Overview of the role

Manufacturing furniture and furniture components, such as desk lids, doors, casings or legs, using Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machinery to perform precision tasks.

Details of standard

Occupation summary

This occupation is found in the furniture, furnishings and interiors manufacturing industry, this is a substantial growth industry for the UK.  The UK furniture, bed and furnishings manufacturing part of the industry is substantial. Over 8,000 companies contribute £11 billion to the country’s GDP.  In addition to this, there is a large market for contract and office furniture.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to manufacture furniture and furniture components, such as desk lids, doors, casings or legs, using Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machinery to perform precision tasks.  This includes setting, loading and proving (testing) CNC programmes to produce furniture and/or components, setting up, operating and maintaining CNC furniture production machinery, improving CNC processes to produce furniture efficiently and finding and rectifying faults with furniture production machinery.  Advanced Furniture CNC Technicians also produce and maintain jigs and templates to produce furniture components and create and modify programmes for producing furniture using Computer Aided Design (CAD).

In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with a range of colleagues including production/manufacturing managers, quality technicians, production leaders, designers, product developers, training coordinators, production operatives and engineers.

Advanced Furniture CNC Technicians can work in a range of environments from small workshops to large factories and may be required to work various shift patterns.  An employee in this occupation will be responsible for producing machined components to meet specifications, maintaining quality and safety standards and maintaining equipment.  They may also be responsible for a team, coaching, mentoring, training and developing individuals depending on the size of the organisation they work in.

Typical job titles include:

Cnc setter Cnc wood machinist Furniture cnc machinist Furniture cnc manager Furniture cnc operator Furniture cnc programmer Furniture cnc supervisors Furniture cnc team leader Furniture cnc wood machinist

Occupation duties

Duty Criteria for measuring performance KSBs

Duty 1 Load and prove (test) CNC programmes to produce furniture and/or furniture components to specification.

delivered in line with specifications and within agreed timescales

K1 K2 K3 K4 K5

S1 S2 S3 S4

B1 B2

Duty 2 Set up, operate and maintain CNC furniture production machinery.

delivered in line with specifications and within agreed timescales

K6 K7 K8 K9 K10

S5 S6 S7 S8

B1 B2 B3

Duty 3 Improve CNC processes to produce furniture efficiently.

delivered in line with industry standards, agreed timescales and costs

K11 K12

S9

B4 B6

Duty 4 Work safely at all times following relevant legislation and regulations ensuring self and others safety.

complying with relevant health and safety legislation and regulations

K13 K14

S10 S11

B2

Duty 5 Produce and maintain jigs and templates to produce furniture components.

delivered in line with specifications and within agreed timescales

K15

S12

B2

Duty 6 Create and modify programmes for producing furniture using Computer Aided Design (CAD) software.

delivered in line with specifications and within agreed timescales

K1 K16 K17 K18

S13 S14 S15

B1 B6

Duty 7 Identify and rectify faults with furniture production machinery.

delivered in line with agreed industry standards

K19 K20

S16

Duty 8 Lead, manage and coach teams and develop own skills to ensure effective results.

delivered in line with agreed standards

K21

S17 S18 S19

B8 B9 B10

Duty 9 Keep and maintain accurate records/information and share appropriately.

delivered in line with agreed timescales and communicated clearly and succinctly

K23

S21

B1

Duty 10 Set tooling and equipment, accurately measure tooling specification, input and adjust tooling data.

delivered in line with specifications

K24 K25 K26

S22

B1 B2 B6

Duty 11 Read, understand and interpret specification drawings to ensure components meet specification.

delivered in line with agreed timescales and quality standards

K10 K27

S14

B1

Duty 12 Check furniture and components produced meet quality standards and specifications working with minimal supervision.

delivered in line with specifications and within agreed timescales

K10 K28

S23

B9 B11 B12


KSBs

Knowledge

K1: Tool compensation for the differences in length between the tools assumed during programming and the tools to be used for actual machining. Back to Duty

K2: Tool data including geometric characteristics, composition and usage. Back to Duty

K3: Parameters of machines including type, function and how to read and set them, safety and guarding of machinery used. Back to Duty

K4: Optimisation for best yield of materials. Back to Duty

K5: How to set, load, prove (test) and optimise of furniture CNC programmes. Back to Duty

K6: Technical processes, such as capability, awareness of manufacturing procedures, helping to resolve furniture production problems, breakdowns and defining operating procedures. Back to Duty

K7: Tooling and operational process including material technology and furniture manufacturing equipment. Back to Duty

K8: Furniture industry materials and modern and traditional furniture manufacturing methods including wood and timber, manmade composite materials including plywood, MDF (Medium Density Board) and MFC (Melamine Faced Chipboard), veneers, laminates and edging materials, by hand or machinery. Back to Duty

K9: How to maintain furniture CNC/NC (Computer Numerically Controlled/Numerically Controlled) machinery. Back to Duty

K10: Acceptable tolerances of items manufactured from furniture specifications for example allowances for deviation from norm and defect criteria. Back to Duty

K11: Process improvement techniques for example DRIVE (Define, Review, Identify, Verify, Execute), process mapping, DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control), Statistical Process Control (SPC) and Simulation. Back to Duty

K12: Lean manufacturing techniques, for example, Kaizen, Lean, Just in time and 5S. Back to Duty

