Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers

Career Description: Inspect, test, sort, sample, or weigh nonagricultural raw materials or processed, machined, fabricated, or assembled parts or products for defects, wear, and deviations from specifications. May use precision measuring instruments and complex test equipment.

Industry: Production

Other Job Titles for Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers:

• Realistic: Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
• Investigative: Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
• Artistic: Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
• Social: Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
• Enterprising: Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
• Conventional: Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
• First Interest High-Point: Primary-Rank Descriptiveness
• Second Interest High-Point: Secondary-Cutoff/Rank Descriptiveness
• Third Interest High-Point: Tertiary-Cutoff/Rank Descriptiveness

• Discard or reject products, materials, and equipment not meeting specifications.
• Analyze and interpret blueprints, data, manuals, and other materials to determine specifications, inspection and testing procedures, adjustment and certification methods, formulas, and measuring instruments required.
• Inspect, test, or measure materials, products, installations, and work for conformance to specifications.
• Notify supervisors and other personnel of production problems, and assist in identifying and correcting these problems.
• Discuss inspection results with those responsible for products, and recommend necessary corrective actions.
• Record inspection or test data, such as weights, temperatures, grades, or moisture content, and quantities inspected or graded.
• Mark items with details such as grade and acceptance or rejection status.
• Observe and monitor production operations and equipment to ensure conformance to specifications and make or order necessary process or assembly adjustments.
• Measure dimensions of products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments such as rulers, calipers, gauges, or micrometers.
• Analyze test data and make computations as necessary to determine test results.
• Collect or select samples for testing or for use as models.
• Check arriving materials to ensure that they match purchase orders and submit discrepancy reports when problems are found.
• Compare colors, shapes, textures, or grades of products or materials with color charts, templates, or samples to verify conformance to standards.
• Write test and inspection reports describing results, recommendations, and needed repairs.
• Read dials and meters to verify that equipment is functioning at specified levels.
• Remove defects, such as chips and burrs, and lap corroded or pitted surfaces.
• Adjust, clean, or repair products or processing equipment to correct defects found during inspections.
• Clean, maintain, repair, and calibrate measuring instruments and test equipment such as dial indicators, fixed gauges, and height gauges.
• Stack and arrange tested products for further processing, shipping, or packaging and transport products to other work stations as necessary.
• Fabricate, install, position, or connect components, parts, finished products, or instruments for testing or operational purposes.
• Supervise testing or drilling activities.
• Grade, classify, and sort products according to sizes, weights, colors, or other specifications.
• Position products, components, or parts for testing, or direct other workers to position them.
• Make minor adjustments to equipment, such as turning setscrews to calibrate instruments to required tolerances.
• Set controls, start and monitor machines that automatically measure, sort, or inspect products.
• Interpret legal requirements, provide safety information, and recommend compliance procedures to contractors, craft workers, engineers, and property owners.
• Compute defect percentages or averages, using formulas and calculators, and prepare reports of inspection or test findings.
• Weigh materials, products, containers, or samples to verify packaging weights and ingredient quantities, or to determine sorting.
• Administer tests to engineers and operators to assess whether they are qualified to use equipment.
• Disassemble defective parts and components, such as inaccurate or worn gauges and measuring instruments, using hand tools.
• Compute usable amounts of items in shipments and determine prices, based on quantities and grade assessments.
• Cut or break flashing from materials or products.
• Perform minor repairs to machines, such as replacing damaged or worn parts.
• Attach slings, ropes, and cables to objects such as pipes, hoses, and bundles.
• Pack food products in paper bags and boxes, and stack them in warehouses and coolers.

Emerging Tasks

• Conduct employee training, including demonstrating equipment operations and work and safety procedures to new employees, or assign employees to experienced workers for training.
• Keep records of employees' attendance and hours worked.
• Recommend or execute personnel actions such as hirings, evaluations, and promotions.

