What is Detailing?

Sheet metal detailing is often thought of as CAD (computer-aided drafting). In this field, you'll use CAD to produce detailed two- and three-dimensional drawings of the major systems that make buildings comfortable and safe. Your drawings will help ensure that workers install all systems efficiently and on time. These systems include

• Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)
• Electrical conduits and wiring
• Plumbing/Piping

Although jobsite work is required, you'll do most of your work inside an office at a computer and you will learn a lot about complex building systems and how they operate.  You'll work with blueprints and you'll communicate regularly with project managers, trade workers, and many other people involved in the construction of buildings.

 

Opportunities in this field include

• Detailer
• Customer service representative
• Project manager
• Contractor

Get an Inside Look!

For a quick look into the experience you will have as a Detailing HVAC sheet metal worker, click here.

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Detailing: Curriculum

• Specialized CAD drawing systems
• Advanced measuring tools and techniques
• Reading building plans and specifications
• HVAC system design and installation
• Building codes
• Job site correspondence
• Project management skills
• Communication skills
• Safety

Ready to Get Started?

If you're ready to learn more about a career in the sheet metal industry, complete the request for information form. We'll match you to a training center in your area. Your local training school or Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) will contact you in about a week.

ITI's Detailing Curriculum features 11 modules, covering:

• Computers and software;
• Handling project correspondence and job documents;
• Project coordination, field mea- surements and verification; and
• How information from various sources intersects with the design, installation and placement of HVAC system into a building project.

Instructors are trained professionals with experience in the field. Manuals, textbooks and learning aids are all designed and written specifically for the sheet metal industry. Your classroom time and project work will be reinforced with on-the-job experience.

Once you complete your training and pass your certification test, you will receive a license to use ITI's breakthrough Coordination Construction Software (CCS), a fully-functional production tool.

How we can help your business? By providing your company with a highly-trained, productive, motivated and professional workforce. Click Play to find out more...

Core Curriculum

Your SMWIA apprenticeship blends hands-on practical work experience with classroom time and projects that challenge your creativity. ITI's Core Curriculum provides a complete overview of all aspects of sheet metal work. Instructors are industry professionals, graduates of the same kind of training. Your classroom is a state of the art lab—fully equipped with the same tools and instruments that are used every day on the job. Textbooks and teaching aids include the latest technology and practical applications. Advantages of SMWIA "can-do" approach—practical knowledge reinforced by hands-on experience, under the direction of the foremost leaders in the industry.

Our "can-do" system makes it easier to master:

• Practical math
• Computer-aided design (or CAD)
• Reading blueprints
• Care and use of tools
• Fabrication of materials into usable forms
• Installation techniques

Sheet Metal Math

Math is just another tool in your box. That's why ITI's Sheet Metal Math Curriculum is presented in a practical framework that enables students to easily understand its application. You will measure, calculate and figure so often on the job that it will quickly become second nature. You will learn the "tricks" of the trade for using math in your everyday tasks—

• Calculating angles and curves;
• Figuring areas and volumes;
• Establishing heat loads and much more—

with practical, simple math formulas.