Types of Construction Workers

Construction workers are a very special breed of worker. Rather than a single class of skilled laborers, construction workers generally fall into a number of specialized areas, each with its own specific jobs, duties, and responsibilities. Often these professions require extensive training to achieve proficiency, but most construction workers learn on the job the skills they will use for the rest of their lives.

Unfortunately, construction work is one of the most dangerous industries in the United States. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) estimates that over 1,000 construction workers will be injured on the job each year. A great many of these workers feel pressured to keep silent about their injuries out of fear of termination or retribution. Ignored injuries often cause significant long term disability which can cause the strongest workers to suffer.

Protect your health and protect your livelihood. If you are injured on a construction site you may have the legal right to take action against those who caused your hardship. Don't be intimidated by pressure to keep silent about your injury. Contact a construction site injury attorney and stand up for your rights today!

Pipe fitter/layers

Pipe laying is one of the most important aspects of any construction project. These skilled craftsmen are responsible for installing the drains, water mains, sewers, and gas and oil lines into buildings and other structures.

Pipe fitters install, maintain, and repair high and low pressure pipes in manufacturing, electricity generation, and building climate control. Some pipe fitters work in specialized areas such as steam fitting, but this work is extremely dangerous.

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Sheet metal worker

Sheet metal workers are responsible for the construction, maintenance, and installation of a variety of metal products including siding, signs, and ventilation equipment. This very specialized profession requires many years of training and experience, not only because worked metal must be very precise, but also the level of danger associated with working with powerful cutting and lifting equipment is higher than most other occupations.

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Steamfitters

Modern plumbing is frequently more complicated than most people imagine. Instead of simply moving liquids from one place to another, more sophisticated plumbing systems require high pressure liquids, steam or other gases to facilitate movement within a building, and steamfitters make this vital function possible.

Dealing with high pressure and temperature gasses and liquids is fraught with peril. A simple mistake can have devastating consequences if negligent or irresponsible people attempt to operate or make repairs on these delicate systems.

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Painters/paperhangers

Painters and paperhangers are often the last line of construction workers to finish a project before the tenants occupy the structure. These two professions provide not only aesthetic considerations for a bare structure, but their paint and paper enhance the natural shape of a building and provide additional protection from weather, wear and tear, and natural aging process.

These skilled workers must have knowledge of not only their crafts, but the appropriate amount of chemicals needed to finish it, how different surfaces need different materials, and finally a bit of an artistic touch to ensure everything proceeds smoothly.

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Drywall installers

The development of drywall from a simple mixture of gypsum and paper revolutionized the construction industry, for this abundant building material is inexpensive to both transport and use. Drywall is also easy to manipulate, allowing other building professionals to cut it into appropriate shapes and sizes.

Drywall is also heavy and unwieldy, and is prone to breakage if not handled with the appropriate care or safety. Many drywall workers often suffer broken bones or soft tissue strains due to the weight of the material, but can also suffer respiratory damage because of inhaled contaminants and particles.

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Tile Installers

Tile installers are responsible for laying hard tile and marble to floors, decks, and walls throughout any number of construction projects. Generally one of the last specialties to work on a given project, tile installers must have training to set their tiles properly the first time, lest the project run behind schedule.

Tile installers are susceptible to a number of injuries however. The constant straining and bending over a surface can lead to repetitive stress injuries, and heavy tiles can cause serious injuries if handled improperly.

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Tapers

Tapers are construction professionals who assist in the placement of drywall by filling in joints between the panels with special bonding compounds. It takes a bit training and experience to understand the subtleties of taping, but without these dedicated works drywall partitions would be tacky and unpresentable rather than the vital and aesthetically-pleasing building materials they are.

Dealing with heavy drywall partitions and toxic joining compounds combined with the physical labor of many taping projects it is no wonder that so many tapers suffer so many disabling injuries. Though every taper wants to work in a healthy and safe environment, accidents still occur.

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Cement Masons

Cement masons are professionals who place and organize the distribution of cement throughout various places in a project. While high flying steelworkers and design engineers get most of the attention on many construction sites, without the sturdy foundation laid by cement workers all our important buildings would crumble out of existence.