• Analyzing Data or Information: Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
• Assisting and Caring for Others: Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
• Coaching and Developing Others: Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
• Communicating with Persons Outside Organization: Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Controlling Machines and Processes: Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
• Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others: Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
• Developing and Building Teams: Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
• Developing Objectives and Strategies: Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
• Documenting/Recording Information: Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
• Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment: Providing documentation, detailed instructions, drawings, or specifications to tell others about how devices, parts, equipment, or structures are to be fabricated, constructed, assembled, modified, maintained, or used.
• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships: Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
• Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information: Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
• Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards: Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
• Getting Information: Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates: Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
• Handling and Moving Objects: Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events: Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material: Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• Interacting With Computers: Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
• Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others: Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
• Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People: Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings: Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• Monitoring and Controlling Resources: Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.
• Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment: Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or water craft.
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work: Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• Performing Administrative Activities: Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
• Performing for or Working Directly with the Public: Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
• Performing General Physical Activities: Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
• Processing Information: Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
• Provide Consultation and Advice to Others: Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
• Repairing and Maintaining Electronic Equipment: Servicing, repairing, calibrating, regulating, fine-tuning, or testing machines, devices, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of electrical or electronic (not mechanical) principles.
• Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment: Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
• Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others: Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
• Scheduling Work and Activities: Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
• Selling or Influencing Others: Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
• Staffing Organizational Units: Recruiting, interviewing, selecting, hiring, and promoting employees in an organization.
• Thinking Creatively: Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
• Training and Teaching Others: Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge: Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Detailed Work Activities

• adjust production equipment/machinery setup
• attach or mark identification onto products or containers
• collect samples for testing
• communicate technical information
• compare findings with specifications to ensure conformance to standards
• compute product or materials test results
• conduct performance testing
• confer with vendors
• determine specifications
• determine specifications or testing procedures
• direct and coordinate activities of workers or staff
• distinguish colors
• evaluate material specifications
• examine products or work to verify conformance to specifications
• fabricate, assemble, or disassemble manufactured products by hand
• follow manufacturing methods or techniques
• follow statistical process control procedures
• grade, classify, or sort products according to specifications
• inspect manufactured products or materials
• install/connect electrical equipment to power circuit
• load, unload, or stack containers, materials, or products
• maintain consistent production quality
• maintain inspection tools or equipment
• maintain records, reports, or files
• maintain safe work environment
• mark items for acceptance or rejection, according to conformance to specifications
• measure, weigh, or count products or materials
• modify electrical or electronic equipment or products
• monitor production machinery/equipment operation to detect problems
• monitor repairs or maintenance to enforce standards
• move materials or goods between work areas
• operate industrial or nondestructive testing equipment
• operate packaging or banding machine or equipment
• operate pneumatic test equipment
• operate precision test equipment
• package goods for shipment or storage
• perform safety inspections in industrial, manufacturing or repair setting
• prepare reports
• prepare safety reports
• prepare technical reports or related documentation
• read blueprints
• read production layouts
• read specifications
• read technical drawings
• read work order, instructions, formulas, or processing charts
• recognize characteristics of alloys
• recognize characteristics of metals
• recognize characteristics of pulps
• recognize wood species characteristics
• record test results, test procedures, or inspection data
• sort manufacturing materials or products
• test manufactured products or materials
• understand engineering data or reports
• understand measuring devices
• understand technical operating, service or repair manuals
• use computers to enter, access or retrieve data
• use electrical or electronic test devices or equipment
• use hand or power tools
• use hazardous materials information
• use interpersonal communication techniques
• use knowledge of investigation techniques
• use knowledge of metric system
• use long or short term production planning techniques
• use oral or written communication techniques
• use precision measuring tools or equipment
• use quality assurance techniques
• use research methodology procedures within manufacturing or commerce
• use spreadsheet software
• use technical information in manufacturing or industrial activities
• use x-ray or magnetic inspection techniques

Overall Experience
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience may be helpful in these occupations, but usually is not needed. For example, a teller might benefit from experience working directly with the public, but an inexperienced person could still learn to be a teller with little difficulty.

Job Training
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees.

Education
These occupations usually require a high school diploma and may require some vocational training or job-related course work. In some cases, an associate's or bachelor's degree could be needed.

Examples
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include sheet metal workers, forest fire fighters, customer service representatives, pharmacy technicians, salespersons (retail), and tellers.

• Average hourly wage (2007) -$14.57
• Average annual wage (2007) - $30,310.00

• Employment (2006): 491,417

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