Pipefitters use blueprints and project specifications to construct and repair piping systems that carry water, steam, chemicals and fuel. Steamfitters are typically pipefitters who specialize in pipe systems that move liquids or gases under high pressure.
Steamfitter/pipefitters test and maintain the systems once they are in place, using specialized equipment to ensure the safety of the pipes and other components of the system such as the automatic controls that are increasingly being used to monitor these systems. Steamfitter/pipefitters often work on heating and cooling systems in large industrial plants as well as various systems in electric power plants. They must know how to work with a wide variety of materials because these systems are made of several different types of materials including steel, copper, plastic and numerous metal alloys. |