How to become Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tender in 2024

Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tender Operate or tend heating equipment other than basic metal, plastic, or food processing equipment. Includes activities such as annealing glass, drying lumber, curing rubber, removing moisture from materials, or boiling soap.

Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tender is Also Know as

In different settings, Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tender is titled as

  • Annealing Operator
  • Dry Kiln Operator
  • Dryer Feeder
  • Evaporator Operator
  • Furnace Operator
  • Kiln Fireman
  • Kiln Operator
  • Lime Kiln and Recausticizing Operator
  • Oven Operator

Education and Training of Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tender

Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tender is categorized in Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed

Experience Required for Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tender

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Education Required for Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tender

These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Degrees Related to Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tender

Training Required for Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tender

Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Related Ocuupations

Some Ocuupations related to Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tender in different industries are

What Do Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tender do?

  • Weigh or measure specified amounts of ingredients or materials for processing, using devices such as scales and calipers.
  • Press and adjust controls to activate, set, and regulate equipment according to specifications.
  • Monitor equipment operation, gauges, and panel lights to detect deviations from standards.
  • Read and interpret work orders and instructions to determine work assignments, process specifications, and production schedules.
  • Record gauge readings, test results, and shift production in log books.
  • Confer with supervisors or other equipment operators to report equipment malfunctions or to resolve production problems.
  • Examine or test samples of processed substances, or collect samples for laboratory testing, to ensure conformance to specifications.
  • Clean, lubricate, and adjust equipment, using scrapers, solvents, air hoses, oil, and hand tools.
  • Transport materials and products to and from work areas, manually or using carts, handtrucks, or hoists.
  • Stop equipment and clear blockages or jams, using fingers, wire, or hand tools.
  • Remove products from equipment, manually or using hoists, and prepare them for storage, shipment, or additional processing.
  • Calculate amounts of materials to be loaded into furnaces, adjusting amounts as necessary for specific conditions.
  • Feed fuel, such as coal and coke, into fireboxes or onto conveyors, and remove ashes from furnaces, using shovels and buckets.
  • Melt or refine metal before casting, calculating required temperatures, and observe metal color, adjusting controls as necessary to maintain required temperatures.
  • Replace worn or defective equipment parts, using hand tools.
  • Load equipment receptacles or conveyors with material to be processed, by hand or using hoists.
  • Sprinkle chemicals on the surface of molten metal to bring impurities to surface and remove impurities, using strainers.
  • Direct crane operators and crew members to load vessels with materials to be processed.

Qualities of Good Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tender

  • Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  • Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
  • Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
  • Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  • Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
  • Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
  • Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
  • Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
  • Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
  • Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
  • Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
  • Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
  • Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
  • Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
  • Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
  • Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
  • Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
  • Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
  • Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
  • Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
  • Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
  • Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
  • Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
  • Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
  • Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
  • Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
  • Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
  • Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
  • Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
  • Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
  • Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

Tools Used by Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tender

  • Basket strainers
  • Cleaning scrapers
  • Continuous baking furnaces
  • Conveyor belts
  • Curing ovens
  • Dielectric power loss moisture meters
  • Digital bench scales
  • Digital calipers
  • Digital hygrometers
  • Digital micrometers
  • Drying ovens
  • Electric hoists
  • Electric moisture meters
  • Electronic top-loading balances
  • Glass kilns
  • Handtrucks
  • High-heat digital thermometers
  • Hot air core drying ovens
  • Industrial air dryers
  • Industrial production electric furnaces
  • Material shovels
  • Moving carts
  • Natural gas powered boilers
  • Optical pyrometers
  • Portable saws
  • Radial arm saws
  • Resistance moisture meters
  • Self-calculating balances
  • Skid steers
  • Swing saws
  • Table saws
  • Tracked overhead cranes
  • Triple beam balances
  • Wheeled forklifts

Technology Skills required for Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tender

  • Inventory tracking software
  • Machine operation software
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Word