51-8021 Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators
Operate or maintain stationary engines, boilers, or
other mechanical equipment to provide utilities for
buildings or industrial processes. Operate equipment,
such as steam engines, generators, motors, turbines,
and steam boilers.
Illustrative Examples: Cooling System Operator; Low Pres-sure
Firer; Steam Engineer
51-8031 Water and Liquid Waste Treatment
Plant and System Operators
Operate or control an entire process or system of
machines, often through the use of control boards, to
transfer or treat water or liquid waste.
Illustrative Examples: Disposal Operator; Filtration Plant
Operator; Sewage Plant Operator
51-8091 Chemical Plant and System Operators
Control or operate an entire chemical process or
system of machines.
Illustrative Examples: Denitrator; Nitrogen Operator;
Wash Operator
51-8092 Gas Plant Operators
(Liquefaction Plant Operator) Distribute or process
gas for utility companies and others by controlling
compressors to maintain specifi ed pressures on main
pipelines.
Illustrative Example: Pressure Dispatcher
51-8093 Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refi n-ery
Operators, and Gaugers
Control the operation of petroleum refi ning or process-ing
units. May specialize in controlling manifold and
pumping systems, gauging or testing oil in storage
tanks, or regulating the fl ow of oil into pipelines.
Illustrative Examples: Absorption Plant Operator; Gasoline
Plant Operator; Oil Refi ner
51-8099 Plant and System Operators, All Other
All plant and system operators not listed separately.
Illustrative Examples: Asphalt Plant Operator; Lime Filter
Operator; Incinerator Operator
51-9011 Chemical Equipment Operators and
Tenders
(Acid Purifi er) Operate or tend equipment to control
chemical changes or reactions in the processing of
industrial or consumer products. Equipment used
includes devulcanizers, steam-jacketed kettles, and
reactor vessels. Exclude “Chemical Plant and System
Operators” (51-8091).
Illustrative Examples: Acetylene Plant Operator; Caustic
Purifi cation Operator
51-9012 Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipi-tating,
and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and
Tenders
(Brewmaster) Set up, operate, or tend continuous fl ow
or vat-type equipment; fi lter presses; shaker screens;
centrifuges; condenser tubes; precipitating, ferment-ing,
or evaporating tanks; scrubbing towers; or batch
stills. These machines extract, sort, or separate liquids,
gases, or solids from other materials to recover a
refi ned product. Include dairy processing equipment
operators. Exclude “Chemical Equipment Operators and
Tenders” (51-9011).
Illustrative Examples: Dairy Processing Equipment Opera-tor;
Distiller
51-9021 Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine
Setters, Operators, and Tenders
(Sand Blast Operator) Set up, operate, or tend ma-chines
to crush, grind, or polish materials, such as coal,
glass, grain, stone, food, or rubber.
Illustrative Examples: Beveling and Edging Machine
Operator; Pulverizer Operator
51-9022 Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand
(Glass Finisher, Chipper) Grind, sand, or polish, using
hand tools or hand-held power tools, a variety of metal,
wood, stone, clay, plastic, or glass objects. Include chip-pers,
buffers, and fi nishers.
Illustrative Examples: Metal Sander; Gun Barrel Finisher;
Hand Buffer
51-9023 Mixing and Blending Machine Setters,
Operators, and Tenders
(Grain Mixer) Set up, operate, or tend machines to mix
or blend materials, such as chemicals, tobacco, liquids,
color pigments, or explosive ingredients. Exclude
“Food Batchmakers” (51-3092).
Illustrative Examples: Batch Maker; Clay Mixer; Tumbler
Tender
51-9031 Cutters and Trimmers, Hand
Use hand tools or hand-held power tools to cut and
trim a variety of manufactured items, such as carpet,
fabric, stone, glass, or rubber.
Illustrative Examples: Buttonhole Maker; Fur Trimmer;
Thread Clipper
51-9032 Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Op-erators,
and Tenders
(Shear Operator) Set up, operate, or tend machines
that cut or slice materials, such as glass, stone, cork,
rubber, tobacco, food, paper, or insulating material. Ex-clude
“Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and
Tenders” (51-7041 through 51-7042), “Cutting, Punch-ing,
and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders,
Metal and Plastic” (51-4031), and “Textile Cutting
Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders” (51-6062).
Illustrative Examples: Bias Machine Operator; Slate Trim-mer
51-9041 Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Com-pacting
Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
(Brick or Block Maker) Set up, operate, or tend
machines, such as glass forming machines, plodder ma-chines,
and tuber machines, to shape and form prod-ucts,
such as glassware, food, rubber, soap, brick, tile,
clay, wax, tobacco, or cosmetics. Exclude “Paper Goods
Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders” (51-9196) and
“Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders” (51-6042).
