Labour market information Explore careers by essential skills

• Read size tickets and content labels on bundles to gather information about current orders on the floor. (1)
• Obtain information from bundle/piece work tickets. (1)
• Read Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) labels and care labels which provide information about particular orders. (2)
• Read time sheets to determine payroll. (2)
• Read production schedule to organize production. (2)
• Read graphs which track the performance of individual operators or a group. (2)
• Complete disciplinary "Warning Sheets."(2)
• Read and interpret specification sheets to ensure orders are being processed correctly. (3)
• Obtain information from efficiency sheets and cost per unit reports. Cost per unit reports are reviewed on a per pay period basis. (3)
• Complete Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) forms to report accidents and keep a record. (3)

• Write reminder notes to themselves and simple notes of instruction when delegating work to employees. (1)
• Write notes on daily time sheets to explain special circumstances or oddities in recording hours of the operators. (2)
• Write announcements for the bulletin board regarding specific company policies. (2)
• Make daily log entries to relay information from one shift supervisor to the next. (2)
• Complete disciplinary warning sheets that become permanent records on employees' files. (2)
• Write letters or faxes to customers to respond to enquiries about orders. (2)
• Write reports on completed cuts. (3)

• Use piece work tickets to calculate employee pay rates. These calculations must be accurate. (3)

• Perform calculations required to schedule a fabric cut. (2)
• Perform calculations required to schedule a production phase. (3)

• Measure garments during production to ensure uniformity in size and in the placement of items such as pockets. (2)

• Calculate production statistics, such as work volume per operator and track these over time. (2)

• Estimate the time it will take to complete an order. (2)

• Give instructions to operators, delegating work and monitoring progress. (1)
• Listen to the tone of the operators' conversations to determine their mood. (1)
• Make announcements over the public address system to provide information. (1)
• Exchange information with fellow supervisors and with superiors, clarify information and co-ordinate work. (2)
• Have telephone conversations with customers to clarify specifications or discuss production time for an order. (2)
• Speak with mechanics to explain problems with machinery. (2)
• Give instructions if the building is evacuated for safety. (2)
• Confer with other departments such as cutting, laundry and administration offices to get and to provide information. (2)
• Converse with operators to resolve problems or conflicts. (3)

• Deal with operator absenteeism and machinery breakdowns. These situations can result in lost time and dollars and must be resolved quickly. (2)
• Resolve problems causing significant interruptions in production such as missing accessories or the breakdown of major machinery. (3)

• Decide what to do when there is an error in a couple of pieces of an order. (1)
• Decide how to get production up to speed following a machine breakdown. (2)
• Decide what solution to recommend to a superior when a mistake is found in a completed order. (2)

Critical Thinking information was not collected for this profile.

Most supervisors in fabric, fur and leather products manufacturing develop their daily work plan from a cutting schedule. Their activities are often dictated by events as they occur on the floor. Some planning is done to ensure all criteria are met for a specific order. (3)

Most apparel production supervisors must schedule operators depending on the requirements of a specific order. They work from information provided in advance to meet this schedule. This is done several times a week. The need to reschedule operators and re-sequence tasks to respond to operator attendance and machine performance is an important aspect of this job. (3)

• Remember the specifications on particular cuts in order to verify production accuracy.
• Remember the names of employees and customers.
• Memorize style numbers and recurring specifications with repeated numbers, as for example, certain folding groups such as pockets.

• Find information about employees in personnel records. (1)
• Find information about fabrics on labels and tags. (1)
• Refer to catalogues to locate information about the adjustments to machinery settings which will be required to fit a specific order. (1)
• Locate information about production activities in the daily log book which is examined at shift changes. (1)
• Examine efficiency sheets, which indicate time and rate of pay, in order to determine operator efficiency. (2)

• To check bundle numbers, look for "trim" information, and track production. (1)
• To prepare evaluations/reports. (2)
• To create and print work schedules. (2)

Supervisors in fabric, fur and leather products manufacturing work independently, but regularly co-ordinate their work flow with other departments and fellow supervisors. They occasionally work jointly with service people to problem solve when a machine breaks down. They may work as a member of a team with the operators to complete a specific order.

Apparel production supervisors continue to learn while working. They learn on the job through co-workers and through training offered in the workplace. They acquire new learning through reading or other forms of self-study while at work and on their own time.