| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Production |
| Level | Manager |
| Reports to | Production Manager |
| Direct reports | Shift In-Charge, Production Supervisor, Production Executive |
| Experience | 8 to 12 years in production, including 3+ years as a shift in-charge or senior supervisor |
Assistant Production Manager job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Assistant Production Manager
Department: Production
Reports to: Production Manager
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
An Assistant Production Manager supports the production manager in running one or more production departments. They take charge of shift planning, manpower allocation, daily output reviews and process discipline, and act for the production manager when they are away. The role is the step between shift leadership and department management. A good assistant production manager makes shifts consistent with each other, so output and quality do not depend on which supervisor happens to be on duty.
Key responsibilities
- Break the weekly production plan into shift-wise targets for each line or section, and brief shift in-charges before the week begins.
- Read shift handover reports every morning and follow up unfinished jobs, breakdowns and quality holds.
- Allocate operators across lines against the day's plan, using the skill matrix to cover absentees without stopping critical machines.
- Prepare the shift roster and weekly off plan for production staff and share it with the time office before the cut-off.
- Check process parameters, first piece approvals and in-process quality records during floor rounds on every shift.
- Approve overtime requests from shift in-charges within the limits set by the production manager.
- Investigate rejections, customer complaints and minor accidents in the department, and see corrective actions through to closure.
- Train new supervisors and operators on SOPs, safety rules and the department's reporting formats.
- Keep daily production, downtime and manpower reports up to date in the ERP and explain variances to the production manager.
- Stand in for the production manager in meetings and decisions during leave or plant travel.
Requirements
- BE, BTech or Diploma in Mechanical, Production or Chemical Engineering
- Training in lean, 5S or TPM is an advantage
- 8 to 12 years in production, including 3+ years as a shift in-charge or senior supervisor
KRAs and KPIs for a Assistant Production Manager
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Shift targets | Shift-wise output meeting at least 95 percent of the daily target on every shift |
| Consistency between shifts | Output gap between the strongest and weakest shift below 5 percent each month |
| Overtime control | Department overtime hours within the monthly limit set by the production manager |
| Process discipline | Every first piece approval and process check recorded, with zero missed checks in audits |
| Department quality | Internal rejections within the monthly target for the department |
| Operator training | Every new operator trained and signed off on SOPs within the first month |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: SAP PP or plant ERP, Excel shift reports, Skill matrix charts, Andon boards, Production log books.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Production Manager, Shift Manager, Works Manager
Interview questions for a Assistant Production Manager
- Your night shift consistently produces less than the day shift. How would you find out why?
- Three operators from a critical line are absent at shift start. How do you run the shift?
- How do you decide when to approve overtime and when to refuse it?
- What should a good shift handover report contain?
- Tell me about a struggling supervisor you coached. What changed afterwards?
- How do you check that SOPs are followed when you are not on the floor?
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What does an assistant production manager do?
An assistant production manager helps the production manager run a production department. They set shift targets from the weekly plan, allocate manpower, check process discipline, approve overtime within limits, investigate rejections and train supervisors. They also act for the production manager during leave, which makes the role a stepping stone to department management.
What is the difference between an assistant production manager and a production manager?
The production manager owns the department's output, cost and people decisions and reports to plant leadership. The assistant production manager executes that plan across shifts, manages supervisors and shift in-charges day to day, and handles detail such as rosters and overtime approvals. Budget and capacity decisions stay with the production manager.
How many years of experience are needed for an assistant production manager?
Most companies ask for 8 to 12 years in production, including at least three years leading a shift. Engineering graduates may reach the role sooner, while diploma holders often get there after longer supervisory experience. A record of improving output or quality on a line counts for more than years alone.