Day Warehouse Mentor

The Hardwood Warehouse Mentor provides day-to-day floor leadership, training, technical expertise, and operational support within the Hardwood Warehouse, including receiving, hardwood veneer grading, batching, inventory storage, material handling, and transfers to production.

The Mentor works closely with the Warehouse Value Stream Manager (VSM) to support safe and efficient operations and achieve departmental goals for safety, quality, inventory accuracy, material availability, on-time delivery, labor utilization, training, and continuous improvement.

The Mentor works closely with the Value Stream Manager (VSM) to support safe and efficient operations and achievement of departmental goals for safety, quality, production, on-time delivery, labor utilization, waste, training, and continuous improvement.

This is a hands-on leadership position that supports daily warehouse operations while coaching employees, reinforcing established standards, and developing team capabilities using Training Within Industry (TWI) principles and Job Instruction (JI) methods.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Ensure employees follow established safety policies, PPE requirements, forklift and pedestrian safety practices, housekeeping standards, and safe material-handling procedures.

- Serve as a floor-level leader, trainer, and technical resource for hardwood warehouse employees and support the VSM in meeting safety, quality, inventory, service, and labor goals.

- Coordinate daily assignments, receiving, grading, batching, storage, staging, loading, and material movement based on production priorities and customer requirements.

- Work alongside employees when needed to support staffing, training, quality, inventory, or material flow requirements.

- Monitor the timely preparation and delivery of hardwood veneer, composites, and other warehouse materials to production; communicate shortages and changing priorities.

- Maintain knowledge of hardwood species, veneer grading, HPVA/ANSI standards, customer specifications, and batching requirements; reinforce correct material identification and handling.

- Identify damaged, mislabeled, nonconforming, or questionable materials and coordinate containment, documentation, disposition, and follow-up with Quality and Procurement.

- Support accurate inventory transactions in Microsoft D365, including receipts, transfers, location changes, corrections, and material movements.

- Coordinate cycle counts, investigate discrepancies, correct underlying transaction or handling issues, and maintain clear material locations and traceability.

- Maintain orderly, clearly identified storage areas and support 5S, material protection, and efficient warehouse layout.

- Coordinate with the hardwood purchaser, Quality, Scheduling, Production, and transportation personnel to resolve supply, grading, vendor, and delivery concerns.

- Support vendor material reviews, customer live looks, and claims or material disposition activities as assigned, partnering with the technical grading trainer and purchaser.

- Provide accurate shift handoffs covering inventory, material shortages, batching, quality issues, equipment, staffing, and follow-up actions.

- Identify and support root cause analysis and corrective actions for inventory errors, damage, waste, delays, quality issues, and safety concerns.

- Participate in Kaizen, 5S, TWI, and other continuous improvement activities to improve flow, accuracy, service, and operating costs.

- Train and coach employees using TWI Job Instruction methods; develop, review, and maintain Job Breakdown Sheets (JBS) and documented training standards.

- Follow the Mentor Training Plan for onboarding, cross-training, qualification, retraining, and ongoing employee development; verify employee proficiency and document progress.

- Provide timely feedback on performance, safety, attendance, teamwork, and conduct; communicate concerns and documentation to the VSM and Human Resources as appropriate.

- Complete assigned records, inventory reporting, training documentation, production reports, and applicable Paycom activities accurately and on time.

- Promote a positive and accountable work environment consistent with the States Industries Employee Handbook.

- Serve as the designated operational resource when the Warehouse VSM is unavailable, within assigned authority.

- Maintain required forklift certification and safely operate applicable warehouse equipment.

- Perform other duties as assigned.

Key Performance Indicators:

- Safety: Safe material handling, forklift/pedestrian compliance, housekeeping, hazard identification, and corrective-action follow-through.

- Inventory: Accurate D365 transactions, timely cycle counts, discrepancy resolution, material identification, and traceability.

- Quality: Correct hardwood species and grade identification, proper batching, damage prevention, and resolution of nonconforming material.

- Material Availability: On-time receiving, staging, batching, and delivery of materials needed for production.

- Productivity and Cost: Effective labor coordination, reduced handling, waste, rework, damage, and avoidable delays.

- Continuous Improvement: Participation in TWI, 5S, Kaizen, and sustained improvements to warehouse processes.

- Team Development: Documented training, employee proficiency, cross-training, coaching, and teamwork.

- Communication and Documentation: Accurate shift handoffs, timely escalation, and completion of inventory, quality, training, and other records.

Qualifications

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:

- At least two years of relevant manufacturing, hardwood warehouse, logistics, or inventory experience required; hardwood veneer grading and batching experience strongly preferred.

- Prior experience as a lead, mentor, trainer, or other formal or informal floor leader preferred.

- Working knowledge of hardwood veneer species and grades, material flow, warehouse operations, and applicable HPVA/ANSI grading standards.

- Ability to coach employees, organize work, communicate expectations, resolve problems, and collaborate across departments.

- Experience with TWI, Job Instruction, Lean, Kaizen, 5S, or structured continuous improvement preferred.

- Ability to understand customer specifications, identify quality issues, and coordinate appropriate escalation.

- Working knowledge of Microsoft D365 or similar ERP, Microsoft Excel, Outlook, and accurate inventory documentation.

- Basic math skills including measurements, quantities, units, fractions, and decimals.

- Forklift certification required or must be obtained within the timeframe established by the Company.

- Formal education beyond high school is preferred but relevant experience and demonstrated performance may be considered in lieu of education.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

- Work is performed primarily in a busy industrial warehouse and plywood manufacturing environment with forklift traffic, moving equipment, wood products, dust, and variable noise levels.

- Work may occur indoors or outdoors with exposure to heat, cold, and changing environmental conditions.

- The position requires regular walking and standing, reaching, bending, stooping, and handling materials; ability to lift up to 50 pounds independently and heavier items with assistance or equipment as appropriate.

- Appropriate personal protective equipment and compliance with company safety requirements are mandatory.

- Regular and predictable attendance and flexibility to respond to operational, staffing, and training needs are essential.

- Additional hours or shift coverage may be required based on operational needs.