| Skill | What it means | Level needed |
|---|
| Works safely in and around production: wears the required PPE, recognizes machine, chemical and lifting hazards on the floor, follows lockout/tagout and hazard communication rules, and keeps the inspection area clean and orderly. | |
| Does the arithmetic the job runs on: fractions and decimals, unit conversions including inch to metric, percentages, significant digits and rounding, and the geometry the job's own prints or specs call for, so a raw reading becomes the number the spec uses and can be judged against its tolerance. | |
| Reads the drawings and documents the job is built to, part prints, assembly drawings, schematics and parts lists, well enough to find what has to be checked: title block, revision level, views and notes, dimensions and callouts, and the tolerance or acceptance criterion that goes with each one. | |
| Interprets ASME Y14.5 geometric callouts (datums, flatness, perpendicularity, profile, runout and position), identifies the datum reference frame, sets the part up to it, and calculates position and bonus tolerance. | |
| Takes an accurate measurement with the hand instruments at the bench, rules and tapes, calipers, micrometers, thickness gages and dial indicators, reads the scale without parallax error, and repeats the reading to prove it. | |
| Checks features with go/no-go tooling such as pin gages, snap gages, flush pins, thread gages and part-specific check fixtures or receivers, recording a pass or fail rather than a number. | |
| Uses feel-based transfer tools (small-hole ball gages, telescoping gages and spring calipers) to capture an inside dimension and then read it on a micrometer without disturbing the setting. | |
| Sets a part up on a granite surface plate and measures what the print calls for against it, heights, flatness and warp, squareness, parallelism and angles, using a height gage, indicators and the plate's own accessories. | |
| Stages a part on an optical comparator, focuses and lights it correctly, and measures profiles, radii, edges and small features against an overlay chart or the digital readout. | |
| Loads a part into an existing fixture, runs a CMM program someone else wrote, confirms the alignment picked up the right datums, and reads and hands off the dimensional report. | |
| Judges surface texture against the finish the print or standard calls for, comparing the surface with the matching comparator plates or texture plaques and reading Ra with a profilometer where the spec gives a number. | |
| Looks the product over against the written workmanship standard, approved sample or proof for the job, catches the defects this plant's own processes leave, and manages fatigue and distraction so the tenth one gets the same look as the first. | |
| Knows how the product in front of them was made, process step by process step through this plant, and what defects each of those steps typically leaves behind. | |
| Knows which check applies at which point in the flow, from incoming material through first run and in process to final release and checks made at a supplier, and works to the inspection or control plan written for that stage. | |
| Pulls a sample that fairly represents the lot or batch, following the sampling plan or procedure written for that job, how much to take, from where, and what result accepts or rejects it, and knows when the plan calls for checking every piece or batch instead. | |
| Picks an instrument fine enough for the tolerance being checked, about a tenth of it or better, allows for temperature and the conditions on the floor, and cleans, handles and stores it so it holds its accuracy. | |
| Checks the calibration sticker and due date before using any gage, pulls and quarantines anything out of calibration, and understands traceability and what has to happen to product that was measured with a bad gage. | |
| Understands that two people checking the same item should get the same answer, knows what bias, repeatability and reproducibility mean, and can take a turn as one of the checkers in a study someone else runs. | |
| Calculates mean, range and standard deviation, plots and reads X-bar and R, I-MR and attribute control charts, tells control limits from specification limits, and stops and escalates when the chart shows a run, a trend or an out-of-control point. | |
| Runs the routine tests this plant does on its own product, follows the written test method, gets a reading that repeats, and recognizes when a result or a test has to go to an outside lab. | |
| Tags, segregates and writes up material that does not meet spec, grades the defect as critical, major or minor, tells the operator and supervisor in a way that gets the problem fixed rather than argued, and routes the report to the material review board for disposition. | |
| Fills out the inspection report completely and legibly, records as-found dimensions rather than just pass or fail, stamps acceptance only for characteristics actually checked, and corrects an entry the right way with a single line-out, initial and date. | |
| Keeps lot, heat, serial and date-code identity attached to material all the way through inspection, applies FIFO, shelf-life and age control, and checks certificates of compliance and analysis against what the job actually requires. | |
| Knows what the quality system requires of them day to day: where the controlled procedure and its current revision live, what goes into the approval or release package the customer requires, and what an internal auditor will ask to see. | |
| Takes part in containing a quality problem and finding its cause using 5 Whys, a fishbone diagram or an 8D, and supports the fix through error-proofing and 5S at the inspection station. | |
| Checks the shift's CCP monitoring logs and cook or pasteurization recording charts before product ships, confirming every required reading is present, within its critical limit, timed and initialed, flags any gap or out-of-limit entry to QA, and hands the completed check to the designated reviewer for sign-off. | |
| Inspects cleaned lines before start-up by checking product-contact surfaces by sight, feel and smell, running ATP swabs at the listed points, and testing sanitizer strength with titration strips, and holds the line for a re-clean when anything fails. | |
| Verifies the plant's thermometers, scales and pH meters against certified references on the posted schedule - ice-point checks, test weights, standard buffers - logs each result, and tags out and reports any instrument that fails. | |
| Pulls finished packages at the stated frequency, weighs them on a bench scale using the recorded tare weight, compares net contents against the declared weight and the plant's control limits, and puts the run on hold when the sample fails. | |
| Verifies an allergen changeover before the next run starts: confirms the allergen clean was completed, documented and signed by the crew that ran it, checks that the staged film, labels and rework match the product about to run, runs the QC-owned verification swab where the program assigns one, and signs the line clear. | |
