Chemical Process Operator

Program

The Chemical Process Operator curriculum will prepare you for industrial plant employment in the chemical, petroleum refining, polymer, and pharmaceutical industries. Laboratory facilities include high-tech mechanical equipment, modern instrument trainers, and five pilot plant units.

This program is offered at the Ohio River Valley campus. In this program, you will gain the knowledge and skills to prepare you for employment as a process operator in the following industries:

• Chemical
• Oil Refining
• Pharmaceutical
• Polymer
• Utilities
• Power Generation and Alternative Energy
• Water Treatment
• Food and Beverage

Program Competencies

In operating equipment, the chemical operator must observe, interpret, and record data from gauges, instruments, computer displays, logbooks, and laboratory analysis data. The operator will need to make changes in pressure, flow, temperature, level, and other parameters by operating control devices.

The Program Competencies listed below identify the major learning goals related to the program of study and identify the knowledge and skills you will have when you complete the program.

1. Maintain safety, health, and environmental standards during simulation exercises or in a chemical plant.
   
   
2. Handle, store, and transport chemical materials according to all applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
   
   
3. Apply chemical process and quality systems in a simulated chemical process environment or a chemical plant.
   
   
4. Operate, monitor, control, and troubleshoot batch and continuous chemical processes.
   
   
5. Analyze samples of raw materials, intermediates, and finished products in a simulated chemical process environment or a chemical plant.
   
   
6. Perform routine, predictive, and preventive maintenance and service to process equipment and instrumentation.
   
   
7. Use computers or computerized equipment for communications and chemical process control.

Potential Careers & Salaries

The Chemical Process Operator program provides certification and skills for employment in a number of industries and positions. Here are a few of the jobs available and their average hourly pay:

* Based on job descriptions as tracked in Payscale.com. Hourly rates shown are median and top of range for Woodsfield, OH area based on five years' experience.