A skill matrix template for rubber product makers (free download)

Rubber plants run on a few stations where one absent person stops an order. The kneader on nights. The braider on a long hose run. The splice table before a belt ships. A skill matrix puts those names on one grid, so the gap shows up on paper before it shows up at dispatch.

Everything below is free to copy. Every line of the template stands for one sheet or one block of columns, and rebuilding it in a spreadsheet takes an afternoon. Moulders, hose makers, belt makers, gasket cutters and silicone units can all use it. Keep the stations you run and strike out the rest.

Sheet 1, People: token number, full name, crew letter, shift pattern, on our payroll or a contractor's with the firm named, joining date, languages.
Sheet 2, Stations: one column for every station whose absence would delay a dispatch.
Mixing: curative weigh-up, kneader, two-roll mill, batch-off and anti-tack dip, strip or preform cutting.
Moulding: compression press, transfer press, injection press, mould change, setting a cure card.
Extrusion and hose: extruder, braider, spiral winder, mandrel loading, autoclave charging.
Calender and belt: calender, ply lay-up, vulcanising press, splice table.
Bonding and rollers: shot blast, primer and bonding coat, roller build, roller grinding.
Clean area: liquid silicone metering, post-cure oven, gowned packing.
Finishing and test: knife trim, cryogenic tumbler, punch trim, lamp sorting, hardness tester, burst test cage.
Tool room: mould cleaning, vent and cavity repair.
Letter key: W watches only. A assists, hands on, with the trainer beside. R runs a proven job alone for a full shift. S sets up a new job, changes moulds or dies and clears faults. T teaches and is cleared to assess.
Beside each letter: date observed, assessor's initials, date last run.
Currency rule: an R or higher left unused for ________ months drops one letter until it is observed again.
Sheet 3, Cover count: per station and shift, the people at R or higher. A lone name is red. Two names with one on leave this month is amber.
Sheet 4, Sign-off log: date, person, station, old letter, new letter, assessor, batch or job number watched, remarks.
Sheet 5, Refreshers: for the mill, burst test cage, crane and hoist and autoclave door, the last refresher date and the next due.
Footer: checked by the works manager on ________. Next cover count on ________.

Letters creep upward the moment a supervisor marks a favourite generously. The remedy is a one-line meaning of R for every column, written by the station's lead hand and visible on a live batch.

• Kneader: charges in the written order, watches ram and dump temperature, and drops a batch that passes the hardness button first time.
• Braider: loads carriers, sets lay angle for the hose size and runs a full length with no loose patch.
• Vulcanising press: positions the belt section, sets pressure and cure from the sheet and cools before release without blistering the cover.
• Bonding: blasts, primes and coats metal within the open time, and bonded samples pass the peel check.
• Lamp sorting: sorts a full tray to the master sample, and catches the seeded rejects hidden in it.
• Post-cure oven: loads trays as the sheet shows and logs load and unload times without a gap.

1. 1

   In-charge proposes

   Having watched someone work at the next letter on several real jobs, the shift in-charge puts the name forward. Never earlier.

2. 2

   Lead hand assesses

   The senior person on that station, rather than the candidate's line boss, watches a live batch or job and notes its number in the log.

3. 3

   Works manager initials

   A second signature keeps letters honest and holds one bar across all shifts.

4. 4

   HR updates the master

   Sheet 2 changes, Sheet 4 grows by one entry, and the laminated copy by the attendance board is swapped that week.

5. 5

   Joiners and leavers the same week

   A new helper enters at W on the first day. On a leaver's final day, shade their row and rerun Sheet 3.

6. 6

   Monthly count, quarterly currency sweep

   Read Sheet 3 on the first Monday of each month. Each quarter, set the date last run against the currency rule.

Rubber work follows the order book. A plant may run transfer presses hard one year and barely touch them the next. The operator who earned an S three years ago may now be rusty on pot loading and sprue sizing. Without a date last run, the grid claims cover that has quietly faded. Choose the dormant period with your lead hands, station by station, and print it in the footer.

If the letters never change anyone's grade, people stop caring about them. Publish which letters on which stations open each grade: helper, operator, setter, lead. Scarce stations such as splicing or mould repair deserve a rung of their own. Writing those grades and checking them against nearby plants is part of our competency work.

• A single column called press operator, hiding three different machines.
• Letters handed out for years of service rather than skills watched.
• Contractor-supplied trimmers and loaders left off, although they run stations daily.
• Refresher dates for the mill and burst test cage kept in a separate file nobody opens.
• A grid refreshed for a customer audit and then ignored until the next visit.

Start where a missing person stops a dispatch, not with every station in the plant. Fill Sheet 2 with the shift heads, then test each R against its written meaning across the next month. For the case behind the grid, read the guide to single points of cover. Hose plants can see cover charts in use on the hose makers competency page. The broader people picture for the trade sits on the hub for rubber product makers. To have the grid built around your stations and grades, share your requirements.