What does a Production Leader do?
A production leader usually works at a manufacturing plant or a similar setting. They are primarily responsible for overseeing all processing operations and workforce performance, ensuring efficiency and timeliness. They are also responsible for coordinating with personnel, producing progress reports, processing paperwork, delegating tasks, setting the budget and goals, evaluating performances, and even training new members of the workforce. Furthermore, as a leader, it is essential to implement all policies and regulations set by the company to maintain a productive and safe work environment for everyone.
Production leader responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real production leader resumes:
- Manage PC production line personnel.
- Manage the operation of three alkalize systems from a PLC.
- Manage employee's schedules, time off requests, vacation and payroll with the KRONOS time management software.
- Maintain maximum yields in accordance with company policies and USDA food and safety guidelines.
- Maintain the facilities organization, appearance, and cleanliness.
- Operate and maintain general manufacturing equipment and perform production in accordance with QSR, ISO and establish written procedures.
- Help quality assurance when they are short staff or shift have a lot of work to be QA'd.
- Assemble and review MBR's for GMP compliance in order to facilitate timely approval of finish product for commercial distribution.
- Develop leadership capability and boost morale on a production line.
- Review manufacturing records for accuracy and completeness in accordance with GMP.
- Gain practical and leadership manufacturing operations experience along with technical manufacturing skills.
- Conduct CAPA investigation on cosmetic and functional defects on medical device products.
- Develop and implement plan for Kanban augmentation relating to phase-in of RoHS standards.
- Provide assistance and help troubleshoot any down machinery and utilize resources including maintenance to resolve.
- Communicate directly with USDA official in maintaining proper product handling and sanitation procedures and requirements.
Production leader skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Production Leaders are proficient in Customer Service, Continuous Improvement, and Safety Procedures.
We break down the percentage of Production Leaders that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 11%
Assisted Production supervisor in interfacing with sales, customer service and other departments to resolve technical issues and improve production operations.
- Continuous Improvement, 7%
Initiate continuous improvement activities in area and lead the implementation of team member ideas, suggestions and management directed activities.
- Safety Procedures, 6%
Enforce safety procedures including operation procedures and safety gear complete incident reports when needed.
- Quality Standards, 5%
Achieve quality goals and improve Quality standards, including immediately correcting any defective workmanship.
- Customer Orders, 5%
Scheduled customer orders based on oldest-order, available inventory, special customer requirements, and expedites.
- Production Process, 3%
Apply Lean concepts to improve production processes and manufacturing efficiency; participate in Manufacturing Excellence initiatives.
"customer service," "continuous improvement," and "safety procedures" are among the most common skills that production leaders use at work. You can find even more production leader responsibilities below, including:
The three companies that hire the most production leaders are:
- Reno, NV89 production leaders jobs
- Staples70 production leaders jobs
- The Walt Disney Company51 production leaders jobs
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Compare different production leaders
Production leader 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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, production leader responsibilities require skills like "customer service," "continuous improvement," "excellent time management," and "lean manufacturing." Meanwhile a typical lead person has skills in areas such as "cpr," "product quality," "mig," and "preventive maintenance." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Lead people earn the highest salaries when working in the construction industry, with an average yearly salary of $92,105. On the other hand, production leaders are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $48,398.The education levels that lead people earn slightly differ from production leaders. In particular, lead people are 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a production leader. Additionally, they're 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Production leader vs. Cell 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 production leader responsibilities requires skills like "customer service," "excellent time management," "production process," and "basic math." But a cell leader might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "ace," "customer satisfaction," "leadership," and "production cell."
In general, cell leaders achieve similar levels of education than production leaders. They're 2.7% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Production leader vs. Leader
Production control supervisors assist with production and workflow scheduling procedures. They recognize quantitative indicators for effective measurements and possess a penchant for the planning, directing, supervising, and evaluating employee work. Additional tasks of this position include completion of production plans, accomplishing work results, establishing priorities, monitoring of progress, revising schedules, resolving issues, and reporting results of that processing flow on shift production summaries.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a production leader is likely to be skilled in "safety procedures," "excellent time management," "quality standards," and "customer orders," while a typical leader is skilled in "strong time management," "excellent interpersonal," "pet," and "digital transformation."
Leaders typically earn higher educational levels compared to production leaders. Specifically, they're 6.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Production leader vs. Production control supervisor
Types of production leader
Updated January 8, 2025
