Every loaf of bread begins with human hands. We have previously discussed the work of our shift supervisors, and today we would like to invite you even deeper into the world of production. This time, we are speaking with the person who manages the entire large-scale bread-baking process at our plant. The head of the workshop is responsible for ensuring that modern equipment and a large team of specialists operate as a single organism. We asked about the intricacies of management, daily challenges, and a genuine love for the profession.

— How does your typical working day at the bakery begin? Which tasks always require your personal attention first?

Not with emails and not with a plan. First — the production floor. Much is understood here without words: by the sound of the lines, the smell, the bread coming out of the oven, the mood of the people. If everything is in its place, the day has started right.

The main question is whether the night shift passed the baton without a hitch: are the oven temperature regimes being maintained, are the lines operating according to the processes? Next comes a brief meeting with the technological and technical teams, procurement, shift supervisors, and logistics: we resolve all issues together. And only after making sure everything is fine on the floor do I sit down with the plans, volumes, and documents.

— You manage a large team. How do you find the right approach to the employees and unite the team for coordinated work?

In one of our bakery workshops, there are about 50 people of various professions working on a single shift. The approach to such a team starts with something simple: everyone must clearly know what they are responsible for. Then no one needs to be pushed — individuals see their own area and understand how everyone's result depends on them.

I rely on clear rules and open dialogue. If something is wrong, it is better to say it immediately, right here on the floor, rather than sorting it out later. And a well-coordinated shift rests on two things: discipline and mutual respect. One does not work without the other.

— Our production is constantly growing and modernising. From a professional point of view, what is more difficult for a manager: setting up new lines or adapting the team to new working standards?

Definitely the team. Technologists and engineers will set up, test, and bring a new line to the required capacity following a clear algorithm. People do not come with a manual. You have to explain why processes are changing, alleviate the fear of automation, give them time to get used to it — and make sure that every specialist confidently operates the new equipment.

The most modern oven will not bake bread on its own. Therefore, launching a new line is always two simultaneous projects for me: a technical one and a human one. And the second one usually takes longer. But it is a fascinating process — giving life to new recipes and bringing projects to fruition.

— Which production stage is the most critical or unpredictable, where the workshop head's control is needed most?

The junctions. The journey of the bread — from the raw materials entering the workshop to the packaged products at the logistics centre — consists of many stages, and each one individually can work perfectly. But problems most often arise exactly where one process hands over to another. So I look most closely at these 'seams'. If they hold, the whole workshop holds.

— The bakery operates around the clock. What are the most difficult or unusual challenges the workshop head has to solve every day?

Bread cannot be put on pause. The dough lives by its own schedule, the oven by its own, and neither of them will wait for us to solve a problem. Therefore, the main challenge is continuity.

And every day something does not go according to plan: order volumes suddenly change, a minor technical glitch occurs, or duties within a shift need to be urgently reassigned. Decisions have to be made in a matter of minutes, thinking several steps ahead. Because at the end of this chain is a lorry that must leave on time, and a shop where they are waiting for our bread in the morning.

— When you look at the results of the workshop's work or see our products on the shelves, what makes you most proud of your team?

Consistency. Many people can bake one perfect loaf. But to produce tens of thousands of items every day — and for each one to be exactly as it should be — is only within the power of a highly coordinated team.

When I see our products on the shelf, I do not just see bread. Behind the golden crust is the round-the-clock work of the entire workshop, strictly maintained schedules, and the responsibility of every employee. I am proud to work with such people, and I sincerely thank them for this.

Bread is not only high-quality flour and a precise recipe. It is the daily dedication of the people who stand behind every batch. We thank the head of the workshop for an honest conversation and the hard work that ensures TM Rumyanets products reach your tables fresh and fragrant every day.