Management & Documentation
Effective management systems and documentation are the backbone of a reliable and efficient heat treatment operation, ensuring both quality and compliance.
A successful heat treatment operation relies on a well-defined structure where each role has clear responsibilities. While smaller shops may combine roles, larger facilities often have a dedicated team for each function.
Plant Manager / General Manager
Customer Service / Business Development
Administrator / Management
Quality Manager
Production Supervisor
Heat Treat Operator
Metallurgist / Lab Technician
Plant Manager / General Manager
Oversees all plant operations, including production, quality, safety, and financial performance.
Customer Service / Business Development
Manages client relationships, provides quotes, handles inquiries, and seeks new business opportunities.
Administrator / Management
Handles administrative tasks, customer communication, scheduling, and supports the management team.
Quality Manager
Ensures all products meet customer and industry standards, manages the QMS, and oversees testing and inspection.
Production Supervisor
Manages the day-to-day activities on the shop floor, schedules operators, and ensures production targets are met safely.
Heat Treat Operator
Operates furnaces, prepares and loads parts, monitors cycles, and performs initial quality checks.
Metallurgist / Lab Technician
Conducts material testing, microstructure analysis, and provides technical support for process development and troubleshooting.
Technical Director/Manager
This senior role is the technical authority for the entire facility. They oversee all metallurgical processes, lead research and development for new treatments, ensure compliance with complex standards like AMS 2750 and Nadcap, and provide the final word on failure analysis and complex troubleshooting. A deep background in materials science or metallurgy is essential.
Process Engineer/Metallurgist
The hands-on expert for process integrity. This role involves designing and optimizing heat treatment cycles (recipes) for new parts, troubleshooting production issues like distortion or cracking, analyzing microstructures to verify results, and providing technical guidance to operators and supervisors to ensure processes are run correctly.
Quality Engineer
The guardian of the Quality Management System (QMS). This individual implements and maintains the QMS to meet standards like ISO 9001 or AS9100, manages internal and external audits, leads root cause analysis for non-conformances, and ensures all documentation and certifications are accurate and complete.
Maintenance Technician/Manager
Keeps the facility running. This role is responsible for the preventative maintenance, urgent repair, and ongoing calibration of all furnaces, quench systems, and support equipment. Their work is critical for ensuring equipment accuracy and minimizing costly downtime.
Sales Engineer
The bridge between the customer and the shop floor. This person combines deep technical knowledge with sales skills to understand customer needs, provide accurate quotes for complex jobs, and offer technical solutions that align with the facility's capabilities. They translate customer blueprints into actionable work orders.
Safety Coordinator/Manager
The champion for a safe workplace. This role ensures the facility complies with all safety regulations (e.g., OSHA), develops and conducts safety training for all personnel, manages the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) program, and leads incident investigations to prevent future accidents.
Receiving
Inspection
Pre-Cleaning
Loading / Racking
Heat Treatment
Quenching
Tempering
Final Testing
Shipping
- Job/Order Tracking: Following parts from receipt to dispatch.
- Process Parameter Control: Ensuring furnaces and equipment are programmed with correct recipes for each job.
- Scheduling & Capacity Planning: Optimizing furnace usage and managing lead times.
- Data Logging: Automatically recording temperature, time, and atmosphere data for every cycle.
- Maintenance Management: Scheduling preventative maintenance to minimize downtime and ensure equipment accuracy.
- Documentation & Control: Managing standard operating procedures (SOPs), work instructions, and specifications.
- Calibration & Verification: Ensuring all measurement and testing equipment (thermocouples, hardness testers) are accurate.
- Non-conformance & Corrective Action: A systematic process for handling parts that don't meet specifications and preventing recurrence.
- Traceability: Maintaining records to trace a part's entire history, including material certificates and heat treatment cycle data.
- Internal Audits & Management Review: Regularly reviewing the system's effectiveness and driving continuous improvement.
Essential Fields:
- Date & Time
- Furnace ID
- Operator Name/ID
- Job or Work Order Number
- Material & Part Number
- Temperature Setpoint & Actual
- Cycle Duration (Soak Time)
- Atmosphere Conditions (if applicable)
- Quench Medium & Temperature
Essential Fields:
- Survey Date
- Furnace ID & Class
- Test Temperature(s)
- TC Locations (Diagram)
- Corrective Factors for each TC
- Stabilization Time & Readings
- Max/Min Temperatures Recorded
- Calculated Uniformity (+/-)
- Pass/Fail Result
