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Date: 03/10/2025

Chemical Plant and System Operators

Control or operate entire chemical processes or system of machines.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Monitor recording instruments, flowmeters, panel lights, or other indicators and listen for warning signals to verify conformity of process conditions.
    • Repair or replace damaged equipment.
    • Interpret chemical reactions visible through sight glasses or on television monitors and review laboratory test reports for process adjustments.
    • Move control settings to make necessary adjustments on equipment units affecting speeds of chemical reactions, quality, or yields.
    • Notify maintenance, stationary engineering, or other auxiliary personnel to correct equipment malfunctions or to adjust power, steam, water, or air supplies.
    • Patrol work areas to ensure that solutions in tanks or troughs are not in danger of overflowing.
    • Repair or replace damaged equipment.
    • Start pumps to wash and rinse reactor vessels, to exhaust gases or vapors, to regulate the flow of oil, steam, air, or perfume to towers, or to add products to converter or blending vessels.
    • Draw samples of products and conduct quality control tests to monitor processing and to ensure that standards are met.
    • Gauge tank levels, using calibrated rods.
    • Record operating data, such as process conditions, test results, or instrument readings.
    • Confer with technical and supervisory personnel to report or resolve conditions affecting safety, efficiency, or product quality.
    • Inspect operating units, such as towers, soap-spray storage tanks, scrubbers, collectors, or driers to ensure that all are functioning and to maintain maximum efficiency.
    • Draw samples of products and conduct quality control tests to monitor processing and to ensure that standards are met.
    • Defrost frozen valves, using steam hoses.
    • Calculate material requirements or yields according to formulas.
    • Turn valves to regulate flow of products or byproducts through agitator tanks, storage drums, or neutralizer tanks.
    • Direct workers engaged in operating machinery that regulates the flow of materials and products.
    • Control or operate chemical processes or systems of machines, using panelboards, control boards, or semi-automatic equipment.
    • Supervise the cleaning of towers, strainers, or spray tips.
    • Regulate or shut down equipment during emergency situations, as directed by supervisory personnel.

    Skills

    • Systems Analysis

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

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Troubleshooting

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

    • Coordination

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

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Systems Evaluation

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

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

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

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Active Listening

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

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Operations Monitoring

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

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Critical Thinking

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

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Operations Analysis

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

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Learning Strategies

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

    • Monitoring

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

    • Complex Problem Solving

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

    • Equipment Selection

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

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    5

    Abilities

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Extent Flexibility

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

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Auditory Attention

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

    • Inductive Reasoning

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

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Multilimb Coordination

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

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Gross Body Coordination

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

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Response Orientation

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

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Visualization

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

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Depth Perception

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

    • Glare Sensitivity

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

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Perceptual Speed

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

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

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

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

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

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Reaction Time

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

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Control Precision

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

    • Rate Control

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

    Knowledge

    • 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.

    • Biology

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

    • Transportation

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

    • History and Archeology

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

    • Law and Government

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

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Design

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

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Economics and Accounting

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

    • 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.

    • Telecommunications

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

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Fine Arts

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

    • Mechanical

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

    • 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.

    • English Language

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

    • Sociology and Anthropology

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

    • 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.

    • Mathematics

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

    • Food Production

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

    • 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.

    • Computers and Electronics

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

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Production and Processing

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

    Career Video

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    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 66750/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 32.09/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 380
    • Yearly Projected Openings 40

    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
    • Integrity
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Analytical Thinking
    • Cooperation

    Tools

    • Air conditioners
    • Air dryers
    • Barometers
    • Belt conveyors
    • Bucket conveyors
    • Calorimeters
    • Capacitance meters
    • Cathode ray tube CRT monitors
    • Centrifugal compressors
    • Centrifugal pumps
    • Chain conveyors
    • Chemical absorption gas analyzers
    • Chemical tanks
    • Collection tanks
    • Conveyor feeders
    • Desktop computers
    • Distillation pipings or columns or fittings
    • Distribution or control board fixtures
    • Evaporative coolers
    • Fans
    • Fire extinguishers
    • Flowmeters
    • Hazardous material protective apparel
    • Heating or drying equipment or accessories
    • Humidifiers
    • Hydraulic accumulators
    • Logging instruments for water wells
    • Manometers
    • Packaged water treatment systems
    • Positive displacement pumps
    • Pressure sensors
    • Processing tanks
    • Radiation detectors
    • Reciprocating compressors
    • Reciprocating pumps
    • Refrigerated tanks
    • Rotary pumps
    • Screw conveyor
    • Silencer sections
    • Special hoses
    • Steam engines
    • Storage tanks
    • Surface thermometers
    • Tension testers
    • Thermocouple probes
    • Thermocouples
    • Viscosimeters
    • Water tube boiler
    • Wet scrubbers

    Technology

    • Industrial control software
    • Network security or virtual private network VPN management software
    • Office suite software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

    • InDemand occupations are considered a priority by the state of Ohio.
    • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.
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