Assistant plant manager vs production supervisor

The differences between assistant plant managers and production supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an assistant plant manager and a production supervisor. Additionally, an assistant plant manager has an average salary of $85,755, which is higher than the $63,391 average annual salary of a production supervisor.

The top three skills for an assistant plant manager include safety program, OSHA and plant operations. The most important skills for a production supervisor are lean manufacturing, safety procedures, and production schedules.

Assistant plant manager vs production supervisor overview

	Assistant Plant Manager	Production Supervisor
Yearly salary	$85,755	$63,391
Hourly rate	$41.23	$30.48
Growth rate	3%	-
Number of jobs	20,560	83,529
Job satisfaction	-	4.33
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	48	46
Years of experience	2	2

What does an assistant plant manager do?

An assistant plant manager is in charge of overseeing plant operations, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Their responsibilities revolve around managing the daily plant operations, assessing the workforce performance, and performing administrative support tasks such as producing progress reports and presentations, managing budgets and schedules, answering inquiries, and handling calls and correspondence. Furthermore, as an assistant plant manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

What does a production supervisor do?

Production supervisors are employees who oversee the production process, usually handling activities directly related to people management. They manage employees by ensuring that the production floor employees are doing their work well and are motivated. Production supervisors guide employees and ensure that everyone is working towards company goals. They properly communicate these goals as well as the strategies to meet the set goals. Production supervisors have a direct hand in the hiring and subsequent training of employees. They should have good communication skills, decision-making skills, and leadership skills.

Assistant plant manager vs production supervisor salary

Assistant plant managers and production supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Assistant Plant Manager	Production Supervisor
Average salary	$85,755	$63,391
Salary range	Between $58,000 And $126,000	Between $43,000 And $91,000
Highest paying City	Berkeley, CA	Fremont, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Cirrus Aircraft	Intuitive Surgical
Best paying industry	-	Automotive

Differences between assistant plant manager and production supervisor education

There are a few differences between an assistant plant manager and a production supervisor in terms of educational background:

	Assistant Plant Manager	Production Supervisor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	Stanford University

Assistant plant manager vs production supervisor demographics

Here are the differences between assistant plant managers' and production supervisors' demographics:

	Assistant Plant Manager	Production Supervisor
Average age	48	46
Gender ratio	Male, 90.2% Female, 9.8%	Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.0% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 69.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 5.0% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	8%	6%

Differences between assistant plant manager and production supervisor duties and responsibilities

Assistant plant manager example responsibilities.

Work with buyers to negotiate terms and manage supplier PPAP's.
Report to President/Co-owner and manage 2 QC employees and 4 production supervisors.
Manage daily operations of USDA facility.
Coordinate daily and monthly production planning, update operation sheets to ensure that FDA regulations and GMP's are met.
Used hands-on implementation of any necessary changes that specifically affect inventory control; machine shop production; product distribution and logistics.
Conduct GMP and safety audits.

Production supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage an run extruders an injection molds.
Utilize MRP system to monitor and manage raw material and finish goods inventory.
Manage employee's schedules, time off requests, vacation and payroll with the KRONOS time management software.
Manage departments responsible for beginning raw material production process using automate CNC control plasma cutting machines.
Lead targeted decision-making across fast-pace production operations for this growth-orient USDA food factory producing quality meat products.
Manage manufacturing department operations to ensure compliance with establish quality specifications, production levels, and FDA regulations.

Assistant plant manager vs production supervisor skills

Common assistant plant manager skills

Safety Program, 8%
OSHA, 7%
Plant Operations, 7%
Continuous Improvement, 6%
Production Schedules, 4%
Safety Procedures, 4%

Common production supervisor skills

Lean Manufacturing, 9%
Safety Procedures, 6%
Production Schedules, 6%
Quality Standards, 5%
Customer Service, 4%
ISO, 4%

Assistant Plant Manager vs. similar jobs

Assistant Plant Manager related careers

Assistant Plant Manager related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Assistant Plant Manager
Assistant Plant Manager vs Production Supervisor

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs