Claw hammers
Comealongs
Desktop computers
Dollies
Forklifts
Front end loaders
Grease guns
Handtrucks
Holding clamps
Hole cutters
Hole punches

Work Environment

Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls
Freedom to Make Decisions
Health and Safety of Other Workers

Salary & Job Market

Salary Percentile	Annual Wage
Entry-Level (10th percentile)	$35,380
Median	$46,890
Top Earners (90th percentile)	$65,980

Workers Employed Nationally: 28,550