Role design and job descriptions for Stainless Steel Fabricators: who welds, who polishes
In a stainless shop the job title often hides the real skill. A clear description tells a TIG welder, a polisher and a passivation hand exactly what finish and cleanliness each is held to.
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Share your requirementsWhy role design and job descriptions matters in stainless steel fabricators
Many stainless shops hire a welder and expect everything from him. One man cuts, fits, welds, grinds and polishes, and nobody can say which part of the finish is his. When a panel comes back with rust spots, the blame moves between the welder, the polisher and the man who used the shared grinder. Without written roles, nobody owns the surface, and the owner finds out only when the customer complains.
A good description names the work and the finish. A TIG welder is described by joint type, thickness range and what heat discolouration is acceptable. A polisher is described by grit sequence and the sample panel he matches. Tool rules for stainless-only grinders and brushes sit inside each role, so the rule is part of the job, not a lecture given once.
How to set it up
1. List the actual jobs on your floor
Walk the shop with a current order. Write down who cuts, who forms, who welds, who blends and who polishes, and who does pickling or passivation. Note where one person is doing two roles because nobody else can.
2. Write the finish standard into each role
For welders, state the joint types and sheet or tube thickness they handle. For polishers, name the finish grade and keep a sample panel on the wall. Inspectors then compare against the panel, not against opinion.
3. Put the contamination rules inside the role
Say which grinders, discs and brushes are for stainless only, and who checks them. A new polisher reads this on day one. See onboarding for how to teach it.
4. Mark the skill steps within each role
A welder who can do thin sheet but not heavy pipe is at a different step from one who can do both. Write two or three steps per role so growth and pay have something to point at.
5. Review the sheet with the people who do the work
Read each description aloud to the senior welder and the head polisher. Fix what they say is wrong. They will use the sheet only if they helped write it.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Count how many people on your floor do more than one of cutting, welding and polishing, and ask why.
- List the last three rejected panels and note which role each defect should belong to.
- Check whether stainless-only grinders and brushes are marked and who is named to check them.
- Ask your senior welder to describe the finish he is held to, and compare it with what the polisher says.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach role design and job descriptions in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Yes. Their skills, tools and risks differ, and a customer sees the polisher's work first. Separate descriptions let you hold each person to the right finish and pay each for the right skill.
Keep it to one page. Name the joint types, the thickness range, the finish expected and the tool rules. Add the skill steps. A page the welder will read beats a long document nobody opens.
He can, if the steps are written down. List what a polisher must show, such as fit-up reading and joint prep, before trial welds begin. Without steps, such moves depend on who the owner likes.