Production Supervisor

The Production Supervisor is responsible for the safe, efficient, and consistent execution of production activities during an assigned shift or within an assigned production area. This position provides direct frontline leadership to Area Leads and hourly production employees and is accountable for achieving established daily production, safety, quality, labor efficiency, productivity, and delivery objectives.
The Production Supervisor translates the production plan established by Production Management into daily work assignments, ensures appropriate staffing and labor allocation, monitors production performance throughout the shift, and takes immediate action to address production delays, quality issues, safety concerns, equipment downtime, material shortages, and employee performance issues.
This role maintains a strong presence on the production floor and is responsible for establishing manufacturing discipline, employee accountability, standardized work practices, and effective shift communication. The Production Supervisor partners closely with Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, Warehouse, Supply Chain, EHS, and HR to support manufacturing startup, ramp-up, and full-capacity operations.

Production Execution & Shift Management

· Lead daily production activities for assigned manufacturing lines, areas, or shifts.

· Execute the production schedule established by Production Management and ensure daily production priorities are communicated to employees.

· Assign employees to production lines, workstations, and operational activities based on production requirements, employee qualifications, and staffing availability.

· Monitor production output throughout the shift and adjust labor assignments and workflow as necessary to achieve production targets.

· Identify and respond to production constraints, bottlenecks, material shortages, quality concerns, and equipment downtime.

· Escalate significant operational issues to the Production Manager when additional resources or management intervention are required.

· Conduct effective shift-start meetings and shift handoffs to communicate production status, safety concerns, quality issues, staffing needs, and operational priorities.

· Maintain an active and visible leadership presence on the production floor.

Safety & Regulatory Compliance

· Ensure employees comply with OSHA requirements, company safety policies, PPE requirements, and established safe work practices.

· Reinforce safety expectations during daily production activities and shift meetings.

· Immediately address unsafe conditions, unsafe behaviors, and potential workplace hazards.

· Stop production activities when an immediate safety risk exists and coordinate appropriate corrective action.

· Ensure employees are properly trained and authorized before operating equipment or performing assigned production activities.

· Participate in safety investigations, corrective actions, inspections, and continuous safety improvement activities.

· Partner with EHS to maintain a safe and compliant manufacturing environment.

Quality Management

· Ensure production employees follow approved work instructions, SOPs, quality standards, and manufacturing processes.

· Monitor first-pass yield, defects, scrap, rework, and other assigned quality indicators.

· Respond promptly to identified quality issues and contain affected production when necessary.

· Partner with Quality to investigate defects, identify root causes, and implement corrective and preventive actions.

· Reinforce employee accountability for quality at the point of production.

· Ensure nonconforming products and materials are properly identified, controlled, and escalated.

Productivity & KPI Management

· Monitor shift-level manufacturing KPIs including:

o   Safety performance

o   Production schedule attainment

o   Productivity and throughput

o   Labor efficiency and utilization

o   First-pass yield

o   Scrap and rework

o   Downtime

o   Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

o   On-time completion

· Review production results against established targets throughout the shift.

· Identify performance gaps and implement immediate corrective actions when targets are not being achieved.

· Communicate production performance, operational risks, and unresolved issues to the Production Manager.

· Ensure production data is accurate, complete, and reported within established timelines.

Employee Supervision & Performance Management

· Provide direct supervision, leadership, coaching, and daily direction to Area Leads and hourly production employees.

· Set clear expectations for safety, attendance, productivity, quality, conduct, teamwork, and workplace behavior.

· Monitor employee attendance, punctuality, productivity, quality, and adherence to company policies.

· Provide timely coaching and feedback to employees regarding performance.

· Recognize strong employee performance and reinforce positive workplace behaviors.

· Document employee performance and conduct concerns in accordance with company procedures.

· Partner with the Production Manager and HR regarding corrective action, attendance issues, employee relations concerns, and performance improvement.

· Participate in employee performance evaluations and development discussions.

· Promote a professional, respectful, accountable, and team-oriented work environment.

Staffing, Training & Workforce Development

· Monitor daily staffing requirements and communicate staffing gaps to Production Management.

· Allocate employees across production areas based on operational priorities and skill requirements.

