| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Production |
| Level | Mid level |
| Reports to | Shift In-Charge |
| Direct reports | Machine Operator, Assembly Line Operator, Helper |
| Experience | 4 to 8 years on the shop floor with a team |
Production Supervisor 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: Production Supervisor
Department: Production
Reports to: Shift In-Charge
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Production Supervisor directs the operators on a line or in a section, shift by shift. They allocate people to machines, keep the pace to target, correct method and quality problems on the spot, enforce safety and discipline, and record output and attendance for their team. The role reports to the Shift In-Charge or Production Manager. A good supervisor gets the planned quantity out of a full crew at the right quality, with tidy records and no avoidable accidents.
Key responsibilities
- Allocate operators and helpers to machines and stations at shift start based on skill and the day's plan.
- Walk the line through the shift, correct wrong methods, and keep every station working to the target pace.
- Check quality at each station, isolate defective pieces, and call the quality team when rejection rises.
- Enforce safety rules, machine guarding and personal protective equipment, and stop unsafe work immediately.
- Mark team attendance, manage short breaks and reliefs, and cover a station when an operator steps away.
- Raise material and tool requirements to the executive before stock on the line runs out.
- Train new operators at the machine, sign off their skill level, and pair them with experienced hands.
- Record hourly output on the shop floor board and note the reason whenever the team falls behind.
- Handle small disputes and indiscipline on the floor, and escalate repeat cases to the shift in-charge.
- Complete the shift handover, listing output achieved, rejection, machine problems and pending work.
Requirements
- ITI or diploma in an engineering trade
- Higher secondary with strong line experience is accepted
- First-aid or safety training is an advantage
- 4 to 8 years on the shop floor with a team
KRAs and KPIs for a Production Supervisor
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 |
|---|---|
| Output | Section output meets the shift target on at least 95 percent of shifts each month |
| Quality | Line rejection and rework kept within the agreed section limit every month |
| Manpower use | All allocated stations manned through the shift with idle manpower below 5 percent |
| Safety discipline | No lost-time incident and full protective-gear compliance in the section each month |
| Skill building | Every new operator signed off on the assigned machine within the agreed training days |
| Records | Hourly board and shift handover completed accurately on every shift |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Shop floor board, Vernier and go-no-go gauges, Attendance punch device, Production register, Two-way radio.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Shift In-Charge, Production Executive, Production Engineer
Interview questions for a Production Supervisor
- How do you decide which operator goes on which machine at the start of a shift?
- An operator keeps producing defective parts after two corrections. What do you do?
- Two operators clash on the floor during the shift. How do you handle it?
- How do you keep the line at pace when one machine breaks down for an hour?
- How do you train a new operator without losing output on the line?
- Describe a shift where you missed the target. What went wrong and what did you change?
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What does a production supervisor do?
A production supervisor runs the people side of a line. They allocate operators to machines, keep the pace to target, fix method and quality problems on the floor, enforce safety, mark attendance and complete the shift handover. Their job is to get the planned quantity out of a full crew at the right quality.
What is the difference between a supervisor and a shift in-charge?
A production supervisor looks after one line or section within a shift. A shift in-charge owns the whole shift across several lines, plans manning for all of them, coordinates maintenance and stores, and answers for the shift's total output. The shift in-charge is usually the supervisor's reporting manager.
What qualifications do you need to be a production supervisor?
Most production supervisors hold an ITI or a diploma in an engineering trade, and many rise from operator roles with years on the floor. Employers value proven line leadership, quality awareness, safety discipline and the ability to train new operators, more than a specific degree.