According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Regulate supplies of fuel and air, or control flow of electric current and water coolant to heat furnaces and adjust temperatures. | 92% |
| Draw smelted metal samples from furnaces or kettles for analysis, and calculate types and amounts of materials needed to ensure that materials meet specifications. | 91% |
| Prepare material to load into furnaces, including cleaning, crushing, or applying chemicals, by using crushing machines, shovels, rakes, or sprayers. | 91% |
| Weigh materials to be charged into furnaces, using scales. | 90% |
| Record production data, and maintain production logs. | 90% |
| Observe air and temperature gauges or metal color and fluidity, and turn fuel valves or adjust controls to maintain required temperatures. | 89% |
| Operate controls to move or discharge metal workpieces from furnaces. | 89% |
| Inspect furnaces and equipment to locate defects and wear. | 88% |
| Drain, transfer, or remove molten metal from furnaces, and place it into molds, using hoists, pumps, or ladles. | 87% |
| Remove impurities from the surface of molten metal, using strainers. | 86% |
| Kindle fires, and shovel fuel and other materials into furnaces or onto conveyors by hand, with hoists, or by directing crane operators. | 85% |
| Observe operations inside furnaces, using television screens, to ensure that problems do not occur. | 85% |
| Sprinkle chemicals over molten metal to bring impurities to the surface. | 84% |
| Direct work crews in the cleaning and repair of furnace walls and flooring. | 80% |
| Scrape accumulations of metal oxides from floors, molds, and crucibles, and sift and store them for reclamation. | 74% |
