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Plant manager vs line manager

The differences between plant managers and line managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a plant manager and a line manager. Additionally, a plant manager has an average salary of $113,843, which is higher than the $56,406 average annual salary of a line manager.

The top three skills for a plant manager include continuous improvement, customer service and safety program. The most important skills for a line manager are client facing, continuous improvement, and service line.

Plant manager vs line manager overview

Plant ManagerLine Manager
Yearly salary$113,843$56,406
Hourly rate$54.73$27.12
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs275,962369,491
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age4444
Years of experience66

What does a plant manager do?

In general, plant managers are responsible for the entire operations in a manufacturing plant. Plant managers plan, direct, organize, and run the optimum operations of the plant daily. They create and execute organizational or departmental goals procedures, and policies. They aim to increase the manufacturing production and the capacity and flexibility of its assets while keeping its current quality standards and unnecessary costs. They are expected to have a better understanding of the manufacturing industry like equipment use and mechanical aptitude.

What does a line manager do?

As line managers, they oversee other employees and the business operations while reporting to a higher manager. They play a significant role in the operation of the business from supervising and managing workers daily and acting as a link to upper management and employees. It is part of their responsibility to recruit and hire talent to fill team positions, provide training and learning to new hires, and ensuring that the employees are doing their jobs effectively and efficiently.

Plant manager vs line manager salary

Plant managers and line managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Plant ManagerLine Manager
Average salary$113,843$56,406
Salary rangeBetween $85,000 And $152,000Between $27,000 And $116,000
Highest paying CityRichmond, CANew Brunswick, NJ
Highest paying stateNew JerseyNew Jersey
Best paying companyKoch IndustriesMicrosoft
Best paying industryFinance-

Differences between plant manager and line manager education

There are a few differences between a plant manager and a line manager in terms of educational background:

Plant ManagerLine Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Plant manager vs line manager demographics

Here are the differences between plant managers' and line managers' demographics:

Plant ManagerLine Manager
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 93.7% Female, 6.3%Male, 64.7% Female, 35.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between plant manager and line manager duties and responsibilities

Plant manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage 65 plant production and five plant supervisors in bilingual union manufacturing HVAC plant.
  • Manage compliance and training for the facility HACCP plan and are awarded PICQS plus status on annual audit.
  • Lead skilled trades in the repair and maintenance of robotics, PLC, hydraulic and electrical switchgear applications.
  • Lead OEE & SMED initiatives to improve machine utilization, up-time, throughput, change-over time, & yield.
  • Manage daily operations of USDA facility.
  • Coordinate monthly safety meetings, provide training and lead internal inspections that foster OSHA awareness.
  • Show more

Line manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead the team in successfully meeting FDA and GMP requirements.
  • Manage project developing integration and process flows for fab expansion doubling the area and moving to a larger wafer.
  • Manage team of database administrators, database technicians and systems administrators responsible for maintaining all production, development and QA systems.
  • Define and enforce GMP's to subordinates.
  • Train in FDA standards for food industry.
  • Establish and measure KPI's ensuring all departments maintain the highest levels of performance.
  • Show more

Plant manager vs line manager skills

Common plant manager skills
  • Continuous Improvement, 8%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Safety Program, 6%
  • Plant Operations, 6%
  • Lean Manufacturing, 6%
  • OSHA, 5%
Common line manager skills
  • Client Facing, 11%
  • Continuous Improvement, 7%
  • Service Line, 6%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 6%
  • Direct Reports, 5%
  • Process Improvement, 4%

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