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What does an assistant plant manager do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
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.

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Assistant plant manager responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real assistant plant manager resumes:

  • 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.
  • Create a customer facing CAPA.
  • Maintain KPI up-to-date, use RCA tools to correct deviations.
  • Control by Modicon and PLC's in a strip mining operation.
  • Develop CAPA system with focus on discipline problem solving using an 8-D format.
  • Ensure the adherence to strict quality control procedures in accordance with FDA and EU standards.
  • Provide direction & leadership to meet EHS, quality, productivity, volume and costs goals set by the business team.
  • Direct implementation of ISO certification.
  • Develop and implement comprehensive EHS program.
  • Guide manufacturing facility through complete ISO certification process.

Assistant plant manager skills and personality traits

We calculated that 8% of Assistant Plant Managers are proficient in Safety Program, OSHA, and Plant Operations. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Leadership skills, and Problem-solving skills.

We break down the percentage of Assistant Plant Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Safety Program, 8%

    Evaluated equipment requirements, short and long-term equipment replacement planning, and facilitated safety program processes and training.

  • OSHA, 7%

    Maintained an OSHA compliant work environment, enforced affirmative attendance policy, maintained complete inventory records and met/exceeded production goals.

  • Plant Operations, 7%

    Managed all facets of plant operations including 5 supervisory personnel and 81 operational associates located within plant departments.

  • Continuous Improvement, 6%

    Directed the implementation of the Caterpillar Continuous Improvement Program utilizing lean manufacturing principles and the development of quality control procedures.

  • Production Schedules, 4%

    Reviewed and adjusted production schedules to increase plant profitability through production efficiency and attainment of unit per hour goals.

  • Safety Procedures, 4%

    Conducted training sessions in safety procedures for production employees.

Most assistant plant managers use their skills in "safety program," "osha," and "plant operations" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential assistant plant manager responsibilities here:

Interpersonal skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an assistant plant manager to have is interpersonal skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "industrial production managers must have excellent communication skills to work well other managers and with staff." Assistant plant managers often use interpersonal skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "result oriented proactive teamwork excellent organizational and interpersonal skills process improvement ability to work independently and collaboratively"

Leadership skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling assistant plant manager duties is leadership skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "to keep the production process running smoothly, industrial production managers must motivate and direct employees." According to an assistant plant manager resume, here's how assistant plant managers can utilize leadership skills in their job responsibilities: "provided direction, development, and leadership to plant supervisors centered on continuous improvement. "

Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for assistant plant managers to perform their duties. For an example of how assistant plant manager responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "production managers must identify and address problems that arise." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an assistant plant manager: "resolved issues with customer orders. ".

See the full list of assistant plant manager skills

The three companies that hire the most assistant plant managers are:

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Compare different assistant plant managers

Assistant plant manager vs. Production supervisor

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.

If we compare the average assistant plant manager annual salary with that of a production supervisor, we find that production supervisors typically earn a $22,364 lower salary than assistant plant managers make annually.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both assistant plant manager and production supervisor positions are skilled in osha, continuous improvement, and production schedules.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, assistant plant manager responsibilities require skills like "safety program," "plant operations," "production facility," and "logistics." Meanwhile a typical production supervisor has skills in areas such as "customer service," "iso," "safety regulations," and "strong problem-solving." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

On average, production supervisors reach similar levels of education than assistant plant managers. Production supervisors are 0.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Assistant plant manager vs. Line supervisor

A line supervisor is responsible for monitoring the line operations within an organization, ensuring the adequacy of line staff on production, and supervising the quality control processes. Line supervisors enforce the highest safety standards and procedures within the premises to avoid operation hazards that might cause delays in the production. They also train new employees, coordinate with the management for process improvement, and develop strategic techniques to minimize excessive costings without compromising the service quality.

A career as a line supervisor brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of an assistant plant manager. In fact, line supervisors salary is $30,648 lower than the salary of assistant plant managers per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Assistant plant managers and line supervisors both require similar skills like "continuous improvement," "production schedules," and "safety procedures" to carry out their responsibilities.

Each career also uses different skills, according to real assistant plant manager resumes. While assistant plant manager responsibilities can utilize skills like "safety program," "osha," "plant operations," and "production facility," line supervisors use skills like "direct supervision," "safety rules," "assembly line," and "collective bargaining."

In general, line supervisors achieve similar levels of education than assistant plant managers. They're 2.0% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Assistant plant manager vs. Production administrator

Production administrators support all artistic and production functions with expert administrative support to the entire production team. Part of their responsibilities includes maintaining the annual production expenses and production calendar, researching potential venues and maintaining a venue database, and preparing expense reports for artists and production staff. These administrators must be excellent in organization and planning skills, comfortable and flexible with evolving roles, and highly proficient in computer skills such as Excel, PowerPoint, and Microsoft Office.

On average, production administrators earn lower salaries than assistant plant managers, with a $45,812 difference per year.Using the responsibilities included on assistant plant managers and production administrators resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "production schedules," "logistics," and "payroll.rdquo;

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, assistant plant managers are more likely to have skills like "safety program," "osha," "plant operations," and "continuous improvement." But a production administrator is more likely to have skills like "data entry," "purchase orders," "windows," and "sql."

Most production administrators achieve a similar degree level compared to assistant plant managers. For example, they're 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Assistant plant manager vs. Manufacturing director

A manufacturing director is primarily in charge of spearheading and overseeing a company's manufacturing procedures. Their responsibilities revolve around setting goals and objectives, coordinating and managing different departments, planning budgets, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of existing processes, implementing solutions, and developing strategies to optimize manufacturing operations. Furthermore, as a manufacturing director, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.

Manufacturing directors typically earn higher pay than assistant plant managers. On average, manufacturing directors earn a $61,522 higher salary per year.While their salaries may vary, assistant plant managers and manufacturing directors both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "safety program," "osha," and "plant operations. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "production schedules," "safety procedures," "production facility," and "customer satisfaction" are skills that commonly show up on assistant plant manager resumes. On the other hand, manufacturing directors use skills like supply chain, on-time delivery, project management, and product quality on their resumes.In general, manufacturing directors hold higher degree levels compared to assistant plant managers. Manufacturing directors are 10.3% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of assistant plant manager

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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