Production Operations interview prep.

Behavioural questions to expect

1. Walk me through your operations background + plant / line experience.
2. Tell me about a production improvement or line you owned.
3. Why packaging / paper vs other production environments?
4. Why this segment - folding carton / corrugated / flexible / rigid / pulp + paper / tissue?
5. Why the firm?
6. What's your read on our plant footprint + customer base?
7. Tell me what you understand about our operations + audit culture.
8. Walk me through an OEE or line-efficiency improvement you led.

Technical concepts to master

• OEE + lean + TPM

  OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) · Loss tree + Six Big Losses · Autonomous maintenance (AM) · Centreline + setpoint discipline · 5S + visual management

• Changeover + SMED + high-mix discipline

  SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Die) · Internal vs external setup · Quick-release + standard tooling · Pre-staging + parallel work · Heijunka + production levelling

• Food-contact + GMP + GFSI audits

  GMP for packaging · HACCP + pre-requisite programmes · Foreign body + glass + hard plastic control · Migration + food-contact compliance · Allergen + cross-contact management

• Sustainability + fibre + recyclability

  FSC + SFI + PEFC chain of custody · Recycled content + post-consumer recycled (PCR) · Recyclability (design for recycling) · EPR + PPWR + DRS · GHG + Scope 1 / 2 / 3 + decarbonisation

Practical drills

• Your folding-carton press is at 62% OEE - Availability 78%, Performance 88%, Quality 90%. The plant target is 75%. Walk me through your loss-tree diagnosis + 90-day improvement plan.
• A flexo line runs 25 changeovers per week, averaging 90 minutes each. The plant manager wants you to halve it within 6 months. Walk me through your approach.
• During a BRCGS Packaging Issue 6 audit, the auditor finds a foreign-body register gap - a hard-plastic part went unrecorded for 4 weeks. The auditor flags it as a major non-conformance. Walk me through your 24-hour, 7-day, and 30-day response.

Smart-question anchors

• Plant + line portfolio - converting type + mill technology + SKU mix + recent capital
• OEE + waste + safety - published benchmarks, loss-tree maturity, daily tier review cadence
• Audit + food-contact posture - BRCGS / SQF / FSSC certifications, recent audit results, customer-driven scheme requirements
• Sustainability + fibre - recycled content, FSC / SFI / PEFC chain of custody, EPR + PPWR readiness, decarbonisation roadmap
• Operations excellence - lean / TPM / Six Sigma maturity, training pathways, operator development

Sourced from

BRCGS Packaging Materials Standard (Issue 6) · SQF Code Edition 9 + FSSC 22000 scheme documents · 21 CFR 174-178 (US FDA food-contact) + EU 10/2011 + 1935/2004 · Shigeo Shingo - A Revolution in Manufacturing - The SMED System · Seiichi Nakajima - TPM Total Productive Maintenance + JIPM TPM Awards criteria · FSC + SFI + PEFC chain-of-custody standards + CEFLEX + 4evergreen design guides · EU Packaging + Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) + UK EPR scheme + APR Design Guide (US)