Steamfitting & Pipefitting: Gateway to Diverse Careers

Bring Back The Porch visits Medicine Hat College for an in-depth discussion with steamfitter and pipefitter instructor Chad Baron and student Logan Demontigny. They explore the trade's scope, skills required, and the importance of skills competitions in professional development.

Brian discusses the steamfitting trade with Chad Barron, an instructor and coach in the steamfitter and pipefitter program, and his student competitor Logan Demontney. Together, they explore what steamfitting entails, the skills required, and the vast opportunities available in this field. 


Chapters

00:00 Introduction
01:05 Logan's Background and Entry into the Trade
02:22 Scope of Steamfitting and Industry Applications
03:47 Differences Between Steamfitting and Plumbing
04:21 Logan's Motivation for Skills Competition
05:00 Preparation and Mentorship in Skills Competitions
06:33 First Projects and Building Confidence
07:19 Details of the Competition Project
09:05 Practice, Timing, and Pressure of the Competition
10:05 Handling Nerves and Focus During the Competition
11:12 Age Limits and Levelling the Playing Field
11:45 Learning Pipe Threading and Measurement Skills
13:01 Simulating Real-World Plant Scenarios
14:32 Skill Development Over Time
15:27 A Day in the Life at Work
16:04 Support from Employers and Industry Importance


Steam fitting is a specialized trade focused on the installation and maintenance of piping systems that transport steam and other fluids at high pressures. As Chad explains, many industries rely on steam for various processes, including food processing, power generation, and even nuclear power. Understanding the intricacies of this trade is crucial for anyone considering a career in it.

The Scope of Work in Steamfitting
Steamfitters work in various settings, including:
- Power Generation: Involves the installation of piping systems that utilize steam for energy production.
- Food Processing: Steam is used for cooking and sterilization processes in breweries and dairies.
- Industrial Facilities: Many factories need steamfitters to maintain their high-pressure systems.

Chad emphasizes that while steamfitters share some skills with plumbers, such as threading pipes and working with different mediums, their focus is on high-pressure systems, which requires specialized knowledge and training.

Preparing for the Skills Competition Coming Up In May
As Logan prepares for the skills competition, he shares his journey and the preparation involved. He was inspired by a colleague's success in previous competitions, which encouraged him to participate and learn.

Safety Best Practices
- Isolation of Systems: Always ensure that any system being repaired is isolated to prevent accidents.
- Regular Training: Continuous education on safety procedures is necessary to keep up with industry standards.
- Using the Right Tools: Proper tools and techniques are essential for ensuring safety and efficiency in installations. Logan reflects on the responsibility that comes with working on high-pressure systems, emphasizing that mistakes can have serious consequences, and thus safety must always be a priority.

Conclusion
The steam fitting trade offers a myriad of opportunities for those willing to learn and work hard. With the guidance of experienced instructors like Chad and the determination of students like Logan, aspiring steam fitters can carve out successful careers in diverse industries.

