Welcome to Inside the Box. Here at Lesters, we are proud of the team we have. Every month we will be introducing a new member of our team and will be getting to know a little more about them. This month it’s our Production Manager, Lee Rochester.
As Production Manager, Lee is responsible for maintaining the smooth running and efficiency of our production processes.
Lee, tell us what a typical day looks like for you at Lesters.
I have quite a set pattern to my day. I start by assessing time sheets and monitoring the efficiency of our previous days production. If there are any issues I can deal with immediately I will, otherwise they’re added to my priority board and I’ll deal with them as soon as possible. It’s important that our TCY Jumbo casemaker is working as efficiently as possible.
At 9am we have our daily production meeting. This includes the managers from all the different areas of the business, and it’s our chance to go through the daily production schedule, highlight any issues, and make sure we have a plan for resolving them.
After that, I can go through all the previous days production data to identify any machine timing anomalies, inefficiencies or routing issues and correct these. Then the rest of my day involves managing any on-going projects we have running, dealing with recruitment, monitoring our spares inventory, and looking for any efficiencies in the plant that I can.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
The chance to work in a new industry has been a fantastic opportunity for me. Using the skills I’ve gained over my time in manufacturing to make a real and noticeable difference is very rewarding.
How long have you worked in the packaging industry?
Only 8 weeks so a very short time! However, I’ve worked in manufacturing for 35 years, with the last 15 dedicated solely to looking at efficiency’s and lean manufacturing, and I’m now bringing all that experience to bear at Lesters. We’re determined to stay a step ahead of our competitors and maintain our position as the Big Box specialists.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I love music, and I DJ regularly (or do when I can) and I always use vinyl – there’s no substitute in my opinion. I also enjoy watching football, but my main passion is restoring old scooters.