· Support onboarding and orientation of newly hired production employees.

· Ensure employees complete required job-specific training before independently performing assigned work.

· Coordinate cross-training to improve workforce flexibility and production coverage.

· Identify employees with potential for development into Area Lead or other advanced manufacturing positions.

· Provide coaching and development to Area Leads to strengthen frontline leadership capability.

· Support overtime and staffing decisions based on production requirements.

Manufacturing Systems & Documentation

· Ensure accurate completion of production records, work orders, labor transactions, scrap records, downtime reporting, and other required manufacturing documentation.

· Ensure timely and accurate ERP/SAP production transactions.

· Monitor employee compliance with production reporting and system requirements.

· Maintain required shift documentation and production records.

· Ensure employees use current and approved SOPs and work instructions.

· Escalate documentation, system, or transaction discrepancies when identified.

Continuous Improvement

· Support implementation and sustainability of Lean Manufacturing, 5S, Kaizen, visual management, and continuous improvement activities.

· Identify opportunities to improve workflow, productivity, labor utilization, safety, quality, and manufacturing efficiency.

· Participate in root-cause analysis and problem-solving activities.

· Support implementation of corrective actions and verify that improvements are sustained.

· Encourage employees to identify and communicate opportunities for process improvement.

· Maintain production areas in accordance with established 5S and workplace organization standards.

Cross-Functional Coordination

· Partner with Quality to address defects, first-pass yield, scrap, rework, and corrective actions.

· Coordinate with Maintenance regarding equipment breakdowns, preventive maintenance, and production equipment concerns.

· Work with Engineering on process improvements, manufacturing line setup, work instructions, and new product introduction.

· Coordinate with Warehouse and Supply Chain to address material availability and production flow.

· Partner with EHS regarding safety requirements, incidents, hazards, and corrective actions.

· Partner with HR and Production Management regarding staffing, attendance, employee performance, training, and employee relations matters.

· Support manufacturing startup, ramp-up, capacity expansion, and operational readiness activities.

Supervisory Responsibility

The Production Supervisor provides direct supervision to assigned Area Leads and hourly production employees.

The position has responsibility for:

· Daily work assignments and employee deployment.

· Shift-level labor allocation.

· Employee coaching and performance feedback.

· Attendance and schedule monitoring.

· Training and qualification compliance.

· Initial documentation of employee performance and conduct concerns.

· Recommending corrective action, recognition, development, and other personnel actions to Production Management.

· Maintaining appropriate staffing and workflow throughout the assigned shift.

The Production Supervisor does not independently establish plant-wide production schedules, headcount plans, compensation decisions, departmental budgets, or final employment decisions unless specifically delegated by management.

Qualifications:

Required

· High school diploma or equivalent.

· Minimum of 3 years of manufacturing or production experience, preferably in a high-volume manufacturing environment.

· Minimum of 2 years of production leadership, team lead, or supervisory experience.

· Experience providing direct leadership to hourly manufacturing employees.

· Working knowledge of production processes, manufacturing safety, quality requirements, labor utilization, and production KPIs.

· Experience executing production schedules and managing daily production priorities.

· Ability to interpret production data and identify operational performance gaps.

· Experience working with SOPs, work instructions, production documentation, and standardized manufacturing processes.

· Working knowledge of ERP/MRP systems.

· Strong leadership, communication, coaching, organizational, and problem-solving skills.

· Demonstrated ability to hold employees accountable for performance, attendance, safety, quality, and workplace expectations.

· Ability to manage multiple priorities and make timely decisions in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

· Ability to work assigned shifts, overtime, weekends, and alternate schedules based on operational requirements.

Preferred

· Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing, Operations, Engineering, Business, or related discipline.

· Experience in wire harness, electrical components, automotive, solar, battery/energy, or industrial manufacturing.

· SAP experience.

· Experience supporting a manufacturing startup or production ramp-up.

· Experience in a multi-shift manufacturing operation.

· Lean Manufacturing, 5S, Kaizen, or Six Sigma experience.

· Experience with OEE, first-pass yield, labor efficiency, scrap, and manufacturing performance reporting.

· Previous experience developing Team Leads or Area Leads.