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Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

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.

Related: Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, & Systems Assemblers Model Makers, Metal & Plastic Patternmakers, Metal & Plastic Sheet Metal Workers Structural Metal Fabricators & Fitters

Industries: Manufacturing Government

Summary
Details

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

Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
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.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Speaking
- Talking to others.

Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
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.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
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.
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.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
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.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
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.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
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.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
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.
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.
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.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

75750/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

36.42/hr

Currently Employed

750

Yearly Projected Openings

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

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

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

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Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic

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