Material Handler - Fabrication Shop

Job Description

Job Summary:
We are seeking a dependable and experienced Material Handler to support day-to-day operations within our steel fabrication shop. This position is responsible for safely moving, staging, identifying, and preparing structural steel and other fabrication materials while supporting fabricators and welders throughout the production process. The Material Handler will also assist with saw cutting, drilling, punching, grinding, deburring, painting, consumable management, material organization, and other fabrication support activities. This role requires strong attention to safety, organization, material identification, and the ability to safely operate forklifts while handling large, heavy, and oversized structural steel.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Operating forklifts to safely load, unload, stage, move, and position structural steel, fabricated components, and other materials throughout the shop and yard.
• Safely handling large, heavy, and oversized structural steel and similar materials up to approximately 60 feet long and weighing 10,000+ lbs.
• Evaluating load weight, length, balance, center of gravity, equipment capacity, fork positioning, visibility, travel path, and surrounding personnel before moving materials.
• Selecting appropriate lifting points and properly positioning forks based on the material size, shape, length, and weight.
• Maintaining control of long and oversized loads while traveling, turning, loading, unloading, staging, and positioning materials.
• Loading and unloading structural steel and fabricated materials from trucks, trailers, storage areas, and fabrication workstations.
• Utilizing spotters when necessary to safely maneuver oversized materials or loads with restricted visibility.
• Maintaining awareness of pedestrians, equipment, structures, workstations, overhead obstructions, and other hazards while operating forklifts.
• Performing required forklift inspections and reporting equipment defects, unsafe conditions, or maintenance concerns.
• Staging steel, parts, and components for fabrication and production.
• Identifying and labeling incoming materials, workpieces, and usable drops.
• Maintaining material identification and traceability throughout handling, cutting, storage, and fabrication.
• Ensuring heat numbers and other required material identification remain intact and traceable to the appropriate material.
• Properly identifying, labeling, organizing, and storing usable drops and remnants.
• Operating horizontal bandsaws to cut structural steel and other materials according to cut lists and shop requirements.
• Verifying material type, dimensions, quantity, and cut length before performing saw operations.
• Assisting fabricators and welders with material preparation and production support tasks.
• Drilling and punching holes using shop equipment, hand tools, and power tools.
• Grinding, deburring, cleaning, and preparing fabricated steel.
• Preparing and applying paint and coatings to fabricated steel.
• Maintaining welding, grinding, drilling, painting, cutting, and other shop consumables.
• Monitoring consumable inventory and communicating when materials or supplies need to be reordered.
• Assisting with material organization and maintaining efficient production flow throughout the fabrication shop.
• Assisting with loading and preparing completed fabricated products for shipment.
• Keeping work areas, equipment, and production spaces clean and organized.
• Safely operating basic shop tools and equipment.
• Following all company safety procedures, fabrication shop policies, and equipment operating requirements.
• Performing other fabrication-related support duties as needed.

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Proven forklift operating experience with large, heavy, long, and oversized materials required.
• Experience safely handling structural steel or similar materials strongly preferred.
• Must be comfortable operating forklifts with loads where balance, center of gravity, equipment capacity, fork placement, travel path, and visibility require careful consideration.
• Warehouse or pallet-handling forklift experience alone is not sufficient for this position.
• Ability to safely maneuver oversized materials in active shop and yard environments.
• Ability to communicate effectively with spotters, fabricators, welders, truck drivers, and other shop personnel.
• Experience safely handling and moving large or heavy materials.
• Basic mechanical aptitude and ability to use common hand and power tools.
• Ability to read a tape measure and perform accurate basic measurements.
• Ability to follow cut lists, material markings, shop instructions, and production requirements.
• Ability to follow material identification and traceability procedures.
• Comfortable working around structural steel, welding operations, forklifts, saws, machinery, and industrial equipment.
• Strong attention to detail, organization, and safety.
• Dependable and able to work effectively as part of a production team.

Education and Experience:

• Previous forklift operating experience required.
• Previous experience handling large, heavy, long, or oversized materials required.
• Prior steel fabrication, manufacturing, construction, industrial, or material-handling experience preferred.
• Experience operating horizontal bandsaws or other metal fabrication equipment preferred.
• Forklift certification or documented forklift training preferred.

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods standing, walking, bending, kneeling, reaching, and performing physical work throughout the shift.
• Must be capable of lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling materials, tools, and equipment associated with fabrication work.
• Ability to bend, kneel, climb, squat, and maintain a full range of motion.
• Ability to safely work around large, heavy, and oversized materials.
• Ability to work around forklifts, welding operations, cutting equipment, grinders, drills, machinery, noise, dust, fumes, and other fabrication shop conditions.
• Ability to wear required personal protective equipment.
• Ability to work both indoors and outdoors in varying weather and shop conditions.

Equal Opportunity Statement:
QTC Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against based on disability.