920 Packing Occupations

This group includes occupations concerned with assembling containers; pouring and placing materials and products into containers; covering articles or goods with cellophane, paper, and other wrapping materials; cleaning, closing, labeling, stenciling, and stacking articles and containers; and operating or tending filling, packing, or wrapping machines.

This division includes occupations concerned with preparing and arranging materials and products in bulk and non bulk forms for distribution or storage; moving and loading or unloading equipment, materials, and products; operating or tending filling, packing, and wrapping machines or conveyors; driving forklifts, lumber carriers, and related material-handling machinery and equipment; and using scoops, hand trucks, and wheelbarrows to load and move materials.

920.137-010 PACKING-HOUSE SUPERVISOR (agric.; whole. tr.) house supervisor; packing-shed supervisor.

Supervises and coordinates activities of workers engaged in receiving, grading, storing, and shipping fruits and vegetables: Trains workers in grading and packing procedures in accordance with customers' specifications. Inspects storage area to determine freshness of produce and indicates produce to be packed and removed. Inspects packaged produce for conformance to customers' specifications. Directs workers engaged in icing loaded railroad cars or trucks. Performs other duties as described under SUPERVISOR (any ind.). May repair packing equipment and machinery. May supervise workers engaged in constructing packing crates and boxes. May specialize in packing specific produce, such as apples, citrus fruit, or potatoes. May be designated according to produce packed as BANANA-RIPENING-ROOM SUPERVISOR (whole tr.).

920.465-010 COTTON BALER (agric.) presser, cotton ginning.

Tends hydraulic press that bales ginned cotton: Determines number of compressed bales to be obtained from bulk cotton, according to total weight of cotton. Spreads piece of burlap or jute bale covering on bed of chamber in press. Starts equipment that dumps and tamps bulk cotton into chamber. Observes level of cotton in chamber and stops loading equipment when chamber contains required amounts of cotton. Positions loaded chamber under ram of press. Starts press to compress cotton. Fastens bands around bale and loads bale on hand truck. Moves hand truck onto platform of scale and records weight of bale.

920.687-010 APPLE-PACKING HEADER (agric.)

Affixes lids on apple-filled barrels, using foot-operated or power-driven press, or hand mallet and cooper's iron. May rearrange top layer of fruit to make lid fit properly. May fasten lids on other containers.

920.687-022 BALE SEWER (agric.)

Sews burlap covering on baled agricultural produce, such as cotton or hops: Pulls edges of covering material together, folds in end flaps and secures end flaps temporarily with awl. Threads spring-eye sack needle with twine and sews seams. May weigh, stencil, and tag bales. May wrap double compressed bales with metal bands for export shipment. May be designated SEWER, HEAD (agric.) when working in bed of press. May sew burlap covering on baled produce, using portable sewing machine.

920.687-074 COTTON TIER (agric.) tie-out worker.

Fastens metal bands around bales of cotton that are compressed in press: Inserts metal band through channel in upper ram of press to worker on opposite side of compressed bale who returns band through channels in lower ram to encircle bale. Bends end of band and fastens band to hook of buckle on opposite end of band. When working on opposite side of compressed bale to return metal bands through channels is designated as RETURNER (agric.).

920.687-134 PACKER, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE (agric.; whole. tr.)

