Profession sheet metal worker

Sheet metal workers fabricate, assemble, install and repair sheet metal products and equipment.

Personality Type

• Realistic / Conventional

Tasks sheet metal worker

• Determine project requirements (e.g. assembly sequences, required methods, materials) from e.g. blueprints, drawings and written or verbal instructions.
• Select materials, tools and equipment (e.g. gauges, types of sheet metal or non-metallic material) according to product specifications.
• Measure the sheet metal parts.
• Make the sheet metal the right size and shape by e.g. heat treating, cutting, bending, etc.
• Assemble components, e.g. by fastening seams and joints using welds, bolts, cement, rivets, etc.
• Install assemblies, such as flashing, pipes, tubes, heating and air conditioning ducts, furnace casings, rain gutters and down spouts.
• Repair sheet metal items.
• Fabricate or alter parts of vehicles, planes, building structures, etc., e.g. using shears, hammers, punches and drills
• Finish the work, e.g. by trimming, grinding and smoothing surfaces, seams and joints using hand and power tools.

Related professions métal

• Aircraft assembler
• Aircraft electrician
• Ammunition and explosive products machine operator
• Blacksmith
• Boiler maker
• Brazier
• Bridge cable worker
• Chemical products plant or machine operator, all other
• Clock maker
• Die finisher
• Electronic-equipment assembler
• Enameller
• First line supervisor process controllers industrial production, manufacture, metal
• Flame cutter
• Forging machine operator
• Foundry worker, metal caster
• Handicraft worker, all other
• Industrial robot operator
• Instrument maker
• Instrument repairer
• Machine feeder or off bearer
• Machine tool operator
• Manufacturing department manager
• Mechanical-machinery assembler
• Metal castings moulder
• Metal core maker
• Metal finishing, plating or coating machine operator
• Metal foundry pattern-maker
• Metal ladler
• Metal marker
• Metal measuring and cutting machine operator
• Metal moulder
• Metal processing plant operator
• Metal production process operator
• Metal products packer
• Metal varnisher
• Metal wheel-grinder, polisher or tool sharpener
• Photographic equipment maker
• Photographic products machine operator
• Precision instrument maker
• Rigger
• Rope spinner, squeezer or splicer
• Scale balancer
• Semiconductor processing machine operator
• Sheet metal lay-out worker
• Sign writer graphic
• Solderer
• Surgical appliance maker
• Tool maker
• Varnisher, manufactured articles
• Vehicle engine tuner
• Watchmaker
• Welder, all other
• Welder, metal materials
• Wire spinner-squeezer

Knowledge

• Types of metal

  Qualities, specifications, applications and reactions to different fabricating processes of various types of metal, such as steel, aluminium, brass, copper and others.

• Metal thermal conductivity

  The property of metals to conduct heat.

• Rivet types

  The various types of rivets used in manufacturing, such as solid head rivets, blind rivets, drive rivets, semi-tubular rivets, oscar rivets, flush rivets, and others.

• Metal joining technologies

  The various technologies used for the joining and assembling of fabricated metal workpieces.

Skills

• Use safety equipment in construction

  Use elements of protective clothing such as steel-tipped shoes, and gear such as protective goggles, in order to minimise risk of accidents in construction and to mitigate any injury if an accident does occur.

• Tend metal sawing machine

  Tend sawing machine designed for metal cutting processes, monitor and operate it, according to regulations.

• Use sheet metal shears

  Use specialised heavy duty shears to safely cut sheet metal objects.

• Apply arc welding techniques

  Apply and work with a variety of techniques in the process of arc welding, such as shielded metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding, submerged arc welding and flux-cored arc welding.

• Apply spot welding techniques

  Apply and work with a variety of techniques in the process of welding metal workpieces under pressure exercised by electrodes, such as projection welding, radius style electrodes spot welding and eccentric electrodes spot welding.

• Use metalworking tools

  Use the appropriate metalworking tools to manipulate metal objects or surfaces. Use adequate instruments to grind, smoothen or sharpen metals.

• Inspect construction supplies

  Check construction supplies for damage, moisture, loss or other problems before using the material.

• Align components

  Align and lay out components in order to put them together correctly according to blueprints and technical plans.

• Clip sheet metal objects together

  Use sheet metal clips to securely clip sheet metal objects together.

• Interpret 2D plans

  Interpret and understand plans and drawings in manufacturing processes which include representations in two dimensions.

• Interpret 3D plans

  Interpret and understand plans and drawings in manufacturing processes which include representations in three dimensions.

• Follow safety procedures when working at heights

  Take necessary precautions and follow a set of measures that assess, prevent and tackle risks when working at a high distance from the ground. Prevent endangering people working under these structures and avoid falls from ladders, mobile scaffolding, fixed working bridges, single person lifts etc. since they may cause fatalities or major injuries.

• Operate handheld riveting equipment

  Operate various kinds of tools and equipment used in riveting processes, such a pin hammer and a rivet set, handheld squeezers, a hammer and bucking bar, a pneumatic hammer, a rivet gun, and others.

• Follow health and safety procedures in construction

  Apply the relevant health and safety procedures in construction in order to prevent accidents, pollution and other risks.

• Recognise signs of corrosion

  Recognise the symptoms of metal showing oxidation reactions with the environment resulting in rusting, copper pitting, stress cracking, and others, and estimate the rate of corrosion.

• Work ergonomically

  Apply ergonomy principles in the organisation of the workplace while manually handling equipment and materials.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB