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Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers

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.
Related: Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, & Systems Assemblers  Calibration Technologists & Technicians  Electrical & Electronic Equipment Assemblers  Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers  Industrial Machinery Mechanics 
Industries: Manufacturing 

  • Summary

  • Details

    • Work Activities

    • Fabricate, install, position, or connect components, parts, finished products, or instruments for testing or operational purposes.
    • Clean, maintain, calibrate, or repair measuring instruments or test equipment, such as dial indicators, fixed gauges, or height gauges.
    • Stack or arrange tested products for further processing, shipping, or packaging.
    • Mark items with details, such as grade or acceptance-rejection status.
    • Grade, classify, or sort products according to sizes, weights, colors, or other specifications.
    • Compute usable amounts of items in shipments.
    • Monitor machines that automatically measure, sort, or inspect products.
    • Read dials or meters to verify that equipment is functioning at specified levels.
    • Recommend necessary corrective actions, based on inspection results.
    • Read blueprints, data, manuals, or other materials to determine specifications, inspection and testing procedures, adjustment methods, certification processes, formulas, or measuring instruments required.
    • Check arriving materials to ensure that they match purchase orders, submitting discrepancy reports as necessary.
    • Monitor production operations or equipment to ensure conformance to specifications, making necessary process or assembly adjustments.
    • Compare colors, shapes, textures, or grades of products or materials with color charts, templates, or samples to verify conformance to standards.
    • Remove defects, such as chips, burrs, or lap corroded or pitted surfaces.
    • Administer tests to assess whether engineers or operators are qualified to use equipment.
    • Discard or reject products, materials, or equipment not meeting specifications.
    • Disassemble defective parts or components, such as inaccurate or worn gauges or measuring instruments.
    • Weigh materials, products, containers, or samples to verify packaging weights or ingredient quantities.
    • Clean, maintain, calibrate, or repair measuring instruments or test equipment, such as dial indicators, fixed gauges, or height gauges.
    • Interpret legal requirements, provide safety information, or recommend compliance procedures to contractors, craft workers, engineers, or property owners.
    • Collect or select samples for testing or for use as models.
    • Record inspection or test data, such as weights, temperatures, grades, or moisture content, and quantities inspected or graded.
    • Inspect or test raw materials, parts, or products to determine compliance with environmental standards.
    • Inspect, test, or measure materials, products, installations, or work for conformance to specifications.
    • Adjust, clean, or repair products or processing equipment to correct defects found during inspections.
    • Fabricate, install, position, or connect components, parts, finished products, or instruments for testing or operational purposes.
    • Write test or inspection reports describing results, recommendations, or needed repairs.
    • Fabricate, install, position, or connect components, parts, finished products, or instruments for testing or operational purposes.
    • Weigh materials, products, containers, or samples to verify packaging weights or ingredient quantities.
    • Read blueprints, data, manuals, or other materials to determine specifications, inspection and testing procedures, adjustment methods, certification processes, formulas, or measuring instruments required.
    • Analyze test data, making computations as necessary, to determine test results.
    • Make minor adjustments to equipment, such as turning setscrews to calibrate instruments to required tolerances.
    • Notify supervisors or other personnel of production problems.
    • Grade, classify, or sort products according to sizes, weights, colors, or other specifications.
    • Measure dimensions of products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as rulers, calipers, gauges, or micrometers.
    • Interpret legal requirements, provide safety information, or recommend compliance procedures to contractors, craft workers, engineers, or property owners.
    • Clean, maintain, calibrate, or repair measuring instruments or test equipment, such as dial indicators, fixed gauges, or height gauges.
    • Position products, components, or parts for testing.
    • Adjust, clean, or repair products or processing equipment to correct defects found during inspections.

    Skills

    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • 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.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.

    Abilities

    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    Knowledge

    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • 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.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • 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.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
    • 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.

    Education

    Education
    High school diploma or equivalent
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    1 to 12 months on-the-job training
    Education and Training Opportunities

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    58450/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    28.1/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    13,120
    Yearly Projected Openings
    1650

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Self Control
    • Cooperation
    • Independence
    • Stress Tolerance

    Tools

    • Accelerometers
    • Ammeters
    • Bench scales
    • Beta gauge measuring systems
    • Binocular light compound microscopes
    • Calibrated resistance measuring equipment
    • Calipers
    • Circuit tester
    • Comparators
    • Compression testers
    • Conductivity meters
    • Coordinate measuring machines CMM
    • Creep testers
    • Depth gauges
    • Digital testers
    • Ductility testing machines
    • Eddy current examination equipment
    • Electrical frequency meters
    • Fatigue testers
    • Force or torque sensors
    • Forklifts
    • Frequency counters or timer or dividers
    • Go or no go gauge
    • Hardness testers
    • Height gauges
    • Hipot testers
    • Hydraulic pumps
    • Impact hammers
    • Impact testers
    • Impedance meters
    • Integrated circuit testers
    • Interferometers
    • Laser measuring systems
    • Leak testing equipment
    • Level generators
    • Lifts
    • Liquid penetrant examination equipment
    • Magnetic particle examination equipment
    • Metallurgical microscopes
    • Micrometers
    • Moisture meters
    • Multimeters
    • Optical flats
    • Oscilloscopes
    • Personal computers
    • Pin gauge
    • Plotter printers
    • Power meters
    • Reflectometers
    • Refrigerated and heated walk in environmental or growth chambers
    • Resistance thermometers
    • Rulers
    • Shear strength testers
    • Shock testing apparatus
    • Signal conditioners
    • Signal generators
    • Sorters
    • Spectrometers
    • Strain gauges
    • Tension testers
    • Thickness measuring devices
    • Thread counters or gauges
    • Track cranes
    • Ultrasonic examination equipment
    • Vibration testers
    • Viscosimeters
    • Voltage or current meters
    • X ray radiography examination equipment

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Cloud-based data access and sharing software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
    • Content workflow software
    • Data base management system software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Desktop communications software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise application integration software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Industrial control software
    • Label making software
    • Medical software
    • Object or component oriented development software
    • Office suite software
    • Optical character reader OCR or scanning software
    • Presentation software
    • Process mapping and design software
    • Program testing software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

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