Packs agricultural produce, such as bulbs, fruits, nuts, eggs, and vegetables, for storage or shipment, performing any combination of following duties: Lines box, barrel, basket, carton, or crate with treated paper, cardboard,, excelsior, or prepared padding, or inserts paper trays or separators in container. Places rows of produce in layers in containers, and inserts excelsior, shredded cellophane, or paper trays after each layer and over top layer of produce, or scoops produce into container. Wraps produce in treated paper, foil, or plastic film wrap before placing produce in container. Packs exposed top layer of produce, arranging produce in successive rows in container. Positions basket liner upside down over ring of produce on pallet and fills basket liner with specified amount of produce. Places basket and pallet over conveyor rollers onto table of turning frame, clamps basket and pallet in place, and moves lever to turn basket upright. Fits lid on container and nails, wires, or tapes in place. Stamps grade, brand, and date of packing on container. Washes and trims produce, such as lettuce and carrots, preparatory to packing, working in warehouse or on harvesting machine in the field. Sorts produce according to size, color, and grade before packing. May be designated according to duties performed as APPLE PACKER (agric.; whole tr.); BASKET TURNER (agric.); FACE-AND-FILL PACKER (agric.); LETTUCE TRIMMER (agric.); RING PACKER (agric.; whole tr.); TOPPER PACKER (agric.). Additional titles: APRICOT PACKER (agric. whole. tr.); AVOCADO PACKER (agric.; whole. tr.); BOXER (agric.); CAPPER (agric.); CHERRY PACKER (agric.; whole tr.); CITRUS-FRUIT PACKER (agric.; whole tr.); CRATER (agric.); CRATE TIER (agric.; whole. tr.); CULLED-FRUIT PACKER (agric.); EGG PACKER (agric.; whole tr); FRUIT PACKER, FACE-AND-FILL (agric.; whole. tr.); FRUIT PACKER, WRAP-AND-PLACE (agric.; whole. tr.); HEADER (agric.; whole. tr); LIDDER (agric.; whole. tr.) MAKE-UP MARKET WORKER, TRUCK GARDEN (agric.); MELON PACKER (agric.); MUSHROOM PACKER (agric.); PEAR PACKER (agric.; whole. tr.); PLANT PACKER (agric.); PLANT WRAPPER (agric.); PLUM PACKER (agric.; whole tr.); RING FACER (agric.); SEED PACKER (agric.); TOBACCO PACKER (agric.); TREE WRAPPER (agric.).

922.687-042 COTTON SAMPLER (agric.; textile) sampler.

Removes samples of cotton from bales for classification purposes: Cuts bale band and burlap covering, using shears and knife. Opens outside layers of cotton, and pulls or cuts samples from interior of each side of bale. Tears stub from bale identification tag, places stub in sample, and wraps samples in paper. May transfer bales of cotton to platform scales, using hand truck.

929.137-034 YARD SUPERVISOR, COTTON GIN (agric.)

Supervises and coordinates activities of workers engaged in receiving bulk cotton in cotton ginning establishment: Directs workers engaged in unloading bulk cotton and routing it to storage bins or to ginning stands through vacuum conveyor pipes. Maintains records of quantity and location of stored cotton. May assist in repairing equipment, such as conveyor systems, trailers, and storage bins. May sample cotton [COTTON SAMPLER (agric. textile)]. Performs other duties as described under SUPERVISOR (any ind.).

929.583-010 YARD WORKER (agric.)

Drives tractor to move spots (trailers of cotton) to suction shed, storage building, or other designated areas of cotton gin yard: Loads bales of cotton into trailer and unloads and stores bales. Keeps record of supplies issued from warehouse and delivers supplies to gin workers. May clean gin yard as directed.

929.686-014 BAND SALVAGER (agric.) band straightener.

Salvages tie bands from uncompressed cotton bales for reuse on compressed cotton bales: Straightens bands, using rubber mallet, or feeds bands through powered rollers that flatten and straighten them. Cuts bands to required length for typing compressed bales, using table mounted cutting device with preset cutting blades. Deposits excess pieces of banding into container for splicing by BAND MAKER (agric.). May bend end of each band and attach fastening buckle onto bent end.

929.687-018 LABORER, HIGH-DENSITY PRESS (agric.) hoist worker.

Loads compressed bales of cotton onto hand trucks or tractor-drawn trailers: Secures hooks to bale and lifts bale onto trailer or hand truck, using hoist. May stencil identifying information on bale, using brush and stencil.

Adapted from US Department of Labor DOT for Dictionary of Agricultural Occupations

15 November 2004