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Transcript

0:00

Hey, this is Brian again. And I'd like to ask you to do a favour. We can't do this work without people like you. So if you can, please, like, share, subscribe. Tell your friends about bring back the porch. you know, a lot of our guys don't know when they first get involved. And I was one of those that, you know, you can do a lot of things like with nuclear power or, breweries and dairies and a lot of the food processing and stuff and power generation and pulp and paper, all those industries utilize steam as well. So, This episode of Bring Back the Porch, brought to you by Bernie Leahy, River Street Realty. Let's get you home. well, for this episode of Bring Back the Porch, we are not on the porch. We are now in the plumbing lab, the Medicine Hat College, and the trades wing. And I'm joined by the instructor and the Steamfitter and Pipefitter program, Chad Baron. And one of your students, Logan Demontigny. Welcome. Thank you. Now, how do we find ourselves here today? Well, that's because Logan is getting ready to take part in a pretty good competition, testing your skills as a first year apprentice. Third. Year, third year. Now. Okay. First time you've competed, though. Yes. So that's this is all new to you. Yeah. How did you find yourself in this program. What was it about the program and the work that attracted you. Well just out of high school I got a job at Reece customs and, I don't know, I, I didn't really know what I was doing there. Like, I didn't know what pipefitting was, and but I grew to like it. And the guys that were working there and I liked, the fact that I could build something with my hands. Look at it. Oh. Was this a good job. Okay, Chad, maybe explain what the trade is all about. Well a lot of our students come from the oil field in this province. Like them Pipefitters were doing a lot of that work. I myself came from the oil field as well. So, a lot of the, you know, the threaded pipe, working alongside with welders and things like that in the oil field. But with steamfitting, there's a lot of industries and processes, that use steam. So, you know, a lot of our guys don't know when they first get involved. And I was one of those that, you know, you can do a lot of things like with nuclear power or, breweries and dairies and a lot of the food processing and stuff and power generation and pulp and paper, all those industries utilize steam as well. So, wide variety of, of places they can get involved and stuff from heating and stuff like the current stuff that he's building here as well. So the heat exchangers and all that kind of stuff. So it is a very vast and broad array of, you know, disciplines that they can get involved in there. But yeah, for the most part is we see a lot here is going to be oilfield. How do you differentiate between that and plumbing. Well, there's a lot of overlap between the two. So even for us in like the first year they call it common pipe trades now. So, a lot of the disciplines are the same with, you know, the threading. And, the mediums, so hot water heating and steam with heating and things like that. So, where it kind of separates is, they branch off into like the residential more, and more and more in the industrial scale for the steam. So we deal with the high pressure steams and things like that. Whereas plumbers, they're more in the low pressure side of things. And that's where the heating is involved. So, power and pulp and paper and things where we get into that, you know, above 15 PSI is considered high pressure. So that's where the steamfitter kind of takes over. And with that scope of work. Did you consider being a plumber or you were always attracted to being considered a steamfitter and a pipefitter? Not really. I think I thought about it, but, I just like pipefitting and more. In the money there was all the better. So. Okay. All right. And I guess it's a little cleaner work too. You don't have to work with us. Well, yeah. Yeah, definitely. The potentials the, worked with on sewage or something with you farming where you, We don't need to deal with that here, I guess. What made you want to get into the skills competition? Well, I heard about it from someone at the shop that I work with. He did it two years, and so this kind of just motivated me to try it out and see I liked it, and. Yeah, said you can learn a lot from it. And I have been. And yeah, I just kind of wanted to do it as a learning experience. And so how do you prepare for it? Just kind of by building the project and, doing it over and over again, learning how to take measurements from different heights of height. And. And you have the benefit of Chad's experience because he's been down this road, as I think a judge and as, coach. Yeah, I am on the, provincial technical committee for this thing, for sure. So, like, yeah, I go and I'm involved in the meetings and the planning and stuff like that. So, yeah, this will be my my 10th year going to skills. I've had competitors for. This will be my seventh. I'm taking a competitor there. Right. So, the guy he mentioned that he works with, I got him involved is he went the last two years and he ended up winning a gold medal at nationals. So I've been to the national level with you know, coaching as well. So he's a big help in motivating Logan. Like, they work together. And, yeah, he just see his success, I think, you know, helps, you know, other guys see that, you know, they can, achieve some of that there as well, right? So. And you've coached hockey