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What does a finishing manager do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
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Finishing manager responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real finishing manager resumes:

  • Attain facility commissioning after a successful FDA audit.
  • Pace manufactures aluminum die-cast parts for barbecue grills, cars and many other products.
  • Update part counts in the AS400 system as parts move through their specific process.
  • Work in a manufacturing environment, which produces aluminum coil sheet make to customer specs.
  • Used various power tools; drill press, routers, table see planers, round sanders and jitter bugs.
  • Create and implement lot number production on finish good cartons immediately without impacting customer delivery to be GMP compliant.
  • Monitor quality by performing various SPC inspections using numerous types of inspection equipment including a SmartScope vision system.

Finishing manager skills and personality traits

We calculated that 13% of Finishing Managers are proficient in Lean Manufacturing, Production Schedules, and Direct Reports. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Leadership skills, and Problem-solving skills.

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

  • Lean Manufacturing, 13%

    Championed continuous improvement team programs specifically focusing on reduction make-ready times and 5S Lean manufacturing principles.

  • Production Schedules, 9%

    Coordinate with production scheduler and other departments to ensure customer needs and delivery expectations are met.

  • Direct Reports, 8%

    Managed the Bindery, Scheduling, Mailing, Utility, Shipping and Receiving departments with 21 direct reports and 525 employees.

  • Safety Procedures, 8%

    Directed and monitored department managers to accomplish goals of the manufacturing plan, consistent with established manufacturing and safety procedures.

  • Customer Complaints, 8%

    Handle all customer complaints and ensure that the store ran smoothly every night that I worked.

  • ISO, 6%

    Designed, developed, and implemented Divisional Quality Systems for ISO 9000 compliance for registration to the standard.

"lean manufacturing," "production schedules," and "direct reports" are among the most common skills that finishing managers use at work. You can find even more finishing manager responsibilities below, including:

Interpersonal skills. The most essential soft skill for a finishing manager to carry out their responsibilities is interpersonal skills. This skill is important for the role because "industrial production managers must have excellent communication skills to work well other managers and with staff." Additionally, a finishing manager resume shows how their duties depend on interpersonal skills: "exercised excellent interpersonal skills to collaborate with internal teams to identify and correct quality issues. "

Leadership skills. Another essential skill to perform finishing manager duties is leadership skills. Finishing managers responsibilities require that "to keep the production process running smoothly, industrial production managers must motivate and direct employees." Finishing managers also use leadership skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "maintained and improved quality standards due to hands-on leadership of personnel and facilities. "

Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for finishing managers to perform their duties. For an example of how finishing 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 a finishing manager: "improved, analyzed, and solved daily production problems to run more efficiently. ".

All finishing manager skills

The three companies that hire the most finishing managers are:

Compare different finishing managers

Finishing manager vs. Operations team leader

An operations team leader is an individual who manages teams, encouraging cooperation, productivity, and teamwork. Operations team leaders foster team unity and enhance the daily efficiency of the companies or any business establishment. They manage a diverse workforce in companies to make sure that the organizational operations are efficient. Also, they implement programs and processes and oversee building maintenance. It is also their responsibility to manage mechanical and human resources and establish a team budget.

The annual salary of operations team leaders is $14,957 lower than the average salary of finishing managers.Even though finishing managers and operations team leaders are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require direct reports, safety procedures, and customer complaints in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a finishing manager are more likely to require skills like "lean manufacturing," "production schedules," "customer expectations," and "product quality." On the other hand, a job as an operations team leader requires skills like "customer service," "excellent interpersonal," "sales floor," and "ladders." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

The education levels that operations team leaders earn slightly differ from finishing managers. In particular, operations team leaders are 2.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a finishing manager. Additionally, they're 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Finishing manager vs. Lead supervisor

Lead supervisors are responsible for several duties within an organization. They are accountable for overseeing their members and making sure that the work they produce is of good quality. They mainly serve as role models for their staff members, who often seek guidance, leadership, and support from them. When issues arise between employees, lead supervisors should intervene by providing conflict management to ease the situation. They also have to delegate work to employees to get the job done efficiently.

On average, lead supervisors earn a $27,569 lower salary than finishing managers a year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both finishing managers and lead supervisors have skills such as "production schedules," "direct reports," and "safety procedures. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real finishing manager resumes. While finishing manager responsibilities can utilize skills like "lean manufacturing," "customer expectations," "product quality," and "technical support," lead supervisors use skills like "pet," "payroll," "customer service," and "exceptional guest."

On average, lead supervisors earn a lower salary than finishing managers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, lead supervisors earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $47,284. Whereas finishing managers have higher pay in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $77,246.lead supervisors earn similar levels of education than finishing managers in general. They're 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Finishing manager vs. Shop supervisor

A shop supervisor is responsible for monitoring the overall operations of a store, delegating tasks to the shop personnel, and ensuring the highest quality service to the customers for their satisfaction. Shop supervisors handle the sales inventory and process bank transactions every closing. They also negotiate contracts with suppliers and third-party vendors, receive proof of shipments, maintain an organized record of deliveries, and implement marketing strategies to boost brand awareness and generate more revenues to increase profitability.

On average, shop supervisors earn lower salaries than finishing managers, with a $19,428 difference per year.finishing managers and shop supervisors both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "production schedules," "safety procedures," and "customer complaints," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, finishing managers are more likely to have skills like "lean manufacturing," "direct reports," "customer expectations," and "technical support." But a shop supervisor is more likely to have skills like "customer service," "preventative maintenance," "parts inventory," and "osha."

Shop supervisors earn the best pay in the energy industry, where they command an average salary of $63,390. Finishing managers earn the highest pay from the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $77,246.When it comes to education, shop supervisors tend to earn similar degree levels compared to finishing managers. In fact, they're 2.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Finishing manager vs. Lead operator

Lead operators are responsible for the direction and supervision of the day-to-day activities in facilities. As machine operators, they control machines and take charge of industrial operations. They handle and move objects, monitor processes, and inspect materials, structures, and equipment. Also, they may serve as mentors for the new production employees concerning occupational health and safety. They must be skilled in safety procedures, heavy equipment, preventive maintenance, and other things related to machine operations.

Lead operators average a higher salary than the annual salary of finishing managers. The difference is about $18,312 per year.While both finishing managers and lead operators complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like lean manufacturing, production schedules, and direct reports, the two careers vary in some skills.Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A finishing manager uses "customer expectations," "product quality," "technical support," and "production operations." Lead operators are more likely to have duties that require skills in "customer service," "hr," "project management," and "shipping receiving. "In general, lead operators earn the most working in the technology industry, with an average salary of $94,784. The highest-paying industry for a finishing manager is the hospitality industry.lead operators reach similar levels of education compared to finishing managers, in general. The difference is that they're 1.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of finishing 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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