Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend machines to crush, grind, or polish materials, such as coal, glass, grain, stone, food, or rubber.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Monitoring
- Quality Control Analysis
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Coordination
Key knowledge
- Administration and Management
- Production and Processing
- English Language
- Education and Training
- Public Safety and Security
- Mathematics
- Mechanical
- Administrative
What the work involves
- Read work orders to determine production specifications and information.
- Observe operation of equipment to ensure continuity of flow, safety, and efficient operation, and to detect malfunctions.
- Move controls to start, stop, or adjust machinery and equipment that crushes, grinds, polishes, or blends materials.
- Record data from operations, testing, and production on specified forms.
- Examine materials, ingredients, or products, visually or with hands, to ensure conformance to established standards.
- Weigh or measure materials, ingredients, or products at specified intervals to ensure conformance to requirements.
- Clean, adjust, and maintain equipment, using hand tools.
- Notify supervisors of needed repairs.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (61.7% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (35.3%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (51.8%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 95% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 88% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 89% of occupations compared | — |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 56% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 62% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 92% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 97% of occupations compared | 59% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 88% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 18.8%
- Occasional contact with others: 11.69%
- Contact with others about half the time: 9.13%
- Contact with others most of the time: 24.44%
- Constant contact with others: 35.94%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2024
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 46.56%
- Fairly important: 16.88%
- Important: 16.07%
- Very important: 7.25%
- Extremely important: 13.24%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2024
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 17.41%
- Fairly important: 9.13%
- Important: 0.91%
- Very important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Extremely important: 26.14%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2024
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0.91%
- Limited freedom: 28.85%
- Some freedom: 32.99%
- A lot of freedom: 37.24%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2024
Time pressure
- Never: 5.14%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 23.32%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 6.83%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 24.12%
- Every day: 40.59%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2024
Conflict situations
- Never: 52.7%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 4.05%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 26.59%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 16.66%
- Every day: 0%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2024
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 58.67%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 21.93%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 5.14%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 14.26%
- Every day: 0%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2024
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 0.92%
- Fairly serious: 17.41%
- Serious: 12.6%
- Very serious: 21.5%
- Extremely serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2024
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
Where people with this background could move
- Analyze
Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Engine and Other Machine Assemblers
Closeness 93/100
Find more alternativesCompare skills with another job
O*NET-SOC 51-9021.00 · SOC 51-9021 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8