Position Summary
Reporting to the Shift Supervisor, the Lead Hand Process Operator is responsible for ensuring that his/her circuits are operated as per specified Key Input Variables while maintaining a safe working environment. This position entails the operation of a variety of metallurgical unit operations and ancillary equipment. The Lead Hand Plant Operator must possess sufficient mobility to be able to perform housekeeping and/or sampling and analysis duties in areas which may be awkward or difficult to reach. The operator must be physically able to use a variety of physical and chemical testing equipment. The operator must be able to operate mobile equipment such as forklifts and scissor lifts and must be able to go up/down stairs multiple times per shift. This position requires the operator to work a variety of shift schedules including night shifts.
The Lead Hand Process Operator will take on Lead Hand duties when a Shift Supervisor is not on site. This position includes the responsibilities of a Process Operator with added responsibilities of leading plant operations and managing/supervising the Process Operators on shift. The Lead Hand will be provided First-Aid training and must be comfortable with taking on the additional responsibilities.
Compensation: $65k - $70k
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- Be a safety leader, adhere to and sponsor safety and environmental rules and procedures
- Observe all applicable safety, quality, environmental and hygiene regulations
- Identify potential safety hazards, take immediate action to correct the hazard and report the situation to supervisory personnel on site
- General operation of assigned circuit. This may include but not limited to calculation and measurement of flow rates, startup/shutdown of circuit equipment, handling and mixing of reagents.
- Monitor process parameters and respond to alarms
- Review and analyze data to achieve process optimization through circuit adjustments
- Maintain proper sample/testing documentation such as Chain of Custody, Certificate of Analysis, etc.
- General housekeeping and minor maintenance duties
- Communicate end of the day information regarding process changes and issues to Shift Supervisors and senior management.
- Manage/supervise Process Operators on shift in the absence of Shift Supervisor
- Lead plant operations in the absence of Shift Supervisor.
Qualifications
- Minimum High School Diploma with operational experience, technical school diploma in a relevant field, or in a co-op engineering program
- Previous plant experience in an operation role or in testing environment would be an asset
- Ability to multi-task, have strong organizational skills, a motivated self-starter, and able to work well under pressure to get results
- Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to work well as a team player or individually
- Must be able to communicate in both verbal and written form and be capable of maintaining neat and accurate records and logs of plant operation
- Ability to learn additional processes
- Flexible to work shifts (including night shifts)
- Prior supervisory experience is considered an asset