Production Manager/Chemical Engineering Specialist

Ashley Furniture Industries•Tupelo, MS

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Ashley Furniture Industries, LLC has multiple openings for Foam Production Manager/Chemical Engineering Specialist in Tupelo, MS. This role involves planning, directing, and assigning work activities in the foaming department. The manager will be responsible for managing and improving functional areas, instituting performance measures through continuous improvement tools, and making data-driven decisions to optimize production. Key responsibilities include maintaining departmental equipment, ensuring a safe work environment by enforcing PPE usage and safety compliance, and assisting the Superintendent or Manager in improving systems of production control, SOPs, quality control, and performance management. Communication of company and departmental goals, facilitating employee growth through meetings and coaching, and running new foam samples to evaluate properties and test results are also crucial. The role requires overseeing machine maintenance, identifying risks in foam quality and chemical handling, reviewing chemical test reports, providing guidance on curing, and monitoring chemical inventory and production environment conditions. Specific duties include applying protocols for handling dangerous goods, calibrating chemical streams, adjusting chemical ratios based on environmental conditions, overseeing curing foam, monitoring warehouse inventory, reviewing production reports, and fine-tuning formulations based on test results and quality reviews. Troubleshooting foaming process and machine issues, such as cracking, flat top setting, side splits, top splits, and low resiliency, is also a key aspect of this position.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, or a related field
2 years of experience in furniture industry, form pouring, or related
Experience in Polyurethane foam pouring
Experience in Polyurethane foam testing
Experience in Handling of chemicals
Experience in Daily maintenance and operation high pressure of foaming equipment
Experience in Validation of materials for foam compliance

Responsibilities

Plan, direct and assign work activities in the foaming department.
Manage and improve functional areas and institute performance measures through use and interpretations of continuous improvement tools.
Make decisions and solve problems by analyzing information and evaluating results to optimize production.
Maintain departmental equipment to ensure proper and safe operations.
Maintain a safe work environment by ensuring employees wear PPE (personal protective equipment) and follow safety compliance.
Assist functional area Superintendent or Manager to improve systems of production control, standard operating procedures, safety, quality control and performance management.
Communicate company and departmental issues and goals and facilitate employee growth and development through weekly team meetings, regular individual employee meetings, coaching, training, and company-offered learning opportunities.
Run new foam samples on machine, evaluate foam properties, and test results.
Oversee machine maintenance and ensure maintenance is conducted according to schedule and applicable standards.
Identify potential risks in the areas of foam quality, chemical handling and loading and unloading.
Review test reports of receiving chemicals.
Provide guidance and proper curing time instructions for all pouring lots.
Monitor the production facility's chemical inventory.
Monitor the production environment to ensure proper conditions.
Apply Ashley Furniture's protocols and process management systems for handling dangerous goods to large containers and injectors of liquid chemicals at high temperatures.
Calibrate all chemical streams, including isocyanates.
Adjust chemical ratio as per desired product properties based on different conditions, such as weather, humidity and temperature.
Overlook curing foam in the warehouse and monitor warehouse inventory stock.
Review reports of foaming block, actual dimensional data and input-output record.
Review block temperature data for low-density foams.
Track chemical inventory, including available chemical stock as per production requirements.
Review previous pour foam test reports and fine tune formulation; review the foam quality of previous pouring lots before starting the pouring a new lot and adjust and fine tunings in chemical ration.
Review all foam pouring process parameters like temperature and pressure, ensuring all processing parameters before foaming are within range.
Identify solutions for troubleshooting in foaming process and foaming machine (PU high pressure Hennecke QFM Machine), resolving foam processing problems such as cracking, flat top setting, side splits, top splits, and low resiliency.