Your work. Your records.
Forming and Compacting Machine Operator Workplace Records
Forming, extrusion and compacting work combines material flow with machine settings and product checks. An employment concern may involve an adjustment directed during a run. Describe the assigned process generally and identify who could approve changes, keeping observed conditions separate from assumptions about why a product failed a check.
Call now(800) 800-5555Free initial case evaluation. Representation depends on work state and case eligibility. This guide explains record preparation; it does not determine whether a legal claim exists.
A record map for your role
What to organize first
Adjustment sequence
List the initial instruction and authorized changes relevant to the event.
Observed condition
Describe the reading or product characteristic you reported without asserting an unverified cause.
Employment feedback
Connect your report to the employer’s stated response and your own explanation.
Start with the work you actually do
Set up, operate, or tend machines, such as glass-forming machines, plodder machines, and tuber machines, to shape and form products such as glassware, food, rubber, soap, brick, tile, clay, wax, tobacco, or cosmetics.
O*NET classifies this occupation as Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders (51-9041.00). Its description covers a typical occupation, not every workplace or individual job. It does not establish employee status, overtime eligibility or employer misconduct.
- Adjust machine components to regulate speeds, pressures, and temperatures, and amounts, dimensions, and flow of materials or ingredients.Source task 12444 · updated 07/2016
- Press control buttons to activate machinery and equipment.Source task 12447 · updated 07/2016
- Examine, measure, and weigh materials or products to verify conformance to standards, using measuring devices such as templates, micrometers, or scales.Source task 12445 · updated 07/2016
- Monitor machine operations and observe lights and gauges to detect malfunctions.Source task 12446 · updated 07/2016
A reference point for your pay records
May 2025 wage estimates by state
Compare your pay records with published BLS estimates for Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders (SOC 51-9041). These describe an occupation across employers. They are not a required pay rate, an overtime calculation, or evidence of discrimination or unpaid wages.
Select your work state to see its published pay range. No personal pay information is requested or sent.
The 25th and 75th percentiles mark the middle half of the estimated wage distribution; the median is its midpoint. Actual pay can differ with experience, employer, location and duties. Hourly and annual figures are shown as published, without converting one into the other.
All published state estimates for this occupation
| State | Hourly 25th | Hourly median | Hourly 75th | Annual median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $17.57 | $18.58 | $21.74 | $38,650 |
| Arizona | $21.58 | $22.33 | $22.88 | $46,440 |
| Arkansas | $21.44 | $23.23 | $23.23 | $48,320 |
| Connecticut | $18.81 | $22.16 | $27.64 | $46,090 |
| Florida | $17.56 | $19.14 | $22.88 | $39,800 |
| Georgia | $18.41 | $21.96 | $23.81 | $45,670 |
| Idaho | $14.83 | $18.55 | $24.42 | $38,580 |
| Indiana | $18.58 | $22.50 | $24.08 | $46,790 |
| Iowa | $23.06 | $23.72 | $27.17 | $49,340 |
| Kansas | $19.51 | $21.30 | $22.51 | $44,290 |
| Kentucky | $15.49 | $17.40 | $21.73 | $36,180 |
| Louisiana | $16.71 | $21.25 | $27.41 | $44,200 |
| Maine | $21.44 | $27.88 | $29.54 | $57,990 |
| Michigan | $17.87 | $19.13 | $23.41 | $39,790 |
| Minnesota | $22.76 | $25.03 | $28.39 | $52,070 |
| Mississippi | $18.17 | $22.39 | $27.65 | $46,560 |
| Missouri | $17.93 | $22.82 | $26.62 | $47,470 |
| Nebraska | $21.04 | $23.44 | $28.15 | $48,760 |
| New Hampshire | $21.25 | $22.95 | $24.08 | $47,730 |
| New Mexico | $14.96 | $17.65 | $17.65 | $36,710 |
| New York | $17.45 | $21.47 | $29.97 | $44,660 |
| North Carolina | $13.99 | $20.70 | $26.78 | $43,050 |
| North Dakota | $20.33 | $22.22 | $25.48 | $46,220 |
| Ohio | $19.23 | $22.63 | $25.72 | $47,070 |
| Oklahoma | $17.93 | $20.28 | $20.35 | $42,180 |
| Pennsylvania | $22.20 | $25.76 | $34.10 | $53,580 |
| Rhode Island | $16.24 | $18.86 | $23.83 | $39,230 |
| South Dakota | $18.39 | $20.79 | $24.62 | $43,240 |
| Tennessee | $17.43 | $20.18 | $22.66 | $41,970 |
| Texas | $17.35 | $18.13 | $22.17 | $37,710 |
| Utah | $19.33 | $23.61 | $28.40 | $49,100 |
| Vermont | $24.10 | $25.16 | $25.16 | $52,340 |
| Virginia | $21.04 | $23.74 | $26.69 | $49,390 |
| West Virginia | $21.88 | $24.37 | $26.44 | $50,690 |
| Wisconsin | $19.30 | $22.30 | $22.55 | $46,370 |
“Not published” preserves unavailable or suppressed source cells. “Above reporting limit” preserves a top-coded source value without inventing a number. A missing state estimate does not establish service eligibility. The data describe wage and salary employment; they do not measure self-employment income.
Source: BLS May 2025 state workbook · OEWS tables · BLS technical notes. Use your own schedule, pay statement and compensation terms to identify the question you want reviewed.
Trace settings and approved changes
Record the work instruction, material category and role directing adjustments. Note whether you changed speed, pressure or another control under instruction or inherited the setting. Distinguish an observation at the machine from a later quality finding, without changing the original process record.
Explain monitoring and interruptions
List material preparation, measurement, monitoring and cleanup relevant to your own work period. Note malfunctions or supply problems you reported and the assigned response. Use your personal time entry and permitted supervisor messages rather than treating cycle counts as a complete workday.
Keep process information controlled
Do not take formulas, machine configurations, product samples or customer specifications for personal use. Identify relevant log types and dates for review. Never adjust a live process to recreate an employment incident; keep your own report and training record instead.
Choose your next step
Review the workplace retaliation guide, unpaid wages guide, or discrimination guide if those concerns fit your experience. A job title alone does not establish a claim.
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