Profession orthopaedic footwear technician

Surgical footwear makers make, modify and repair orthopaedic or therapeutic footwear according to prescriptions or specifications, or modify existing footwear for people with foot problems and special needs.

Personality Type

• Realistic / Social

Tasks orthopaedic footwear technician

• Read and interpret prescriptions or specifications to establish the type of product to be made.
• Take measurements of customers' feet.
• Calculate the costs of requested products or services such as custom footwear or footwear repair, and receive payment from customers.
• Draw patterns, e.g. using measurements, designs, plaster casts or customer specifications.
• Select materials (e.g. leather or fabric).
• Position or outline patterns onto materials, and cut out parts, e.g. using knives, shears, scissors and machine presses.
• Join parts, e.g. by aligning and stitching or glueing materials.
• Attach insoles to shoe lasts, affix shoe uppers, and apply heels and outsoles.
• Prepare inserts, heel pads and lifts from casts of customers' feet.
• Position and secure inserts and linings, and attach accessories.
• Finish and clean the product, e.g. trim soles and heels to shape, check the product quality, and polish shoes.
• Perform business-related tasks such as marketing, purchasing supplies and equipment, keeping financial records, etc.

Related professions leather

• Dyer from leathers or skins
• Fur- or leather-preparing machine operator
• Leather pattern-maker or cutter
• Machine operator, all other leather products
• Pelt dresser, tanner, fellmonger
• Saddle maker, horse collar maker

Knowledge

• Footwear quality

  Quality specifications of materials, processes and final products, the most common defects in footwear, quick tests procedures, laboratory tests procedures and standards, adequate equipment for quality checks. Quality assurance of footwear production processes and fundamental concepts on quality including footwear quality framework and standards.

• Footwear materials

  The characteristics, components, advantages and limitations of a wide range of materials used in footwear production: leather, leather substitutes (synthetics or artificial materials), textile, plastic, rubber etc. 

• Footwear equipments

  Functionality of the wide range of equipments and the basic rules of regular maintenance.

• Footwear manufacturing technology

  Footwear processes technology and machinery involved. The footwear manufacturing starts in the cutting/clicking room , cutting the uppers and bottom components. The upper components are joined together in the closing room by following a precise order of specific operations: skiving, folding, sewing etc. The closed upper, the insole and other bottom components are brought together in the assembling room, where the main operations are lasting and soling. The process ends with finishing operations in the finishing and packing room.

• Ergonomics in footwear and leather goods design

  The principles used in the design of various styles of footwear and leather goods for the correct anatomic and ergonomic proportions and measurements.

• Pattern grading

  Know about cutting patterns accurately and grading the patterns to obtain the size series in case of mass production. Know how to mark notches, holes, seam allowances, and other technical specifications. Make adjustments and obtain the final patterns for cutting in order to compensate any identified problems during sampling.

• Footwear components

  Footwear components both for uppers (vamps, quarters, linings, stiffeners, toe puffs etc.) and bottoms (soles, heels, insoles etc.). Ecological concerns and the importance of recycling. Selection of suitable materials and components based on their influence on the footwear style and characteristics, properties and manufacturability. Procedures and methods in chemical and mechanical processing of leather and non-leather materials.

• Manual cutting processes for leather

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

• Footwear machinery

  Tthe functionality of the wide range of machines, and the basic rules of regular maintenance.

Skills

• Apply basic rules of maintenance to leather goods and footwear machinery

  Apply basic rules of maintenance and cleanliness on footwear and leather goods production equipment and machines that you operate.

• Apply assembling techniques for cemented footwear construction

  Be able to pull the uppers over the last and fix the lasting allowance on insole, manually or by special machines for forepart lasting, waist lasting, and seat lasting. Apart from the main group of lasting operations, the responsibilities of those assembling footwear cemented types may include the following: bottom cementing and sole cementing, heat setting, sole attaching and pressing, chilling, brushing and polishing, last slipping (before or after finishing operations) and heel attaching etc.

• Create patterns for footwear

  Produce the mean form or shell, a two-dimensional representation of the three-dimensional shape of the last. Create scaled patterns for uppers and bottom components by manual methods from the designs.

• Perform manual cutting for footwear uppers

  Check and complete cutting orders, select leather surfaces and classify cut pieces. Identify faults and defects on the leather surface. Recognise colours, shades and type of finishes. Use the following tools: knife, pattern templates, cutting board and marking needle.

• Use communication techniques

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

• Apply pre-stitching techniques

  Apply pre-stitching techniques to footwear and leather goods in order to reduce thickness, to reinforce, to mark the pieces, to decorate or to reinforce their edges or surfaces. Be able to operate various machinery for splitting, skiving, folding, stitch marking, stamping, press punching, perforating, embossing, gluing, uppers pre-forming, crimping etc. Be able to adjust the working parameters of the machinery.

• 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.

• Apply stitching techniques

  Apply footwear and leather goods stitching techniques using the appropriate machines, needles, threads and other tools in order to obtain the required model and to comply with the sewing technical specifications.

• Apply footwear finishing techniques

  Apply various chemical and mechanical finishing procedures to footwear by performing manual or machine operations, with or without chemicals, such as heel and sole roughing, dying, bottom polishing, cold or hot wax burnishing, cleaning, removing tacks, inserting socks, hot air treeing for removing wrinkles, and cream, spray or antique dressing. Work both manually and use the equipment and machines, and adjust working parameters.

• Apply footwear bottoms pre-assembling techniques

  Split, scour surfaces, reduce sole edges, rough, brush, apply primings, halogenate the soles, degrease etc. Use both manual dexterity and machinery. When using machines, adjust their working parameters.

• Apply footwear uppers pre-assembling techniques

  Prepare lasts and uppers, attach insole, insert stiffener and toe puffs, mould the upper on back part, and condition the uppers before lasting. Perform the above-mentioned operations both manually or by using machines. In case of using machines, adjust working parameters.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB