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Machine Operator

Machine Operator CV example and template (South Africa)

Updated November 2026 · Written for South African employers

Machine operators run the production lines in South Africa's factories: injection moulding and extrusion machines at plastics companies, filling and capping lines at beverage and dairy plants, packaging machines at food manufacturers, and printing, cutting and bag-making machines at packaging companies such as Nampak and Mpact. Big employers include food and drink companies such as Tiger Brands, Clover and Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa, and many smaller plants in industrial areas such as Pinetown, Isando, Epping and Gqeberha. A lot of operators are first placed through labour brokers. A production supervisor reading your CV wants to know which machines you have run and set up, whether you can hit output targets with few rejects (products thrown out for not meeting the specification), and whether you follow safety rules such as lockout every time.

The example below is for an operator with about seven years in plastics and food manufacturing, who started as a packer and learnt to set up and run machines. If you are newer, name every machine you have worked on, even as an assistant, and list your safety and food safety training. Write the products you made and the speeds or outputs you ran at, such as "2-litre bottles at 12 000 an hour". Say clearly that you can work rotating day and night shifts, because most plants run 24 hours a day.

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Machine Operator CV example

Nosipho Mkhwanazi

Machine operator with 7 years on injection moulding and food filling lines

071 555 0158 · nosipho.mkhwanazi@example.co.za · Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal

Profile

Machine operator with seven years in plastics and food manufacturing in Pinetown and Hammarsdale. Sets up, runs and changes over injection moulding machines and a high-speed juice filling and capping line, following SOPs and doing hourly quality checks. Keeps the line at about 85% OEE and rejects below 1.5%, applies lockout-tagout before every clearing or cleaning job, and works to HACCP and FSSC 22000 food safety rules. Available for rotating 12-hour day and night shifts.

Work experience

Filling Line Operator

Midlands Valley Beverages (Pty) Ltd, Hammarsdale | May 2022 – Present

Run a juice filling and capping line at up to 12 000 bottles an hour at about 85% OEE
Cut product changeovers from 60 to about 35 minutes by preparing change parts and labels early
Check fill levels, cap torque, labels and date codes every hour for the FSSC 22000 quality records
Keep rejects below 1.5% and record output, downtime and waste at the end of every shift
Trained five new operators on SOPs, quality checks and lockout-tagout

Injection Moulding Machine Operator

Umgeni Plastics (Pty) Ltd (placed by a labour broker, made permanent in 2020), Pinetown | Jul 2019 – Apr 2022

Ran four injection moulding machines making caps and food containers on 12-hour shifts
Changed moulds and set temperatures and cycle times from the setting sheet with the setter
Checked parts for short shots, flash and colour faults and recorded rejects every hour
Applied lockout-tagout before clearing jams and cleaning moulds

Packer

Umgeni Plastics (Pty) Ltd (placed by a labour broker), Pinetown | Feb 2018 – Jun 2019

Packed, counted and labelled cartons of moulded products at the end of the machines
Removed faulty parts and reported repeat faults to the machine operator

Education

National Certificate in Plastics Manufacturing (merSETA learnership)

merSETA accredited training provider, Pinetown, 2021, NQF level 2

National Senior Certificate (Matric)

Zwelibanzi High School, 2017, NQF level 4

Subjects: isiZulu Home Language, English First Additional Language, Mathematical Literacy, Life Sciences, Business Studies, Life Orientation

Skills

Filling, capping and labelling lines
Injection moulding machines
Changeovers and setting sheets
Hourly quality checks and reject control
OEE and production records
Lockout-tagout
HACCP and FSSC 22000 food safety
PPE and machine guarding

Certificates

HACCP Food Safety Awareness, Accredited food safety training provider, 2022
Lockout-Tagout Training (in-house), Midlands Valley Beverages (Pty) Ltd, 2022
First Aid Level 1, St John Ambulance, 2024
Basic Firefighting, Accredited safety training provider, 2023

Achievements

No injuries or lost-time incidents in seven years on production lines
Shift with the highest OEE on the filling line for four months in 2025

Personal details

Nationality:: South African
Languages:: isiZulu (Home language), English (Fluent), isiXhosa (Good)
Notice period:: One week
Availability:: Rotating 12-hour day and night shifts, weekends and overtime

References

Mlungisi Ndlovu

Production Supervisor, Midlands Valley Beverages (Pty) Ltd

031 555 0186

Kumaran Pather

Shift Manager, Umgeni Plastics (Pty) Ltd

031 555 0249

Machine Operator CV summary you can copy

Change the details so they are true for you.

Machine operator with seven years in plastics and food manufacturing in Pinetown and Hammarsdale. Sets up, runs and changes over injection moulding machines and a high-speed juice filling and capping line, following SOPs and doing hourly quality checks. Keeps the line at about 85% OEE and rejects below 1.5%, applies lockout-tagout before every clearing or cleaning job, and works to HACCP and FSSC 22000 food safety rules. Available for rotating 12-hour day and night shifts.

