Control and Valve Installers and Repairers

Also called: Air Valve Mechanic, Air Valve Repairer, Automation Controls Technician, Certification Technician, Control Specialist

Varies

estimated salary

Control and valve installers and repairers install, repair, and maintain mechanical regulating and controlling devices, such as electric meters, gas regulators, thermostats, safety, and flow valves, and other mechanical governors.

  • Record maintenance information, including test results, material usage, and repairs made.
  • Disassemble and repair mechanical control devices or valves, such as regulators, thermostats, or hydrants, using power tools, hand tools, and cutting torches.
  • Lubricate wearing surfaces of mechanical parts, using oils or other lubricants.
  • Calibrate instrumentation, such as meters, gauges, and regulators, for pressure, temperature, flow, and level.
  • Install, inspect and test electric meters, relays, and power sources to detect causes of malfunctions and inaccuracies, using hand tools and testing equipment.
  • Test valves and regulators for leaks and accurate temperature and pressure settings, using precision testing equipment.
  • Record meter readings and installation data on meter cards, work orders, or field service orders, or enter data into hand-held computers.
  • Turn meters on or off to establish or close service.
  • Shut off service and notify repair crews when major repairs are required, such as the replacement of underground pipes or wiring.
  • Install regulators and related equipment such as gas meters, odorization units, and gas pressure telemetering equipment.
  • Cut seats to receive new orifices, tap inspection ports, and perform other repairs to salvage usable materials, using hand tools and machine tools.
  • Turn valves to allow measured amounts of air or gas to pass through meters at specified flow rates.
  • Report hazardous field situations and damaged or missing meters.
  • Vary air pressure flowing into regulators and turn handles to assess functioning of valves and pistons.
  • Examine valves or mechanical control device parts for defects, dents, or loose attachments, and mark malfunctioning areas of defective units.
  • Mount and install meters and other electric equipment such as time clocks, transformers, and circuit breakers, using electricians' hand tools.
  • Connect regulators to test stands, and turn screw adjustments until gauges indicate that inlet and outlet pressures meet specifications.
  • Investigate instances of illegal tapping into service lines.
  • Trace and tag meters or house lines.
  • Repair electric meters and components, such as transformers and relays, and replace metering devices, dial glasses, and faulty or incorrect wiring, using hand tools.
  • Replace defective parts, such as bellows, range springs, and toggle switches, and reassemble units according to blueprints, using cam presses and hand tools.
  • Recondition displacement type gas meters and governors, fabricating, machining, or modifying parts needed for repairs.
  • Measure tolerances of assembled and salvageable parts for conformance to standards or specifications, using gauges, micrometers, and calipers.
  • Clean internal compartments and moving parts, using rags and cleaning compounds.
  • Dismantle meters, and replace or adjust defective parts such as cases, shafts, gears, disks, and recording mechanisms, using soldering irons and hand tools.
  • Disconnect or remove defective or unauthorized meters, using hand tools.
  • Reassemble repaired equipment, and solder top, front, and back case panels in place, using soldering guns, power tools, and hand tools.
  • Attach air hoses to meter inlets, plug outlets, and observe gauges for pressure losses to test internal seams for leaks.
  • Make adjustments to meter components, such as setscrews or timing mechanisms, so that they conform to specifications.
  • Recommend and write up specifications for changes in hardware, such as house wiring.
  • Clamp regulator units into vises on stages above water tanks, and attach compressed air hoses to intake ports.
  • Repair leaks in valve seats or bellows of automotive heater thermostats, using soft solder, flux, and acetylene torches.
  • Collect money due on delinquent accounts.
  • Splice and connect cables from meters or current transformers to pull boxes or switchboards, using hand tools.
  • Attach pressurized meters to fixtures which submerge them in water, and observe meters for leaks.
  • Advise customers on proper installation of valves or regulators and related equipment.
  • Calibrate thermostats for specified temperature or pressure settings.
  • Clean plant growth, scale, paint, soil, or rust from meter housings, using wire brushes, scrapers, buffers, sandblasters, or cleaning compounds.
  • Connect hoses from provers to meter inlets and outlets, and raise prover bells until prover gauges register zero.
Work Context

Work Context information for this career will be available soon.

Work Activities
  • Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment — Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
  • Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
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Detailed Work Activities
  • Control power supply connections.
  • Adjust equipment to ensure optimal performance.
  • Confer with coworkers to coordinate work activities.
  • Enter codes or other information into computers.
  • Document operational activities.
  • Adjust the tension of nuts or bolts.
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Knowledge

Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
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.
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.
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Skills

Critical Thinking
  • Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Judgment and Decision Making
  • Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Operation Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
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Abilities

Oral Comprehension
  • The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Near Vision
  • The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Problem Sensitivity
  • The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Oral Expression
  • The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
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Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Achievement/Effort
  • Persistence
  • Initiative
  • Leadership
  • Cooperation
  • Concern for Others
  • Social Orientation
  • Self Control
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Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Computer aided design CAD software
  • Autodesk AutoCAD Hot Technology
Industrial control software
  • Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software Hot Technology
  • Wonderware software
Data base user interface and query software
  • Structured query language SQL Hot Technology
  • Microsoft Access Hot Technology
  • Data entry software Hot Technology
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