Operations Technician I - Specialty Feed

Veolia in North America is the top-ranked environmental company in the United States for three consecutive years, and the country’s largest private water operator and technology provider as well as hazardous waste and pollution treatment leader. It offers a full spectrum of water, waste, and energy management services, including water and wastewater treatment, commercial and hazardous waste collection and disposal, energy consulting and resource recovery. Veolia helps commercial, industrial, healthcare, higher education and municipality customers throughout North America. Headquartered in Boston, Veolia has more than 10,000 employees working at more than 350 locations across North America.

Position Purpose: 

Process specialty feed streams that are unable to be processed in any other part of the facility in the natural state in which they were received. Feed drums and totes to the incinerator through direct inject lances to the kiln and secondary combustion chamber (SCC). Document and further code items that have been processed through the specialty feed boxes for final destruction and tracking. Because of the hazardous material processed through the incinerator feed systems, this position has been designated as safety sensitive, per Arkansas Constitutional Amendment XCVIII 3.6.

Primary Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Complete daily documented rounds and inspections on all pieces of equipment for the specialty feed boxes such as:
• Box seals, windows, gloves, roller conveyors, pumps, vent fans, valves, feed nozzles, forklifts, fires systems, monitoring sensors, and feed wands
• Pull drums, totes, and cylinders from storage and stage for feeding and then return them to the approved locations when done
• Document all stages of the waste feeding process via electronic log, handheld scanners, and manual labeling
• Load roller conveyors and boxes with forklift, lock and prepare glove boxes for feed, and feed material through designated wands/stingers, manifolds, or specialized fittings according to process plan.
• Assist site mechanical department as well as outside contractors with the preventive maintenance, repair, or calibration of equipment and issue permits for these activities. Permits may include:
• Safe Work, Hot Work, Line Break, and Confined Space Entry Permits
• Perform Lock Out Tag Out of all specialty feed box equipment in preparation for repairs
• Troubleshooting, flushing, unplugging, cleaning, repairing, and swapping of feed
• lines, pumps, nozzles, vent fans, flame arrestors, and boxes.
• Break down and decontaminate feed pumps for repairs
• Prepare equipment for start-up and shutdown scenarios
• Coordinate with Supervision and control room for changes in feed streams and time sensitive materials
• Use hand tools to assist with daily tasks and container opening. These tools may include:
• Channel Locks, pipe wrench, air chisels, bung wrenches, screw drivers, and pneumatic cutters
• Verify chemical compatibility and reference Waste Information Profiles (WIP) or provided chemical reference material to ensure safe and reaction free processing of material
• Utilize Nitrogen for box purging, inerting, pump operations, and line clearing
• Utilize diesel and toluene for line flushing and clearing and maintain local inventory of flushing chemicals
• Maintain area orphan sumps as required.
• Assist Incineration unit with the ash and deslagging process on a weekly basis including slag removal operations.
• Operate multiple forms of rolling stock equipment such as: Forklifts, manlifts, vacuum tankers, etc..
• Maintain high level of housekeeping and ownership of the specialty feed box areas
• Inspect safety equipment and maintain all safety equipment and gear in good working order
• Enter Work Requests as needed for faulty equipment and report issues to supervision
• Report any spills or emergency situations to supervision and site Emergency Coordinators immediately and assist with remediation efforts and situational response
• Assist incinerator operators with outside tasks such as:
  • Kiln face drop out containers
  • Clearing and unplugging feed lines and lances
  • Removing water from orphan sumps
  • Making valve lineups and isolations
• Serves as Emergency Response Team member certified to respond to Rescue, Hazmat and medical emergencies within level of training.
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor or manager.

Education/Experience/Background: 

• High School diploma or General Educational Development (GED) preferred
• Prior work experience of > 2 years in the hazardous waste or chemical industry in a related position with proficiency in handling forklifts and other heavy equipment preferred
• > 6 months in current position
• No unsatisfactory attendance issues within the past 12 months 
• No disciplinary action within the past 12 months.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities: 

• Ability to communicate through reading and writing
• Trained in the use of material handling equipment
• Must have already been trained to and maintain skills of Material Handler II

Required Certification/Licenses/Training: 

• 40-Hour HAZWOPER training preferred
• Forklift Certified
• Yard Truck Certified
• Rolloff Truck Certified
• Vacuum Truck Certified
• Backhoe Certified
• Frontend Loader Certified
• DOT Handling Hazardous Materials 
• Successfully completed VGS Learning Paths training for Material Handler I and Material Handler II
• Successfully complete assigned VGS Learning Paths training including exams with a minimum score of 80% within 6 months of award.

Benefits: Our employees are covered by comprehensive benefits packages including paid time off policies; health, dental, vision, and life insurance; retirement plans, savings accounts; tuition reimbursement; paid volunteering and more.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer! All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. The Company reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.