According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Measure furnace walls to determine dimensions and cut required number of sheets from plastic block, using saws. | 86% |
| Reline or repair ladles and pouring spouts with refractory clay, using trowels. | 84% |
| Tighten locknuts holding refractory stopper assemblies together, spread mortar on jackets to seal sleeve joints, and dry mortar in ovens. | 79% |
| Dry and bake new linings by placing inverted linings over burners, building fires in ladles, or by using blowtorches. | 79% |
| Remove worn or damaged plastic block refractory linings of furnaces, using hand tools. | 77% |
| Fasten stopper heads to rods with metal pins to assemble refractory stoppers used to plug pouring nozzles of steel ladles. | 76% |
| Chip slag from linings of ladles or remove linings when beyond repair, using hammers and chisels. | 74% |
| Climb scaffolding, carrying hoses, and spray surfaces of cupolas with refractory mixtures, using spray equipment. | 73% |
| Mix specified amounts of sand, clay, mortar powder, and water to form refractory clay or mortar, using shovels or mixing machines. | 72% |
| Drill holes in furnace walls, bolt overlapping layers of plastic to walls, and hammer surfaces to compress layers into solid sheets. | 72% |
| Spread mortar on stopper heads and rods, using trowels, and slide brick sleeves over rods to form refractory jackets. | 71% |
| Dump and tamp clay in molds, using tamping tools. | 66% |
| Disassemble molds, and cut, chip, and smooth clay structures such as floaters, drawbars, and L-blocks. | 64% |
| Transfer clay structures to curing ovens, melting tanks, and drawing kilns, using forklifts. | 64% |
| Install preformed metal scaffolding in interiors of cupolas, using hand tools. | 48% |
| Install clay structures in melting tanks and drawing kilns to control the flow and temperature of molten glass, using hoists and hand tools. | 41% |
