Job Description of a Production Assistant Supervisor

A production assistant supervisor is normally responsible for planning and scheduling operations including labor, maintenance and priorities. Depending on the company, roles and responsibilities might also include quality, budget, purchasing, planning and inventory maintenance.

Types

A production assistant supervisor managers others, and the main thrust is typically managing the schedule. The boundaries for this role will vary depending upon the size of the company, the industry and the magnitude of work involved. In some cases, a production assistant may have more responsibility for chasing material and orders. In other cases, a production assistant supervisor may have more responsibility for managing hours worked and operations. A production assistant supervisor may also have to manage machines as well as materials and people.

Significance

Strong project, time management and people skills are normally required for a position of production assistant. A production assistant supervisor will need to handle exception management--or special cases that deviate from normal business procedures--and be able to act spontaneously to changing needs, and desires of the work force, the customers and the operation constraints.

Production assistants have to be sensitive to human factors and work with others to influence priorities. Managing labor costs and profits are another area where production assistant supervisors can impact the bottom line.

Warning

A production assistant supervisor is constantly under a barrage of demands. Employees will want training, support and an appropriate work atmosphere. Management will want more production with less labor with better quality and faster. The materials have to be ready, people have to be in place, and machines have to be working in order for everything to function as needed. A master schedule and a daily work plan will help prioritize workload, but there are times where the demand is conflicting and there are not enough products or people--or there are too much. The production assistant supervisor's role is critical to the success of a company and often requires more than a 40 hour workweek.

References

• HR Management: Production Assistant Job Description