Sheet Metal Worker

Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Work may involve any of the following: setting up and operating fabricating machines to cut, bend, and straighten sheet metal; shaping metal over anvils, blocks, or forms using hammer; operating soldering and welding equipment to join sheet metal parts; or inspecting, assembling, and smoothing seams and joints of burred surfaces. Includes sheet metal duct installers who install prefabricated sheet metal ducts used for heating, air conditioning, or other purposes.

O*NET reports this occupation under titles such as: Commercial Sheet Metal Service Installer; Field Installer; HVAC Sheet Metal Installer (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Sheet Metal Installer); HVAC Sheet Metal Specialist (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Sheet Metal Specialist); Sheet Metal Fabricator; Sheet Metal Installer; Sheet Metal Journeyman; Sheet Metal Layout Mechanic; Sheet Metal Mechanic; Sheet Metal Worker

Tasks

• Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary.
• Fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems.
• Fasten seams or joints together with welds, bolts, cement, rivets, solder, caulks, metal drive clips, or bonds to assemble components into products or to repair sheet metal items.
• Transport prefabricated parts to construction sites for assembly and installation.
• Install assemblies, such as flashing, pipes, tubes, heating and air conditioning ducts, furnace casings, rain gutters, or downspouts in supportive frameworks.
• Hire, train, or supervise new employees or apprentices.
• Lay out, measure, and mark dimensions and reference lines on material, such as roofing panels, using calculators, scribes, dividers, squares, or rulers.
• Fabricate or alter parts at construction sites, using shears, hammers, punches, or drills.
• Determine project requirements, such as scope, assembly sequences, or required methods or materials, using blueprints, drawings, or written or verbal instructions.
• Maneuver completed roofing units into position for installation.
• Select gauges or types of sheet metal or nonmetallic material, according to product specifications.
• Shape metal material over anvils, blocks, or other forms, using hand tools.
• Trim, file, grind, deburr, buff, or smooth surfaces, seams, or joints of assembled parts, using hand tools or portable power tools.

Knowledge

• Mechanical
• Building and Construction
• Mathematics
• Design
• English Language
• Administration and Management
• Production and Processing
• Education and Training
• Engineering and Technology

Skills

• Reading Comprehension
• Critical Thinking
• Monitoring
• Active Listening
• Speaking
• Mathematics

Abilities

• Visualization
• Near Vision
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
• Manual Dexterity
• Multilimb Coordination
• Information Ordering
• Selective Attention
• Finger Dexterity
• Oral Comprehension
• Written Comprehension
• Oral Expression
• Problem Sensitivity
• Deductive Reasoning
• Category Flexibility
• Flexibility of Closure
• Control Precision
• Static Strength
• Trunk Strength
• Inductive Reasoning
• Mathematical Reasoning
• Number Facility
• Perceptual Speed
• Reaction Time
• Extent Flexibility
• Far Vision
• Depth Perception
• Auditory Attention
• Speech Recognition
• Speech Clarity