Just as overlooked are the injuries many cement masons endure. Long hours of stooping, carrying, and mixing their heavy loads take a vast physical and emotional tool, and too often these industrious people suffer silently through debilitating physical pain.

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Concrete finishers

Concrete finishers are responsible for creating the smooth, unbroken appearance in concrete that many of us take for granted. This seemingly simple art is one that takes years to learn and many more to master, and experienced concrete finishers are always a welcome sight on any construction project.

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Segmental pavers

Segmental pavers are responsible for cutting, placing, and arranging a variety of finished masonry such as brick and concrete in order to create paths, patios, driveways, and steps. They work in conjunction with other concrete professionals such as masons, finishers, and terrazzo workers to create the modern society that we so often take for granted.

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Terrazzo workers

Terrazzo workers are the final stage in a long chain of professionals who are responsible for creating walkways, patios, floors, and paneling that resemble the finest marble from around the world. These artisans compliment the work of cement workers who lay strong foundations of cement and concrete, and provide aesthetically pleasing features that give so many structures their striking appearances.

Making buildings more attractive is not as simple as it sounds. Terrazzo workers frequently use strong chemicals to create their art, and they are often at risk to the same hazardous conditions that pose threats to other construction workers.

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Brickmasons/ Stonemasons

Working with stone and brick is one of the oldest construction professions. People have used these strong building materials to construct virtually every large monument since the beginning of human history. These skilled craftsman build, repair, and maintain walls, stone floors, fireplaces, and chimneys.

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Plasterers

Plastering is one of the oldest and most respected construction skills. This ancient trade is responsible for applying stucco and plaster to building sites for insulation, support, and aesthetic purposes.

Unfortunately working with a variety of dangerous chemicals predisposes plasterers to a number of serious work-related conditions such as silicosis, a potentially deadly lung complication.

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Glaziers

Glaziers are responsible for cutting, selecting, replacing, and installing glass in a variety of projects, homes, and buildings. These workers perform one of the most underappreciated yet vitally important construction tasks, but no building could ever achieve the beauty of modern architecture without perfectly tinged and installed glass.

Glass is one of the most dangerous construction materials, not only for the weight involved or serious injury from broken glass, but the chemicals used to finish and process it can be dangerous in high concentrations.

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Insulation workers

The wide variety of construction projects means that those skilled workers who install insulation into buildings have to have a specialized understanding of exactly how different insulation interacts with different construction materials.

Insulation comes in a number of different forms, from long stretches of fiberglass padding, to custom cut piping covers, to spray on insulation used to fill the interiors of walls and ceilings. Unfortunately constant exposure to dangerous chemicals and propellants in confined environments can lead to severe health problems.

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HVAC workers

The modern world could not function without Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning workers. These men and women are responsible not only for the comfort of millions of office workers, but they also maintain the climate control for hospitals, blood banks, and other facilities that must have stable and regulated temperature.

HVAC workers do face serious dangers in their line of work however. Electricity, high pressure gasses, and extreme temperatures can cause serious injury and even death. Unfortunately, many injuries to HVAC technicians often go unreported and untreated.

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Refrigeration mechanics and installers

Refrigeration mechanics and installers make it possible for modern society to store and stabilize perishable goods and products. Maintaining and installing complicated refrigeration equipment takes not only a high level of mechanical expertise, but also an overall understanding of the role compressors, electronics, and the way their machines fit in to the entire building infrastructure.

The great danger of being a refrigeration mechanic and installer derives from the powerful tools needed to properly maintain and construct these devices. High power saws, drills, welding torches, and pipe cutters can cause significant long term injury if an accident should occur.

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Duct workers

Duct workers are responsible for installing, maintaining, and repairing the ducts in the ventilation, cooling, and heating systems of businesses and construction projects across the United States. Without these vital workers people in enclosed offices and warehouses would have to deal with stifling and stagnant air.

Working with these vital systems is not without its dangers. The tools used to install and maintain ducts are usually both very sharp and very powerful, two conditions that can be very dangerous if an accident should occur.

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