Industrial Production Managers
The occupation Industrial Production Managers covers people who plan, direct, or coordinate the work activities and resources necessary for manufacturing products in accordance with cost, quality, and quantity specifications. A regular part of the work is to set and monitor product standards, examining samples of raw products or directing testing during processing, to ensure finished products are of prescribed quality. Its interest code is ECR. Enterprising leads at 6.0 out of 7, so expect leading, persuading and making business decisions, with Conventional next at 5.2. Plan on a bachelor’s degree plus a period of work experience; O*NET labels this considerable preparation. Strength in speaking, monitoring, and judgment and decision making helps most here. If you want leading, persuading and making business decisions, keep it on your list. If you need creative work with room for original expression, it may feel thin.
What they do
Plan, direct, or coordinate the work activities and resources necessary for manufacturing products in accordance with cost, quality, and quantity specifications.
Main tasks
- Set and monitor product standards, examining samples of raw products or directing testing during processing, to ensure finished products are of prescribed quality.
- Direct or coordinate production, processing, distribution, or marketing activities of industrial organizations.
- Review processing schedules or production orders to make decisions concerning inventory requirements, staffing requirements, work procedures, or duty assignments, considering budgetary limitations and time constraints.
- Review operations and confer with technical or administrative staff to resolve production or processing problems.
- Hire, train, evaluate, or discharge staff or resolve personnel grievances.
- Develop or implement production tracking or quality control systems, analyzing production, quality control, maintenance, or other operational reports to detect production problems.
Skills
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Critical Thinking
- Coordination
- Time Management
Who this career fits
May suit you if
- You like taking the lead and making the call.
- You like clear rules and getting the details right.
- You are ready to spend around four years on a degree, then build experience.
- You are comfortable relying on speaking and monitoring.
May not suit you if
- You would rather not persuade, sell or manage other people.
- You need creative expression to be a big part of your day. Artistic rates 1.4 out of 7 here.
- You want to avoid a four-year degree or its equivalent.
Interest profile
O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code ECR takes the three highest, and Enterprising comes first here.
Preparation
Considerable preparation. Most jobs here ask for a bachelor’s degree, and employers usually expect a few years of related experience as well.
Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED). This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.
Also called
- Area Plant Manager
- Assembly Manager
- General Production Manager
- Manufacturing Coordinator
- Manufacturing Manager
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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.