Production controller vs project planner

The differences between production controllers and project planners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a production controller and a project planner. Additionally, a project planner has an average salary of $86,926, which is higher than the $53,125 average annual salary of a production controller.

The top three skills for a production controller include production control, production planning and logistics. The most important skills for a project planner are project management, project planning, and microsoft project.

Production controller vs project planner overview

	Production Controller	Project Planner
Yearly salary	$53,125	$86,926
Hourly rate	$25.54	$41.79
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	71,747	56,558
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	2	2

What does a production controller do?

A production controller is in charge of overseeing manufacturing operations, ensuring the workflow adheres to the quality standards, budgets, and deadlines. It is their duty to develop production and inventory control techniques, coordinate with managers to establish objectives and guidelines, review production plans and job orders, and supervise the supply chain operations. They also monitor every procedure, implement solutions in problem areas, and produce progress reports as needed. Furthermore, as a production controller, it is essential to maintain an active communication line with the production team while implementing the company's protocols and policies.

What does a project planner do?

A project planner is responsible for determining project management procedures according to business requirements and client specifications. Project planners schedule deliverables of outputs for every milestone to ensure that the team follows the track of guidelines, adhering to the company policies and project plans. They write status reports, conduct cost expenses analysis, and strategize techniques in maximizing the team's productivity and efficiency. A project planner also identifies opportunities to improve project workloads and adjust procedures as necessary to meet the highest goals and objectives.

Production controller vs project planner salary

Production controllers and project planners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Production Controller	Project Planner
Average salary	$53,125	$86,926
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $74,000	Between $63,000 And $118,000
Highest paying City	Fremont, CA	Davis, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Intuitive Surgical	Novo Nordisk
Best paying industry	Technology	Hospitality

Differences between production controller and project planner education

There are a few differences between a production controller and a project planner in terms of educational background:

	Production Controller	Project Planner
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Production controller vs project planner demographics

Here are the differences between production controllers' and project planners' demographics:

	Production Controller	Project Planner
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 64.0% Female, 36.0%	Male, 65.1% Female, 34.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 7.0% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 7.0% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between production controller and project planner duties and responsibilities

Production controller example responsibilities.

Manage multiple windows to access accurate inventory, P.O numbers and job numbers.
Schedule production and manage inventory of raw materials and finish products using the MRP inventory control system.
Manage production order releases base on space, capacity, man power and indenture BOM build schemes.
Provide management with visibility of material shortages, backlogs, manage WIP variances and other potential schedule conflicts.
Manage warehouse and shipping departments, responsible for outsourcing secondary machining of materials, purchasing MRO supplies and logistics.
Flight line expediter ensures maintenance accomplishment and sortie production by managing, controlling and directing allocate resources and personnel.

Project planner example responsibilities.

Utilize SharePoint and manage content to display and capture progress report information.
Manage logistics of all facets of the transition from housing, moving, inter-service agreements and education.
Manage event day logistics, including staging, set-up and strike; adherence to event schedule, and guest hospitality.
Follow EPC projects from the engineering office to the construction site to manage the execution and performance of the construction effort.
Manage retrofit projects for progressive stamping equipment.
Experience with CMMS (maximo), including writing job plans and pm's.

Production controller vs project planner skills

Common production controller skills

Production Control, 28%
Production Planning, 14%
Logistics, 6%
Control Procedures, 5%
Production Schedules, 3%
MRP, 3%

Common project planner skills

Project Management, 20%
Project Planning, 8%
Microsoft Project, 4%
Project Scope, 4%
Primavera P6, 4%
Project Controls, 3%

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Production Controller
Production Controller vs Project Planner

Updated January 8, 2025

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