Production supervisor vs assistant production manager

The differences between production supervisors and assistant production managers 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 supervisor and an assistant production manager. Additionally, a production supervisor has an average salary of $63,391, which is higher than the $60,730 average annual salary of an assistant production manager.

The top three skills for a production supervisor include lean manufacturing, safety procedures and production schedules. The most important skills for an assistant production manager are OSHA, production schedules, and safety procedures.

Production supervisor vs assistant production manager overview

	Production Supervisor	Assistant Production Manager
Yearly salary	$63,391	$60,730
Hourly rate	$30.48	$29.20
Growth rate	-	10%
Number of jobs	83,529	91,839
Job satisfaction	4.33	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	2	2

What does a production supervisor do?

Production supervisors are employees who oversee the production process, usually handling activities directly related to people management. They manage employees by ensuring that the production floor employees are doing their work well and are motivated. Production supervisors guide employees and ensure that everyone is working towards company goals. They properly communicate these goals as well as the strategies to meet the set goals. Production supervisors have a direct hand in the hiring and subsequent training of employees. They should have good communication skills, decision-making skills, and leadership skills.

What does an assistant production manager do?

An assistant production manager is responsible for planning and overseeing an organization's manufacturing operations, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. They work under the directives and supervision of a production manager and present them with regular progress reports. Moreover, an assistant production manager also performs support tasks such as preparing guidelines and timelines, assessing the workforce's performance, liaising with internal and external parties, maintaining records, coordinating staff, and resolving issues and concerns. They must also lead and encourage staff while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Production supervisor vs assistant production manager salary

Production supervisors and assistant production managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Production Supervisor	Assistant Production Manager
Average salary	$63,391	$60,730
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $91,000	Between $39,000 And $93,000
Highest paying City	Fremont, CA	Piscataway, NJ
Highest paying state	California	New Jersey
Best paying company	Intuitive Surgical	Pace University
Best paying industry	Automotive	Automotive

Differences between production supervisor and assistant production manager education

There are a few differences between a production supervisor and an assistant production manager in terms of educational background:

	Production Supervisor	Assistant Production Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Production supervisor vs assistant production manager demographics

Here are the differences between production supervisors' and assistant production managers' demographics:

	Production Supervisor	Assistant Production Manager
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6%	Male, 65.6% Female, 34.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 5.0% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 5.1% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between production supervisor and assistant production manager duties and responsibilities

Production supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage an run extruders an injection molds.
Utilize MRP system to monitor and manage raw material and finish goods inventory.
Manage employee's schedules, time off requests, vacation and payroll with the KRONOS time management software.
Manage departments responsible for beginning raw material production process using automate CNC control plasma cutting machines.
Lead targeted decision-making across fast-pace production operations for this growth-orient USDA food factory producing quality meat products.
Manage manufacturing department operations to ensure compliance with establish quality specifications, production levels, and FDA regulations.

Assistant production manager example responsibilities.

Manage welding and CNC machinery operations.
Lead targeted decision-making across fast-pace production operations for this growth-orient USDA food factory producing quality meat products.
Establish first compute environment standards for production Unix platforms.
Serve as client liaison communicating project status and SLA requirements.
Maintain all necessary records pertaining to HACCP and USDA regulations regarding cook/chill program.
Train students and staff on HACCP regulations, safe food handling practices and recipe adherence.

Production supervisor vs assistant production manager skills

Common production supervisor skills

Lean Manufacturing, 9%
Safety Procedures, 6%
Production Schedules, 6%
Quality Standards, 5%
Customer Service, 4%
ISO, 4%

Common assistant production manager skills

OSHA, 8%
Production Schedules, 7%
Safety Procedures, 7%
ISO, 6%
Production Process, 5%
Payroll, 5%

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Production Supervisor vs Assistant Production Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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