# 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.
- **Entity Type:** role
- **Schema Version:** role.v1
- **Soc Code:** 51-9021.00
- **Summary:** Set up, operate, or tend machines to crush, grind, or polish materials, such as coal, glass, grain, stone, food, or rubber.

## Aliases

- Grinder
- Machine Operator
- Miller
- Preparation Operator (Prep Operator)
- Beveler Operator
- Cullet Trucker
- Grinder Operator
- Machine Tender
- Polisher
- Pulverizer
- Abrasive Grinder
- Air Bag Buffer

## Tasks

| Text | Type | Iwa |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Observe operation of equipment to ensure continuity of flow, safety, and efficient operation, and to detect malfunctions. | Core | 4.A.1.a.2.a |
| Clean, adjust, and maintain equipment, using hand tools. | Core | 4.A.3.a.1.c |
| Tend accessory equipment, such as pumps and conveyors, to move materials or ingredients through production processes. | Core | 4.A.3.a.3.b |
| Move controls to start, stop, or adjust machinery and equipment that crushes, grinds, polishes, or blends materials. | Core | 4.A.3.a.3.l |
| Notify supervisors of needed repairs. | Core | 4.A.4.a.2.g |
| Weigh or measure materials, ingredients, or products at specified intervals to ensure conformance to requirements. | Core | 4.A.1.b.3.a |
| Test samples of materials or products to ensure compliance with specifications, using test equipment. | Supplemental | 4.A.1.b.2.c |
| Mark bins as to types of mixtures stored. | Supplemental | 4.A.1.b.1.a |
| Transfer materials, supplies, and products between work areas, using moving equipment and hand tools. | Supplemental | 4.A.3.a.1.j |
| Add or mix chemicals and ingredients for processing, using hand tools or other devices. | Supplemental | 4.A.3.a.1.a |
| Record data from operations, testing, and production on specified forms. | Core | 4.A.3.b.6.h |
| Collect samples of materials or products for laboratory testing. | Supplemental | 4.A.3.a.2.b |

## Emerging Tasks


## Activities

| Name | Iwa |
| --- | --- |
| Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements. | 4.A.1.a.1.b |
| Monitor equipment operation to ensure proper functioning. | 4.A.1.a.2.a |
| Operate grinding equipment. | 4.A.3.a.3.l |
| Record operational or production data. | 4.A.3.b.6.h |
| Test chemical or physical characteristics of materials or products. | 4.A.1.b.2.c |
| Measure ingredients or substances to be used in production processes. | 4.A.1.b.3.a |
| Weigh finished products. | 4.A.1.b.3.a |
| Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications. | 4.A.1.b.3.a |
| Clean production equipment. | 4.A.3.a.1.c |
| Maintain production or processing equipment. | 4.A.3.b.5.a |
| Notify others of equipment repair or maintenance needs. | 4.A.4.a.2.g |
| Evaluate quality of materials or products. | 4.A.2.a.1.e |
| Clean work areas. | 4.A.3.a.1.c |
| Move products, materials, or equipment between work areas. | 4.A.3.a.1.j |
| Clear equipment jams. | 4.A.3.b.5.a |
| Inspect production equipment. | 4.A.1.b.2.g |
| Operate pumping systems or equipment. | 4.A.3.a.3.b |
| Collect samples of materials or products for testing. | 4.A.3.a.2.b |
| Mark products, workpieces, or equipment with identifying information. | 4.A.1.b.1.a |
| Adjust equipment controls to regulate flow of water, cleaning solutions, or other liquids. | 4.A.3.a.2.i |
| Load materials into production equipment. | 4.A.3.a.1.f |
| Mix substances to create chemical solutions. | 4.A.3.a.1.a |

