A professional who operates water-cooled cupola furnace and related equipment to melt coke, slag, basalt, lime, and silica into molten mineral, and spins molten mineral into mineral wool fibers. Respnsibilities include:

• Lights fire in furnace to melt charge.
• Reads gauges and turns valves to regulate water and steam pressure.
• Observes melting of ingredients in furnace through porthole, and adjusts airblast on flaming coke bed to control intensity of heat and melting process.
• Activates spinning wheel.
• Removes taphole plug to allow molten stream to flow into water-cooled furnace trough, over high-pressure steam jet and into spinning wheel, to be spun into mineral wool fibers.
• Observes color intensity and flow of molten stream to determine suitability for spinning.
• Adjusts distance of steam ring and spinning wheel from end of trough to control length of spun fibers.
• Scrapes residue slag from trough and spinning wheel, using bar and scraper.