players. So is there, is there a correlation between that coaching an individual and a skills competition? Yeah, I think well, a lot of it is the, you know, similar to the, you know, any time you're coaching, you want to just, you know, motivate and that kind of thing. Like that. He's going to, you know, build it and do his thing and then any tips and tricks I can give him like, yeah, there is some similarities to that trade with, the motivation. So I think anything in the apprenticeship just like that as well. Right. As a journeyman apprentice, it is there's coaching involved there too. Right. So it's just a yeah, kind of a natural progression into doing this as well. So do you remember the first thing you built? First thing I Belltown probably like a drain line on one of the packages that we built. Okay. And when you finished it, how did it feel? It felt really good. Yeah, yeah, building it on my own. And, getting help here and there from other people that. Yeah. Felt really nice. Feeling of accomplishment. Though. Yeah, yeah. Now, when you're building with some of this stuff, it's under pressure. So you got to be careful. You have to make sure that what you do doesn't blow up in your face, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So you have to isolate, whatever you're. And that's how repair I do. So safety is number one. Yeah. Yeah yeah, yeah. What is the project you're going to be working? We have a little bit of it behind us there. It looks like somebody's garage is missing a heaters. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's pretty much what it is. It's a garage right here. Yes. There a little like skid for something. We hook up. You know, the, The heat or skid. Yeah. The French steam comes out of the room. It's a pipe there, and it's heated and then goes through there. It's the unit and blows the hot air out, and then condensate returns back down. So it's a closed system then? Yeah. He's got, steam, one of the steam heaters, and then the other one's hot water heating. So, again, two different disciplines. These got threaded five different sizes of that. So he's got to change things like the with the tools and stuff that he's working with. Then also copper which is pro for us fittings. So that's another thing that, you know, is probably more in the residential side of things. So it is something that they don't naturally do at work, like the threading and stuff like that. Yes, absolutely. So, he's, you know, putting in a lot of work here just to learn new skills on how to even measure that. And there is, you know, fitting allowances and stuff that he has to factor in. So, a lot of different disciplines in one project, even like the bolt up was part of it. And so there's a lot of a lot of work to do. They got 12 hours, right? So they're on a tight timeline. So it's, getting that experience here that he's maybe not getting in work rates. Yeah. He's put in a lot of time to perfected. This will be the third time he's built it. I was. Just going to ask how many times. We've. Put it together and taken it apart. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. And every time it's worked or there's been a few times like, oh. Like the first time there's been like a couple things that were at a level and tied it in, but it's been getting better each time. And I've been down a little faster. Yeah. It's time I go. Do they time you for this? Yeah. You got, you got to like. So the first day you got seven hours. And they're really diligent on keeping time and making sure everyone's like tools down or, you know, specific times and break times. They're not giving anybody any extra time for that. Right. And then the next day they have to be done by 2:00 because it's got to be judged and measured. And then we also have to tear it down. And then they have closing ceremonies by 6:00 that night. They need results. Right. So, it's a quick turnaround for everyone involved, but, yeah, it's, you know, good, good project showcases a lot of the different abilities that Steam Fitters and Pipefitters need to have. So, yeah, he's definitely put a lot of effort in to get ready for the, Any nerves. Yeah, definitely nervous, but practicing is helping and that's it. So, yeah, I guess you have to learn how to tune out all the extraneous stuff and just focus on what's at hand. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, the first time can be a little overwhelming for them, right? The first day they get in there, it is a massive complex. And there's over 40 different trades going on. And they was in high school and junior high kids all day. So there's thousands of kids that are going through there and you know coming and watching you work and asking questions and stuff like that. So, yeah, definitely. Those are things you can't you have to experience for yourself or you can prepare for that. But, you know, again, the confidence that building here with, you know, repeatedly doing it and just knowing that this is what you're going to see and it's going to be something similar, that's it. It just helps where, you know, maybe being able to tune that home and focus on the work at hand. Is, is the competition among people of your same level, like, your skill. Level? It's not. Competing against the journeyman or something like. No, it's just apprentices. Yeah. Okay. No. There is an age limit like so they have to be. We do not have a world competition for steam fitters, so they can be 25. And under any competition that has worlds, they're going to 21 is the maximum age that you