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Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic

Lay out reference points and dimensions on metal or plastic stock or workpieces, such as sheets, plates, tubes, structural shapes, castings, or machine parts, for further processing. Includes shipfitters.

What you’d do

  • Mark curves, lines, holes, dimensions, and welding symbols onto workpieces, using scribes, soapstones, punches, and hand drills.
  • Plan locations and sequences of cutting, drilling, bending, rolling, punching, and welding operations, using compasses, protractors, dividers, and rules.
  • Fit and align fabricated parts to be welded or assembled.
  • Locate center lines and verify template positions, using measuring instruments such as gauge blocks, height gauges, and dial indicators.
  • Plan and develop layouts from blueprints and templates, applying knowledge of trigonometry, design, effects of heat, and properties of metals.
  • Lay out and fabricate metal structural parts such as plates, bulkheads, and frames.
  • Compute layout dimensions, and determine and mark reference points on metal stock or workpieces for further processing, such as welding and assembly.
  • Lift and position workpieces in relation to surface plates, manually or with hoists, and using parallel blocks and angle plates.

Skills that matter

  • Mathematics
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Monitoring
  • Operations Monitoring

How to get there

Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

Also called

  • Layout Inspector
  • Layout Man
  • Layout Technician (Layout Tech)
  • Layout Worker
  • Development Mechanic
  • Layout Fabricator

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