Job Description

Overall Responsibilities:
The Operations Lead oversees daily floor activities to ensure high-quality, efficient fabrication of custom fiberglass truck caps and tonneau covers. This position facilites a cross-functional team across the entire lamination, finishing, and assembly streams. The ideal candidate ensures production schedules are met, material waste is reduced, metric tracking boards are meticulously maintained, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) are closely followed. This is a high-visibility, shift-based floor role reporting directly to the Director of Operations.
Key Responsibilities
Production Flow & Execution
• Coordinate Schedules: Execute and distribute daily production targets based on order volume and backlog metrics.
• Oversee Key Workstations: Manage workflow across gel coat application, open/closed mold lamination, pull/cut/grind, and hardware assembly.
• Resolve Bottlenecks: Move personnel dynamically to balance mold cure times with assembly line pacing.
• Monitor Material Usage: Control the daily consumption of raw materials, glass fiber, resins, and catalyst compounds.
Quality Control & Environmental Compliance
• Perform Spot-Checks: Inspect gel finishes, structural thicknesses, and perimeter edges for delamination or pinholes.
• Enforce 5S Systems: Keep lamination bays, tool rooms, chopping guns, and curing areas organized and clean.
• Manage Hazardous Waste: Supervise drum labeling, hazardous fluid movement, acetone recycling, and regulatory manifest logging.
• Troubleshoot Defects: Correct resin-to-catalyst ratios immediately when temperature or humidity impacts chemical reactions.
Metric Board & KPI Management
• Update Hourly Logs: Track output against target goals manually or digitally on visual boards every hour.
• Lead Shift Huddles: Gather the team around the visual tracking board for daily 5-minute kickoff meetings.
• Visualize Quality Spikes: Chart rejection rates for gel coat defects or lamination air pockets to highlight trends.
• Log Safety Milestones: Post updated counts of consecutive days without a recordable shop accident or near-miss.
• Highlight Material Scrap: Display weekly fiberglass fabric and resin waste percentages clearly for the crew.
• Track Schedule Attainment: Monitor completed truck cap counts versus the daily customer shipping manifest.
• Communicate Root Causes: Document why goals were missed directly on the board using red/green color tracking.
Team Leadership & Safety
• Direct & Train Workers: Mentor a workforce spanning temporary floor hands to highly skilled gel-gun technicians.
• Enforce PPE Compliance: Mandate strict use of respirators, protective Tyvek suits, hearing protection, and safety glasses.
• Track Attendance & Performance: Handle shift huddles, log hours, and report disciplinary needs to Human Resources.
• Investigate Incidents: Report near-misses and execute immediate corrective actions for shop floor hazards.
Qualifications
• Experience: 3+ years of hands-on experience in a fast-paced plant manufacturing environment.
• Industry Knowledge: Deep familiarity with open-mold fiberglass lamination, composite manufacturing, or automotive body manufacturing.
• Chemical Literacy: Core understanding of exothermic chemical reactions, catalyst ratios (MEKP), resins, and gel coatings.
• Physical Demands: Ability to work on your feet in a loud, temperature-variable environment and lift up to 50 lbs.
• Education: High school diploma or GED equivalent; technical certificates in composites or Lean manufacturing are highly valued.
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