Production managers coordinate the activities of production departments of manufacturing firms. They are part of middle management, just below corporate or top-level management, which sets long-range goals and policies.
Production managers carry out the plans of top management by planning and organizing the actual production of company products. They work closely with industrial designers, purchasing managers, labor relations specialists, industrial traffic managers, and production supervisors. Their responsibilities include materials control (the flow of materials and parts into the plant), production control (efficient production processes), and quality control (testing of finished products).
Places of Employment and Working Conditions
Production managers work throughout the country, with the largest concentrations in heavily industrialized areas.
Hours for production managers are often long and irregular. In addition to their regular duties, they spend a great deal of time on paperwork and meetings and are expected to be available at all times to handle problems and emergencies.
Qualifications, Education, and Training
Strong leadership qualities and communication skills are necessary as well as the ability to work well under pressure.
High school should include mathematics and science courses. A college degree is necessary for almost all jobs at this level. In some small companies, a production supervisor (foreman) or technical worker may occasionally rise through the ranks to production manager, but they usually acquire some college training along the way.
Some companies will hire liberal arts graduates as production managers, but most employers prefer a bachelor's degree or advanced degree in engineering or business administration. A very effective combination is a bachelor's degree in engineering and a master's degree in business administration.
Some companies have management training programs for new graduates. As a trainee, the employee spends several years, usually in several different departments, gathering experience.
Potential and Advancement
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the demand for industrial production managers will shrink by 4 percent between 2014 and 2024, indicating job loss and few opportunities for those in the field. Those who are in the best position to succeed will be college graduates who have accumulated experience in a variety of industrial production areas.
Since this is already a high management level, it takes outstanding performance to be promoted to the corporate level; only a very few get to be vice-president of manufacturing. Most production managers advance by moving to a larger company where the responsibilities are greater and more complex.
Income
Salaries vary greatly from industry to industry and also depend on size of plant. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for an industrial production manager was $93,940 in 2015.
