Production Foreman: Material Preparation and CNC Manufacturing

Production planning and scheduling

• Plan, schedule and prioritise all departmental work to meet production and project deadlines
• Coordinate workflow through the ERP or MRP production planning system
• Monitor work orders, machine loading, labour allocation and production progress
• Ensure material availability and readiness to support fabrication and assembly
• Manage departmental capacity and proactively identify production constraints
• Participate in daily and weekly production planning meetings

Manufacturing operations

• Lead and supervise the safe, efficient operation of CNC machining centres, a CNC horizontal boring mill, conventional fitting and turning, CNC press brakes, and CNC laser, plasma, tube laser and profile plasma cutting machines

Technical and manufacturing excellence

• Interpret engineering drawings, manufacturing specifications and production documentation
• Review manufacturing job packs before production release
• Use 2D and 3D nesting software to maximise material utilisation and reduce waste
• Ensure manufacturing processes comply with engineering and quality requirements
• Resolve technical manufacturing challenges together with Engineering
• Drive standardisation and best manufacturing practice

ERP and digital manufacturing

• Use the ERP system to manage work orders, monitor progress, track labour and machine utilisation, record completed operations and report production performance
• Maintain accurate production data and manufacturing records
• Support the continued adoption and optimisation of ERP manufacturing processes in the department

Continuous improvement

• Identify production bottlenecks and implement practical solutions
• Improve productivity, machine utilisation, material yield and manufacturing efficiency
• Reduce waste through better nesting strategies and workflow optimisationSupport Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives

People leadership

• Lead, coach and develop departmental employees
• Manage attendance, performance, productivity and discipline
• Identify training needs and mentor artisans and operators
• Conduct daily production meetings and toolbox talks
• Build a culture of accountability, teamwork and continuous improvement

Safety, quality and compliance

• Promote and maintain a strong safety culture
• Ensure compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and company SHEQ systems
• Conduct workplace inspections, risk assessments and incident investigations
• Ensure equipment is operated safely and maintained according to company procedures
• Maintain excellent housekeeping standards and ensure all components meet drawing and quality specifications

Performance reporting

• Monitor and report on departmental KPIs including safety, production output, schedule adherence, machine utilisation, labour productivity, material yield, scrap and rework, quality, housekeeping, downtime and improvement initiatives

Experience and Qualifications

• Qualified artisan (Boilermaker, Fitter and Turner or equivalent mechanical engineering trade qualification)
• Minimum 5 years' experience in a supervisory or foreman role within a heavy engineering or fabrication environment
• Proven experience managing material preparation and machine shop operations
• Strong working knowledge of CNC machining, laser cutting, plasma cutting, tube laser cutting, CNC press brake operations, conventional machining and material preparation processes
• Ability to interpret detailed engineering drawings and manufacturing documentation
• Demonstrated production planning and scheduling experience
• Strong leadership and people management skills
• Computer literate with practical ERP or MRP experience
• Sound understanding of manufacturing quality systems and production best practice

Highly advantageous

• 2D and 3D nesting software such as SigmaNEST, ProNest or similar
• Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma or other continuous improvement methodologies
• Production KPI reporting and performance management
• Digital manufacturing systems, capacity planning and finite scheduling

The ideal candidate leads by example, is safety focused and quality driven, highly organised, comfortable using production data to make decisions, calm under pressure and genuinely committed to developing people.

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