Plant Operator

Airgas • Elkhart, IN

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Plant Operator supports the team by safely operating equipment to handle and produce packaged gas cylinders, including high-pressure and liquefied gases. The role involves moving, sorting, inspecting, preparing, filling, labeling, and maintaining cylinders while following applicable government, Airgas, distributor, and safety standards. The operator also assists with inventory and completes required quality-control and regulatory documentation.

This position is located at Airgas’s retail shop in Elkhart, Indiana. The posted pay is $20 per hour.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent preferred.
• Ability to read and comprehend material safety data sheets.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate with people from varied backgrounds and perspectives.
• Customer service skills.
• Self-motivation and ability to contribute effectively in a fast-paced environment and meet shared deadlines.
• Strong attention to detail and precision.
• Ability to perform basic arithmetic using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals, and to compute rates, ratios, and percentages.
• Ability to safely operate a forklift; training may be provided.
• Physical dexterity to navigate the plant floor, including walking, sitting, using hands to handle or feel objects, tools, or controls, and reaching, stooping, kneeling, or crouching as needed.
• Vision abilities needed for safety, including close, distance, color, peripheral, and depth vision, and ability to focus.
• Coordination to stand, bend, stoop, reach, and grasp regularly, and ability to communicate and hear effectively within the facility.
• Sensory awareness to detect environmental cues, including smelling or hearing gas, to ensure site safety.
• Ability to occasionally move through the facility, perform fine motor tasks or computer entry, and reach with hands and arms.
• Ability to regularly lift or move up to 60 pounds and move up to 800 pounds with material-handling equipment.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in a manufacturing operation; filling or loading experience is a plus.
• Familiarity with the gas, welding, and safety supply industry or chemical industry.

Responsibilities

• Load and unload gas cylinders and other products onto and off route trucks and trailers, using proper carts to move cylinders.
• Sort empty cylinders by type to maintain an organized workflow.
• Roll cylinders and operate a forklift to move cylinders on pallets.
• Read and interpret cylinder labels and tank color-coding to identify gas hazards, cylinder size, and contents; label cylinders accurately.
• Safely handle high-pressure, medical, and liquid cylinders; prepare high-pressure cylinders and cryogenic vessels for filling, attach cylinders to manifolds, and evacuate them to eliminate contaminants.
• Assist with basic cylinder maintenance, including painting and labeling cylinders and cleaning the work area.
• Inspect cylinders before filling according to government, Airgas, and distributor procedures; conduct safety checks such as odor tests and checks of caps and valves.
• Fill cylinders by pressure and weight in accordance with applicable regulations and standards.
• Check cylinder quantities, styles, and products, and assist the team with inventory.
• Coordinate documentation to DOT, FDA, OSHA, and Airgas standards and complete required quality-control sheets.
• Uphold government and company standards for the safe handling of hazardous materials and cylinder gases.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Life, accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D), and disability insurance, including short-term and long-term disability.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Pre-tax commuter transportation benefit.
• Paid parental leave, including a 14-week paid childbirth benefit.
• Vacation, sick time, floating holidays, jury duty and funeral/bereavement leave, and paid holidays for eligible full-time employees.
• 401(k) plan with company matching funds.
• Tuition assistance or reimbursement, discounted college tuition for eligible employees’ dependents, and an Airgas Scholarship Program for dependent children.
• Benefits begin after 30 days of employment, as stated in the posting.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED