Profession leather goods production supervisor

Leather goods production supervisors monitor and coordinate day-to-day production activities of a leather goods manufacturing plant. They oversee quality control as well as manage the leather goods production staff. The work also involves organising the work flow as well as taking care of production plan and costs.

Personality Type

• Enterprising / Realistic

Knowledge

• Leather goods materials

  The wide range of materials used in leather goods production: leather, leather substitutes (synthetics or artificial materials), textile, etc; the way of distinguishing among various materials based on their properties, advantages and limitations.

• Leather goods components

  The various procedures and methods in the processing of leather materials and leather goods components like manufacturability and properties.  

• Leather goods manufacturing processes

  The processes, technology and machinery involved in the leather goods manufacturing.  

• Manual cutting processes for leather

  Cutting rules, variance of the leather properties on its surface and elongation directions of the footwear pieces.

• Leather goods quality

  The quality specifications of materials, processes, and final products, the most common defects in leather, quick tests procedures, laboratory tests procedures and standards, and the adequate equipment for quality checks. 

Skills

• Execute working instructions

  Understand, interpret and properly apply work instructions regarding different tasks in the workplace.

• Manage staff

  Manage employees and subordinates, working in a team or individually, to maximise their performance and contribution. Schedule their work and activities, give instructions, motivate and direct the workers to meet the company objectives. Monitor and measure how an employee undertakes their responsibilities and how well these activities are executed. Identify areas for improvement and make suggestions to achieve this. Lead a group of people to help them achieve goals and maintain an effective working relationship among staff.

• Apply methods for footwear and leather goods manufacturing

  Produce technical specifications such as drawings, cards, and sheets for the stages of the production of footwear and leather goods. Analyse the technical sheets, defining the working methods. List the operation sequences and distribute the work for the manufacturing of each model.

• Measure working time in footwear and leather goods production

  Calculate and establish operative times in footwear and leather goods manufacturing using various method and techniques. Control the production timings, comparing with estimates.

• Monitor operations in the leather industry

  Operational monitoring refers to collecting key system performance of leather production at periodic intervals or at the end of some specific phases of the leather process. This information gives a basis for observing, detecting and recording the operation of the machines and systems. The activity provides also the critical data to check the correct performance of the process and to monitor quality and throughput against product and production requirements.

• Apply footwear and leather goods quality control techniques

  Apply quality control in footwear and leather goods. Analyse the material, component or model using relevant quality criteria. Compare the material and other components received from the suppliers, or the final product, to standards. Use visual observation and report findings. Control the quantity of leather in the warehouse. Submit components to laboratory control test when necessary. Define the corrective measures when called for.

• Manage production of footwear or leather goods

  Plan the production of footwear or leather goods according to the company’s objectives, deadlines and available resources. Distribute, coordinate and control all activities and the various production phases using information from technical sheets and organisation and methods. Strive to optimise quality, productivity and safety. Collaborate with all linked departments. Report on production, quality, productivity deviations and propose corrective measures.

• Use IT tools

  Application of computers, computer networks and other information technologies and equipment to storing, retrieving, transmitting and manipulating data, in the context of a business or enterprise.

• Manage footwear quality systems

  Manage the company quality system. Create or elaborate the quality manual. Carry out the established requirements and objectives included in the quality policy. Foster internal and external communication, including customer satisfaction follow-up. Define and control the implementation of corrective and preventive measures. Foster the continuous improvement of the quality system and quality manual.

• Develop manufacturing recipes

  Describe in detail the set of activities necessary for the proper operation and management of processes (amount of chemical products, planning of timing and processing, monitoring). 

• Plan leather goods manufacture

  Design the manufacturing process for each model of leather goods. Plan the stages of manufacturing and operations for production. Plan the usage of materials and leather components. Select machines and equipment. Plan the workforce. Calculate direct and indirect costs associated with manufacturing. Plan the maintenance of machines and equipment.

• Calculate the productivity of the production of footwear and leather goods

  Analyse the footwear and leather goods production capacity and collect information concerning human and technological resources. Follow the production process and make adjustments to the work methods and operative times according to the technical specification of the model, human resources and equipment. Optimise the production lines and increase the productivity.

• Manage environmental impact of operations

  Manage the interaction with and impact on the environment by companies. Identify and assess environmental impacts of the production process and related services, and regulate a reduction of the effects on the environment and on people. Organise action plans and monitor any indicators of improvement.

• Use communication techniques

  Apply techniques of communication which allow interlocutors to better understand each other and communicate accurately in the transmission of messages.

• Plan supply chain logistics for footwear and leather goods

  Plan, organise and monitor logistics and supply chain activities based on the footwear or leather goods company's main objectives regarding quality, cost, delivery, and flexibility.

• Purchase raw material supplies

  Manage logistics of purchasing supplies of the raw materials for the tannery to ensure efficient operations of the tannery and meet clients' requirements

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB