Millwrights, on a typical job, will read diagrams and schematic drawings and service manuals to determine work procedures, operate rigging equipment to pick and place machinery and parts, fit bearings, align gears and shafts, attach and align motors, connect coupling and belts, perform predictive and operation maintenance using laser alignment tooling, vibrational analysis and destructive/non-destructive testing, service and repair hydraulic and pneumatic equipment, and may do some tack welding, fabrication of machinery and equipment.

Millwrighting has changed from the past of maintaining flour mills. Today, it is challenging, lucrative and stimulating. The reward of a career as a millwright can also be transferable into further education or related trades.

Typical Duties:

• Read blueprints, diagrams and schematic drawings to determine work procedures

• Install, align, dismantle and move stationary industrial machinery and mechanical equipment, such as pumps, fans, tanks, conveyors, furnaces and generators according to layout plans using hand and power tools

• Operate hoisting and lifting devices such as cranes, jacks and tractors to position machinery and parts during the installation, set-up and repair of machinery

• Inspect and examine machinery and equipment to detect and investigate irregularities and malfunctions

• Install, troubleshoot and maintain power transmission, vacuum, hydraulic and pneumatic systems, and programmable logic controls

• Adjust machinery and repair or replace defective parts

• Operate machine tools such as lathes and grinders to fabricate parts required during overhaul, maintenance or set-up of machinery

• Clean, lubricate and perform other routine maintenance work on machinery

• Construct foundations for machinery or direct other workers to construct foundations

• Assemble machinery and equipment prior to installation using hand and power tools and welding equipment.

Sample Job Titles:

• Machinist

• Machine tool operations

• Fitter/Welder

• Industrial mechanic

• Millwright

Companies and Sectors:

• Bottling plants

• Mines

• Pulp and paper

• Manufacturing

• Construction

HOW TO JOIN THE FIELD:

Completion of secondary school is usually required.

Completion of a three- to four-year apprenticeship program or A combination of over five years of work experience in the trade and some high school, college or industry courses in industrial machinery repair or millwrighting is usually required to be eligible for trade certification.

Industrial mechanic trade certification is voluntary, in all other provinces and territories outside of Quebec.

Interprovincial trade certification (Red Seal) is also available to qualified industrial mechanics or millwrights.

INDIGENOUS AND REMOTE CONSIDERATIONS:

Many Indigenous and remote communities have mechanical knowledge, particularly when it comes to machines used to hunt. This enables people to fix machines in order to continue traditional hunting and gathering activities that sustain life. However, there may be less access to formal training on industrial mechanical knowledge. Many fly-in communities do not have access to the types of equipment and workplace technology learn the ropes in this career.

Students from these communities may need to relocate to get their education and training and may also need to travel to job sites once they get a career. However, mechanical knowledge is a highly desirable skill when it comes to life in remote communities where access to replacement parts and equipment is more limited than in other parts of the country.

Due to improvements in computers and the increasing use of robots, companies must now be able to access and apply these emerging technologies in the design and manufacture of products to remain competitive.

The ability to prove that the basic design works, called rapid prototyping, and concurrent engineering, the process in which a design is evaluated and modified by a team, are two of the new methods that industry uses to reduce the time and cost of bringing new products to market.

Typical Duties:

• Building, configuring, and testing robots

• Designing software systems to control their robotic systems, such as those robots used for manufacturing

• Designing automated robotic systems that are used to increase the production and precision levels within a specific industry

• Analyzing and evaluating the prototypes and robotic systems they have created. This is generally a never-ending task, since technology is constantly changing and advancing

• Reviewing and approving cost estimates and design calculations

• Serving as technical support for the robotic systems they have created

• Teaching plans paths to robots

• Performing research into the design, operation and performance of robotic mechanism components or systems

Sample Job Titles:

• Agricultural

• Military

• Medical

• Manufacturing

Companies and Sectors:

• Computer programmer

• Industrial designer

• Tool and die maker

HOW TO JOIN THE FIELD:

Mathematical and science skills

Bachelor’s degree in robotics engineering or other program (electrical, mechanical, etc.)

College diploma in Robotics and Automation Control

College Certificate in Robotics Technician

College diploma in electro-mechanical engineering technician (robotics)