Production Team - Job Description

Position:  Production Team
Reports To: Value Stream Manager
Updated: Feb.6, 2012 
Hours of Operation: 6:30am to 9pm (varies by position and business need)

Position Summary:

Provide superior quality of manufactured pet products. Production Team employees work as part of a team having responsibility for assembling an entire product or component of a product, packaging product and/or picking and shipping product. Production Team can perform all tasks conducted by the Value Stream on the production floor and can rotate  through all or most of them rather than being assigned to a specific task on a permanent basis. This position involves completing tasks according to pre-determined quality and efficiency standards. Responsible for all other duties assigned.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

May include some or all of the following; other duties may be assigned which require similar knowledge, skills and abilities. 

• Employee possess skill and ability to perform guidelines for product assembly which may require maintaining accurate efficiency tracking sheets while in training.
• Employee needs knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods. 
• Employee monitors own work to ensure high standards of quality
• Employee is flexible to the production needs; cross-train in other departments as needed
• Employee has a mastery of Five S’s of Workplace Organization; Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain
• Employee follows all safety instructions according to policies and procedures
• Employee adopts a LEAN manufacturing culture and eliminates waste; involved in creating the structure for putting standards in place and continuously improving

Minimum Competencies/Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, behavior, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Needs the ability to listen to, understand and apply information and ideas presented through oral communication or written directions
• Needs the ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to specific rules or design
• Needs the ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine to exact positions
• needs the ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong or be improved. Does not necessarily require solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem and reporting accordingly
• Needs the ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense
• Good dexterity - uses hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things. Needs the ability to quickly move the hand, the hand together with the arm, or two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects 
• Uses either control mechanisms or physical activity to operate machines or process (sewing machines with foot pedal, small hand tools, glue guns, etc...)
• Detailed oriented - Ensures quality by inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects
• Organizational skills - uses skills in identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes to circumstances or events. 
• Ability to focus on and stay motivated when working on repetitive tasks 
• Personal accountability - meet efficiency expectations based on performance of quality and speed
• Maintains a positive attitude and contributes to a fun and efficient atmosphere 
• Desire to continually learn and add value to the company through increased performance, cross training and CI (Continuous Improvement) opportunities 
• Speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations; Listens and gets clarification; Responds well to questions; Participates in meetings 
• Attendance/Punctuality - Is consistently at work and on time;
• Ethics - Treats people with respect; Keeps commitments; Works with integrity and ethically; Upholds organizational values.
• Dependability - follow instructions and responds to management direction  
• Adaptability - Adapts to changes in the work environment; Manages competing demands; Able to deal with frequent change, delays, or unexpected events. 
• Team Work - Balances team and individual responsibilities; Contributes to building a positive team spirit; Puts success of team above own interests; Able to build morale and group commitments to goals and objectives; Supports everyone's efforts to succeed

Physical Job Requirements/Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Stand/Sit continuously and perform job functions’ upwards of 8 hours per day 
• Repetitive tasks that require upper body strength and hand-eye coordination
• Visual acuity - ability to distinguish color to perform job functions. Close vision and distant vision
• Physically able to bend, stoop, stretch, reach, twist, push, pull and balance product during material handling, assembly and filling/shipping customer orders 
• Climb ladders 
• May be required to assist in unloading fabric trucks - lift and/or assist with lifting fabric rolls weighing 45 pounds and over
• May be required to repeatedly move, lift, and shift boxes weighing 10 - 50 pounds

• Exposure to constant moderate and intermittent pitches of noise level 
• Exposure to hot surfaces (machinery, materials and glue) 
• Exposure to sharp objects and slippery surfaces (machinery, tools, floor, etc...)
• Exposure to varying degrees of temperatures (inside and outside the building)

• Paid Time Off (PTO) *available after 3 months 
• Medical/Dental/Vision *available after 3 months (Employee Assistance Program with *Medical insurance plan)
• Flexible Spending Account - *available after 3 months 
• Life Insurance - *available after 3 months 
• 401K/Profit sharing/Retirement benefit 
• Employee discount on West Paw merchandise

I understand and agree to the details as described within this job description and know what is expected of me. The company has the right to modify and/or change job duties assigned.

Applicant Signature:___________________________________ Date:____________