## Capabilities

| Name | Family | Value |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Operations Monitoring | transferable_skill | 3.88 |
| Operation and Control | transferable_skill | 3.88 |
| Manual Dexterity | ability | 3.62 |
| Control Precision | ability | 3.62 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | ability | 3.5 |
| Multilimb Coordination | ability | 3.5 |
| Rate Control | ability | 3.5 |
| Reaction Time | ability | 3.5 |
| Near Vision | ability | 3.5 |
| Administration and Management | knowledge | 3.45 |
| Production and Processing | knowledge | 3.4 |
| Problem Sensitivity | ability | 3.25 |
| English Language | knowledge | 3.2 |
| Education and Training | knowledge | 3.16 |
| Monitoring | essential_skill | 3.12 |
| Quality Control Analysis | transferable_skill | 3.12 |
| Flexibility of Closure | ability | 3.12 |
| Perceptual Speed | ability | 3.12 |
| Finger Dexterity | ability | 3.12 |
| Static Strength | ability | 3.12 |
| Trunk Strength | ability | 3.12 |
| Auditory Attention | ability | 3.12 |
| Public Safety and Security | knowledge | 3.03 |
| Reading Comprehension | essential_skill | 3 |
| Active Listening | essential_skill | 3 |
| Speaking | essential_skill | 3 |
| Coordination | transferable_skill | 3 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | transferable_skill | 3 |
| Time Management | transferable_skill | 3 |
| Oral Comprehension | ability | 3 |
| Written Comprehension | ability | 3 |
| Oral Expression | ability | 3 |
| Deductive Reasoning | ability | 3 |
| Inductive Reasoning | ability | 3 |
| Category Flexibility | ability | 3 |
| Visualization | ability | 3 |
| Selective Attention | ability | 3 |
| Response Orientation | ability | 3 |
| Extent Flexibility | ability | 3 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | ability | 3 |

## Skills

| Name | Type |
| --- | --- |
| English Language | Common Skill |
| Finger Dexterity | Common Skill |
| Visualization | Specialized Skill |
| Time Management | Common Skill |
| Speech Recognition | Specialized Skill |
| Reading Comprehension | Common Skill |
| Microsoft Word | Common Skill |
| Microsoft Excel | Common Skill |
| Inductive Reasoning | Common Skill |
| Deductive Reasoning | Common Skill |
| Active Listening | Common Skill |
| Mathematics | Common Skill |
| Writing | Common Skill |
| Systems Analysis | Specialized Skill |
| Instructing | Specialized Skill |
| Information Ordering | Specialized Skill |
| Equipment Maintenance | Specialized Skill |
| Critical Thinking | Common Skill |
| Complex Problem Solving | Common Skill |
| Social Perceptiveness | Common Skill |
| Depth Perception | Common Skill |
| Active Learning | Common Skill |
| Learning Strategies | Specialized Skill |
| Equipment Selection | Specialized Skill |
| Negotiation | Common Skill |
| Email Software | Specialized Skill |
| Psychology | Specialized Skill |
| Physics | Specialized Skill |
| Foreign Language | Common Skill |
| Biology | Specialized Skill |
| Chemistry | Specialized Skill |
| Geography | Specialized Skill |
| Telecommunications | Specialized Skill |
| Installation | Specialized Skill |

## Tools

| Example | Category | Hot | In Demand |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Microsoft Excel | Spreadsheet software | yes | no |
| Microsoft Office software | Office suite software | yes | no |
| Microsoft Word | Word processing software | yes | no |
| SAP software | Enterprise resource planning ERP software | yes | no |
| Email software | Electronic mail software | no | no |

## Work Context

| Name | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets | 5 |
| Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams | 4.83 |
| Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls | 4.28 |
| Freedom to Make Decisions | 4.07 |
| Health and Safety of Other Workers | 4.04 |
| Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment | 4.03 |
| Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals | 3.99 |
| Consequence of Error | 3.97 |
| Spend Time Standing | 3.93 |
| Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable | 3.77 |
| Exposed to Contaminants | 3.77 |
| Time Pressure | 3.72 |
| Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers | 3.7 |
| Importance of Being Exact or Accurate | 3.7 |
| Wear Specialized Protective or Safety Equipment such as Breathing Apparatus, Safety Harness, Full Protection Suits, or Radiation Protection | 3.65 |
| Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results | 3.62 |
| Spend Time Walking or Running | 3.59 |
| Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team | 3.55 |
| Exposed to Hazardous Equipment | 3.49 |
| Contact With Others | 3.47 |
| Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled | 3.47 |
| Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions | 3.4 |
| Exposed to Hazardous Conditions | 3.38 |
| Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities | 3.29 |
| Frequency of Decision Making | 3.28 |
| Importance of Repeating Same Tasks | 3.28 |
| Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions | 3.18 |
| Exposed to Very Hot or Cold Temperatures | 3.06 |
| Level of Competition | 2.97 |
| Physical Proximity | 2.94 |
| Exposed to High Places | 2.83 |
| Outdoors, Under Cover | 2.81 |
| Exposed to Cramped Work Space, Awkward Positions | 2.68 |
| Degree of Automation | 2.67 |
| Telephone Conversations | 2.61 |
| In an Enclosed Vehicle or Operate Enclosed Equipment | 2.61 |
| Indoors, Environmentally Controlled | 2.57 |
| Spend Time Bending or Twisting Your Body | 2.48 |
| Deal With External Customers or the Public in General | 2.24 |
| Spend Time Sitting | 2.24 |

