Interested in a simple Skills Scan and Learning Progress Tracker tool for the Material cutter standard?
Knowledge
K1: The material cutters role, responsibilities, and position within the wider production operation.
K2: Operational insight: types of products produced and types of customers (clothing, home wear, retailers, bespoke).
K3: The end to end production process, quality requirements, deadlines and targets, performance rates (efficiency).
K4: Commercial considerations (efficiency, material cost, production costs).
K5: Health and Safety: Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH), Manual Handling, Risk Assessments, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) (Chain mail gloves), machine guards.
K6: Environment and sustainability; Environmental Protection Act 1990, consequences of waste disposal (landfill), energy efficiency.
K7: Work-station ergonomics; posture and positioning whilst cutting.
K8: Workload planning for example scheduling and prioritisation.
K9: The construction, behaviour and appropriate use of different types of materials: canvas, leather, silk, vinyl, woollens.
K10: Material characteristics: quality, colour, pattern, print, pile, correct side.
K11: Material matching techniques for stripes, checks, pattern repeat, print placement.
K12: Material faults and fault tolerances; shading, discoloration, print error, holes, marks.
K13: Component shapes and product parts.
K14: Cutting specifications and instructions; the number to be cut, grain line, size, pairs.
K15: Mathematical techniques for cutting, measuring and calculating meterage.
K16: Measuring tools, equipment and techniques.
K17: Material spreading and transferring information requirements; darts, ease, pocket positions.
K18: Lay planning and pattern placement techniques; manual and machine.
K19: Manual and machine cutting techniques; quality check requirements.
K20: Material cutting machines and equipment: knives, cutting machines, press, scissors; their purpose.
K21: The consequence of machine/equipment mis-use - accidents, machine isolation.
K22: First line preventative maintenance requirements: checking, cleaning, sharpening, or changing blades.
K23: Re-cut request procedures and the re-cut process.
K24: Continuous improvement techniques: lean, 6-Sigma, KAIZEN, 5S (Sort, Set In order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain).
K25: Documentation requirements and their purpose: specification sheets, work records, labels.
K26: Verbal and written communication techniques.
K27: Material cutter terminology: ease, pairs, grain, right side.
K28: Team working techniques and benefits.
K29: Equality and Diversity in the workplace.
Skills
S1: Read, interpret, and follow information for example work instructions, material specifications.
S2: Prepare the work area for cutting materials.
S3: Maintain the work area.
S4: Follow health and safety regulations, legislation and procedures; PPE, manual handling, lifting procedures and ergonomic practice.
S5: Follow environmental and sustainability regulations and procedures.
S6: Estimate and calculate material requirements to complete the job.
S7: Select material following specification or instruction.
S8: Inspect materials against specifications and quality standard.
S9: Check lay plan.
S10: Prepare materials for cutting for example lay and spread material.
S11: Select, check and use tools/equipment for the task.
S12: Cut material by hand and/or machine for example band knife, shears, laser.
S13: Check quality of the lay post cut for example waste minimised, grain, component positioning, colour continuity.
S14: Check cut components.
S15: Prepare material for the next stage of the production process for example bundling, labelling.
S16: Identify and segregate material for reuse, recycling and disposal.
S17: Check and clean tools and equipment and sharpen or change blades as required.
S18: Report cutting issues for example material faults, equipment faults shortages, required recuts, lay plan.
S19: Apply continuous improvement techniques.
S20: Communicate with colleagues: verbal.
S21: Enter information - written or electronic.
Behaviours
B1: Prioritises health, safety and the environment, for example follows safe ergonomic practices, ensures safety and welfare of self and others and adopts environmental working practices.
B2: Uses own initiative, for example when dealing with material faults and flaws.
B3: Adaptable and flexible, for example in response to changes in priorities and work deadlines.
B4: Team player, for example keeps others informed, interacts proactively, considers impact of actions on others, and takes account of equality and diversity.
B5: Takes ownership and responsibility, for example seeks to meet quality targets, completes allocated work on time, escalates issues.
B6: Professional, for example polite and courteous, a good timekeeper, has a positive can-do attitude.
Duty 1
DUTY: Receive, read and interpret cutting instructions/job sheet and plan the days cutting schedule. Cutting instructions may include material specifications, code number, quantity required, sizes, colour, style number, number of pattern pieces, customer details, a lay plan, and marker length.
K1
K2
K3
K4
K8
S1
S2
S3
B3
B5
B6
Duty 2
DUTY: Select material to be cut, check against the job sheet/specification and material availability, and report any shortages. Transport material to the cutting table/area safely.
K5
K6
K9
K10
K11
K12
K14
K23
S4
S7
B1
B5
Duty 3
DUTY: Estimate/calculate material requirements and prepare materials for cutting for example, material relaxation, material spreading, laying/ fabric stack ensuring fabric pile and print is considered if appropriate.
K5
K6
K9
K10
K11
K13
K14
K15
K17
S4
S5
S6
S10
B1
B3
B5
Duty 4
DUTY: Inspect material to ensure it meets quality standards, identifying and reporting flaws and faults such as shading, holes, overprint, scruffs, fibre structure and marks.
K12
S8
B2
B5
Duty 5
DUTY: Apply the pattern/marker or the given measurements to the prepared material. Transfer marks and notches to the material using the appropriate tool, for example drill markers, punch perforators, cloth notches.
K13
K17
K18
S4
S9
S10
B5
Duty 6
DUTY: Following the markings, cut material using hand or automated equipment, for example shears, band knife, cross cutter, lay-end cutter, or automatic cutting system. Ensuring all instructions are followed, for example grain lines, pairs and quantities and material wastage is minimal.
K6
K7
K14
K15
K19
K20
K21
K23
S9
S12
S13
B1
B5
Duty 7
DUTY: Report issues relating to quality, quantity, templates, specifications, workload, equipment, plans and deadlines.
K1
K3
K25
K26
K27
K28
K29
S14
S18
S19
S20
S21
B2
B3
B4
B5
B6
Duty 8
DUTY: Conduct first line preventative maintenance on cutting equipment to ensure the efficient performance of tools, for example checking, cleaning, sharpening or changing blades.
K1
K16
K20
K21
K22
S17
B1
B5
Duty 9
DUTY: Identify, bundle and label the cut components in order to pass onto the next stage of the manufacturing process, for example sorting, fusing, bonding, stitching.
K1
K28
K29
S15
S16
B4
B5
B6
Duty 10
DUTY: Complete documentation relating to the cutting process for example work docket, work ticket, job/production sheet.
