Factory manager vs production manager

The differences between factory managers and production managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a factory manager and a production manager. Additionally, a factory manager has an average salary of $94,025, which is higher than the $78,064 average annual salary of a production manager.

The top three skills for a factory manager include continuous improvement, lean manufacturing and ISO. The most important skills for a production manager are continuous improvement, customer service, and quality standards.

Factory manager vs production manager overview

	Factory Manager	Production Manager
Yearly salary	$94,025	$78,064
Hourly rate	$45.20	$37.53
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	9,900	95,561
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	48	46
Years of experience	2	2

Factory manager vs production manager salary

Factory managers and production managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Factory Manager	Production Manager
Average salary	$94,025	$78,064
Salary range	Between $67,000 And $131,000	Between $50,000 And $120,000
Highest paying City	Stamford, CT	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Amazon	Cheniere Energy
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Technology

Differences between factory manager and production manager education

There are a few differences between a factory manager and a production manager in terms of educational background:

	Factory Manager	Production Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	Stanford University

Factory manager vs production manager demographics

Here are the differences between factory managers' and production managers' demographics:

	Factory Manager	Production Manager
Average age	48	46
Gender ratio	Male, 87.5% Female, 12.5%	Male, 76.6% Female, 23.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 9.2% White, 69.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 5.1% White, 60.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	8%	6%

Differences between factory manager and production manager duties and responsibilities

Factory manager example responsibilities.

Lead the process change to use MRP for planning all in house manufacture production products.
Manage engineering and maintenance technicians in order to improve equipment reliability and improve OEE.
Design a visual kanban for the factory floor and develop an electronic system using MRP technology to replenish parts.
Develop and maintain set-up sheets / device history records for all customer jobs to ensure SMT tractability.
Reduce work-in-process inventory from 2 weeks to 2 days by improving processes and setting up a KANBAN system.
Direct all operations for manufacturing, warehousing supply chain and logistics.

Production manager example responsibilities.

Lead a KAIZEN that save 220k in damages.
Manage lean sigma techniques and Kaizen events to reduce raw material and scrap costs.
Hire and manage crew and locations along with renting necessary film equipment and organizing shoot logistics.
Team member in setting up TPM method of measuring production (OEE), helping to achieve record production results.
Manage data reports, analyze and provide data to improve operational performance to include OEE, process reliability and labor optimization.
Manage production control group and supply replenishment logistics for the manufacturing division.

Factory manager vs production manager skills

Common factory manager skills

Continuous Improvement, 14%
Lean Manufacturing, 9%
ISO, 6%
Sigma, 6%
On-Time Delivery, 5%
Employee Engagement, 5%

Common production manager skills

Continuous Improvement, 8%
Customer Service, 7%
Quality Standards, 6%
Safety Procedures, 6%
Lean Manufacturing, 6%
Production Supervisors, 6%

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Factory Manager
Factory Manager vs Production Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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