A plant manager is in charge of the plant’s daily operations. He is frequently in charge of everything from production and manufacturing to ensuring that all departments’ policies and procedures are followed. Supervising and motivating employees are also important aspects of the job.
The plant manager is primarily responsible for the plant’s physical operations. He must keep the plant clean and free of any safety or health hazards. To avoid lapses in the manufacturing process and to ensure quality control standards are met, production equipment and machinery should be meticulously maintained. The plant manager may also be required to constantly monitor workers in order to detect and correct any procedural infractions.
In addition to overseeing daily plant operations, the manager may be in charge of developing and sticking to a budget as well as forecasting profit and loss. This requires math skills as well as the ability to create reports and spreadsheets using commercially available and in-house software programs. A plant manager’s ability to interpret reports and statistics from outside agencies is also a necessary skill.
The manager can run a productive and profitable facility with the help of a trustworthy and competent administrative staff. The performance of the supervisorial staff, from the human resources manager to the person in charge of ordering raw materials for production, is often critical to the plant’s overall success. The plant manager relies on these employees to keep good employee relations, maintain quality control standards, and meet production deadlines. The manager may also attend departmental meetings to address and resolve issues personally.
Keeping his plant’s image in the community positive can be beneficial to company morale. The plant manager may also be responsible for ensuring that the plant maintains a positive reputation for environmental stewardship and cooperation with other local businesses. Having neighborhood support can be critical if he needs to make changes to physical operations or labor needs that affect local residents.
A plant manager’s job may also include a significant amount of public relations. When the media contacts him about plant-related issues, he is frequently the designated spokesperson. The manager is expected to represent his plant, as well as its goals and employees, intelligently and positively. If a debate arises, he can be counted on to persuade others of his point of view on topics that are important to his company. Being able to look at company and community issues objectively aids a person in this position in succeeding.
Most plant manager positions require a bachelor’s degree in operations management or business administration. Once a job is secured, continuing education classes and seminars in project, plant, and human resource management are frequently required. For plant manager job candidates, experience in production, manufacturing, or assembly management is a plus.