Profession paper machine operator

Paper machine operators tend a machine that takes in pulp slurry, spread it out over a screen, and drains out the water. The drained slurry is then pressed and dried to produce paper.

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Personality Type

• Realistic / Conventional

Knowledge

• Types of paper

  The different criteria used to determine differences in paper types such as coarseness and thickness, and the different fabrication methods and wood types from which the types of paper stem.

• Quality standards

  The national and international requirements, specifications and guidelines to ensure that products, services and processes are of good quality and fit for purpose.

• Types of pulp

  Kinds of pulp are distinguished based on their fibre type and the specific chemical processes through which they were created.

Skills

• Troubleshoot

  Identify operating problems, decide what to do about it and report accordingly.

• Monitor automated machines

  Continuously check up on the automated machine's set-up and execution or make regular control rounds. If necessary, record and interpret data on the operating conditions of installations and equipment in order to identify abnormalities.

• Apply paper coating

  Operate coaters and size presses, which apply pigments, starches, and chemicals to the surface of the paper in order to improve some of its characteristics, such as resistance and printing quality.

• Set up the controller of a machine

  Set up and give commands to a machine by dispatching the appropriate data and input into the (computer) controller corresponding with the desired processed product.

• Check paper quality

  Monitor every aspect of the paper quality, such as its thickness, opacity and smoothness according to specifications and for further treatment and finishing processes.

• Wear appropriate protective gear

  Wear relevant and necessary protective gear, such as protective goggles or other eye protection, hard hats, safety gloves.

• Monitor paper reel

  Overview the jumbo paper reel, which winds the paper at the right tension onto a core.

• Supply machine

  Ensure the machine is fed the necessary and adequate materials and control the placement or automatic feed and retrieval of work pieces in the machines or machine tools on the production line.

• Operate paper press

  Operate the paper shoe press, which forces the paper web between a soft rotating roller, squeezing out water that is absorbed and carried away by wet felts.

• Operate headbox

  Set up the part of the paper machine injecting the pulp solution between two rotating wires into the gap former, which drains the excess water and turns the pulp into a continuous web of paper.

• Work safely with machines

  Check and safely operate machines and equipment required for your work according to manuals and instructions.

• Operate paper drying cylinders

  Set up and monitor the heated rollers that move the paper sheet forwards while drying it.

• Monitor pulp quality

  Avoid lesser quality and lower grades of recycled paper and pulp by keeping an eye open for stickies, plastics, colour, unbleached fibres, brightness, and dirt.

• Concentrate pulp slurry

  Measure the weight and concentration of the pulp slurry for further processing and storage by using disk filters and calculating slurry density with specific formulas.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB