Role design and job descriptions for Engineering Plastics Processors: who owns tolerance and trials
In an engineering plastics unit, the role boundaries decide who promises a tolerance, who runs a trial and who signs a part. Written role descriptions stop problems that start before the order reaches the machine.
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Share your requirementsWhy role design and job descriptions matters in engineering plastics processors
Sales accept an order with a tight tolerance on a tricky grade and tell the shop afterwards. The technician finds out at the trial that the material and the mould cannot hold the figure. Nobody owns the decision to refuse or to quote more time. Roles overlap: the setter adjusts parameters, the technician changes them again and the inspector measures at a different temperature. When parts fail, each person says it was someone else's call.
Good role design writes down for each role the decisions it owns, the work it does and who it hands to. Sales or application engineers check tolerance and grade with the technician before quoting. The technician owns the process sheet and trial. The setter runs to the sheet and flags drift. The inspector measures by a stated method. Job descriptions are short, in plain words and reviewed when the work changes.
How to set it up
1. List the decisions in an order's life
Quote, material choice, tolerance, trial, process sheet, release for production, measurement, dispatch. For each, write who decides and who must be asked.
2. Write short role descriptions
One page per role: purpose, tasks, decisions owned, who it works with, and the skills needed. Use the plain words people use on the floor. See role design and job descriptions.
3. Add a tolerance check before a quote
Sales or application engineers talk to the technician for any new tight tolerance or tricky grade. Record the answer on the quote.
4. Fix who signs a trial
The technician approves the trial and the process sheet. The inspector confirms measurement. The two signatures release the lot.
5. Review roles when the work changes
When you add a grade, a machine or a customer type, check which role descriptions need to change. Do it once a year as a minimum.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Read the last five tight-tolerance orders and note who agreed the figure with the shop.
- Ask a setter and a technician who may change a process setting and compare answers.
- Check if any role description exists for the technician, setter or inspector.
- List the decisions you could not name an owner for.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach role design and job descriptions in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
The person who understands the grade and the process, usually the technician, together with sales. Sales know the customer and the price, and the technician knows what the material can hold. Both should agree before a quote goes out.
Yes, short ones. A page per role clears confusion, helps hiring and supports reviews. Skip the long lists of duties and write what the role owns, what it does and who it works with.
The setter runs to the process sheet and flags drift. The technician owns the sheet and decides changes. Writing this stops two people altering settings without telling each other.