Illustrative Examples: Briquette Maker; Cigarette Machine
Operator; Rubber Laminating Machine Operator
51-9051 Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle
Operators and Tenders
Operate or tend heating equipment other than basic
metal, plastic, or food processing equipment. Include
activities, such as annealing glass, drying lumber,
curing rubber, removing moisture from materials, or
boiling soap.
Illustrative Examples: Brick Baker; Stoker; Tunnel Kiln
Operator
51-9061 Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers,
and Weighers
(Quality Checker) Inspect, test, sort, sample, or weigh
nonagricultural raw materials or processed, machined,
fabricated, or assembled parts or products for defects,
wear, and deviations from specifi cations. May use
precision measuring instruments and complex test
equipment.
Illustrative Examples: Bearing Inspector; Testing and
Regulating Technician
51-9071 Jewelers and Precious Stone and
Metal Workers
(Gemologist) Design, fabricate, adjust, repair, or ap-praise
jewelry, gold, silver, other precious metals, or
gems. Include diamond polishers and gem cutters and
persons who perform precision casting and modeling
of molds, casting metal in molds, or setting precious
and semi-precious stones for jewelry and related
products.
Illustrative Examples: Diamond Expert; Goldsmith
51-9081 Dental Laboratory Technicians
(Orthodontic Technician) Construct and repair full or
partial dentures or dental appliances. Exclude “Dental
Assistants” (31-9091).
Illustrative Examples: Ceramist; Crown and Bridge Techni-cian
51-9082 Medical Appliance Technicians
(Orthotics Technician) Construct, fi t, maintain, or repair
medical supportive devices, such as braces, artifi cial
limbs, joints, arch supports, and other surgical and
medical appliances.
Illustrative Examples: Brace Maker; Prosthetics Technician
51-9083 Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians
(Lens Grinder) Cut, grind, and polish eyeglasses,
contact lenses, or other precision optical elements. As-semble
and mount lenses into frames or process other
optical elements. Include precision lens polishers or
grinders, centerer-edgers, and lens mounters. Exclude
“Opticians, Dispensing” (29-2081).
Illustrative Examples: Eyeglass Maker; Spectacle Truer
51-9111 Packaging and Filling Machine
Operators and Tenders
(Cannery Worker, Bottler) Operate or tend machines
to prepare industrial or consumer products for storage
or shipment. Include cannery workers who pack food
products.
Illustrative Examples: Bottle Caser; Wrapper Layer; Strap-ping
Machine Operator
51-9121 Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine
Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend machines to coat or paint any
of a wide variety of products including food, glassware,
cloth, ceramics, metal, plastic, paper, or wood, with
lacquer, silver, copper, rubber, varnish, glaze, enamel, oil,
or rust-proofi ng materials. Exclude “Plating and Coating
Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and
Plastic” (51-4193) and “Painters, Transportation Equip-ment”
(51-9122).
Illustrative Examples: Electrostatic Paint Operator; Silver-ing
Applicator; Supercalender Operator
51-9122 Painters, Transportation Equipment
Operate or tend painting machines to paint surfaces of
transportation equipment, such as automobiles, buses,
trucks, trains, boats, and airplanes. Include painters in
auto body repair facilities.
Illustrative Examples: Auto Painter; Rust Proofer
51-9123 Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers
Paint, coat, or decorate articles, such as furniture, glass,
plateware, pottery, jewelry, cakes, toys, books, or leather.
Exclude “Artists and Related Workers” (27-1011 through
27-1019), “Designers” (27-1021 through 27-1029), “Pho-tographic
Process Workers” (51-9131), and “Etchers and
Engravers” (51-9194).
Illustrative Examples: Stenciler; Candy Dipper; Mirror
Silverer
51-9131 Photographic Process Workers
(Photo Finisher) Perform precision work involved in
photographic processing, such as editing photographic
negatives and prints, using photo-mechanical, chemi-cal,
or computerized methods.
Illustrative Examples: Photographic Colorist; Darkroom
Technician
51-9132 Photographic Processing Machine
Operators
(Film Processor) Operate photographic processing
machines, such as photographic printing machines,
fi lm developing machines, and mounting presses.
Illustrative Examples: Film Printer; Reproduction Machine
Loader
51-9141 Semiconductor Processors
Perform any or all of the following functions in the
Wage Data 2009 57
