Occupation

Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door

Human Advantage 64%

Significant human skills needed

AI Automation Risk Moderate Risk
3.3 / 10

Some tasks in this role may be augmented by AI, but human oversight and interpersonal skills remain important.

Install, repair, and maintain mechanical regulating and controlling devices, such as electric meters, gas regulators, thermostats, safety and flow valves, and other mechanical governors.

Also Known As: Air Valve Mechanic, Air Valve Repairer, Automation Controls Technician, Certification Technician, Control Panel Technician (Control Panel Tech), Control Specialist, Control Systems Technician (Control Systems Tech), Control Valve Mechanic +74 more

Video

Core Tasks

  1. Record maintenance information, including test results, material usage, and repairs made.
  2. Disassemble and repair mechanical control devices or valves, such as regulators, thermostats, or hydrants, using power tools, hand tools, and cutting torches.
  3. Lubricate wearing surfaces of mechanical parts, using oils or other lubricants.

Supplemental Tasks (29)

  1. Calibrate instrumentation, such as meters, gauges, and regulators, for pressure, temperature, flow, and level.
  2. Install, inspect and test electric meters, relays, and power sources to detect causes of malfunctions and inaccuracies, using hand tools and testing equipment.
  3. Test valves and regulators for leaks and accurate temperature and pressure settings, using precision testing equipment.
  4. Record meter readings and installation data on meter cards, work orders, or field service orders, or enter data into hand-held computers.
  5. Turn meters on or off to establish or close service.
  6. Shut off service and notify repair crews when major repairs are required, such as the replacement of underground pipes or wiring.
  7. Install regulators and related equipment such as gas meters, odorization units, and gas pressure telemetering equipment.
  8. Cut seats to receive new orifices, tap inspection ports, and perform other repairs to salvage usable materials, using hand tools and machine tools.
  9. Turn valves to allow measured amounts of air or gas to pass through meters at specified flow rates.
  10. Report hazardous field situations and damaged or missing meters.
  11. Vary air pressure flowing into regulators and turn handles to assess functioning of valves and pistons.
  12. Examine valves or mechanical control device parts for defects, dents, or loose attachments, and mark malfunctioning areas of defective units.
  13. Mount and install meters and other electric equipment such as time clocks, transformers, and circuit breakers, using electricians' hand tools.
  14. Connect regulators to test stands, and turn screw adjustments until gauges indicate that inlet and outlet pressures meet specifications.
  15. Investigate instances of illegal tapping into service lines.
  16. Trace and tag meters or house lines.
  17. Repair electric meters and components, such as transformers and relays, and replace metering devices, dial glasses, and faulty or incorrect wiring, using hand tools.
  18. Replace defective parts, such as bellows, range springs, and toggle switches, and reassemble units according to blueprints, using cam presses and hand tools.
  19. Measure tolerances of assembled and salvageable parts for conformance to standards or specifications, using gauges, micrometers, and calipers.
  20. Clean internal compartments and moving parts, using rags and cleaning compounds.
  21. Dismantle meters, and replace or adjust defective parts such as cases, shafts, gears, disks, and recording mechanisms, using soldering irons and hand tools.
  22. Disconnect or remove defective or unauthorized meters, using hand tools.
  23. Attach air hoses to meter inlets, plug outlets, and observe gauges for pressure losses to test internal seams for leaks.
  24. Make adjustments to meter components, such as setscrews or timing mechanisms, so that they conform to specifications.
  25. Repair leaks in valve seats or bellows of automotive heater thermostats, using soft solder, flux, and acetylene torches.
  26. Splice and connect cables from meters or current transformers to pull boxes or switchboards, using hand tools.
  27. Advise customers on proper installation of valves or regulators and related equipment.
  28. Clean plant growth, scale, paint, soil, or rust from meter housings, using wire brushes, scrapers, buffers, sandblasters, or cleaning compounds.
  29. Connect hoses from provers to meter inlets and outlets, and raise prover bells until prover gauges register zero.

Education & Training

Job Zone 3 Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
Education: Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Experience: Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
On-the-Job Training: Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Education Level Distribution

Percentage of workers in this occupation with each education level.

High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
47%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)
42%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)
7%
Some College Courses
3%
Bachelor's Degree
1%

Technology & Tools

Hot Technologies

  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Microsoft Access
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft SharePoint
  • Microsoft Visio
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Microsoft Word
  • Oracle Primavera Enterprise Project Portfolio Management
  • SAP software
  • Structured query language SQL

Software (24)

  • Emerson FIRSTVUE Value Sizing
  • Graphical user interface GUI design software
  • IBM Maximo Asset Management
  • Ladder Logic
  • Maintenance record software
  • Operating system software
  • Programmable logic controller PLC software
  • Spreadsheet software
  • Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software
  • Wonderware software
  • Word processing software

Tools & Equipment (92)

  • Acetylene torches
  • Adjustable wrenches
  • Air compressors
  • Ammeters
  • Bench vises
  • Bucket trucks
  • Burden testers
  • Cable cutters
  • Circuit testers
  • Clamp-on meters
  • Claw hammers
  • Conduit benders
  • Copper cutters
  • Crescent wrenches
  • Cutting torches
  • Dataloggers
  • Desktop computers
  • Diagonal cutting pliers
  • Electrician's pliers
  • Fish tapes
  • Flow meters
  • Flow recorders
  • Forklifts
  • Grease guns
  • Grinding tools
  • Groove-joint pliers
  • Hacksaws
  • Hand saws
  • Handheld computers
  • Handheld transmitters
  • Hydraulic pumps
  • Hydraulic truck-mounted cranes
  • Hydraulic wrenches
  • Infrared cameras
  • Insulated adjustable widemouth pliers
  • Insulated screwdrivers
  • Insulated wrenches
  • Keyhole saws
  • Ladders
  • Laptop computers
  • Layout squares
  • Locking pliers
  • Longnose pliers
  • Measurement calipers
  • Measuring tapes
  • Metal cutting dies
  • Metal cutting taps
  • Micrometers
  • Mobile data terminals
  • Multimeters
  • Nut drivers
  • Overhead cranes
  • Paint spray booths
  • Paint spray guns
  • Personal computers
  • Phasemeters
  • Phillips head screwdrivers
  • Pipe cutters
  • Pop rivet guns
  • Portable welding equipment
  • Power drills
  • Power saws
  • Power screwdrivers
  • Power system analyzers
  • Power wrenches
  • Precision levels
  • Pressure gauges
  • Pressure recorders
  • Punches
  • Quick wrenches
  • Rasps
  • Robertson screwdrivers
  • Rubber gloves
  • Sandblasters
  • Scaffolding
  • Scrapers
  • Side cutting pliers
  • Single-cut mill saw files
  • Slip joint pliers
  • Soldering irons
  • Steel chisels
  • Straight screwdrivers
  • Test lamps
  • Tongs
  • Two way radios
  • Utility knives
  • Voltmeters
  • Watt-hour test meters
  • Wire brushes
  • Wire crimpers
  • Wire cutters
  • Wire strippers

Where This Career Leads

Career progression organized by specialty track and experience level.

Skilled Trades Advanced Manufacturing

Zone 3
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