Sawmill Operator
Sawmill operators are responsible for daily production, quality control, safety and operation of a sawmill and its employees. They maintain the equipment necessary to produce lumber in a safe and efficient manner. Additionally, they will operate saws, lathes, boilers and other machines of the trade.
What Responsibilities Will I Have?
- Operate sawmill to saw logs into rough-sawn and dimensional lumber
- Install and maintain all sawmill/planer machinery and equipment
- Utilize woodworking tools, like a hand-held router, table saw, band saw, miter saw, sander, etc.
- Train machine operators and employees of the sawmill
- Perform preventative maintenance on and plan repairs for the mill
- Operate a loader and/or forklift to lift and load logs, cants and boards onto trailers
- Ensure quality assurance of lumber product output
- Read job orders for specifications, like material, type, dimensions and size of stock to be cut
- Stack and palletize materials and monitor inventory
- Order inventory to always maintain a proper stock
- Ensure physical counts match system counts
- Grade lumber and remove faulted material
- Maintain safe operations by adhering to safety procedures and regulations and utilizing safety equipment
- Troubleshoot equipment that is not functioning properly
- Maintain good industrial housekeeping at workstation and work areas
Recommended High School Courses:
- agricultural education
- agricultural mechanics
- natural resources
- industrial technology
- business
- computer skills
- mathematics
Education/Training Required:
A high school diploma is required to work as a sawmill operator. Training in sawmill maintenance or other millwright maintenance, along with a forklift operating certificate or license, is preferred.