## Preparation

- **Job Zone:** 2
- **Job Zone Name:** Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- **Education:** Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- **Experience:** Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
- **Svp Range:** (Below 6.0)

### Education Distribution

| Label | Percentage |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma | 61.72 |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 19.39 |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 1.23 |

## Person Fit

| Name | Family | Value |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Realistic | career_interest_type | 6.84 |
| Physical/Manual Labor | specific_interest_area | 4.89 |
| Conventional | career_interest_type | 4.59 |
| Dependability | work_style | 3 |
| Mechanics/Electronics | specific_interest_area | 2.9 |
| Transportation/Machine Operation | specific_interest_area | 2.25 |
| Investigative | career_interest_type | 2.12 |
| Cautiousness | work_style | 2.06 |
| Attention to Detail | work_style | 2.02 |
| Engineering | specific_interest_area | 1.91 |
| Construction/Woodwork | specific_interest_area | 1.83 |
| Enterprising | career_interest_type | 1.41 |
| Management/Administration | specific_interest_area | 1.35 |
| Agriculture | specific_interest_area | 1.32 |
| Physical Science | specific_interest_area | 1.26 |
| Accounting | specific_interest_area | 1.24 |

## Related Roles

| Soc Code | Slug | Title | Tier |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 51-4033.00 | role-51-4033-00 | Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | Primary-Short |
| 51-9022.00 | role-51-9022-00 | Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand | Primary-Short |
| 53-7063.00 | role-53-7063-00 | Machine Feeders and Offbearers | Primary-Short |
| 51-9032.00 | role-51-9032-00 | Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | Primary-Short |
| 51-4194.00 | role-51-4194-00 | Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners | Primary-Short |
| 51-9041.00 | role-51-9041-00 | Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | Primary-Long |
| 51-7042.00 | role-51-7042-00 | Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing | Primary-Long |
| 51-9023.00 | role-51-9023-00 | Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | Primary-Long |
| 51-4023.00 | role-51-4023-00 | Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | Primary-Long |
| 51-9012.00 | role-51-9012-00 | Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | Primary-Long |
| 51-4035.00 | role-51-4035-00 | Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | Supplemental |
| 51-9051.00 | role-51-9051-00 | Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders | Supplemental |

## Career Clusters

| Cluster | Slug |
| --- | --- |
| Advanced Manufacturing | advanced-manufacturing |

## Education Level

- **Category:** High school diploma or equivalent

## Study Programs


## Market

- **Median Wage:** 46890
- **Mean Wage:** 49400
- **Pct10Wage:** 35380
- **Pct25Wage:** 38990
- **Pct75Wage:** 58440
- **Pct90Wage:** 65980
- **Employment:** 28550
- **Area Title:** U.S.

## Industries


### Top

| Naics | Slug | Title | Level | Employment | Median Wage | Lq |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 31-33 | 31-33 | Manufacturing | Sector | 19280 | 46110 | 8.16 |
| 21 | 21 | Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | Sector | 3420 | 58340 | 32.21 |
| 42 | 42 | Wholesale Trade | Sector | 2390 | 42490 | 2.14 |
| 23 | 23 | Construction | Sector | 1230 | 49450 | 0.82 |
| 56 | 56 | Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | Sector | 820 | 41450 | 0.49 |
| 561320 | 561320 | Temporary Help Services | National industry | 430 | 37060 | 0.88 |
| 81 | 81 | Other Services (except Public Administration) | Sector | 240 | 46150 | 0.29 |
| 332710 | 332710 | Machine Shops | National industry | 170 | 37980 | 3.53 |
| 48-49 | 48-49 | Transportation and Warehousing | Sector | 170 | 37630 | 0.12 |
| 11 | 11 | Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | Sector | 160 | 45760 | 2.04 |
| 54 | 54 | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | Sector | 80 | 50530 |  |
| 339910 | 339910 | Jewelry and Silverware Manufacturing | National industry |  | 60990 |  |

