The switches to open and close the door will be on a panel, along with an emergency stop button. Newer retorts have lcd panels that you can precisely input temperature, capacity, weight and it will do the calculations for you on how long it should run, when to use the primary burner, post combustion burner. They shut off on a timer from imputing weight. The larger the person, the lower and longer they take. Usually, it takes about two and a half hours before they are ready to be pulverized. Every body has a metal tag on their paperwork or on the outside of the retort and a metal tag in the chamber to make sure the right person is being cremated. You must make sure those tags match up at all times. Before that, they have a bracelet around their ankle, it is so much more reliable than a toe tag. It is also imperative that the ankle bracelet matches paperwork at all times. This way no one goes into the wrong casket, no one is cremated when they were not supposed to be, etc.

While some people are embalmed and then cremated (if they have visitation, the body will be present during the service; the body is required to be embalmed if it will be out of refrigeration for 24+ hours; this is usually rule of thumb, but is a state rule) most bodies that are cremated are not embalmed.

The funeral industry is highly regulated. All states, but Colorado, require at least an associates degree, I have a bachelors degree in funeral science. There is a state funeral board since directors and embalmers have to have a license.