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Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters

Assemble, install, alter, and repair pipelines or pipe systems that carry water, steam, air, or other liquids or gases. May install heating and cooling equipment and mechanical control systems. Includes sprinkler fitters.
Related: Boilermakers  Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, & Steamfitters  Maintenance & Repair Workers, General  Pipelayers  Septic Tank Servicers & Sewer Pipe Cleaners 
Industries: Construction 

  • Summary

  • Details

    • Work Activities

    • Install underground storm, sanitary, or water piping systems, extending piping as needed to connect fixtures and plumbing.
    • Locate and mark the position of pipe installations, connections, passage holes, or fixtures in structures, using measuring instruments such as rulers or levels.
    • Select pipe sizes, types, or related materials, such as supports, hangers, or hydraulic cylinders, according to specifications.
    • Cut, thread, or hammer pipes to specifications, using tools such as saws, cutting torches, pipe threaders, or pipe benders.
    • Shut off steam, water, or other gases or liquids from pipe sections, using valve keys or wrenches.
    • Modify, clean, or maintain pipe systems, units, fittings, or related machines or equipment, using hand or power tools.
    • Maintain or repair plumbing by replacing defective washers, replacing or mending broken pipes, or opening clogged drains.
    • Attach pipes to walls, structures, or fixtures, such as radiators or tanks, using brackets, clamps, tools, or welding equipment.
    • Fill pipes or plumbing fixtures with water or air and observe pressure gauges to detect and locate leaks.
    • Repair or remove and replace system components.
    • Keep records of work assignments.
    • Estimate time, material, or labor costs for use in project plans.
    • Repair or remove and replace system components.
    • Attach pipes to walls, structures, or fixtures, such as radiators or tanks, using brackets, clamps, tools, or welding equipment.
    • Install fixtures, appliances, or equipment designed to reduce water or energy consumption.
    • Review blueprints, building codes, or specifications to determine work details or procedures.
    • Inspect, examine, or test installed systems or pipe lines, using pressure gauge, hydrostatic testing, observation, or other methods.
    • Install green plumbing equipment, such as faucet flow restrictors, dual-flush or pressure-assisted flush toilets, or tankless hot water heaters.
    • Assemble pipe sections, tubing, or fittings, using couplings, clamps, screws, bolts, cement, plastic solvent, caulking, or soldering, brazing, or welding equipment.
    • Repair or remove and replace system components.
    • Inspect structures to assess material or equipment needs, to establish the sequence of pipe installations, or to plan installation around obstructions, such as electrical wiring.
    • Install automatic controls to regulate pipe systems.
    • Install pipe assemblies, fittings, valves, appliances such as dishwashers or water heaters, or fixtures such as sinks or toilets, using hand or power tools.
    • Weld small pipes or special piping, using specialized techniques, equipment, or materials, such as computer-assisted welding or microchip fabrication.
    • Plan pipe system layout, installation, or repair, according to specifications.
    • Cut, thread, or hammer pipes to specifications, using tools such as saws, cutting torches, pipe threaders, or pipe benders.
    • Lay out full scale drawings of pipe systems, supports, or related equipment, according to blueprints.
    • Estimate time, material, or labor costs for use in project plans.
    • Install pipe systems to support alternative energy-fueled systems, such as geothermal heating or cooling systems.
    • Modify, clean, or maintain pipe systems, units, fittings, or related machines or equipment, using hand or power tools.
    • Repair hydraulic or air pumps.
    • Anchor steel supports from ceiling joists to hold pipes in place.
    • Inspect work sites for obstructions or holes that could cause structural weakness.
    • Operate motorized pumps to remove water from flooded manholes, basements, or facility floors.
    • Locate and mark the position of pipe installations, connections, passage holes, or fixtures in structures, using measuring instruments such as rulers or levels.
    • Assemble pipe sections, tubing, or fittings, using couplings, clamps, screws, bolts, cement, plastic solvent, caulking, or soldering, brazing, or welding equipment.
    • Direct helpers engaged in pipe cutting, preassembly, or installation of plumbing systems or components.
    • Cut openings in structures to accommodate pipes or pipe fittings, using hand or power tools.

