Production supervisor vs production superintendent

The differences between production supervisors and production superintendents 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 a production superintendent. Additionally, a production superintendent has an average salary of $88,703, which is higher than the $63,391 average annual salary of a production supervisor.

The top three skills for a production supervisor include lean manufacturing, safety procedures and production schedules. The most important skills for a production superintendent are continuous improvement, OSHA, and production supervisors.

Production supervisor vs production superintendent overview

	Production Supervisor	Production Superintendent
Yearly salary	$63,391	$88,703
Hourly rate	$30.48	$42.65
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	83,529	101,534
Job satisfaction	4.33	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
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 a production superintendent do?

A production superintendent oversees the production operations of manufacturing plants to ensure their efficiency and adherence to guidelines, budgets, and timelines. They have the authority to coordinate meetings with managers and teams to set objectives and schedules, supervise the use of funds, address issues and concerns, conduct assessments and evaluations, and develop strategies to meet production goals. Moreover, as a production superintendent, it is essential to lead staff while implementing the company's safety policies and regulations for a smooth and safe workflow.

Production supervisor vs production superintendent salary

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

	Production Supervisor	Production Superintendent
Average salary	$63,391	$88,703
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $91,000	Between $62,000 And $125,000
Highest paying City	Fremont, CA	East Windsor, NJ
Highest paying state	California	New Jersey
Best paying company	Intuitive Surgical	Bunge
Best paying industry	Automotive	Automotive

Differences between production supervisor and production superintendent education

There are a few differences between a production supervisor and a production superintendent in terms of educational background:

	Production Supervisor	Production Superintendent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Production supervisor vs production superintendent demographics

Here are the differences between production supervisors' and production superintendents' demographics:

	Production Supervisor	Production Superintendent
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6%	Male, 95.5% Female, 4.5%
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, 13.1% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 4.8% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between production supervisor and production superintendent 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.

Production superintendent example responsibilities.

Manage day-to-day operation and maintenance activities in a high volume, OSHA, PSM cover specialty chemical manufacturing facility.
Participate in kaizen events and lean projects.
Script SQL commands for data mining and ad-hoc reports.
Analyze vendor data and debug production databases (SQL).
Introduce Kaizen and SPC to facility and develop metrics for operating unit.
Train employees in hazard analysis of critical control points (HACCP).

Production supervisor vs production superintendent skills

Common production supervisor skills

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

Common production superintendent skills

Continuous Improvement, 10%
OSHA, 10%
Production Supervisors, 9%
Safety Standards, 9%
Product Quality, 7%
Equipment Maintenance, 5%

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Production Supervisor vs Production Superintendent

Updated January 8, 2025

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