know for that. So yeah, no one can be a journeyman though. And so they have to be younger a specific age. So yeah. Yeah it is kind of levels the playing field. You talk about threading pipe. Is that a skill you have to learn as part of this program. Yes. You don't just get the pipe handed to you with the right thread. No. Well, they have like nipples, but that's only up to, like, a certain length. And then anything you need, like, anything longer than that, then you need to cut it in. Right. So you have to know how long that thread has to be, what diameter it has. Yeah. So, certain length of thread that they have and then center the center. So they're drawings that they're given. They have to here center to center measurements on fittings and things like that. So that's up to them to, you know, determine and take those measurements. So a lot of the things that we do here is right when we rebuild it, it's like and make note of that. And you know what. How far does it go into the fitting and that kind of thing. Yeah. It's something you learn in first year as part of our program here. We, you know, all the five trades you spend time in here and we spend time in, doing the welding over in the, the steam shop, there as well. But, yeah, it's up to them to read the prints, you know, take those measurements, hit there, center the center. There's a certain amount of engagement they want to see. That's part of the judging as well. So those take some fine tuning and some practice there for sure. You know, when you're doing this work, how do you tune out all the extractions, distractions like me. Yeah. Yeah they do. When you simulate this, do you try to, you know, form off this game a little bit? Not really. I kind of leave them to it. Right? Like we talk about, you know, how you know how to measure it, how I would do things and, you know, the new stuff that he hasn't done. It work just, you know, make sure you do this. And safety obviously is a very big thing there. So they're watching for that. So we just talk about those types of things. But yeah it turn the music on in a way yours kind of thing. And yeah I just I'll come, you know, come over once in a while and say, hey, you should try this or fix that, or this is what I see here. And you know, yeah, just kind of, you know, again, let them gain the experience from actually doing it is, you know. When we were, in the welding lab yesterday, Zenon was saying the the competition almost simulates what you would see in, say, a plant. If a plant goes down, you got to come in and fix this thing. And it's like $1 million a day that's being lost. And they're all like looking at the clock and looking at you. And so you're under a pressure like that is something like that, something like this, sort of similar to what you'll see in the real world. Yeah. There is like about us, like shut down and and get replaced or something. And, it will cost the company a lot of money for our, typically at my job to be like, build things like fashion. They're not in service, so. Okay. But, yeah, they definitely will be. There's a lot of money. You know, we watching them. You know, now you you've been doing this for how long now? Three, almost four years now. And in that time, how would you rate your skill? Has it gone up, like, shot off to the top of the chart? Yeah, it definitely has gotten, like, way better. I think when I was 18 and fresh out of high school, I didn't really do anything with jewels, and I didn't know anything at all. Pretty much. But yeah, it's definitely grown. Since your confidence than, like, your. Yeah, yeah, yeah. When you look back and think, wow, I, you know, I've come a long way here. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Things I would look back on it like I was. On the stage. Yeah. You can remember. Oh, I thought this was so hard. And now I look back. Well, what was the problem like that? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So as you go down the road, you get to, more proficient and more confident. And, can you describe what a day at work is like at Reese? Usually we get in there and we'll talk about the job, go over like safety, and, we'll start working. Depends where we are at the where we left off. But with those schools and, and, just a piece of paper to flanges, and we'll throw that in and then level it out, make sure it's square on the skid and tied into the parts of the vessel. And when it's on, then, yeah, we'll usually start like it after that. Okay. And Reese has been very supportive of your apprenticeship program and training. Yes. They have. Yeah. Very. Yeah. Yeah. They're huge for skills honestly. Like with you and and getting time off and just, when he was successful. Right. They were really, really behind him as they, you know, pushed him to go and stuff like that too. So yeah, they, you know, they've been huge supporters of us, which yeah, it's tough. Not every other employers like that. They don't, recognize the value of having employees that are, you know, proud of the work they do. And you know, that they're very particular about things. So, I can't say enough about their support. For the world. The world needs more tradespeople, there's no doubt about that. And, skilled like they ought to be taking the pride in their work and stuff. There's a lot to be said about, you know, putting in that quality that maybe isn't always represented in the stuff that we do. So, yeah. Well, we wish you good luck when you're up in Edmonton. And, thank you for the information. Absolutely. Thank you. Thanks. I'm.