What are the responsibilities and job description for the PRODUCTION MANAGER position at Bluegrass Ingredients Inc?
DEPARTMENT: Operations
POSITION: Production Manager, Glasgow Operations
REPORT TO: Plant Manager
CLASSIFICATION: Exempt
WORKING HOURS: Full Time
Description:
The Production Manager is responsible for daily leadership of all manufacturing operations, ensuring that production activities meet safety, quality, cost, and delivery expectations. This role oversees staffing, scheduling, workflow, training, and performance management while maintaining compliance with regulatory, customer, and internal standards (e.g., OSHA, FDA/FSMA, SQF internal GMPs). The Production Manager drives operational excellence, continuous improvement, and cross-functional communication between Production, Quality, Maintenance, Supply Chain, and Engineering.
Duties and Responsibilities: Including, but not limited to, the following:
Operations Leadership & Performance
- Manage day-to-day production operations to meet established KPIs (yield, throughput, downtime, waste).
- Develop, implement, and monitor daily/weekly/monthly production plans.
- Ensure efficient use of labor, equipment, and materials to achieve output targets.
- Track production data, generate reports, and recommend improvements.
Safety, Quality & Compliance
- Enforce adherence to all safety standards, OSHA regulations, and company safety programs.
- Ensure compliance with quality systems, GMPs, FSMA, HACCP, SQF requirements.
- Partner with QA to manage nonconformances, CAPAs, and change controls.
- Conduct regular floor audits (safety, sanitation, documentation, process controls).
- Promote and maintain a zero-incident culture.
People Management
- Supervise and develop production supervisors, leads, and hourly team members.
- Conduct coaching, performance reviews, and corrective actions as needed.
- Coordinate staffing levels, shift scheduling, and cross-training programs.
- Promote strong team communication and positive culture.
Continuous Improvement & Cost Control
- Utilize root-cause analysis tools to improve productivity and reduce waste.
- Identify cost-saving opportunities in labor, materials, utilities, and downtime.
- Drive standardization of work instructions, SOPs, and visual management tools.
- Equipment & Maintenance Coordination
- Partner with Maintenance to manage equipment performance, reliability, and planned downtime.
- Ensure preventive maintenance is completed and documented.
- Escalate critical equipment issues and support troubleshooting efforts.
Communication & Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Lead daily production meetings and coordinate with Supply Chain, QA, Maintenance, and HR.
- Communicate production priorities, changes, and issues across shifts.
- Support audits (customer, regulatory, 3rd-party certification).
Required Competencies & Skills:
- Bachelor’s degree in Operations, Engineering, Manufacturing Management, Food Science, or related field; or equivalent experience.
- 5 years of leadership experience in food manufacturing.
- Strong knowledge of GMPs, HACCP, FSMA, SQF and regulatory compliance.
- Demonstrated leadership and team-building skills.
- Experience with Lean/CI methodologies and/or root-cause problem solving.
- Proficiency with production reporting systems, ERP/MES, Microsoft Office. ‘
Physical Demands and Work Environment
This position requires the ability to work in a manufacturing environment, including walking production areas, climbing stairs or ladders, and responding to operational needs as required.
Other Job Requirements: The requirements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by an employee but are not a complete list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required. Other duties may be assigned.