### Concentrated

| Naics | Slug | Title | Level | Employment | Lq |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 21 | 21 | Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | Sector | 3420 | 32.21 |
| 31-33 | 31-33 | Manufacturing | Sector | 19280 | 8.16 |
| 332710 | 332710 | Machine Shops | National industry | 170 | 3.53 |
| 42 | 42 | Wholesale Trade | Sector | 2390 | 2.14 |
| 11 | 11 | Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | Sector | 160 | 2.04 |
| 561320 | 561320 | Temporary Help Services | National industry | 430 | 0.88 |
| 23 | 23 | Construction | Sector | 1230 | 0.82 |
| 56 | 56 | Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | Sector | 820 | 0.49 |
- **Count:** 15

## Ai Signals

| Source | Label | Score | Scale | Release |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| frey_osborne | Computerization probability | 0.97 | 0-1 probability | 2013-baseline-2016-employment-snapshot |
| felten_aioe | AI occupational exposure | -1.043476 | relative exposure score | 2021-plus-generative-ai-workbooks |
| felten_image_generation_aioe | Image generation occupational exposure | -0.8408297 | relative exposure score | 2021-plus-generative-ai-workbooks |
| felten_language_modeling_aioe | Language modeling occupational exposure | -1.135783 | relative exposure score | 2021-plus-generative-ai-workbooks |

## Ai Outlook


### Index

- **Value:** 14
- **Percentile:** 10
- **Band:** Low
- **Version:** ai-exposure-index-v1

#### Components

| Percentile | Source |
| --- | --- |
| 16 | felten_aioe |
| 15 | openai_gpts_are_gpts |
| 11 | microsoft_working_with_ai |
- **Component Count:** 3

### Exposure

| Source | Label | Value | Percentile | Band | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| felten_aioe | Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) | -1.043476 | 16 | Low | How much this job's abilities overlap with what AI systems can do, across many AI capabilities. A relative research score, not a forecast of job loss. |
| eloundou_gamma | LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) | 0.10810810810810811 | 15 | Low | Share of this job's tasks where a large language model plus simple tools could cut the time to do them by at least half. γ is capped at 1.0 and many jobs reach that ceiling, so treat a top score as 'in the top group', not a precise rank. |
| microsoft_applicability | AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) | 0.05069057254181715 | 11 | Low | How applicable today's AI assistants are to this job's activities, measured from real Microsoft Copilot conversations. Applicability is not the same as replacement. |

### Frey Historical

- **Source:** frey
- **Label:** Computerization probability (Frey & Osborne, 2013)
- **Value:** 0.97
- **Percentile:** 94
- **Band:** High
- **Note:** A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
- **Teleworkable:** no

### Eloundou

- **Alpha:** 0.10810810810810811
- **Beta:** 0.10810810810810811
- **Gamma:** 0.10810810810810811

### Usage Tasks

| Task | Usage Percent | Importance |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Record data from operations, testing, and production on specified forms. | 0.002156863550649319 | 3.77 |
- **Usage Release:** 2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2

### Bls

- **Growth Percent:** -2.5
- **Growth Percentile:** 18
- **Direction:** Declining
- **Annual Openings Thousands:** 2.7
- **Annual Openings Percentile:** 35
- **Employment2024Thousands:** 28.7
- **Employment2034Thousands:** 27.9

### Sources

| Source | Version |
| --- | --- |
| bls_employment_projections | 2024-2034 |
| dingel_neiman | dingel-neiman-workathome |
| felten_aioe | felten-raj-seamans-aioe |
| frey_osborne | frey-osborne-automation |
| microsoft_working_with_ai | working-with-ai |
| openai_gpts_are_gpts | gpts-are-gpts |

## Counts

- **Tasks:** 21
- **Skills:** 34
- **Capabilities:** 119
- **Tools:** 5
- **Related Roles:** 20

## Source

- **Dataset:** gold.onet_role_starter_surface
- **Version:** 30.3
- **Generated At:** 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00
- **Content Hash:** 25b8b1d8e43dee70