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Conveyor Operators and Tenders
Control or tend conveyors or conveyor systems that move materials or products to and from stockpiles, processing stations, departments, or vehicles. May control speed and routing of materials or products.
Also Known As:
Chipper Operator
Debarker Operator
Flumer
Line Operator
Machine Operator
Package Line Operator
Packaging Line Operator
Packing Line Operator
Process Operator
Strapper Operator
Wages
Annual wages for Conveyor Operators and Tenders in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
30,100
-1% Change From 2023
Explore Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Manipulate controls, levers, and valves to start pumps, auxiliary equipment, or conveyors, and to adjust equipment positions, speeds, timing, and material flows.
- Read production and delivery schedules, and confer with supervisors, to determine sorting and transfer procedures, arrangement of packages on pallets, and destinations of loaded pallets.
- Thread strapping through strapping tools and secure battens with strapping to form protective pallets around extrusions.
- Record production data such as weights, types, quantities, and storage locations of materials, as well as equipment performance problems and downtime.
- Load, unload, or adjust materials or products on conveyors by hand, by using lifts, hoists, and scoops, or by opening gates, chutes, or hoppers.
- Position deflector bars, gates, chutes, or spouts to divert flow of materials from one conveyor onto another conveyor.
- Affix identifying information to materials or products, using hand tools.
- Manipulate controls, levers, and valves to start pumps, auxiliary equipment, or conveyors, and to adjust equipment positions, speeds, timing, and material flows.
- Observe conveyor operations and monitor lights, dials, and gauges to maintain specified operating levels and to detect equipment malfunctions.
- Weigh or measure materials and products, using scales or other measuring instruments, or read scales on conveyors that continually weigh products, to verify specified tonnages and prevent overloads.
- Move, assemble, and connect hoses or nozzles to material hoppers, storage tanks, conveyor sections or chutes, and pumps.
- Observe conveyor operations and monitor lights, dials, and gauges to maintain specified operating levels and to detect equipment malfunctions.
- Contact workers in work stations or other departments to request movement of materials, products, or machinery, or to notify them of incoming shipments and their estimated delivery times.
- Join sections of conveyor frames at temporary working areas, and connect power units.
- Join sections of conveyor frames at temporary working areas, and connect power units.
- Press console buttons to deflect packages to predetermined accumulators or reject lines.
- Clean, sterilize, and maintain equipment, machinery, and work stations, using hand tools, shovels, brooms, chemicals, hoses, and lubricants.
- Stop equipment or machinery and clear jams, using poles, bars, and hand tools, or remove damaged materials from conveyors.
- Inform supervisors of equipment malfunctions that need to be addressed.
- Stop equipment or machinery and clear jams, using poles, bars, and hand tools, or remove damaged materials from conveyors.
- Repair or replace equipment components or parts such as blades, rolls, and pumps.
- Move, assemble, and connect hoses or nozzles to material hoppers, storage tanks, conveyor sections or chutes, and pumps.
- Distribute materials, supplies, and equipment to work stations, using lifts and trucks.
- Observe packages moving along conveyors to identify packages, detect defective packaging, and perform quality control.
- Read production and delivery schedules, and confer with supervisors, to determine sorting and transfer procedures, arrangement of packages on pallets, and destinations of loaded pallets.
- Clean, sterilize, and maintain equipment, machinery, and work stations, using hand tools, shovels, brooms, chemicals, hoses, and lubricants.
- Collect samples of materials or products, checking them to ensure conformance to specifications or sending them to laboratories for analysis.
- Weigh or measure materials and products, using scales or other measuring instruments, or read scales on conveyors that continually weigh products, to verify specified tonnages and prevent overloads.
- Move, assemble, and connect hoses or nozzles to material hoppers, storage tanks, conveyor sections or chutes, and pumps.
- Clean, sterilize, and maintain equipment, machinery, and work stations, using hand tools, shovels, brooms, chemicals, hoses, and lubricants.
- Collect samples of materials or products, checking them to ensure conformance to specifications or sending them to laboratories for analysis.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- 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.
- 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.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- 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.
- 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.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- 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.
- 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.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- 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.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- 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.
- 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.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- 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.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- 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.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")