The Upholsterers job function is to make, repair, and replace upholstery for household furniture or transportation vehicles.
Duties:
The Upholsterer fits, installs, and secures material on frames, using hand tools, power tools, glue, cement and/ or staples. The Upholsterer builds furniture up with loose fiber stuffing, cotton, felt, and/or foam padding to form smooth rounded surfaces. The Upholsterer examines furniture, frames, upholstery, springs, and webbing to locate defects. The Upholsterer attaches fasteners, grommets, buttons, buckles, ornamental trim, and other accessories to cover or frame, using hand tools. The Upholsterer removes covering, webbing, padding, and/or defective springs from work pieces, using hand tools such as hammers and tack pullers. The Upholsterer reads work orders, and applies knowledge and experience with materials in order to determine types and amounts of materials required to cover work pieces. The Upholsterer makes, restores, and/or creates custom upholstered furniture, using hand tools and knowledge of fabrics and upholstery methods. The Upholsterer draws cutting lines on material following patterns, templates, sketches, or blueprints, using chalk, pencils, paint, or other methods. The Upholsterer measures and cuts new materials, using patterns and measuring and cutting instruments, following sketches and design specifications. The Upholsterer maintains records of time required to perform each job and the materials used for the repair.
Skills:
The Upholsterer needs the skill to give full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. The Upholsterer needs the skill to talk to others to convey information effectively. They must be able to convey to their working crew instructions in regards to the type of repair and materials to use for the repair. The Upholsterer needs the skill to understand the implications of new information for both current and future problem solving and decision making. They must keep up-to-date with any new materials or methods used in the repair work. The Upholsterer needs the skill to select the proper training methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things. Many times the Upholsterer needs to use mathematics in order to solve problems that might occur while they are making repairs to any piece of furniture. The Upholsterer needs the ability to use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. The Upholsterer needs the skill to install equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specification. The Upholsterer needs the skill to perform routine maintenance on equipment and determine when and what kind of maintenance is needed. The Upholsterer needs the skill to understand written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Abilities:
- The Upholsterer needs the ability to keep the hand and arm steady while moving the arm or while holding the arm and hand in one position.
- The Upholsterer needs the ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
- The Upholsterer needs the ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
- The Upholsterer needs the ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
- The Upholsterer needs the ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
- The Upholsterer needs the ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when the parts are moved or rearranged.
- The Upholsterer needs the ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Activities:
The Upholsterer needs to be able to use hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things. The Upholsterer performs physical activities that require considerable use of your arm and legs and moving the whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials. The Upholsterer provides information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written from, e-mail, or in person. The Upholsterer identifies information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes of circumstances or events.