What does a shop foreman do?
A shop foreman is responsible for monitoring the daily operations of a shop, ensuring that the staff members perform their duties to address customers' needs. A shop foreman manages staffing schedules, trains new employees, and distributes tasks. They often work in manufacturing, automotive, and warehouse industries, which require knowledge of operating equipment. A shop foreman must have excellent leadership and communication skills, especially on addressing customers' inquiries and complaints and performing clerical tasks as needed.
Shop foreman responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real shop foreman resumes:
- Manage and perform all excavations.
- Uphold company, AAR, FRA policy to ensure compliance through operation testing/auditing.
- Certificate of completion in scaffold training, CPR and basic first aid and construction safety and health by OSHA.
- Provide weekly property maintenance such as mowing, weeding, property cleanup, debris removal, snow removal, etc.
- Use and supervision of heavy equipment including skid steers, backhoe, track hoe, excavators bucket truck and hydraulic cranes.
- Install BDA's, LMA s & TMA s. install GPS for Nextel shelters.
- Dump trucks and snow blowers.
- Perform the walkways and ladders of turbines.
- Ensure workshop keep up with customer satisfactory and cleanliness.
- Fill out JSA and job daily descriptions/progress each day.
- Complete daily reports, tool reports and JSA's.
- Order plumbing and mechanical supplies need to build the project per owners design.
- Educate employees on proper safe work practices and PPE use for spray bed liners.
- Conduct safety contacts and operations testing to ensure compliance with FRA and company policies.
- Skil in MIG, aluminum MIG, electric arc welding, oxygen and acetylene burning.
Shop foreman skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Shop Foremen are proficient in Customer Service, Preventative Maintenance, and CDL. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Dexterity, and Troubleshooting skills.
We break down the percentage of Shop Foremen that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 16%
Provided supply procurement, purchasing, shipping/receiving, storage, accountability, distribution, customer service, materiel and safety management.
- Preventative Maintenance, 8%
Trained over 200 intelligence operators on the proper user level preventative maintenance procedures for high end electronics and computer systems.
- CDL, 6%
Organized and ran dispatch of all outgoing deliveries to local job sites Obtained CDL class B with Hazardous endorsement.
- CNC, 4%
Run CNC Lathe and Mill Department, bidding, programming, Scheduling, and Sometimes Run and setup CNC equipment.
- Shop Equipment, 4%
Maintained shop equipment, and communicated directly with engineering and customers.
- Diesel Engines, 3%
Performed corrective maintenance on diesel engines and power generator units including accessories, power trains and chassis components of wheel vehicles
Common skills that a shop foreman uses to do their job include "customer service," "preventative maintenance," and "cdl." You can find details on the most important shop foreman responsibilities below.
Customer-service skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a shop foreman to have is customer-service skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "these workers interact with customers on a regular basis." Shop foremen often use customer-service skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "oversee truck repair shop; interact with customers; perform billing and oversee total operation during day shift. "
Dexterity. Many shop foreman duties rely on dexterity. "many repair and maintenance tasks, such as repairing small devices, connecting or attaching components, and using hand tools, require a steady hand and good hand–eye coordination.," so a shop foreman will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways shop foreman responsibilities rely on dexterity: "general fork lift and large 15hp-1000hp air compressors repair and service. "
Troubleshooting skills. This is an important skill for shop foremen to perform their duties. For an example of how shop foreman responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "workers find, diagnose, and repair problems." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a shop foreman: "supervised and trained technicians in proper troubleshooting and repair of caterpillar, cummins and mx engines using proper electronic diagnostic equipment. ".
The three companies that hire the most shop foremans are:
- United Rentals33 shop foremen jobs
- Rosenthal Automotive8 shop foremen jobs
- MV Transportation7 shop foremen jobs
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Shop foreman vs. 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 similarities exist, there are also some differences between shop foremen and leader. For instance, shop foreman responsibilities require skills such as "preventative maintenance," "cdl," "cnc," and "shop equipment." Whereas a leader is skilled in "strong time management," "excellent interpersonal," "pet," and "digital transformation." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Leaders tend to reach higher levels of education than shop foremen. In fact, leaders are 7.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Shop foreman 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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, shop foreman responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "customer service," "preventative maintenance," "cdl," and "shop equipment." Meanwhile, a lead person has duties that require skills in areas such as "iso," "production floor," "pallet jack," and "cpr." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, lead people earn a higher salary than shop foremen. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, lead people earn the most pay in the construction industry with an average salary of $92,105. Whereas shop foremen have higher pay in the energy industry, with an average salary of $76,003.lead people earn similar levels of education than shop foremen in general. They're 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Shop foreman vs. Line leader
Production line leaders or production team leaders typically work in the manufacturing industry. These leaders undertake both mental and physical work, including filing reports and paperwork, helping in order completion, and managing production assembly lines. They physically contain construction materials to ensure correct handling. Also, they oversee the varying activities within the organization or department. Among their tasks include inventory control, data entry, and product quality.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, shop foremen are more likely to have skills like "cdl," "shop equipment," "diesel engines," and "rental equipment." But a line leader is more likely to have skills like "continuous improvement," "quality checks," "assembly line," and "gmp."
Line leaders earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $39,263. Shop foremen earn the highest pay from the energy industry, with an average salary of $76,003.line leaders typically earn similar educational levels compared to shop foremen. Specifically, they're 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Shop foreman vs. Operations team leader
An operations team leader is an individual who manages teams, encouraging cooperation, productivity, and teamwork. Operations team leaders foster team unity and enhance the daily efficiency of the companies or any business establishment. They manage a diverse workforce in companies to make sure that the organizational operations are efficient. Also, they implement programs and processes and oversee building maintenance. It is also their responsibility to manage mechanical and human resources and establish a team budget.
Types of shop foreman
Updated January 8, 2025











