National
| Median wages (2008) |
$11.00 hourly, $22,880 annual |
| Employment (2006) |
44,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2006-2016) |
Decline slowly or moderately (-3% to -9%)
|
| Projected need (2006-2016) |
17,000 additional employees |
51-3093.00 - Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
Operate or tend cooking equipment, such as steam cooking vats, deep fry cookers, pressure cookers, kettles, and boilers, to prepare food products.
Sample of reported job titles:
Fryer Operator, Processor, Kettle Fry Cook Operator, Retort Operator, Mogul Operator, Master Cook, Process Technician, Cooker Mechanic, Sanding Line Operator, Thermo Processor
Tasks
- Record production and test data, such as processing steps, temperature and steam readings, cooking time, batches processed, and test results.
- Listen for malfunction alarms, and shut down equipment and notify supervisors when necessary.
- Collect and examine product samples during production to test them for quality, color, content, consistency, viscosity, acidity, or specific gravity.
- Observe gauges, dials, and product characteristics, and adjust controls to maintain appropriate temperature, pressure, and flow of ingredients.
- Read work orders, recipes, or formulas to determine cooking times and temperatures, and ingredient specifications.
- Clean, wash, and sterilize equipment and cooking area, using water hoses, cleaning or sterilizing solutions, or rinses.
- Set temperature, pressure, and time controls, and start conveyers, machines, or pumps.
- Tend or operate and control equipment such as kettles, cookers, vats and tanks, and boilers, to cook ingredients or prepare products for further processing.
- Measure or weigh ingredients, using scales or measuring containers.
- Admit required amounts of water, steam, cooking oils, or compressed air into equipment, such as by opening water valves to cool mixtures to the desired consistency.
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Tools & Technology
Tools used in this occupation:
| Conveyor feeders — Electromagnetic vibratory feeders |
| Cooking machinery — Boilers; Continuous baking ovens; Vacuum batch cookers; Water immersion retorts |
| Filling machinery — Canners |
| Forming machine — Molding machines; Molding presses |
| Hand trucks or accessories — Hand trucks |
| Hoists — Chain hoists |
| Roasting machinery — Hot oil roasting equipment; Roasting equipment |
| Sifting machinery — Combination feeders |
| Smoking machinery — Smoke generators; Smoking equipment |
| Steaming machinery — Steam air retorts; Steam kettles; Steam retorts; Water spray retorts |
