What does a general production manager do?
A general production manager is responsible for overseeing the overall production operations for the business, managing staff performance, and ensuring that the team performs with the highest productivity and efficiency. General production managers perform quality control procedures to monitor the stability and effectiveness of current processes and minimize downtimes. They also handle the budget and resource allocation across the department to support activities and enhance performance. A general production manager strategizes workforce policies, adhering to the company's guidelines and protocols, and resolves production discrepancies as soon as they arise.
General production manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real general production manager resumes:
- Demonstrate ability to manage multiple departments and improvement projects, prepare short and long term goals focusing on company KPI's.
- Manage production control group and supply replenishment logistics for the manufacturing division.
- Facilitate monthly safety meetings and ensure compliance with HACCP, SSOP and GMP.
- Return work environment within OSHA standards.
- Provide support for ISO 2001 plant accreditation.
- Pack finished products manually or by using hoists.
- Implement structure for repeatability in CNC mill setups.
- Work with USDA to stay compliant with government regulations.
- Line supply, floors and responsible for following USDA standards.
- Repair parts from the CNC machines and do walk in repairs.
- Coordinate with all staff and review all documentation to gain ISO certification.
- Plant and employee safety, OSHA, local and state fire and safety compliance.
- Play an instrumental role in the successful start-up of the plant's debone processing operations.
- Perform various administrative tasks such as maintaining business and client files, answering phones, and processing payroll.
- Contribute to the significant improvement of overall further processing yields, which are reflected in the FY'2012 Tyson 3C metrics.
General production manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 32% of General Production Managers are proficient in General Production, Food Safety, and Hand Tools.
We break down the percentage of General Production Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- General Production, 32%
Promoted to General Production Manager with the responsibility over all production at Columbia Facility reporting to the Plant Manager/President.
- Food Safety, 28%
Completed AIB certification and adhered to Good Manufacturing Practices and food safety.
- Hand Tools, 12%
Operated machinery and hand tools quickly and demonstrated quality control with products.
- HR, 4%
Serve as HR Manager through layoff of 22 employees, prepare departing staff resumes, job search, and unemployment efforts.
- Quality Standards, 3%
Optimized, implemented and successfully managed production efficiency and quality standards to meet and exceed company goals.
- Production Floor, 2%
Introduced systems and SOP for full production floor which helped in better control over Productivity and Quality.
Common skills that a general production manager uses to do their job include "general production," "food safety," and "hand tools." You can find details on the most important general production manager responsibilities below.
The three companies that hire the most general production managers are:
Compare different general production managers
General production manager vs. Supervisor
Supervisors are responsible for overseeing the daily functions of employees in a specific team, department, or even a work shift. They create work schedules, organize work processes and workflows, train new hires, provide necessary reports related to the team function and the employees, monitor and evaluate employee performance, and ensure that goals of the specific team or department are met. When needed, supervisors also provide guidance to employees in terms of their career or even personal challenges. They also help in fostering harmonious work relationships by resolving interpersonal conflicts at work. To be successful in their role, they must have leadership skills, time management skills, decision-making capabilities, analytical skills, and problem-solving skills.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, general production manager responsibilities require skills like "general production," "food safety," "hand tools," and "harvest." Meanwhile a typical supervisor has skills in areas such as "customer service," "safety procedures," "sales floor," and "pos." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Supervisors earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $60,088. On the other hand, general production managers are paid more in the finance industry with an average salary of $39,271.supervisors tend to reach similar levels of education than general production managers. In fact, supervisors are 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.General production manager vs. Leader
Leaders pave the way for a company to achieve certain goals. They are in charge of bringing the organization to greater heights. They set the direction of the organization, much like how a captain sets the sails of the ship. They are responsible for coming up with main strategies and alternatives should there be challenges along the way. Leaders ensure that the company is guided by its vision and mission and that the employees emulate company values. They do so through leading by example. Leaders should have strategic skills, decision-making skills, and interpersonal skills.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that general production manager responsibilities requires skills like "general production," "food safety," "hand tools," and "harvest." But a leader might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "customer service," "strong time management," "excellent interpersonal," and "pet."
Leaders earn higher levels of education than general production managers in general. They're 5.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.General production manager vs. Lead person
A lead person or lead worker is an employee who provides leadership and instructions to others in a group to complete tasks quickly and effectively. Lead workers plan and organize meetings with supervisors and the management to discuss a particular project's progress and development. Lead persons would often participate in the training of new employees about their job duties. As the group leader, lead persons must also ensure that employees are following company policies and adhere to all standards and guidelines.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, general production managers are more likely to have skills like "general production," "food safety," "hand tools," and "harvest." But a lead person is more likely to have skills like "safety rules," "safety regulations," "safety procedures," and "pallet jack."
Lead people earn the highest salary when working in the construction industry, where they receive an average salary of $92,105. Comparatively, general production managers have the highest earning potential in the finance industry, with an average salary of $39,271.When it comes to education, lead people tend to earn similar degree levels compared to general production managers. In fact, they're 2.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.General production manager vs. Manager
Managers are responsible for a specific department, function, or employee group. They oversee their assigned departments and all the employees under the department. Managers are responsible that the department they are handling is functioning well. They set the department goals and the steps they must take to achieve the goals. They are also in charge of assessing the performance of their departments and their employees. Additionally, managers are responsible for interviewing prospective candidates for department vacancies and assessing their fit to the needs of the department. Managers also set the general working environment in the department, and they are expected to ensure that their employees remain motivated.
Types of general production manager
Updated January 8, 2025
