I have worked in plastics since August of 1984. Recently Retired.
Covered all aspects of the Industry from Operating and 'what the operators have to put up with' through material handling prior to computers and calculators, which for some of you 'old salts' included the use and mix of dry powders as colouring. On to Die setting, which (for information) was where I felt the most comfortable. The reason for this is that I found when you put a tool into the machine from scratch, set it up run and troubleshot initial parameters you get to know how that tool ticks.
As opposed to being a Technician and walking behind the Diesetters correcting any faults. Yes it is true, with the knowledge already onboard by the Techs it doesn't take long to come to grips with the tool, I just found it more appealing to start on the front line and be a part of fixing issues at the ground level.
Moving on...I spent a lot of time in the Technicians role including senior technician for a number of years, as a Team Leader (supervisor)
position. This position left me training and guiding technicians and diesetters more than dealing with the every day activities on the floor. For those in this position, there is always pressure to get "the hardest" jobs in and running, it always seems to be these jobs where guidance was required, which is where I came into my own. I have worked with multitudes of machines, multitudes of materials and experienced many different workplaces. I hope the following guides assist those requiring a little extra explanation.