Base Welding & Paint Quality Inspector
Panelmatic · Houston
About Us:
Panelmatic, Inc. was founded in 1957 in Youngstown, OH to serve manufacturing industries with the design and build of custom electrical, instrument, and pneumatic control panels. Our business has sufficiently grown over the years to support expansion for our clients. We have produced control packages for many of America's top corporations in the chemical, environmental, food, pulp and paper, rubber, petroleum, pharmaceutical, glass, metals, and utilities industries. We also deliver equipment for use worldwide. Our rigorous methodology assures compliance with domestic and international standards. We can meet the needs of our diverse clientele from start to finish through sales, design, fabrication, testing, and delivery.
Since 1957 we have been known for our high-quality, custom-built control packages, our comprehensive service, and our technological and manufacturing expertise. This expertise assures you of our ability to handle the largest and most complex packages quickly and efficiently.
Job Summary:
The Base Welding & Paint Quality Inspector is responsible for inspecting fabricated steel bases for e-houses and electrical enclosures to ensure compliance with approved engineering drawings, weld requirements, dimensional tolerances, material specifications, surface preparation requirements, and paint specifications.
This position performs inspections throughout base fabrication, including material verification, fit-up, welding, dimensional checks, surface preparation, coating application, and final release. The inspector works directly with production, welding, paint, and engineering personnel to identify defects, prevent nonconforming work from advancing, document inspection results, and ensure all bases meet customer and company requirements.
Job Duties:
- Verify base materials, structural steel members, channels, angles, plates, and other components against approved drawings and bills of materials (BOMs).
- Verify material identification and required material test reports (MTRs) or other material documentation when specified.
- Inspect incoming and staged components for damage, incorrect dimensions, missing holes, improper cut lengths, and incorrect part orientation.
- Verify that fabrication follows the latest approved drawings and revisions.
- Identify missing information, drawing discrepancies, and conflicting requirements before they affect production.
- Inspect joint preparation, fit-up, alignment, joint gaps, component placement, and weld accessibility before welding, as required by the inspection plan.
- Verify weld locations, weld lengths, weld sizes, and weld types against approved drawings and applicable welding requirements.
- Perform visual weld inspections for cracks, porosity, undercut, overlap, excessive spatter, incomplete welds, and other relevant discontinuities.
- Verify that welds are performed using the applicable approved welding procedure specification (WPS), where required.
- Inspect welded assemblies for distortion, bowing, twisting, squareness, and dimensional changes.
- Verify lifting lug locations, mounting points, ground pads, support members, floor openings, and perimeter beam orientation.
- Identify incomplete welds, incorrect weld placement, missing welds, and unauthorized modifications.
- Do not independently authorize deviations from approved drawings, weld requirements, or coating specifications.
- Verify completion of approved rework and document reinspection results before accepting the work.
- Identify recurring defects and communicate trends to the QC Supervisor for corrective action.
- Complete required inspection checklists, travelers, dimensional reports, weld inspection records, and paint inspection records.
- Record actual inspection results, pass/fail status, applicable drawing revisions, and supporting notes as required.
- Maintain traceability of inspection records to the applicable job, base assembly, or project.
- Verify completion of required inspection hold points before work advances to the next production stage.
- Confirm all identified nonconformances are properly dispositioned and required rework is verified.
- Sign off on completed inspections only after the applicable requirements have been verified.
- Communicate inspection status, production risks, and unresolved quality issues during daily production meetings or quality updates.
- The Base Welding & Paint Quality Inspector is authorized and expected to:
- Stop or place a hold on work when a significant quality issue, safety-related concern, or specification violation is identified.
- Prevent nonconforming work from proceeding to paint, assembly, or the next production stage until required inspections and dispositions are completed.
- Request clarification from Engineering when drawings, tolerances, weld details, or specifications are unclear or conflicting.
- Require documented approval before accepting work that deviates from approved requirements.
- Escalate unresolved quality concerns to the QC Supervisor.
- Reject work that does not meet documented acceptance requirements, subject to company quality procedures.
- The inspector does not independently redesign components, change engineering requirements, approve unauthorized weld deviations, or determine that a defect is acceptable solely because production intends to cover, modify, or conceal it.
Requirements
- Experience in steel fabrication, welding inspection, industrial manufacturing, or a related quality inspection role.
- Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, fabrication details, weld symbols, and dimensional tolerances.
- Knowledge of common welding discontinuities and visual inspection methods.
- Ability to use measuring tools such as tape measures, squares, calipers, levels, and other dimensional inspection equipment.
- Ability to document inspection results accurately and communicate defects clearly.
- Ability to work independently on the production floor and collaborate with welders, fabricators, painters, and supervisors.
- Experience inspecting structural steel bases, skids, modular buildings, e-houses, or industrial enclosures.
- Familiarity with welding procedures, applicable welding codes, and visual weld acceptance criteria.
- Experience with coating inspection, surface preparation, DFT measurement, and coating repair verification.
- Familiarity with ISO 9001 quality management systems, NCRs, corrective actions, and inspection travelers.
- Relevant welding inspection or coating inspection certifications, where required by the position or customer.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
- Ability to physically push, pull, and lift 50lbs or more required
- Ability to stoop and bend required
- Ability to sit, stand, and walk for four plus hours at a time required
- Ability to convert decimals to fractions and utilize conversion charts required
- Excellent manual dexterity required
- Excellent color vision and eyesight required
WORK ENVIRONMENT
- Work is performed on a manufacturing and fabrication shop floor with exposure to high noise levels, dust and metal particulates, and moving equipment, including overhead cranes and forklifts.
- Regular exposure to welding fumes (including zinc oxide fumes from welding galvanized steel, which requires proper ventilation, fume extraction, and/or respiratory protection), arc flash, sparks, hot metal surfaces, sharp edges, and seasonal temperature changes in the shop.
- Required PPE includes a welding helmet, safety glasses, hearing protection, steel-toe boots, gloves, and flame-resistant clothing; all safety procedures, including lockout/tagout and hot-work practices, must be followed.
- Full-time, on-site position; overtime and schedule flexibility may be required to meet production deadlines.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, vision, HSA, term life, AD&D, STD, LTD
- 100% medical premium paid for by Panelmatic for the employee-only level medical coverage
- 80% paid for by Panelmatic and 20% paid for by the employee on all other level medical coverage (i.e. employee plus child, employee plus spouse, family)
- 401(k) contributions matched 100% up to 4%
- Scholarships, educational reimbursement, paid volunteerism, and paid personal and professional development provided
- PTO and paid holidays provided
- Career advancement opportunities
- Competitive wages
- Family-friendly environment with average employee tenure above five years