Factory/works control office – Part 2

IN EVERY business department, the duties of the clerk are just as important as his/her superior. The duties involve many activities such as filing and word-processing, but the clerk in the factory office will be involved specifically with the following duties: Preparing documents used in production. Progress chasing. Double-checking safety procedures. Liaising with other departments. Preparing job cards, progress charts. Maintaining time cards for workers.

In addition to these tasks, the clerk may be asked to organise the hours of work for the factory workers. If production takes place on a 24-hour basis, then it is likely that workers will be placed on a shift system. For this, the clerk will need to place workers on a roster, placing each worker on the shift system and allocating adequate time off.

Daily report of how productivity levels and output have gone for that day is very important. This information is used for future planning by management and assists in ensuring that jobs are proceeding to plan. A progress chaser is what determines each stage of production so that delays do not arise where one stage of production may be slowing up work elsewhere.

DOCUMENTS USED IN FACTORY OFFICE

Job card – Gives the details and description of the job and the necessary requirements for the job to be carried out. It accompanies each job or batch as it progresses through the stages of production.

Planning master – This contains every details about the entire production process to enhance the use of equipment and labour, keep the production process running, meet deadlines and reach for better quality. It will show the rate of production that should be attained daily or weekly, and will give details of the factors to be employed in order to achieve this. Job cost card – This is specific information to the organisation about the cost for producing a particular unit of production. The cost may include utility, labour and materials, and salaries.

Time card – This shows the time that the workers ‘clock-in’ and ‘clock-out’ of work. The time card is usually used with a mechanical clock machine. When the worker arrives at work, it is placed in the machine where the time is printed. This is also done at the end of the working day. This card is now used to calculate the amount of hours worked per week. Quality control card – It is important that organisations maintain their quality standards, hence persons are employed specially to make checks on finished products.