What does a Furniture Production Manager do?
The Furniture Production Manager plays a key role in managing the production process within a furniture manufacturing company. Their main mission is to ensure that production lines are set up efficiently while ensuring that quality, cost, and deadline objectives are met. This position requires a comprehensive view of the production activity and the ability to anticipate and solve problems that could hinder smooth manufacturing operations.
Duties of a Furniture Production Manager
The Furniture Production Manager has varied responsibilities that cover several aspects of industrial production, including how production is organised.
They plan production activities based on received orders and the factory’s capacity. This includes distributing tasks across different production lines, establishing a precise schedule, and rigorously monitoring adherence to deadlines.
The Production Manager ensures that raw materials, such as wood, fabrics, or accessories required for furniture manufacturing, are always available in sufficient quantities. They work closely with purchasing and logistics departments to prevent stock shortages that could slow down production.
The Production Manager is also responsible for managing production teams. They coordinate the work of operators, team leaders, and technicians while ensuring the safety and continuous training of staff. Their ability to mobilise and motivate teams is crucial to maintaining a positive work environment and achieving set goals.
One of the essential roles of the Production Manager is to optimise manufacturing processes to reduce costs, improve product quality, and increase productivity. They may identify areas for improvement, such as automating certain tasks, reorganising workstations, or introducing new technologies.
To drive production activities, they closely monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) such as production rates, rejection rates, and production costs. They produce regular reports to analyse results and propose corrective actions if necessary.
What qualities are needed to do this job?
To succeed in this role, the Furniture Production Manager must have solid technical expertise in industrial manufacturing, particularly in the furniture sector. They must be able to understand production constraints, know the materials, and master technological and IT tools (such as computer-aided production management software – CAPM). To achieve this, they may follow the curriculum of the ENSTIB Professional Bachelor’s Degree in Furniture and Wood.
Team management, communication, and the ability to make quick decisions are also essential skills in this position. The Production Manager must be able to handle crisis situations, such as equipment breakdowns or delivery delays, while finding solutions to minimize the impact on production.
This position offers opportunities for advancement to roles such as Industrial Director or Production Site Manager, with expanded responsibilities at the company or group level. In such cases, the ENSTIB engineering programme is also recommended.