K13: Health, safety and environmental management and risk assessment for example Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH), Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER), Health And Safety At Work Act (HASAWA), Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) and manual handling. Back to Duty

K14: Safe Systems of Work, the formal procedures for safe methods and procedures adopted during work activities, for relevant processes, including use and maintenance of machinery used. Back to Duty

K15: How to produce and maintain jigs and holding devices. Back to Duty

K16: How to develop and modify furniture CAD drawings in CNC production. Back to Duty

K17: Machine editor software for programme production. Back to Duty

K18: Machine tooling used for example drills, blades or profile cutters. Back to Duty

K19: Machine fault finding techniques and programming fault finding including differences between simple faults which can be rectified and those that required maintenance team for resolution. Back to Duty

K20: Common error codes for furniture CNC machinery used. Back to Duty

K21: Grievance and discipline procedures and conflict management techniques. Back to Duty

K22: Coaching, mentoring and team development techniques such as the GROW model (Goal, Current Reality, Options (or Obstacles) Will (or Way Forward). Back to Duty

K23: Where to send products for next process and how to fill production tickets with accurate information. Back to Duty

K24: Measuring devices such as Vernier callipers and height gauges. Back to Duty

K25: Standard tooling on relevant machinery. Back to Duty

K26: How to run test pieces to ensure tooling data has been entered correctly. Back to Duty

K27: Where to find relevant furniture specifications and drawings. Back to Duty

K28: Product quality standards you need to meet for furniture products produced. Back to Duty

Skills

S1: Set tool compensation data in furniture CNC programmes. Back to Duty

S2: Set tool data and parameters in furniture CNC programmes. Back to Duty

S3: Optimise machinery for the best yield of materials. Back to Duty

S4: Set, load, prove and optimise furniture CNC programmes. Back to Duty

S5: Manage resources effectively including raw materials and time. Back to Duty

S6: Select tooling suitable for use with materials being processed for example different varieties of wood. Back to Duty

S7: Set up and operate furniture CNC/NC (Computer Numerically Controlled/Numerically controlled) machinery using appropriate safety measures and guards. Back to Duty

S8: Maintain furniture CNC/NC machinery within limits of responsibility for example lubricating machinery, checking fluid levels, keeping machinery clean. Back to Duty

S9: Apply improvement techniques to furniture manufacturing processes for example using different tooling, aggregate heads, tandem loading or tandem loading. Back to Duty

S10: Work safely at all times, wearing appropriate PPE, adhering to COSHH records and completing health and safety records and reports. Back to Duty

S11: Follow Safe Systems of work for the relevant machining processes. Back to Duty

S12: Produce and maintain jigs and holding devices to ensure sufficient workpiece vacuum. Back to Duty

S13: Develop and modify furniture CAD drawings to suit CNC processes. Back to Duty

S14: Read and interpret furniture specifications and drawings. Back to Duty

S15: Use editor software to modify or create furniture CNC programmes. Back to Duty

S16: Rectify simple machine faults for example fast running, blunt tooling, burn marks or incorrect tool compensation. Back to Duty

S17: Manage self and others and influence teams to achieve objectives. Back to Duty

S18: Apply coaching, mentoring and team development techniques such as the GROW model. Back to Duty

S19: Develop own skills to improve furniture CNC performance. Back to Duty

S20: Train others to use machinery safely to company standards. Back to Duty

S21: Record information required accurately for example production records. Back to Duty

S22: Set tooling in various holders for example HSK (hollow taper shank), tribos and shrinkfit. Back to Duty

S23: Able to check furniture products meet quality standards and furniture specifications. Back to Duty

Behaviours

B1: Thorough and accurate when accomplishing furniture CNC tasks. Back to Duty

B2: Have a safety-first attitude, ensuring the safety of self and others in a furniture CNC machinery environment. Back to Duty

B3: Shows integrity, aims for excellence and manages time effectively. Back to Duty

B4: Strives for improvement in furniture manufacturing processes. Back to Duty

B5: Is professional, demonstrates motivation to succeed and is organised. Back to Duty

B6: Maintain focus and concentration during CNC activities. Back to Duty

B7: An enquiring mind and be, keen to understand how things work. Back to Duty

B8: Sets an example to others, is fair, consistent and reliable. Back to Duty

B9: Takes personal responsibility for meeting objectives of the team and business. Back to Duty

B10: Be flexible in changing environment and demands. Back to Duty

B11: Demonstrates a mature attitude and has a sense of responsibility. Back to Duty

B12: Is able to work with minimal supervision. Back to Duty


Qualifications

English and Maths


Additional details

Occupational Level:

3

Duration (months):

24

Review

Status: Approved for delivery (available for starts)
Level: 3
Reference: ST0655
Version: 1.0
Date updated: 27/09/2019
Approved for delivery: 27 September 2019
Route: Engineering and manufacturing
Typical duration to gateway: 24 months (this does not include EPA period)
Maximum funding: £11000
LARS Code: 509
EQA Provider: Ofqual
Employers involved in creating the standard: Senator, Harrison Spinks, Herman Miller, Silentnight, Burbidge, Mills and Scott, Hypnos, REM, Benchmarx, CDUK, Simpsons of Greenfield Mill Ltd

Version log

Version Change detail Earliest start date Latest start date
1.0 Approved for delivery 27/09/2019 Not set

Crown copyright © 2024. You may re-use this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. Visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence

Is this webpage useful?

Thank you for your feedback

Tell us about your experience