This post provides exhaustive information on the production supervisor job description and career, including the key duties, tasks, and responsibilities they commonly perform.
It shows how to become a production supervisor, the common requirements you will need to meet to be hired for the role, as well as the various career opportunities you can explore as a production supervisor.
Please, read on:
What Does a Production Supervisor Do?
Production supervisors are operations or line managers, which means their job description involves having a hands-on leadership role in their companies and the company’s product-making activities.
Elaborately, production supervisors come under the industrial production manager categories.
They ensure that production processes run without a hitch and performs duties such as coordinating everyday production activities, troubleshooting and solving problems as they arise, and makes sure the production area is clean and safe for everyone.
Production supervisors are mostly seen in companies like commercial bakeries, automakers and many other companies engaging in mass-production of goods on schedule.
Employees of manufacturing companies frequently turn to their production supervisors for answers and direction to their questions about their assigned duties.
It takes different kinds of employees to make a successful manufacturing or industrial company work efficiently.
From the plant or factory manager to the line assembly employee, everyone in a manufacturing-type or industrial company has a vital role to play.
For instance, a production supervisor represents the leadership team and the face most seen by the company’s rank-and-file employees.
They perform several duties and are held responsible in general for meeting company production goals.
Depending on the company, a production supervisor’s job description may include tasks such as directing, coordinating or planning work activities and obtaining necessary resources for production success.
In essence, these professionals should be able to ensure that their assigned assembly functions deliver products that will meet all company quality, cost, and quantity requirements.
Other duties they usually perform include reviewing production orders and processing schedules and deciding on the resources needed to meet those orders or schedules.
They are also responsible for meeting company budget goals.
These supervisors work as a team and closely with the rank-and-file employees assigned to them because they’re line managers.
In some places, they are even responsible for training, evaluating, hiring, and terminating employees’ job.
The production supervisor must be specifically skilled at resolving everyday personnel grievances that occurs among the employees from time to time.
Also, he/she must be able to staff his/her production areas correctly and ensure the employees in those areas work efficiently.
Production Supervisor Job Description Sample/Example/Template
Below is sample of the production supervisor job description consisting of specific duties, tasks, and responsibilities they typically perform:
- Oversee daily production operations
- Contribute to team effort.
- Maintain staff by recruiting, orienting, selecting and training employees; and developing personal growth opportunities in them
- Assign tasks and schedules to production staff
- Maintain work flow by setting process variables, monitoring steps of the process; observing equipment and control points; monitoring resources and personnel; developing reporting systems and procedures, studying methods; facilitating corrections to malfunctions, implementing cost reductions; initiating and developing a spirit of cooperation between and within departments
- Educate and direct employees on the use of equipment, all control points and resources
- Ensure products meet quality standards
- Enforce safety policies and procedures
- Conduct performance evaluations
- Troubleshoot production issues and bottlenecks
- Coordinate with other departments (quality, logistics, HR)
- Provide manufacturing information by sorting, initiating, compiling, and analyzing production performance data and records
- Implement process improvements for efficiency
- Manage inventory of materials and supplies
- Ensure compliance with company and regulatory standards
- Ensure smooth operation of equipment by evaluating new equipment and calling for repairs of old ones
- Support continuous improvement initiatives
- Resolve employee conflicts and promote teamwork
- Accomplish manufacturing staff results by planning, monitoring, communicating job expectations and appraising job results; counseling, disciplining and coaching employees; coordinating, initiating and enforcing systems, procedures and policies
- Monitor equipment performance and report abnormalities
- Ensure adherence to production schedules
Production Supervisor Requirements: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities for Career Success
To be effective as production supervisor, individuals vying for the position are expected to possess the following knowledge, skills, and abilities which made up the minimum requirements for the position for most employers:
- High school diploma or GED
- Associate or Bachelor’s degree (preferred)
- 2+ years of experience of managing and leading people in a production environment
- Knowledge of manufacturing processes
- Understanding of quality control standards
- Strong communication skills
- Ability to manage and motivate teams
- Problem-solving skills
- Time management skills
- Basic computer skills
- Knowledge of safety standards and regulations
- Ability to interpret technical documents
- Ability to work under pressure
- Organizational skills
- Ability to manage multiple tasks
- Attention to detail
- Ability to work flexible shifts
- Knowledge of lean manufacturing principles
- Ability to conduct root-cause analysis
- Strong decision-making skills
- Ability to coach and develop employees
- Familiarity with production scheduling
- Ability to monitor and improve KPIs
- Basic math and analytical skills
- Ability to enforce safety and compliance rules
- Physical stamina for standing or walking long periods
- Ability to work in fast-paced environments
- Conflict-resolution skills
- Ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams
- Experience with inventory management systems
- Ability to read blueprints or schematics (as needed)
- Strong reporting and documentation skills
- Willingness to undergo continuous training and development.
- Proficiency in MS-Office suites
- Ability to work on own initiative
- Strong understanding of the expectations associated with leading a production team.
Production Supervisor Job Description for Resume
If you have worked before in the role of a production supervisor or currently holding that position and are making a new resume or CV, then you can apply the Production Supervisor job description example above in making the Professional Experience part of the resume.
You can highlight the duties and responsibilities you carried out or presently performing in your resume’s Professional Experience by applying the ones provided in the production supervisor duties above.
This will show that you have been effective performing the role of a production supervisor, which can greatly boost your chances of getting hired for the new job, especially if it requires someone with some production supervisor work experience.
Conclusion
The production supervisor job is an entry-level career that has the potential to be very rewarding.
As a production supervisor, you may have the opportunity to move into management positions or even start up your own business.
The position can be very challenging and it is important for someone in this position to stay on top of deadlines and ensure the flow of production.
This post is useful to individuals interested in the production supervisor career; they can learn all they need to know about the duties and responsibilities that make up the production supervisor’s role.
It is also helpful to recruiters/employers looking to find and hire the best candidates for the production supervisor position in their companies.
They can apply the sample production supervisor job description provided above in making one for the role, for use in the hiring process.