Skills to list on your Machine Operator CV

Setting up, starting and running production machines from the SOP (standard operating procedure)
Changeovers between products, including changing moulds, dies, change parts and labels
Running injection moulding and blow moulding machines and adjusting temperatures, pressures and cycle times
Operating filling, capping, labelling and shrink-wrapping lines in food and beverage plants
Quality checks such as weights, fill levels, cap torque, seals, labels and date codes
Spotting, separating and recording rejects, and stopping the machine when a fault repeats
Recording output, downtime and waste on production sheets or a factory screen system
Understanding OEE (overall equipment effectiveness, how much good product a machine makes against its full capacity)
Lockout-tagout before clearing jams, cleaning or handing a machine to maintenance
Wearing the right PPE, such as safety shoes, hearing protection, gloves, hairnets and safety glasses
Food safety and hygiene under HACCP and FSSC 22000, including CIP cleaning checks and foreign body control
Daily autonomous maintenance, such as cleaning, lubricating and checking guards and sensors
Clear shift handovers and reporting breakdowns to the artisan or supervisor
Working rotating day and night shifts, weekends and overtime to meet production plans

Duties written as strong bullet points

Ran a juice filling and capping line at up to 12 000 bottles an hour, keeping OEE at about 85% against a plant target of 80%
Did product changeovers on the filling line in about 35 minutes, down from 60 minutes, by preparing change parts and labels before the run ended
Checked fill levels, cap torque, labels and date codes every hour and recorded the results on the quality check sheet for the FSSC 22000 audit
Kept rejects below 1.5% by stopping the line when a fault repeated and calling the artisan with a clear description of the problem
Set up and ran four injection moulding machines making caps and containers, changing moulds and adjusting temperatures and cycle times to the setting sheet
Applied lockout-tagout with a personal lock before clearing jams, cleaning or handing a machine to maintenance, with no injuries in seven years
Did daily cleaning, lubrication and guard checks on every machine, which helped cut unplanned breakdowns on the line by about a fifth in one year
Recorded output, downtime reasons and waste at the end of every shift, so the supervisor could see why targets were missed
Trained five new operators on the SOPs, quality checks and lockout procedure for the filling line

Tips for a stronger Machine Operator CV

Name the machines and products

"Engel and Arburg injection moulding machines making 20 mm caps" or "Krones filler running 2-litre PET bottles" tells a supervisor exactly what you can do. "Operated machines" does not. List the type and brand of each machine and what it made, and say whether you only ran it or could also set it up and do changeovers.

Give your output and quality numbers

Factories measure everything. Write the speed you ran at, your OEE or efficiency if you know it, your reject or waste rate and how long your changeovers took. Even rough numbers, such as "rejects under 2%", show that you understand what the plant cares about.

Show that you work safely

Machines can cause serious injuries in seconds. Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, employees must follow the safety rules and report unsafe conditions, so employers look for operators who do. Mention lockout-tagout, PPE, any safety training and your safety record, such as "no injuries in seven years". If you have been a health and safety representative, add it.

List food safety training for food plants

Food and beverage factories are audited against food safety standards such as HACCP (a system for finding and controlling food safety risks) and FSSC 22000. If you have done HACCP or GMP (good manufacturing practice) training, or worked on a site that passed these audits, put it on your CV. It can get you a food plant job ahead of someone with the same machine skills.

Be clear about shifts and transport

Most plants run rotating shifts, often 12 hours, through the night and on weekends. Write the shift patterns you have worked and say how you get to work, especially for night shifts when taxis are scarce. A supervisor needs to know you will arrive on time for a 6 pm start.

Questions people ask

What qualifications do I need to be a machine operator?

Most posts ask for matric or at least Grade 10, and experience counts for a lot. A learnership helps, such as the merSETA National Certificate in Plastics Manufacturing at NQF level 2 for plastics plants, or the FoodBev SETA Food and Beverage Packaging Operator qualification at NQF level 3 for food and drink factories. Short courses in HACCP, lockout-tagout, first aid and firefighting also make your CV stronger.

What is OEE and why do employers ask about it?

OEE stands for overall equipment effectiveness. It combines how long the machine actually ran, how fast it ran compared with its rated speed, and how much of the output was good product. A machine that runs all shift at full speed with no rejects would be at 100%, and many plants aim for 80% or more. If you know the OEE or efficiency figure of your line, put it on your CV.

What is lockout-tagout?

Lockout-tagout is the procedure for making a machine safe before anyone puts their hands inside it. You switch off and isolate the power, air or hydraulics, put your own lock and a tag with your name on the isolator, and test that the machine cannot start. Only you remove your lock when the work is done. Operators who never skip this step are trusted to clear jams and clean machines.

I was placed by a labour broker. How do I show this on my CV?

Write the factory you worked at as the employer, and add the labour broker's name in brackets, such as "Umgeni Plastics (placed by a labour broker)". Hiring managers care about the plant and machines. Under section 198A of the Labour Relations Act, if you earn below the earnings threshold and do work that is not temporary at the same client for more than three months, you are treated as the client's employee, so if you were made permanent, say so.

Do I need food safety training to work in a food factory?

Food factories train new staff in hygiene and their food safety rules during induction, so you can start without a certificate. But a HACCP or food safety awareness course on your CV shows you already understand hairnets, hand washing, allergen and foreign body control and keeping records, and it often helps you get the job.