Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders — Tasks

Task statements

• Fill or remove product from trays, carts, hoppers, or equipment, using scoops, peels, or shovels, or by hand.
• Observe, feel, taste, or otherwise examine products during and after processing to ensure conformance to standards.
• Set temperature and time controls, light ovens, burners, driers, or roasters, and start equipment, such as conveyors, cylinders, blowers, driers, or pumps.
• Observe temperature, humidity, pressure gauges, and product samples and adjust controls, such as thermostats and valves, to maintain prescribed operating conditions for specific stages.
• Observe flow of materials and listen for machine malfunctions, such as jamming or spillage, and notify supervisors if corrective actions fail.
• Record production data, such as weight and amount of product processed, type of product, and time and temperature of processing.
• Weigh or measure products, using scale hoppers or scale conveyors.
• Operate or tend equipment that roasts, bakes, dries, or cures food items such as cocoa and coffee beans, grains, nuts, and bakery products.
• Signal coworkers to synchronize flow of materials.
• Read work orders to determine quantities and types of products to be baked, dried, or roasted.
• Take product samples during or after processing for laboratory analyses.
• Test products for moisture content, using moisture meters.
• Clear or dislodge blockages in bins, screens, or other equipment, using poles, brushes, or mallets.
• Start conveyors to move roasted grain to cooling pans and agitate grain with rakes as blowers force air through perforated bottoms of pans.
• Open valves, gates, or chutes or use shovels to load or remove products from ovens or other equipment.
• Clean equipment with steam, hot water, and hoses.
• Smooth out products in bins, pans, trays, or conveyors, using rakes or shovels.
• Install equipment, such as spray units, cutting blades, or screens, using hand tools.
• Push racks or carts to transfer products to storage, cooling stations, or the next stage of processing.