New furniture product developer
Engineering and manufacturing
Level 3 -
Developing new and improved furniture products such as domestic and office furniture.
Reference: OCC0793
Status:
SOC 2020 sub unit groups:
- 3421/00 Interior designers
- 3120/02 BIM and CAD technicians
- 3429/01 Industrial and product designers
Technical Education Products
Employers involved in creating the standard:
Senator, Harrison Spinks, Travis Perkins, Silentnignt, DFS, Hypnos, Roundhouse Design, Burbidge, Simpsons of Greenfield Mill Ltd, Mascari
Summary
This occupation is found in the Furniture, Furnishings and Interiors manufacturing industry. The UK furniture, bed and furnishings manufacturing is substantial with over 8,000 companies contributing over £11 billion to the country’s GDP. Over a quarter of a million jobs are dependent on the success of the industry, with 118,000 in manufacturing alone.
The broad purpose of the occupation is developing new and improved furniture products such as domestic and office furniture. New Furniture Product Developers develop new products or improve existing products so that the company can meet customers’ needs more effectively. They create design briefs using their knowledge of industry specific legislation and understanding of products and materials. They manage the furniture product development and improvement process from conception through to completion.
In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with a range of people including production/manufacturing managers, quality technicians, product developers, engineers, purchasers, customers and suppliers. They understand design, testing, materials and manufacturing processes.
An employee in this occupation will be responsible for working as part of a team, collaborating with marketing, technical, suppliers and manufacturing specialists throughout the product-development/improvement process. They will report to a senior member of staff such as the Design Director. A New Product Developer combines design, business and engineering skills to create products that meet both market and production requirements. They also test products both internally and externally.
New Furniture Product Developers can work in a range of environments from small workshops to large factories.
Employers involved in creating the standard:
Senator, Harrison Spinks, Travis Perkins, Silentnignt, DFS, Hypnos, Roundhouse Design, Burbidge, Simpsons of Greenfield Mill Ltd, Mascari
Typical job titles include:
Keywords:
Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs)
Duties
Duty D1
work safely at all times following relevant legislation and regulations and ensuring the safety of self and others
Duty D2
Plan, organise and manage furniture design projects from conception to completion on time and within budget
Duty D3
create suitable furniture design briefs and concepts for the furniture products to be produced
Duty D4
investigate new and existing furniture products and materials in order to incorporate these into future furniture designs
Duty D5
create and introduce new/improved furniture products, proving and testing both internally and externally and collaborate with marketing, technical, suppliers and manufacturing specialists to combine furniture design, business and engineering skills
Duty D6
choose appropriate furniture manufacturing methods, processes and techniques to produce furniture designs
Duty D7
produce 2D and 3D drawings, prototypes, models, mock-ups, artwork, samples or test pieces of furniture designs to bring these to life
Duty D8
present furniture designs to customers (internal/external) in order to get buy-in
Duty D9
collate costing information and present this in a comprehensive format (Bill of Materials)
Duty D10
develop and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues, customers, suppliers and other relevant stakeholders
Occupational Progression
This occupational progression map shows technical occupations that have transferable knowledge and skills.
In this map, the focused occupation is highlighted in yellow. The arrows indicate where transferable knowledge and skills exist between two occupations. This map shows some of the strongest progression links between the focused occupation and other occupations.
It is anticipated that individuals would be required to undertake further learning or training to progress to and from occupations. To find out more about an occupation featured in the progression map, including the learning options available, click the occupation.
Progression decisions have been reached by comparing the knowledge and skills statements between occupational standards, combined with individualised learner movement data.
Engineering and manufacturing