How many employees are needed for a complete rock wool production line, and what is a reasonable staffing arrangement?

1. Staffing Scale by Production Scale & Automation Level
   
   

   Production Scale & Automation	Annual Output	Number of Employees (Triple-shift Mode)	Key Notes
   High-automation Large-scale Line	50,000–100,000 tons	80–120 people	High degree of equipment automation, fewer on-site operators; mainly for monitoring and maintenance
   Medium-automation Line	20,000–50,000 tons	120–180 people	Balanced automation and manual operation; covers all production links with proper staffing
   Low-automation Small-scale Line	Below 20,000 tons	180–250 people	Relatively low automation; more manual labor needed for feeding, forming, and packaging

   
   
2. Reasonable Staffing Arrangement (By Department & Post)

   
   

   A complete rock wool production line can be divided into 5 core systems, with staffing allocated as follows (taking a medium-automation line with triple-shift operation as an example):
   
   
   • Raw Material Preparation Department (15–20 people/shift, total 45–60 people)
     
     
     Responsible for crushing, batching, and transporting raw materials such as basalt and slag.
     
     
     Posts: Raw material receiving clerk, batching operator, crusher operator, conveyor maintenance worker.
   • Melting & Fiber Forming Department (10–15 people/shift, total 30–45 people)
     
     
     The core link of rock wool production, including melting raw materials in a cupola or electric furnace and forming fibers.
     
     
     Posts: Furnace operator, fiber forming machine operator, temperature monitoring technician, safety inspector.
   • Product Forming & Processing Department (12–18 people/shift, total 36–54 people)
     
     
     Responsible for laying fibers, adding binders, curing, cutting, and shaping.
     
     
     Posts: Laying operator, curing oven attendant, cutting machine operator, trimming worker.
   • Packaging & Storage Department (8–12 people/shift, total 24–36 people)
     
     
     Responsible for product packaging, weighing, coding, warehousing, and delivery.
     
     
     Posts: Packaging operator, weighing clerk, warehouse keeper, loading and unloading coordinator.
   • Management & Support Department (10–15 people, not subject to shift rotation)
     
     
     Responsible for overall management, equipment maintenance, quality inspection, and safety management.
     
     
     Posts: Production manager, quality inspector, equipment maintenance engineer, safety supervisor, logistics administrator.
   
   
3. Key Principles for Staffing Optimization
   
   
   • Shift Arrangement: Adopt a triple-shift system (8 hours per shift) to ensure 24-hour continuous production, which is suitable for large and medium-scale lines; small-scale lines can adopt a double-shift system to reduce labor costs.
   • Multi-skill Training: Train operators to master multiple posts (e.g., both batching and conveying operations), so that personnel can be flexibly adjusted during peak production or equipment maintenance.
   • Automation Upgrade: Increase investment in automated equipment (e.g., intelligent batching systems, automatic packaging lines) to reduce the number of manual posts and improve production efficiency while lowering long-term labor costs.