of Manual finishing line leaders
1. What does the start of your working day look like?
We arrive at work and the night shift briefs us on whether all the day’s dispatches are complete or, if not, what still needs to be done. We allocate tasks to staff, and if work is required on small machines – such as the rounding machine, the elastic banding machine or the fabric-cutting machine – we send people to those stations too.
2. What are your main duties during the day?
Based on the delivery note attached to the pallet of books, we print out the production order and use it to find out exactly what needs to be done for that particular order. For example, whether the books are to be placed in boxes or wrapped in paper, and in what quantities. We also find out whether the book contains an inserted leaflet or a sticker. We print out a template of the sticker or leaflet from the plotter, showing its placement inside or on the book.
3. What might others not realise about your job or department?
Others might be surprised to learn that counting out the correct number of items to go into boxes or onto pallets isn’t always as straightforward as it seems at first glance.
4. Who do you work with most often during the day, and why them in particular?
We work most often with our team at the workbench and with the handlers who deliver and collect orders. We also work with the shift foreman and the manual labour coordinator. We need all these people so that we can do our job properly and ensure the books leave FINIDR as they should.
5. Have you ever had a working day when something went wrong? What was it like?
Well, there are plenty of days like that, because things are constantly changing and being adjusted at the last minute in manual processing. Usually, the first thing we do is bring the books in from dispatch and sort out any corrections to the order with either the foreman or the manual work coordinator. Most of the time, this involves reallocating the order or the order being on different pallets. At times like these, it helps that we’re not on our own and have a good team.
6. Which part of the working day do you enjoy the most, and why?
We look forward most to lunch and the end of the working day. After 12 hours, you’re so tired that you’re not looking forward to anything else.
7. What do you enjoy most about your job?
The fact that we can see the results of a job well done and the customer’s satisfaction.
