Production Laborer - Concrete (REBAR)

Job Description

Job Description

ABOUT THE JOB:

The Production Laborer (REBAR) will ensure the safe, cost effective, and on time manufacturing of NWPX Park products on an hourly basis. They support their crews through hourly management of crew performance in Safety, Quality, Cost, and Delivery. The first level of leadership for plant operations, and is a key team member in ensuring company profitability. This role is considered a leadership role with possibilities of professional growth within the company.

Essential Functions & Major Responsibilities:

• Follows all safety and company policies and procedures and promotes a safe work culture.
• Complies with all OSHA safety requirements, work rules, and regulations.
• Wears all required personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Maintains all required paperwork.
• Inspects, cleans, and performs basic preventive maintenance on machines and equipment.
• Maintains housekeeping within all production, storage, and waste areas.
• Follows all work instructions, procedures, and Job Safety Analyses (JSAs).
• Identifies and reports any unsafe working conditions or equipment.
• Effectively communicates issues to management.
• Performs various general labor duties, including shoveling, cleanup, and removal of damaged product.
• Operates hand tools and equipment.
• Maintains regular, reliable, and predictable attendance to perform the essential functions of the position.

In the Concrete Production Area:

• Leads and supervises a team of rebar fabricators, ensuring adherence to all company safety policies and procedures.
• Monitors daily production activities, ensuring rebar is fabricated according to specifications, blueprints, and production schedules.
• Reads and interprets blueprints, shop drawings, and production specifications to ensure accurate fabrication and placement of reinforcing steel.
• Cuts and bends rebar or wire mesh according to blueprints, shop drawings, and production specifications.
• Ties steel mesh and reinforcing steel using tie guns and manual tying methods.
• Operates rebar fabrication equipment, including rebar benders, shears, cutting torches, and other machinery in a safe and efficient manner.
• Uses cutting torches to cut reinforcing steel and make necessary modifications or corrections when required.
• Measures, marks, and lays out rebar using tape measures, hand tools, and power tools to ensure proper placement and dimensional accuracy.
• Demonstrates the ability to accurately read and use a tape measure.
• Builds, squares, and verifies rebar cages to ensure they meet required dimensions, tolerances, and quality standards.
• Places, secures, and ties reinforcing steel within concrete forms to maintain proper spacing and structural integrity.
• Sizes, cuts, and installs Styrofoam blockouts as required by production drawings.
• Verifies all rebar placement and measurements prior to concrete placement to ensure compliance with engineering drawings and specifications.
• Inspects finished products for accuracy, ensuring all reinforcing steel meets quality standards before concrete placement.
• Oversees the operation and maintenance of fabrication equipment, including shears, benders, cranes, and other production equipment.
• Trains crew members on established rebar fabrication processes, safe work practices, and efficient production methods while documenting and ensuring required training is completed.
• Identifies and resolves rebar fabrication issues that could prevent the crew from completing work safely, with quality, on time, and within budget.
• Effectively communicates production issues, safety concerns, and quality issues to the Production Plant Manager.
• Escalates issues to the Concrete Supervisor when resolution requires leaving the crew for more than 15 minutes.
• Performs production duties alongside the crew as needed while ensuring supervisory responsibilities continue to be met.
• Reviews, assesses, and assists in closing gaps between production goals and actual crew performance in the areas of Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost.
• Participates in daily production board meetings.
• Assists with concrete placement and finishing operations as needed.
• Works collaboratively with the production team to ensure quality production goals, daily schedules, and customer deadlines are achieved.
• Maintains a clean, organized, and safe work area in accordance with company safety policies and procedures.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Ability to accurately read and use a tape measure.
• Ability to read and interpret blueprints, shop drawings, and production specifications.
• Knowledge of rebar fabrication, placement, and reinforcement techniques.
• Ability to safely operate rebar fabrication equipment, including tie guns, benders, shears, cutting torches, and cranes.
• Ability to inspect and verify rebar placement and dimensions for accuracy.
• Strong leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced manufacturing environment while maintaining safety and quality standards.
• Ability to lift, carry, push, and pull materials in accordance with the physical demands of the position.

Education/Experience:

• Must be 18 yrs old or older
• Highschool Diploma, GED or equivalent
• General knowledge of manual labor
• Read and understand shop tickets, documents, (including piece tickets), drawings and follow instructions (whether presented in written, oral, diagram or schedule form).
• Able to work with and apply mathematical concepts to practical situations.

LABORER III – this level of Laborer is responsible for performing duties described for a Laborer II. This level of laborer does require advanced training, qualifications and experience. Work normally is performed under minimal supervision. Employees in this position may be responsible for leading the work of other laborers and will be provided on-the-job training (OJT) to learn the skills necessary to fulfill a designated position in their respective department.

