Construct, assemble, maintain, and repair stationary steam boilers and boiler house auxiliaries. Align structures or plate sections to assemble boiler frame tanks or vats, following blueprints. Work involves use of hand and power tools, plumb bobs, levels, wedges, dogs, or turnbuckles. Assist in testing assembled vessels. Direct cleaning of boilers and boiler furnaces. Inspect and repair boiler fittings, such as safety valves, regulators, automatic-control mechanisms, water columns, and auxiliary machines.
Work Activities
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Attach rigging and signal crane or hoist operators to lift heavy frame and plate sections or other parts into place.
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Study blueprints to determine locations, relationships, or dimensions of parts.
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Repair or replace defective pressure vessel parts, such as safety valves or regulators, using torches, jacks, caulking hammers, power saws, threading dies, welding equipment, or metalworking machinery.
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Locate and mark reference points for columns or plates on boiler foundations, following blueprints and using straightedges, squares, transits, or measuring instruments.
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Bolt or arc weld pressure vessel structures and parts together, using wrenches or welding equipment.
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Position, align, and secure structural parts or related assemblies to boiler frames, tanks, or vats of pressure vessels, following blueprints.
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Bell, bead with power hammers, or weld pressure vessel tube ends to ensure leakproof joints.
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Install manholes, handholes, taps, tubes, valves, gauges, or feedwater connections in drums of water tube boilers, using hand tools.
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Shape or fabricate parts, such as stacks, uptakes, or chutes, to adapt pressure vessels, heat exchangers, or piping to premises, using heavy-metalworking machines such as brakes, rolls, or drill presses.
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Assemble large vessels in an on-site fabrication shop prior to installation to ensure proper fit.
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Lay out plate, sheet steel, or other heavy metal and locate and mark bending and cutting lines, using protractors, compasses, and drawing instruments or templates.
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Examine boilers, pressure vessels, tanks, or vats to locate defects, such as leaks, weak spots, or defective sections, so that they can be repaired.
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Shape seams, joints, or irregular edges of pressure vessel sections or structural parts to attain specified fit of parts, using cutting torches, hammers, files, or metalworking machines.
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Inspect assembled vessels or individual components, such as tubes, fittings, valves, controls, or auxiliary mechanisms, to locate any defects.
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Straighten or reshape bent pressure vessel plates or structure parts, using hammers, jacks, or torches.
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Install refractory bricks or other heat-resistant materials in fireboxes of pressure vessels.
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Clean pressure vessel equipment, using scrapers, wire brushes, and cleaning solvents.
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Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
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Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
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Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
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Arm-Hand Steadiness
The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
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Control Precision
The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
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Finger Dexterity
The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
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Design
Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
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Mathematics
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
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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.
- Education
High school diploma or equivalent
- Work Experience
No work experience
- Training
Apprenticeship
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Realistic:
People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.
They do well at jobs that need:
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Attention to Detail
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Dependability
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Initiative
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Persistence
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Achievement/Effort
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Independence
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Punches or nail sets or drifts
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Power saws
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Levels
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Hoists
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Blow torch
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Operating system software
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Office suite software
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Enterprise resource planning ERP software
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Computer based training software
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Computer aided design CAD software