    Skills

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

    Abilities

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

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

    Education

    Education
    High school diploma or equivalent
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    Apprenticeship
    Education and Training Opportunities

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    79070/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    38.02/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    13,120
    Yearly Projected Openings
    1320

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Cautiousness
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Perseverance

    Tools

    • Adjustable widemouth pliers
    • Adjustable wrenches
    • Air compressors
    • Alternating current AC arc welder
    • Augers
    • Backhoes
    • Ball peen hammer
    • Bandsaw wheel
    • Bench vises
    • Blocks or pulleys
    • Blow torch
    • Bolt cutters
    • Box end wrenches
    • Calipers
    • Caulking guns
    • Circuit tracers
    • Claw hammer
    • Cold chisels
    • Conventional truck cranes
    • Cutting die
    • Deburring tool
    • Demolition hammers
    • Depth gauges
    • Desktop computers
    • Detection apparatus for non metallic objects
    • Dewatering pumps
    • Diagonal cut pliers
    • Digital camcorders or video cameras
    • Direct current DC arc welder
    • Drain or pipe cleaning equipment
    • Drain or toilet plunger
    • Drill press or radial drill
    • Dump trucks
    • Explosimeters
    • Flow sensors
    • Fluid regulators
    • Forklifts
    • Gas detectors
    • Gas generators
    • Gas welding or brazing or cutting apparatus
    • Hacksaw
    • Hammer drills
    • Hammers
    • Hand reamer
    • Heat guns
    • Hex keys
    • Hoists
    • Hole saws
    • Hose cutter
    • Hydraulic truck cranes
    • Impact hammers
    • Impact wrenches
    • Industrial threading die
    • Inspection mirror
    • Jacks
    • Ladders
    • Laser measuring systems
    • Laser printers
    • Leak testing equipment
    • Level sensors or transmitters
    • Levels
    • Light trucks or sport utility vehicles
    • Liquid leak detectors
    • Locking pliers
    • Manlift or personnel lift
    • Metal detectors
    • Metal inert gas welding machine
    • Metal markers or holders
    • Micrometers
    • Mill saw file
    • Moisture meters
    • Mud pumps
    • Notebook computers
    • Nut drivers
    • Offset socket wrenches
    • Ohmmeters
    • Oil gun
    • Open end wrenches
    • Personal computers
    • Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
    • Pipe bending mandrel
    • Pipe bending tools
    • Pipe extractors
    • Pipe or tube cutter
    • Pipe reamer
    • Pipe vises
    • Pipe wrenches
    • Plumb bobs
    • Pneumatic grinders
    • Pneumatic hammer
    • Power drills
    • Power flaring tool
    • Power grinders
    • Power saws
    • Pressure indicators
    • Pressure or steam cleaners
    • Pry bars
    • Pullers
    • Rasps
    • Ratchets
    • Safety harnesses or belts
    • Saws
    • Scaffolding
    • Screwdrivers
    • Sewage pumps
    • Shears
    • Sheet metal grooving machine
    • Shielded metal arc welding or stick welding machine
    • Skid steer loaders
    • Slings
    • Slip or groove joint pliers
    • Soldering iron
    • Specialty wrenches
    • Spot welding machine
    • Square file
    • Squares
    • Staple guns
    • Strap wrenches
    • Sump pumps
    • Swaging tools
    • Tablet computers
    • Tachometers
    • Tape measures
    • Tapping machine attachment
    • Taps
    • Thermographs
    • Threading die hand tool
    • Threading machine
    • Threading taps
    • Tinners snips
    • Tongs
    • Torque wrenches
    • Torx keys
    • Tracer or duplicating or contouring lathe
    • Trenching machines
    • Tube end finisher
    • Tungsten inert gas welding machine
    • Two way radios
    • Utility knives
    • Vacuum gauges
    • Vibration testers
    • Voltage or current meters
    • Water pumps
    • Water samplers
    • Welder torch
    • Welding masks
    • Wheel loaders
    • Winches
    • Wire brushes
    • Wire or cable cutter

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Facilities management software
    • Internet browser software
    • Office suite software
    • Project management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Web platform development software
    • Word processing software

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