Task statements

  • Record maintenance information, including test results, material usage, and repairs made.
  • Disassemble and repair mechanical control devices or valves, such as regulators, thermostats, or hydrants, using power tools, hand tools, and cutting torches.
  • Lubricate wearing surfaces of mechanical parts, using oils or other lubricants.
  • Calibrate instrumentation, such as meters, gauges, and regulators, for pressure, temperature, flow, and level.
  • Install, inspect and test electric meters, relays, and power sources to detect causes of malfunctions and inaccuracies, using hand tools and testing equipment.
  • Test valves and regulators for leaks and accurate temperature and pressure settings, using precision testing equipment.
  • Record meter readings and installation data on meter cards, work orders, or field service orders, or enter data into hand-held computers.
  • Turn meters on or off to establish or close service.
  • Shut off service and notify repair crews when major repairs are required, such as the replacement of underground pipes or wiring.
  • Install regulators and related equipment such as gas meters, odorization units, and gas pressure telemetering equipment.
  • Cut seats to receive new orifices, tap inspection ports, and perform other repairs to salvage usable materials, using hand tools and machine tools.
  • Turn valves to allow measured amounts of air or gas to pass through meters at specified flow rates.
  • Report hazardous field situations and damaged or missing meters.
  • Vary air pressure flowing into regulators and turn handles to assess functioning of valves and pistons.
  • Examine valves or mechanical control device parts for defects, dents, or loose attachments, and mark malfunctioning areas of defective units.
  • Mount and install meters and other electric equipment such as time clocks, transformers, and circuit breakers, using electricians' hand tools.
  • Connect regulators to test stands, and turn screw adjustments until gauges indicate that inlet and outlet pressures meet specifications.
  • Investigate instances of illegal tapping into service lines.
  • Trace and tag meters or house lines.
  • Repair electric meters and components, such as transformers and relays, and replace metering devices, dial glasses, and faulty or incorrect wiring, using hand tools.
  • Replace defective parts, such as bellows, range springs, and toggle switches, and reassemble units according to blueprints, using cam presses and hand tools.
  • Measure tolerances of assembled and salvageable parts for conformance to standards or specifications, using gauges, micrometers, and calipers.
  • Clean internal compartments and moving parts, using rags and cleaning compounds.
  • Dismantle meters, and replace or adjust defective parts such as cases, shafts, gears, disks, and recording mechanisms, using soldering irons and hand tools.
  • Disconnect or remove defective or unauthorized meters, using hand tools.
  • Attach air hoses to meter inlets, plug outlets, and observe gauges for pressure losses to test internal seams for leaks.
  • Make adjustments to meter components, such as setscrews or timing mechanisms, so that they conform to specifications.
  • Repair leaks in valve seats or bellows of automotive heater thermostats, using soft solder, flux, and acetylene torches.
  • Splice and connect cables from meters or current transformers to pull boxes or switchboards, using hand tools.
  • Advise customers on proper installation of valves or regulators and related equipment.
  • Clean plant growth, scale, paint, soil, or rust from meter housings, using wire brushes, scrapers, buffers, sandblasters, or cleaning compounds.
  • Connect hoses from provers to meter inlets and outlets, and raise prover bells until prover gauges register zero.

Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.