Our Ventilation Mechanic/Welder installs, maintains and repairs all fresh air ventilation devices (including exhaust fans), boilers, air compressors and chain-leak fencing, gas heaters and gates.

Please do not contact our Maintenance Ventilation Mechanic/Welder directly:  Questions, please contact the Facilities Office at extension 2629, Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• To request new work, (this is a chargeable service) and/or repairs,  please submit your work order via email to  Facilities Remedy.
• If this is an emergency, please contact the Facilities Office, at extension 2629, immediately.

Nature of Work/Welding:

Welding is the most common way of permanently joining metal parts.  In this process, heat is applied to metal pieces, melting and fusing them to form a permanent bond.  Because of its strength, welding is used in shipbuilding, automobile manufacturing and repair, aerospace applications, and thousands of other manufacturing activities.  Welding also is used to join beams in the construction of buildings, bridges, and other structures and to join pipes in pipelines, powerplants, and refineries.

Welders may work in a wide variety of industries, from car racing to manufacturing.  The work done in the different industries and the equipment used may vary greatly.  The most common and simplest type of welding today is arc welding, which uses electrical currents to create heat and bond metals together, but there are over 100 different processes that a welder can employ.  The type of weld used is normally determined by the types of metals being joined and the conditions under which the welding is to take place.  Steel, for instance, can be welded more easily than titanium.  Some of these processes involve manually using a rod and heat to join metals, while others are semiautomatic, with a welding machine feeding wire to bond materials.

Skilled welding workers generally plan work from drawings, called blueprints, or specifications and use their knowledge of welding processes and base metals to determine how best to join the parts.  The difficulty of the weld is determined by its position—horizontal, vertical, overhead, or 6G (circular, as in large pipes)—and by the type of metals to be fused.  Highly skilled welders often are trained to work with a wide variety of materials, such as titanium, aluminum, or plastics, in addition to steel.  Welders then select and set up welding equipment, execute the planned welds, and examine the welds to ensure that they meet standards or specifications.

Welding workers often are exposed to a number of hazards, including very hot materials and the intense light created by the arc.  They wear safety shoes, goggles, masks with protective lenses, and other devices designed to prevent burns and eye injuries and to protect them from falling objects.  The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) requires that welders work in safely ventilated areas to avoid the danger from inhalation of gases and particulates that can result from welding processes.

Welders may work outdoors, often in inclement weather, or indoors, sometimes in a confined area designed to contain sparks and glare.  Outdoors, they may work on a scaffold or platform high off the ground.