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Date: 03/10/2025

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

Operate or tend food or tobacco roasting, baking, or drying equipment, including hearth ovens, kiln driers, roasters, char kilns, and vacuum drying equipment.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Smooth out products in bins, pans, trays, or conveyors, using rakes or shovels.
    • Set temperature and time controls, light ovens, burners, driers, or roasters, and start equipment, such as conveyors, cylinders, blowers, driers, or pumps.
    • Observe, feel, taste, or otherwise examine products during and after processing to ensure conformance to standards.
    • Install equipment, such as spray units, cutting blades, or screens, using hand tools.
    • Fill or remove product from trays, carts, hoppers, or equipment, using scoops, peels, or shovels, or by hand.
    • Test products for moisture content, using moisture meters.
    • Open valves, gates, or chutes or use shovels to load or remove products from ovens or other equipment.
    • 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.
    • Clean equipment with steam, hot water, and hoses.
    • 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.
    • Weigh or measure products, using scale hoppers or scale conveyors.
    • Record production data, such as weight and amount of product processed, type of product, and time and temperature of processing.
    • Push racks or carts to transfer products to storage, cooling stations, or the next stage of processing.
    • Observe, feel, taste, or otherwise examine products during and after processing to ensure conformance to standards.
    • Read work orders to determine quantities and types of products to be baked, dried, or roasted.
    • Observe flow of materials and listen for machine malfunctions, such as jamming or spillage, and notify supervisors if corrective actions fail.
    • 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.
    • Weigh or measure products, using scale hoppers or scale conveyors.
    • Observe flow of materials and listen for machine malfunctions, such as jamming or spillage, and notify supervisors if corrective actions fail.
    • Take product samples during or after processing for laboratory analyses.

    Skills

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    Knowledge

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    Career Video

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    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 36680/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 17.64/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 660
    • Yearly Projected Openings 90

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Dependability
    • Attention to Detail
    • Independence
    • Cooperation
    • Self Control
    • Initiative

    Tools

    • Belt conveyors
    • Blowers
    • Carts
    • Commercial use plastic shovels
    • Commercial use scoops
    • Cooking machinery
    • Cooling machine
    • Dissolved oxygen meters
    • Drying racks
    • Food drying equipment
    • Furnaces
    • Heat exchangers
    • Hopper scale
    • Humidifiers
    • Hydraulic pumps
    • Hygrometers
    • Loading equipment
    • Metallic bins
    • Moisture meters
    • Portable data input terminals
    • Pressure gauge
    • Remote reading thermometers
    • Roasting machinery
    • Roller conveyors
    • Spectrometers
    • Temperature gauge
    • Thermostats
    • Turntables

    Technology

    • Electronic mail software
    • Spreadsheet software
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