Job Description

Overview

Western Bee Supplies, Inc. is nestled on the south shore of Flathead Lake in Polson, MT. We have been in business since 1965 supplying honeybee woodenware for customers all over North America and the world.

We are seeking a dedicated and dynamic Assistant General Manager to join our team in a woodenware manufacturing environment. The ideal candidate will have a passion for production management, with strong leadership skills to help drive the success of our operations. This role is essential in supporting the General Manager in overseeing daily operations, ensuring exceptional customer service, and maintaining high standards of Quality Assurance. The goal is for this person to replace the General Manager upon his retirement within the next 5-7 years.

Qualifications & Duties

• Assist the General Manager in managing daily operations of the production facility, ensuring efficiency and quality service.
• Oversee shift management, including staff scheduling and delegation of tasks to ensure smooth workflow.
• Train, mentor, and develop team members to enhance their skills and promote a positive work environment.
• Maintain high standards of quality assurance, including compliance with health and safety regulations.
• Handle customer inquiries and complaints professionally to ensure satisfaction.
• Support inventory management by monitoring stock levels and assisting with ordering supplies as needed. Also learn to use inventory system for monthly financial reporting.
• Collaborate with the management team to achieve operational goals and improve overall performance.
• Production: Learn to operate every position in the plant (other than millwrighting) by spending time operating at each position in the plant. This becomes valuable when observing the processes from each position to determine if a process could be improved on each machine. It also provides QA for the lumber being cut at the green end. The company makes or loses money starting at the green end. Operating also assists in troubleshooting should problems arise. It is also an opportunity to observe safety habits of operators. A minimum of eight hours is required at each job station for every machine. Time is money in a manufacturing facility. Constant talking or looking at phones or taking extended bathroom breaks should be observed and corrected immediately.
• Quality Assurance: Our goal is to produce the highest quality products in our industry. This starts with the sawyers., and includes grading at each job station. Are we grading too heavy to budget and rejects? There really is no reason to have rejects. Managers and floor supervisors are responsible for proper training for the highest possible quality as well as safety. One should go around to each machine twice a day or more making QA checks and document them on the daily production form. Break times are a good time to dig around in baskets and see what’s being thrown away that shouldn’t be. It’s money down the drain at that point and should happen a couple times a week.
• Efficiency: Analyze daily, weekly and monthly production data with spreadsheets to optimize for efficiency. Determine who is not handing in daily production data and make sure they fill them out daily and properly. Analyze percentages of what goes commercial and budget for frame parts, and all three grades at the moisture meter, corner lock and handhold. This can be done daily with spreadsheets, and provides insight to QA training at each machine for operators. Hourly averages vs. quotas gives us insight to how efficient employees, leading to observation and either making changes to the process, or finding ways to motivate employees when averages are down. Machine averages below quotas need to be observe and corrections need to be made, as labor makes up a large of our costing values. Machines that have variable speed control should not be slowed down by employees unless a new person is being trained. That’s just a way to let employees work at slower speed, costing the company money.
• Safety: Ensure safety procedures and documentation are being followed. If a machine is down and guards are off, LO/TO devices should be in place. If not, it could/should constitute a warning per the company handbook. Injuries in the plant need to be reviewed. Was it an accident caused by an employee? That person should receive a warning regardless of whether he/sh needs medical attention or not.
• Safety inspections should be performed monthly. We have safety inspection forms approved by OSHA and TPM. Management can take turns monthly to assure we have fresh eyes. If safety hazards exist, they should be noted on the forms and given to the millwrights to fix and sign-off on before returning the forms to whoever did the monthly inspection.
• All the above should be occurring right upon hire. Other duties and responsibilities that will take place over time are below.
• Raw Material and factory purchases: Assure that there is an adequate supply of lumber in the yard and on order. Follow Random Lengths weekly publication and monitor weekly pricing. Spreadsheets are best to show which lumber is going. Sales orders will also dictate the width of lumber needed and should be considered. Yield tests are critical, particularly at the sawyer end. A minimum of two studies a week and six per month are required. Factory purchases are mostly through Graingers, McMaster-Carr and Applied Industrial. There are few others such as fuses.com and Montana Builders Supply for pallet staples.
• Staffing: Interview, hire, train and assess the performance of employees. Monitor daily absenteeism - there is a database for data entry of daily absences, and it also can print out individual absenteeism reports based a given date range. Evaluations should occur both at the end of three month on the job, and annually. There is an approved form that is similar to a report card to do this.
• Office: Become proficient with QuickBooks and office procedures. Our office manager has a good understanding of the procedures used by Western Bee as she asks me questions often. There is no need to have an additional secretary at this time, with what’s going on in the bee industry.
• Equipment: Monitor performance of machines. Involve millwrights in this process since they maintain machinery.
• Descriptions and procedures are subject to change without notice.

Qualifications

• Previous experience in a manufacturing environment is preferred.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate and manage a diverse team effectively.
• Experience in shift management, demonstrating the ability to handle multiple tasks under pressure.
• Knowledge of cost accounting and safety regulations.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with a focus on customer service.
• Ability to train staff effectively while fostering an inclusive team culture. Work closely with Production Manager and Floor Supervisor.
• Experience in purchasing and human resource management is a plus but not required.
• A commitment to maintaining high standards of customer service and operational excellence.
• BS degree in Business Administration and/or Cost Accounting is highly desirable.

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