Craftsmen versus Workers

Submitted by Stephen Winters on Mon, 09/17/2012 - 00:46

What is the difference between a Production Worker and a Craftsman.

 

 

 Production Worker

 Craftsman
 Definition  one that works especially at manual or industrial labor or with a particular material <a factory worker>(Webster)

 one who creates or performs with skill or dexterity especially in the manual arts (Webster)

a professional whose work is consistently of high quality, a creator of great skill in the manual arts(WorldNet search)
 Focus  This may be a low paid entry job. He may not be able to get any other work, or It may just be a temporary job until he finds something better. He just wants his paycheck.  This is often his life's work. He has spent many years learning and developing his skill and his craft. He is highly skilled and takes joy in producing high quality work.
 Training  A production worker only has to learn his part of the job, and to do it in the way that he was taught, using the materials supplied to him.

 A craftsman has to learn all parts of every part of the job. He also has learned why work is done a certain way. He is always striving to improve the quality of his work.
 Client Relations  He rarely, if ever, sees the client.  He often works directly with the client, is able to help determine best materials and proceedures to meet client's needs.
 Materials

 Uses specific materials that are supplied by management.

 Has to have a working knowledge about a wide variety of materials. S/He has determine best materials for each job. Orders materials from suppliers

He has to be able to hunt down unusual materials, or when the original or specified materials are not available, to find alternate materials

Often times the original materials may not be available any more, so the craftsman has to be able to find substitute materials, or even remanufacture the original materials himself.

 Projects  

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  A craftsman is often working with furniture that was designed and manufactured 20, 50, or well over 100 years ago.
 Financial  Gets paid a set salary for his work. Gets paid whether job turns out right or not.  Pays for all materials, has accounts with all suppliers. Is financially responsible for every job. If the job is done wrong, repair comes out of his pockets.
 Speed

 Because s/he does the same work over and over again, s/he can become very fast in that area.

 

  
 Planning  No need for much planning ahead, just do what is set before him/her each day.  Plans work schedule, does cutting layout jor job. 
     
Quality Control  

He knows that his name and his reputation goes out with each piece. He uses the finest materials. He carefully examines each piece as he does it. He readily fixes his mistakes as soon as he finds them.  
 Keeping Interested in His Work  Since the worker often does the same thing over and over day after day, he can easily become bored and lose interest in what he is doing. Consequently quality can suffer greatly  Because of his wide range of skills, the craftsman tackles a wide range of projects. He is constantly honing and improving his skills and his knowledge of his trade. He confidently tackles the toughest of projects.
 Reputation  He is anonymous, nobody outside the factory knows who has done his work