Biomass Plant Technicians

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Perform routine maintenance or make minor repairs to mechanical, electrical, or electronic equipment in biomass plants.
• Operate valves, pumps, engines, or generators to control and adjust production of biofuels or biomass-fueled power.
• Record or report operational data, such as readings on meters, instruments, and gauges.
• Inspect biomass power plant or processing equipment, recording or reporting damage and mechanical problems.
• Perform tests of water chemistry in boilers.
• Operate valves, pumps, engines, or generators to control and adjust production of biofuels or biomass-fueled power.
• Manage parts and supply inventories for biomass plants.
• Operate high-pressure steam boiler or water chiller equipment for electrical cogeneration operations.
• Inspect biomass power plant or processing equipment, recording or reporting damage and mechanical problems.
• Preprocess feedstock to prepare for biochemical or thermochemical production processes.
• Inspect biomass power plant or processing equipment, recording or reporting damage and mechanical problems.
• Operate equipment to heat biomass, using knowledge of controls, combustion, and firing mechanisms.
• Calculate, measure, load, or mix biomass feedstock for power generation.
• Read and interpret instruction manuals or technical drawings related to biomass-fueled power or biofuels production equipment or processes.
• Calibrate liquid flow devices or meters, including fuel, chemical, and water meters.
• Operate equipment to start, stop, or regulate biomass-fueled generators, generator units, boilers, engines, or auxiliary systems.
• Perform tests of water chemistry in boilers.
• Measure and monitor raw biomass feedstock, including wood, waste, or refuse materials.
• Assess quality of biomass feedstock.
• Operate heavy equipment, such as bulldozers and front-end loaders.
• Operate biomass fuel-burning boiler or biomass fuel gasification system equipment in accordance with specifications or instructions.
• Calculate, measure, load, or mix biomass feedstock for power generation.
• Clean work areas to ensure compliance with safety regulations.
• Calculate, measure, load, or mix biomass feedstock for power generation.

Skills

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

Abilities

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

Knowledge

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

Education

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

More than 1 year on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

124050/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

59.64/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

370

Yearly Projected Openings

40

Personality

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Tools

• Air dryers
• Batching plants or feeders
• Belt conveyors
• Conveyor feeders
• Desktop computers
• Dump trucks
• Extendable conveyors
• Fire tube boilers
• Front end loaders
• Grinding mills
• Hammer mills
• Intake structures
• Notebook computers
• Personal computers
• Steam engines
• Steam generators
• Truck or rail scales
• Water samplers
• Water tube boiler

Technology

• Analytical or scientific software
• Development environment software
• Electronic mail software
• Industrial control software
• Inventory management software
• Office suite software
• Spreadsheet software
• Word processing software