| Runs the QC side of receiving beyond the dock check: matches certificate-of-analysis values against the lot number and the spec's limits, verifies tanker seal numbers against the shipping papers, runs the required screening tests - drug-residue tests on milk before unloading - and collects aseptic samples for the lab. | |
| Collects environmental monitoring swabs and sponges from the zones and sites on the sampling plan using aseptic technique, labels and logs every sample, keeps them cold, and gets them to the lab with the chain-of-custody paperwork complete. | |
| Runs the bench methods that sit beyond the line's check sheet - simple titrations for acidity or salt, density by hydrometer, moisture or water activity - following the written method and recording each result against the spec range, and maintains the buffers and standard solutions the line's own pH and Brix meters are verified against. | |
| Checks the taste, aroma, appearance and texture of product against the gold-standard sample at the stated frequency, describes plainly what is off, and pulls product for QA review when it does not match. | |
| Places suspect product on hold with tags and a hold-log entry, keeps the held inventory counted and reconciled so nothing ships, pulls batch and coding records when a trace exercise or mock recall is run, and releases product only on documented QA sign-off. | |
| Re-grades a pulled sample of boards against the published grading rule, compares the calls to the grade marked on the chain, and records the agreement rate so the mill knows its grading will survive the agency's reinspection. | |
| Identifies the wood defects on sampled boards or veneer by name (knots, wane, shake, check, split, warp, skip, blue stain, decay) and tallies how often each shows up by machine center, producing the record the mill uses to see what is driving downgrade. | |
| Measures sampled lumber or panels for thickness, width, length and squareness with calipers and tape against the target size and its tolerance, and records out-of-size results by machine center before a whole sort bin fills with miss-sized stock. | |
| Re-inspects a sample of graded and stamped panels against the published product standard and the grade sample panels, and records agreement plus the reason for any defect the graders missed. | |
| Checks machined millwork and cabinet parts against the drawing and cut list for size, squareness and joint fit, and catches wood surface defects such as chip-out, tear-out, snipe, raised grain and sanding scratches before parts reach assembly or finish. | |
| Runs a roll of fabric over an inspection frame, marks and classifies each defect by length using the shop's point-grading rules, and tallies the points per hundred square yards to grade the roll against its accept threshold. | |
| Runs the soft-goods test bench to its written methods: weighs conditioned samples for mass per unit area, measures thickness, counts threads with a pick glass where the material is woven, and runs tensile, tear and crock or wash fastness, recording each result against the spec. | |
| Places the piece or swatch beside the approved physical color master in the light booth under the specified illuminant, rates any difference on the grey scale while watching for shade shifts between light sources, and calls match or no match, escalating borderline calls. | |
| Checks sewn product at the inspection gate against the spec: counts stitches per inch with a pick glass or gauge, verifies stitch type, seam type and seam allowance, and calls out skipped stitches, seam grin, raw edges, open seams and needle damage. | |
| Measures a finished flexible article laid flat and relaxed at each point of measure named on the spec sheet, holding consistent tape tension, and judges every reading against the graded size tolerance chart. | |
| Checks received hides, skins and cut panels against the grade purchased, marks brand scars, holes, insect damage and grain defects, and records the usable cutting area so the plant knows what the lot is actually worth. | |
| Cuts a fixed-area sample with the die, conditions it, weighs it on the balance and converts the result to grammage or ream weight against the printed spec for the grade being run. | |
| Runs the paper and board strength bench to its written methods, burst, tear and edge crush on conditioned specimens plus moisture by oven or analyzer, and reports each number for the roll or lot release decision someone else makes. | |
| Checks wound rolls and converted product against the roll quality standard, taking roll hardness readings and calling telescoping, dished or starred rolls, bad splices and short sheet counts at the winder before the product ships. | |
| Runs the release tests an asphalt plant or lubricant blender uses on its own product, closed-cup flash point, kinematic viscosity, needle penetration and ring-and-ball softening point, each on its dedicated apparatus to the written ASTM-format method. | |
| Works an operating unit under its permit-to-work system: signs onto the permit, wears and bump-tests a personal gas monitor, follows the H2S and hot-work rules, and knows what each alarm means and where to muster. | |
| Pulls one part from every cavity of a multi-cavity mold at the set frequency, marks each part with its cavity number, and carries that identity onto the inspection record so a bad cavity can be traced and pulled. | |
| Runs the ACI field battery on fresh concrete, slump, air content, unit weight and temperature, and casts, cures and breaks test cylinders to the written method while someone else makes the accept call on the load. | |
| Splits an incoming aggregate sample, runs it through the sieve nest and shaker, weighs each retained fraction against the printed gradation band, and runs oven moisture on the same sample. | |
| Works the written pre-pour checklist against the piece drawing, verifying form dimensions and squareness, rebar size, spacing and cover, and embed location and orientation, so the QC lead can sign the pour release. | |
| Processes parts through a fluorescent penetrant or wet magnetic particle line exactly to the technique card, keeps times, temperatures and bath checks in limits, and flags every indication for a certified Level II to interpret. | |
| Inspects solder joints against the published class acceptance criteria for the job, judging wetting, fillet shape, lifted pads, solder balls and bridging, and routes anything needing rework to the lead rather than touching it up. | |
| Matches the component in hand to the bill of materials before and after placement, reading part markings, package type and polarity marks, and catches a reversed or substituted part before the board ships. | |
| Runs the end-of-line electrical safety battery on every unit to the listed procedure, hipot, ground bond and insulation resistance, inside the guarded test station and under the plant qualification card that live high-voltage work requires, and pulls every failing unit for someone else to disposition. | |
| Inspects wire harnesses and terminations against the spec, checking pull force to the gauge table, strip length, insulation condition, termination workmanship, connector seating and end-to-end continuity, and tags the harness that fails. | |
Oregon publishes ten employability skills, the same statewide. Tick the three that matter most for this job.
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