Assembly Supervisor 

This job focuses on achieving results that support the organization and its broader strategic goals. The person in this role must show initiative, have a competitive drive, and be able to stay focused on results, even in times of organizational change. The person in the role must make timely decisions, find practical solutions, and implement work with a sense of urgency. 

The job requires getting things done quickly and handling a variety of activities. Self-assurance is critical, as is the confidence to drive results, solve problems, and inspire commitment from others. A leader in this role must be firm and goal-oriented, yet also motivating, engaging, and enthusiastic. Someone in this role can expect a need to be outgoing, build authority and communicate with poise. 

Because the pace of the work is faster than average, it's critical to be able to learn quickly and thoroughly, as well as to adapt to changing conditions. Given this person's penchant for variety, they will be expected to delegate effectively to those with a proven track record for detailed and routine work. When following up, they should hold others accountable to timely, accurate results. 

This job requires the ability to act independently, work with urgency, and handle various challenges with confidence. This person is expected to commit to the success of the business and hold themselves and others to a high standard of achievement. Generally, motivating people and getting quick results is more important than how the work gets done. 

Primary Responsibilities and Duties 

Production Operations & Scheduling 

• Direct and coordinate daily production activities to meet established production schedules, quality requirements, and customer delivery expectations. 
• Review daily production requirements and ensure appropriate labor, materials, equipment, and resources are available to achieve production goals. 
• Assign personnel and establish daily work priorities based on production requirements, employee skills, and available resources. 
• Monitor production progress throughout the shift and make adjustments to staffing, workflow, and priorities as necessary to maintain schedule attainment. 
• Identify production constraints, bottlenecks, material shortages, and equipment issues and coordinate with appropriate departments to minimize production disruptions. 
• Maintain a strong working knowledge of assigned products, production processes, work instructions, and manufacturing requirements. 
• Ensure production reporting is completed accurately and timely, including production output, labor utilization, downtime, defects, and other required metrics. 
• Communicate production status, issues, risks, and corrective actions to management and appropriate support departments. 

Quality Management 

• Monitor and maintain established quality standards throughout the manufacturing and assembly process. 
• Ensure team members understand and follow applicable work instructions, quality requirements, specifications, and audit procedures. 
• Perform routine reviews of work-in-process and completed products to verify compliance with established quality standards. 
• Monitor first-pass yield, defects, rework, scrap, and other quality metrics and take timely action when performance falls below established targets. 
• Stop or contain production when significant quality concerns are identified and coordinate with Quality and other appropriate departments to determine corrective action. 
• Investigate quality issues and nonconformances to identify root causes and implement effective corrective and preventive actions. 
• Ensure defective or nonconforming materials and products are properly identified, contained, documented, and dispositioned according to company procedures. 
• Work closely with Quality, Manufacture Engineering, Product Development, and production team members to improve product quality and reduce recurring defects. 
• Verify corrective actions are effective and sustained after implementation. 
• Promote a culture of quality at the source by reinforcing employee responsibility for identifying, reporting, and preventing defects. 

Team Leadership & Employee Development 

• Achieve departmental objectives by clearly communicating job expectations, production goals, quality requirements, and performance standards. 
• Lead, coach, develop, and hold production team members accountable for safety, quality, productivity, attendance, and workplace expectations. 
• Provide regular feedback to employees regarding performance and identify opportunities for improvement and development. 
• Conduct performance evaluations and participate in coaching, counseling, corrective action, and disciplinary processes as appropriate. 
• Train and develop Assembly Line Leads and team members to improve technical skills, product knowledge, leadership capability, and overall team performance. 
• Ensure new employees receive appropriate orientation, job-specific training, and ongoing support. 
• Identify employee training needs and coordinate cross-training to improve workforce flexibility and departmental coverage. 
• Promote teamwork, accountability, communication, and cooperation within the department and between production and support departments. 
• Address employee concerns and workplace issues promptly and professionally. 
• Maintain reliable and regular attendance and set the standard for employees within the assigned area. 

Safety & Workplace Standards 

• Maintain a safe, clean, organized, and efficient work environment. 
• Ensure employees comply with established safety policies, procedures, PPE requirements, and applicable government regulations. 
• Conduct routine safety observations and address unsafe behaviors or conditions immediately. 
• Participate in safety investigations and ensure corrective actions are implemented when incidents or near misses occur. 
• Reinforce good housekeeping and workplace organization standards throughout the production area. 
• Ensure employees are properly trained before operating equipment, tools, or performing assigned processes. 

Continuous Improvement & Cost Control 

• Improve operational performance through employee development, process improvement, problem solving, and effective use of manufacturing data. 
• Identify and implement opportunities to improve productivity, quality, workflow, labor utilization, and manufacturing efficiency. 
• Participate in root-cause analysis and continuous improvement activities related to safety, quality, delivery, cost, and productivity. 
• Encourage team members to identify and participate in continuous improvement opportunities. 

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) 

The Production Supervisor may be measured against established departmental targets in the following areas: 

• Recordable incidents and near misses reported 
• Average defect rate for team 
• Cross Training for team 
• Scrap Cost  
• Production Labor Effectivity 
• Production Overtime 
• Production Supply Cost 
• Schedule Attainment