List of Turnaround Jobs in Construction
By Rudy Miller
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Oil refineries, industrial manufacturing facilities and chemical plants don't last forever. Every few decades, components under heavy use need to be cleaned, repaired or replaced. Construction workers, often through outside companies, upgrade and modernize facilities during this brief shutdown period known as a turnaround. Turnarounds afford myriad job opportunities through contractors specializing in this type of work.
A plant turnaround often requires the removal of hazardous material. Whether it's the removal of building materials such as asbestos or hauling out a hazardous by-product of an industrial process, the job requires care and training. Most hazardous removal specialists have a high school diploma and about 40 hours of Occupational Health and Safety Administration training. Some jobs require wearing protective suits, and some require overtime, depending on the urgency of the turnaround project completion. Hazardous waste removal specialists earned a median income of $37,590 a year in May 2012, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Moving Up in the World
Most construction work -- including turnaround jobs -- requires scaffolds for hard-to-reach areas. Construction workers must pay particular attention to safely assembling the scaffolds, and how much load each piece can bear, or workers' lives could be in jeopardy. The Scaffold and Access Industry Association offers training programs geared toward the type of scaffold used, the height required and whether the scaffold is suspended over the top of a structure rather than built from the ground up. Most scaffold workers have a high school diploma. Rough carpenters, who assemble scaffolds and perform similar duties, earned about $39,940 a year in 2012, according to O*Net Online.
Turnaround jobs require welders to repair joints in machinery and attach new equipment. Welders learn on the job or in technical school. The training prepares you to read blueprints, learn techniques and monitor the process to avoid overheating. Welders can use more than 100 different processes. You need to adapt to the conditions of the turnaround job, whether it's outside in blazing heat or in a small, dark, cramped corner. The job requires strength and flexibility. The BLS reports that the median pay for a welder in May 2012 was $36,300 a year.
The Clean Team
Turnaround jobs call for workers who specialize in removing years of filth from tanks and pipes. These industrial cleaning professionals use power washers, solvents and sandblasters to tackle turnaround jobs. The job requires hours of physical activity, bending and lifting equipment. You need to be mindful of safety and may need to wear earplugs or goggles. Little training is required, though cleaners usually have some high school education or a diploma. Cleaners of commercial properties earned an average of $22,320 a year in 2012, according to O*Net Online.
2016 Salary Information for Hazardous Materials Removal Workers
Hazardous materials removal workers earned a median annual salary of $40,640 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the low end, hazardous materials removal workers earned a 25th percentile salary of $32,240, meaning 75 percent earned more than this amount. The 75th percentile salary is $56,210, meaning 25 percent earn more. In 2016, 46,200 people were employed in the U.S. as hazardous materials removal workers.
Business & Industry Connection Magazine: Finding the Right Turnaround Partner
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Hazardous Materials Removal Workers
ReliabilityWeb.com: Shutdowns & Turnarounds from the Contractor's Perspective
O*Net OnLine: Rough Carpenters
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Welders, Cutters, Solderers and Brazers
O*Net OnLine: Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook: Hazardous Materials Removal Workers
Career Trend: Hazardous Materials Removal Workers
Willbros Group, Inc.: Construction and Turnaround Services
Taproot: Job Opening; Construction Turnaround Services; Health, Safety & Environmental Manager
Turner Industries: Turnarounds
PTS: Industrial Turnaround
Wyatt Field Services: Maintenance Turnarounds
Matrix Service: Specialty Turnarounds
Hall Industrial Contracting, Ltd.: Turnarounds
Rudy Miller has been writing professionally since 1996. Miller is a digital team leader for lehighvalleylive.com, a local news website and content provider to the Express-Times newspaper in Easton, Pa. Miller holds a Master of Arts in English from the University of Miami.
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