A professional who loads green electrodes in gas or electric furnaces, packs them with insulating materials for firing, and cools and unloads them after processing, working as member of furnace crew. Respnsibilities include:

• Dumps, levels, and tamps mixture of coke, sand, and sawdust on furnace bed.
• Attaches sling to individual electrodes, and signals overhead crane operator in positioning electrodes in furnace.
• Spreads coke over each layer of electrodes and tamps coke between electrodes to insulate them until specified number and layers of electrodes are loaded.
• Spreads insulating mixture uniformly over top of charge.
• Positions brick side blocks on side of furnace with aid of crane operator.
• Signals crane operator in hoisting bus bars into place on electric furnace, and bolts bars to feeders and to furnace terminals.
• Removes bus bars and side blocks after processing (graphitizing or baking) and pokes hole in insulating mix to observe color of electrodes.
• Refills and tamps insulating mix in hole to prevent oxidation if charge is cooking too rapidly; or rakes, hoes, or shovels insulating mix from charge and quenches charge with water to speed cooling.
• Shovels mixture into pile for reprocessing.
• Attaches sling to processed electrodes and signals crane operator to remove them from furnace.
• Cleans residue from electrodes, using airhose.
• May be designated according to duty performed as Furnace Cooler; Furnace Loader; Furnace Packer; Furnace Unloader.