According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Set up, operate, or tend machines that cut or slice materials, such as glass, stone, cork, rubber, tobacco, food, paper, or insulating material. | 89% |
| Review work orders, blueprints, specifications, or job samples to determine components, settings, and adjustments for cutting and slicing machines. | 88% |
| Examine, measure, and weigh materials or products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring devices, such as rulers, micrometers, or scales. | 88% |
| Press buttons, pull levers, or depress pedals to start and operate cutting and slicing machines. | 87% |
| Start machines to verify setups, and make any necessary adjustments. | 86% |
| Feed stock into cutting machines, onto conveyors, or under cutting blades, by threading, guiding, pushing, or turning handwheels. | 86% |
| Operate cranes, or signal crane operators to position or remove stone from cars or saw beds. | 85% |
| Mark cutting lines or identifying information on stock, using marking pencils, rulers, or scribes. | 84% |
| Monitor operation of cutting or slicing machines to detect malfunctions or to determine whether supplies need replenishment. | 84% |
| Stack and sort cut material for packaging, further processing, or shipping, according to types and sizes of material. | 84% |
| Adjust machine controls to alter position, alignment, speed, or pressure. | 84% |
| Remove completed materials or products from cutting or slicing machines, and stack or store them for additional processing. | 84% |
| Remove defective or substandard materials from machines, and readjust machine components so that products meet standards. | 83% |
| Maintain production records, such as quantities, types, and dimensions of materials produced. | 83% |
| Start pumps to circulate water and abrasives onto blades or cables during cutting. | 82% |
| Position stock along cutting lines, or against stops on beds of scoring or cutting machines. | 80% |
| Move stock or scrap to and from machines manually, or by using carts, handtrucks, or lift trucks. | 80% |
| Type instructions on computer keyboards, push buttons to activate computer programs, or manually set cutting guides, clamps, and knives. | 80% |
| Change or replace saw blades, cables, cutter heads, and grinding wheels, using hand tools. | 79% |
| Position width gauge blocks between blades, and level blades and insert wedges into frames to secure blades to frames. | 79% |
| Select and install machine components, such as cutting blades, rollers, and templates, according to specifications, using hand tools. | 78% |
| Direct workers on cutting teams. | 77% |
| Sharpen cutting blades, knives, or saws, using files, bench grinders, or honing stones. | 77% |
| Turn cranks or press buttons to activate winches that move cars under sawing cables or saw frames. | 76% |
| Tighten pulleys or add abrasives to maintain cutting speeds. | 75% |
| Cut stock manually to prepare for machine cutting, using tools such as knives, cleavers, handsaws, or hammers and chisels. | 75% |
| Clean and lubricate cutting machines, conveyors, blades, saws, or knives, using steam hoses, scrapers, brushes, or oil cans. | 75% |
| Wash stones, using water hoses. | 61% |
