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Date: 10/06/2025

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.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • 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.
    • Apply pigment to layout surfaces, using paint brushes.
    • Mark curves, lines, holes, dimensions, and welding symbols onto workpieces, using scribes, soapstones, punches, and hand drills.
    • Lift and position workpieces in relation to surface plates, manually or with hoists, and using parallel blocks and angle plates.
    • Install doors, hatches, brackets, and clips.
    • Brace parts in position within hulls or ships for riveting or welding.
    • Lay out and fabricate metal structural parts such as plates, bulkheads, and frames.
    • Plan and develop layouts from blueprints and templates, applying knowledge of trigonometry, design, effects of heat, and properties of metals.
    • Compute layout dimensions, and determine and mark reference points on metal stock or workpieces for further processing, such as welding and assembly.
    • Compute layout dimensions, and determine and mark reference points on metal stock or workpieces for further processing, such as welding and assembly.
    • Locate center lines and verify template positions, using measuring instruments such as gauge blocks, height gauges, and dial indicators.
    • Lay out and fabricate metal structural parts such as plates, bulkheads, and frames.
    • Design and prepare templates of wood, paper, or metal.
    • Design and prepare templates of wood, paper, or metal.
    • Inspect machined parts to verify conformance to specifications.
    • Add dimensional details to blueprints or drawings made by other workers.

    Skills

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    Knowledge

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    Career Video

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    Pay

    • US Annual Salary 61870/yr
    • US Typical Salary
    • US Hourly Wage 29.74/hr
    • US Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 50
    • Yearly Projected Openings 10

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Independence
    • Achievement/Effort
    • Cooperation
    • Persistence

    Tools

    • Calipers
    • Comparators
    • Compasses
    • Coordinate measuring machines CMM
    • Dial indicator or dial gauge
    • Drafting divider
    • Forklifts
    • Gage block set
    • Gauge block
    • Hand or push drill
    • Hardness testers
    • Height gauges
    • Hoists
    • Micrometers
    • Power saws
    • Protractors
    • Punches or nail sets or drifts
    • Rulers
    • Scribers
    • Shielded metal arc welding or stick welding machine

    Technology

    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Inventory management software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Procedure management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

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