Production Manager
Description
Responsibilities:
- Own daily execution of fit up, tack, welding, blast, and paint operations.
- Ensure production output meets quality, schedule, and safety expectations across both shifts.
- Maintain strong floor presence, observing:
- Fit up accuracy
- Welding discipline and technique
- Rework drivers
- Blast and paint throughput and quality
- Ensure clean, consistent shift to shift handoffs with no loss of accountability.
- Enforce standard work, weld procedures, surface prep standards, and finishing requirements.
The Production Manager owns, tracks, and improves the following KPIs for pre fabrication:
- Required KPI Ownership – Cutting & Grooving
- First Pass Yield (FPY)
- Weld Rework Rate
- Throughput vs. Planned
- Cycle Time by Operation
- Downtime (equipment, labor, quality, material)
- Labor Efficiency / Utilization
- WIP between fabrication stages
- Establish baselines and recovery plans where gaps exist.
- Review KPIs daily on the floor and weekly with Operations leadership.
- Assign KPI ownership to Supervisors and hold weekly accountability reviews.
- Drive corrective action—not reporting—when targets are missed.
- Provide direct leadership to first and second shift Supervisors and hourly production employees.
- Set clear expectations for:
- Weld quality and workmanship
- Safety compliance
- Attendance and behavior
- Lead structured daily huddles with documented actions and follow up.
- Conduct regular one on ones with Supervisors focused on KPI ownership, decision-making, and leadership growth.
- Partner with HR and Operations leadership on hiring, onboarding, performance management, corrective action, employee development, and succession planning.
- Own safe execution of welding, grinding, blasting, and painting operations.
- Enforce PPE, hot work controls, ventilation, and environmental requirements.
- Ensure weld procedures, certifications, and inspection requirements are followed.
- Partner with QA and Engineering to:
- Reduce rework
- Improve fit up accuracy
- Standardize best welding practices
- Ensure defects are corrected at the source, not downstream.
- Identify fabrication constraints impacting throughput or quality.
- Lead improvement initiatives with:
- Defined scope
- Baseline and target metrics
- Measurable outcomes
- Reduce variability by shift, crew, or welder.
- Standardize improvements so results persist independent of supervision.
- Execute fabrication plans aligned with Operations, Planning, Engineering, Quality, and Maintenance.
- Identify risks early with data driven recommendations.
- Provide operational input to Operations Manager without owning plant level capital or long range planning decisions.
Qualifications (education, experience, skills, personal attributes):
Required
5–8+ years in fabrication or manufacturing operations.
3+ years of direct people leadership in multi shift environments.
Strong understanding of fit up, welding, surface prep, and finishing operations.
Demonstrated ability to own KPIs and drive measurable improvement.
Preferred
Welding or fabrication technical background.
Lean / continuous improvement experience.
Experience in high mix or quality critical fabrication environments.