Job descriptions for furniture and wood product makers: define the skill, not just the task

A modular furniture unit has six people called edge bander operator. Two can switch from thin PVC tape to thick ABS, set glue pot heat, adjust pre-milling cutters and judge a clean corner round by touch. Four can feed panels and shout when the tape lifts. Their job description is the same three lines: operate edge banding machine, maintain output, follow safety rules. It helps nobody hire, train or pay fairly.

Task lists say what someone does. On a board and solid wood floor, people differ in how well, how independently and to what standard. That is what a role sheet has to capture.

• Setter and feeder look identical on paper.
• They say nothing about the standard: an even sheen, a tight mitre, shutter gaps that match.
• They miss judgement calls, such as when timber is dry enough to cut or when a coat needs another flash-off.
• They ignore teaching, so the senior who trains three learners looks the same on paper as one who trains none.
• They leave out conduct on site, which decides how installers are judged by clients.

One sheet of paper is plenty. Open with a single line on why the role exists. Then state the standard of work in shop words. List the setups and changeovers done without help, and the judgement calls the person is trusted with. Name the machines they are cleared to run. Add what they check before work moves on, and whether they teach. Finish with how each skill is proven and which grade it sits in.

Purpose: deliver PU and melamine finishes on shutters, doors and panels to the approved sample, without supervision.
Standard: even sheen under the inspection lamp, no runs, orange peel, dry spray or dust nibs, edges fully covered.
Setups done alone: gun pressure and fan, mix and dilution to the finishing card, booth filter check.
Judgements trusted: flash-off time on humid days, when to denib, when to reject a panel before coating.
Cleared for: spray booth, sanding station, mixing area. Not cleared for: stain matching on veneer.
Checks before passing on: first panel of each lot against the sample, signed on the lot card.
Teaching: guides one learner on masking and sanding.
Shown by: a sample panel sprayed and inspected by the polish in-charge, and two clean lots in a row.
Next grade needs: stain and colour matching on veneer, and teaching a learner to grade one.

1. 1

   Watch the best person do the job

   Spend a morning beside your most trusted finisher, setter or installer. Note every decision, not just every action.

2. 2

   Ask what goes wrong when someone weaker does it

   The answers point to the skills that matter: tape lifting, hinge holes mirrored, a door that twists after fitting.

3. 3

   Write the standard in words the floor uses

   Sheen under the lamp, gap even to the eye, no chip on the edge band. Avoid vague words such as good quality.

4. 4

   Agree how each skill is shown

   A sample piece, a supervised changeover, a site checked by the site lead. A skill not tested is a guess.

5. 5

   Place it in a grade ladder

   Helper, operator, setter or finisher, master. Each grade adds setups, judgement or teaching.

6. 6

   Review when the work changes

   A new CNC router, a new coating system or a new product line changes the skills. Update the sheet the same month.

Begin where people differ most and slips are dearest. Spray finishers and French polishers come first, with CNC and beam saw setters. Then sample joiners who cut dovetails and rebates by hand. In plywood, add hot press operators and the graders who read core gaps and glue lines. Commercial units need upholsterers on the list. Measurers, installers and site leads complete it. Clerical and stores roles can wait.

Use the role sheet to set the trial task when hiring. Use it as the training plan for a learner. Use it in the review conversation, so a raise follows a skill shown rather than a request made. Post the grade ladder on the floor so people see the route. When a dispute comes up over who should do a stain match or a mock-up, the sheet answers it.

Pick one role this month and write it with the in-charge. Test the sheet on a hiring trial or a review before writing the next. We offer help with role sheets and grade ladders for the whole floor. Board, metal and upholstery trades share one roof in office furniture role sheets. Designers and fitters who face homeowners are covered in how kitchen units grade their people. The wood trades hub has the rest.