WORK HOURS/SHIFT:

Work hours vary or change based on operational needs / Must be able to work overtime as required

PHYSICAL DEMANDS/WORK ENVIRONMENT:

Very heavy work: Exerting in excess of 100 pounds of force occasionally, and / or in excess of 50 pounds of force frequently, and / or in excess of 20 pounds of force constantly to move objects. The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Regular, reliable and predictable attendance is necessary in order to perform the essential functions of this position.

Physical Activity:

Up to 2/3 of the time:

• Standing/Sit: Remaining upright in a stationary position, particularly for sustained periods.
• Walking: Moving about to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another.
• Pushing: Using upper extremities to press against something with steady force in order to thrust forward downward or outward.
• Pulling: Using upper extremities to exert force in order to draw, drag, haul or tug objects in sustained motion.
• Lifting: Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position to position.
• Lifting and or retrieving items of 0-50 pounds without assistance; 50 – 100 pounds with assistance and 100+ pounds with mechanical assistance.
• Hearing: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction, and having the ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and making fine discriminations in sound.
• Repetitive motions: Making substantial movements (motions) of the wrist, hands, and/or fingers such as grinding, stamping, and taping.

Less than 1/3 of the time:

• Climbing: Ascending or descending ladders, stairs, scaffolding, ramps, poles and the like, using feet and legs and /or hands and arms.
• Balancing: Maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling when walking, standing or crouching on narrow slippery or erratically moving surfaces.
• Stooping: Positions self to pick up tools and set up shoes.
• Kneeling / Crouching: Positions self to checking stamps.
• Crawling: Moving about to installing gaskets in ends.
• Reaching: Grabbing things from a distance above or from the side.
• Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with whole hand or arm as in handling to stamping.
• Grasping: Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm to grinding and stamping.
• Talking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word; those activities where detailed or important spoken instructions must be conveyed to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly
• Communicating: Expressing or exchanging ideas and information accurately, in written or diagram form.

Visual Acuity:

The worker is required to have visual acuity to perform and activity such as: operating machines such lathes, drill presses, power saws and mills where the seeing job is at or within arm’s reach; performing mechanical or skilled trades tasks; a non-repetitive nature and/or assembly or fabrication of parts at distances close to the eye.

Up to 2/3 of the time:

• Close vision ( 20 inches or less)
• Distance vision ( 20 feet or more)
• Color vision (ability to identify and distinguish colors)
• Less than 1/3 of the time:
• Peripheral Vision: (ability to observe an area that can be seen up and down or to the left and right while eyes are fixed on a given point)
• Depth Perception: (three-dimensional vision, ability, to judge distances and spatial relationships.
• Adjust visual focus (ability to adjust the eye to bring an object into sharp focus.)

Weather conditions:

Up to 2/3 of the time:

• Outside environmental conditions: No effective protection from weather.
• Both environmental conditions: activities occur inside and outside.
• Extreme cold: Temperatures typically below 32 degrees for periods of more than one hour.
• Extreme heat: Temperatures above 100 degrees for periods of more than one hour.
• Noise: There is sufficient noise to cause the worker to shout in order to be heard above the ambient noise level.
• Vibration: Exposure to oscillating movements of the extremities or whole body.
• Hazards: Includes a variety of physical conditions, such as proximity to moving mechanical parts, moving vehicles, electrical, electrical current, working on scaffolding and high places, exposure to high heat or exposure to chemicals.

Less than 1/3 of the time:

• Inside environmental conditions: Protection from weather conditions but necessarily from temperature changes
• Atmospheric conditions: Once or more of the following conditions that affect the respiratory system of the skin: fumes, orders, dust, mists, gases or poor ventilation.
• Oils: There is air and / or skin exposure to oils and other cutting fluids.
• Required to wear a respirator.
• The worker is in close quarters, crawl spaces, shafts, man holes, small enclosed rooms, small sewage and water line pipes, and other areas could cause claustrophobia

Noise Levels:

• Up to 2/3 of the time:
• Loud noise
• Very loud

Less than 1/3 of the time:

• Moderate noise

Supervision Received:

Supervision: The incumbent performs a variety of routine work within established policies and procedures and receives detailed instructions on new projects and assignments.

Northwest Pipe Company is one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of welded steel and precast water infrastructure products, employing over 900 skilled workers in locations across North America. With positions ranging from the manufacturing floor to sales, and from engineering to administration and management, Northwest Pipe offers rewarding work experiences and opportunities to grow your career. We know our success depends on the unique contributions of our diverse employees, and we're committed to promoting and valuing diversity and inclusion as we continue to grow our team.

Company Description

Northwest Pipe Company is one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of welded steel and precast water infrastructure products, employing over 900 skilled workers in locations across North America. With positions ranging from the manufacturing floor to sales, and from engineering to administration and management, Northwest Pipe offers rewarding work experiences and opportunities to grow your career. We know our success depends on the unique contributions of our diverse employees, and we're committed to promoting and valuing diversity and inclusion as we continue to grow our team.