Key Responsibilities

1. Production Planning & Execution

•           Lead production planning and MRP through the Factory Coordinator: build the weekly and daily production plan from sales demand and stock levels, and order raw materials, glazes, inks and packaging in time for the plan.

•           Deliver the production plan by line, size and design, in m² and on schedule.

•           Run daily production meetings with the Process Controllers and Process Coordinators, and structured shift handovers between the day and night shifts, and agree recovery actions for any losses.

•           Plan manpower, materials and changeovers (size and design changes) to minimise lost time and keep the kilns fully loaded.

•           Ensure material usage, stock movements and production are recorded accurately, so that MRP and stock levels can be trusted.

2. Efficiency & Productivity

•           Own Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) for the production lines jointly with the Maintenance Manager, tracking availability, performance and quality losses by line and shift.

•           Improve productivity, including m² per shift, m² per labour hour, press and line speeds, and kiln utilisation.

•           Lead the Production Changeover Team and reduce changeover times for size and design changes using SMED (quick changeover) methods and standard changeover procedures.

•           Reduce production-related downtime (material shortages, operating errors, quality stops) through root-cause analysis and lasting corrective actions.

•           Control production costs within budget, including labour and overtime, raw materials, glaze, ink and packaging consumption, and scrap, and support energy reduction with engineering.

3. Quality & Yield

•           Implement group quality standards at the factory with the Group Quality Manager, including product specifications, control plans, in-process checks, test frequencies, and sorting and grading standards.

•           Ensure products meet group specifications and the applicable ceramic tile standards (ISO 13006, with ISO 10545 test methods) as defined in the group quality system.

•           Maximise first-grade yield and reduce losses at every process stage (pressing, drying, glazing, firing, sorting), tracking yield daily by kiln with the top yield issues and actions.

•           Control critical process parameters with statistical process control (SPC), including body moisture, pressing density, glaze weight and density, kiln firing curves, size (calibre), planarity and shade.

•           Manage non-conforming product through holds, rework, downgrade and scrap decisions in line with group procedures, and lead root-cause analysis and corrective action on customer complaints.

•           Recover and recycle unfired (green) scrap where the process allows; fired scrap is not recycled.

•           Ensure production measuring and test equipment is calibrated in line with group quality procedures.

4. Laboratory & Design

•           Manage the factory laboratory through the Laboratory Technicians: testing of raw materials, body, glazes and finished tiles to group test methods and frequencies, with results recorded and acted on by production.

•           Manage production artwork through the Graphic Designer: digital printing design files, colour management and shade control, design changes and version control, and trials of new designs with the Group Quality Manager and Sales and Commercial.

•           Lead new product introductions (sizes, designs and finishes) at the factory, from trials to stable full production.

5. Autonomous Maintenance

•           Lead autonomous maintenance on all production lines with the support of the Maintenance Manager, progressing step by step from initial cleaning and inspection to operator-owned cleaning, inspection and lubrication standards.

•           Ensure operators are trained and certified in basic equipment care (cleaning, inspection, lubrication and tightening), in recognising abnormalities and in tagging defects, with technical training provided by maintenance.

•           Ensure autonomous maintenance checklists are completed every shift, and that defects found by operators are raised in Pragma On Key for maintenance follow-up.

•           Agree with the Maintenance Manager which routine tasks operators perform and transfer further tasks to operators as their skills develop.

•           Audit autonomous maintenance by line, and track step progress, defect tags raised and closed, and the reduction in breakdowns caused by poor basic equipment conditions.

•           Maintain 5S and visual management standards on the production floor.

6. Health, Safety & Environment

•           Accountable for health and safety in the production area, including risk assessments, safe operating procedures, PPE, machine guarding checks, and operator isolation and lockout in line with maintenance isolation standards.

•           Ensure operators are trained and competent for the equipment they operate, and that forklift and crane operators hold valid training certificates.

•           Lead incident investigations, near-miss reporting, safety observations and housekeeping in the production area.

•           Ensure occupational health controls are in place and used, including dust (respirable silica), noise and heat controls, and support medical surveillance.

•           Manage production waste, scrap and dust in line with environmental requirements.

7. People Leadership & Labour Relations

•           Lead, coach and performance-manage the Process Controllers, Process Coordinators, Factory Coordinator, Laboratory Technicians, Graphic Designer and Production Changeover Team, and their teams across the day and night shifts, and manage attendance, overtime and leave to plan.

•           Keep an operator skills matrix for every line, and develop operators through on-the-job training, multi-skilling and learnerships with Human Resources.

•           Maintain sound labour relations in line with the Labour Relations Act, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the company disciplinary code: handle grievances, initiate or chair disciplinary hearings, and engage constructively with shop stewards.

•           Support employment equity and skills development targets in the production department.

•           Hold shift briefings and keep team performance boards current on every line.

8. Continuous Improvement & Standard Work

•           Lead Lean and continuous improvement in production, including kaizen events and structured problem-solving (root-cause analysis, A3, 8D).

•           Maintain current standard operating procedures and standard work for every process and shift, and ensure they are followed.

•           Share best practice with the Production Managers at the other factories and take part in group operational forums.

9. Reporting

•           Provide the daily factory production report: output against plan, downtime per kiln with reasons, and yield per kiln with the top yield issues.

•           Report weekly and monthly to the Factory Manager on production KPIs, costs, losses and actions.