Plant Manager at NetworkcprInc

Oversee Whole Operation

* Must have have managed or worked in a steel fabrication plant.

1) Ultimately responsible for how every department and employee is functioning. This doesn’t mean s/he performs the task. In fact, s/he should NOT be the designated performer for most tasks in normal situations. This role is to ensure all processes are being followed properly. S/He needs to ensure each department / employee receives the proper inputs and delivers the proper outputs. S/He should regularly audit all processes, and look for incidents where the process isn’t being followed. If s/he finds deviations, s/he should either correct the person who deviated, and/or talk to their supervisor to have them monitoring that process better.

2) The plant manager should be continuously trying to improve the processes. S/He should be listening to the feedback from employees as they are implementing the systems and evaluating if their suggestions or a derivative of their suggestion should be implemented. When problems come up, s/he should work with department heads to determine the root cause of the problem, and improve the established process if required.

3) Should be able to mentor the employees, preferable at all levels of the organization. This mentoring will include following the processes, but it will also include logical thinking, work ethic, and strength of character. S/He should be helping people prioritize tasks, and training clear communications between employees. S/He should understand the whys behind situations and be able to coach people on how to modify their thought process to come to better conclusions and actions.

4) Although the plant manager should not be the designated performer of any of the tasks, s/he should be able to perform many of them, and improve throughput in any area. When a department falls behind, or has an employee out for a period, or there is a bulge of work going through, the plant manager should be able to help get that work put through. That may involve assisting in performing that function to get those tasks caught up, or doing a portion of the function so the employee can get through the tasks faster, or shifting resources, and possibly doing an “unrelated” task so another employee can shift to help at the distressed function get it completed.

5) S/He needs to understand the whole operation enough that s/he can talk intelligently and contribute to any problem in the organization. E.g. s/he may not be an expert welder who can modify a weld fixture, but s/he should know what is required of the weld fixture, and be able to trace product problems to the potential fixtures that could have created the problem. S/He should understand the basics, like spreader bars, and error proofing methods. S/He should be able contribute to the point where s/he has earned the respect of the people in the department, and that they appreciate when s/he is involved in the problem solving process.

6) S/He should be the catch point to make sure everything is being completed. S/He also needs to be able to identify tasks based on over hearing something related, observing something, or extrapolating needs based on current information. Then s/he needs to ensure these tasks are not forgotten or overlooked.

Problem Solving

1) S/He needs to learn quickly from experiences, and understand the “why” behind the situation, any process in question, and the solution. This will allow them to evaluate upcoming issues quickly, and foresee how to handle a situation that has never happened before. Understanding the “whys” will also help them to teach thought process to other employees so they can learn to solve these issues themselves or prevent them from happening.

2) S/He needs to have a good understanding of people’s personalities and how to interact with different types of people. S/He needs to monitor how other managers and supervisors interact with their direct reports and other employees. S/He needs to ensure all employees are respected, and are treated in a way that maximizes their contribution to the company.

3) A good understanding of “whys” and people will help them implement better solutions.

e.g. Understanding people won’t continue to use processes that add a lot of time to their day will lead them to develop processes that aren’t labor intensive

4) When problems come up, ensure the company’s values are maintained. This may involve customer related problems like quality, delivery or price. It may be employee problems like treatment of employees, and owner issues like profitability. S/He needs to help others define priorities and navigate daily distractions to ensure proper priorities are being completed.

5) Being in a leadership position in the company, s/he should be able to devise solutions to problems that are better than the solutions others might come up with. This doesn’t mean s/he won’t encourage solutions to come from others. S/He should encourage this, but s/he needs to facilitate and evaluate those solutions and determine if a coaching opportunity is available. Sometimes the opportunity will be to implement their solution so they can learn themselves.

6) S/He should be able to identify data points in the matrix of observable information, and extrapolate lines between these points to foresee problems that can be headed off. Their knowledge of what is happening on the floor should include a lot of interactive knowledge, not just knowledge from reporting.

7) When a problem or opportunity for improvement is identified and defined, s/he needs to follow up as often as necessary until this becomes a habit for the individual and organization.

Developing Good Plans

1) Needs to see when long term problems are coming and set a plan to deal with it.

e.g. What is our workload going to be 6 months from now, and what needs to happen to meet this?

e.g. Government regulations / laws are changing

e.g. A new company is coming to town and will hire lots of employees

e.g. We are going to add additional functionality or another department

2) Needs to see when short term problems are coming and set a plan to deal with it.

e.g. A key employee is going to be leaving for some reason

e.g. There will be a bulge of work that is going to come through

3) Ensure plans are in place and being followed to ensure on time deliveries with a profitable, quality product.

Strategic Planning

1) Be aware of things going on that can impact or benefit the company. This may involve finding out about grants available for wage subsidies, or creating an effective relationship with job placement agencies, or schools.

2) S/He should be working with Andy, and eventually the other plants to plan out work leveling between the plants.

3) S/He should understand what work is coming over the next few years. What OEMs are launching what programs, and how much of that work should be performed out of their plant.

4) S/He should be assessing when new departments should be added to the plant, and then be very involved in planning out the location in the plant and the capital equipment needed for that addition. S/He should then be involved in understanding the new or modified processes that will be required, and learn them. Then s/he should be involved in ensuring the proper team is assembles trained and assimilated into the organization.

*Character Traits

Good communicator

Good understanding of people’s characters and how to treat them

Have strong self-confidence to see criticism as an opportunity to learn and not react emotionally

Have good work ethic to ensure all tasks are being completed, and company is always growing

Strong computer skills