Production Manager

Production Manager#

Context#

1. Overseeing Project Execution#

  • Managing Workflow: A Production Manager is responsible for overseeing the entire production process, ensuring that all tasks are executed on time and according to the project plan. This includes aligning the work of different departments and keeping production on schedule.

  • Tracking Progress: By regularly monitoring progress, the Production Manager identifies potential delays or issues and takes corrective action to prevent project disruption.

2. Coordinating Between Teams#

  • Cross-Department Communication: Production often requires input from various teams, including design, engineering, and sales. The Production Manager ensures seamless communication between these teams to avoid miscommunication and delays.

  • Ensuring Alignment: The Production Manager acts as the central point of contact, making sure that all teams are aligned with the project goals and timeline, minimizing any missteps.

3. Managing Resources and Scheduling#

  • Efficient Resource Allocation: By managing resources effectively, the Production Manager ensures that materials, personnel, and tools are used efficiently, avoiding production bottlenecks.

  • Maintaining Timelines: The Production Manager creates and adjusts production schedules to meet deadlines, minimizing downtime and ensuring that the project stays on track.

4. Ensuring Quality Control#

  • Maintaining Standards: The Production Manager oversees the quality assurance process, ensuring that all parts, assemblies, and final products meet the required quality and compliance standards.

  • Resolving Quality Issues: By addressing any quality concerns quickly, the Production Manager ensures that errors are corrected before they impact project delivery.

5. Budget Management and Cost Control#

  • Managing Budgets: A key role of the Production Manager is to ensure that production costs stay within the allocated budget. This involves making cost-effective decisions and finding efficiencies in the production process.

  • Financial Reporting: The Production Manager provides regular updates on project spending, helping senior management stay informed about budget adherence.

6. Problem Solving and Risk Management#

  • Quick Decision Making: The Production Manager is responsible for identifying and solving production problems, such as resource shortages or scheduling conflicts, to keep the project on track.

  • Managing Risks: By anticipating potential production risks, the Production Manager develops contingency plans to address them before they affect project outcomes.

7. Reporting to Senior Management#

  • Providing Updates: The Production Manager regularly communicates with senior management, providing updates on production progress, budget status, and any issues that could impact project success.

  • Adjusting Strategy: Based on these reports, the Production Manager can adjust production strategies as needed to keep the project aligned with business goals.

Expectations#

The product design for this is found in the Product Design.

Production Manager Role and Responsibilities#

  1. Overseeing Project Execution and Expenses - Managing Workflow: The Production Manager is responsible for planning, scheduling, and coordinating production projects from start to finish. This includes breaking down the project into tasks, setting milestones, and ensuring all teams adhere to the timeline. - Expense Documentation: Ensure that all expenses related to each job are properly recorded in Mercury, with the job number clearly referenced. This allows for accurate cost tracking and budgeting for each project. - Tracking Progress: Regularly monitor task completion and milestone achievements to ensure that production stays on track. Anticipate potential delays and adjust the workflow to keep everything aligned with deadlines. - Meeting Deadlines: Ensure that all deadlines are met by managing resources effectively and keeping teams accountable for their deliverables.

  2. Maintaining Production Schedules - Production Visibility in Monday.com: Maintain the production schedule in Monday.com so that there is constant visibility into labor capacity. Anyone should be able to see when the next available slot is open for new jobs based on the availability of production specialists. - Capacity Management: Ensure that the workload is balanced, and no tasks are delayed due to resource shortages. Regularly assess labor availability and make scheduling adjustments as necessary.

  3. Customer Communication and Project Kickoff - Initial Communication: Communicate with customers at the start of each job. This involves sending a written confirmation and scheduling a project kickoff call to review the proposal and ensure it meets expectations. - Ongoing Updates: Provide customers with progress updates every Tuesday and Friday. These updates should describe the current status of assemblies, parts, drawings, and other key deliverables, alongside a current version of the deliverable report. - Issue Resolution: Be available in writing for any customer concerns throughout the project and after its completion. Shield production specialists from direct customer contact, allowing them to focus on their tasks without interruptions.

  4. Monitoring Deliverables and Quality Control - Deliverable Tracking: Ensure that all project deliverables are completed on time and according to the deliverable description. This includes monitoring assemblies, parts, drawings, and other key components. - Quality Assurance: Oversee the quality control process to ensure that all final deliverables meet the company’s standards and the customer’s expectations before project closure.

  5. Final Delivery and Invoicing - Completion of Deliverables: Ensure that all deliverables are finalized by the end of the project. This involves compiling all necessary files, reviewing them for accuracy, and confirming that they meet the agreed-upon deliverables. - Final Invoice: Handle the final delivery of the project to the customer along with the final invoice. Ensure that all documentation is accurate and ready for handoff.

  6. Customer Relations and Support - Post-Project Support: Maintain communication with the customer after the project is completed, addressing any additional concerns or follow-up questions. This ensures that the production specialist remains focused on their tasks while you handle client communication.

Close-out Meeting#

At the conclusion of a scope of work, a close-out meeting is held before leaving site with the production manager in attendance. It should follow this format. Please practice this internally in its entirety before attempting.

Any questions about payment terms or arrangements outside of this agenda should be deflected(i.e. when they will pay, just say you don’t handle that and would need to talk to Charlie. any other scoeps of work, etc., very focussed)

  1. Pre Meeting Notes

    1. Ensure consistent teminology for deliverable package(i.. here is the zipped deliverable package, i am going to unzip it to reveiw the deliverable package).

    2. Any notes or disclaimers pertaining to a scope of work are typically within the deliverable package. I am going to read through those really quick. If there are any questions, we can justcircle back to it at the end(TODO: prefix the readme with 0 to emphasize it)

    3. The product description within the original proposal, included here for reference, walks through the deliverables within the deliverable package for consistency.

  2. Setup

    1. Download deliverable directory for job(zipped)

    2. Download Teams and test

    3. Set up meeting and send invite - Title meeting as Job # Closeout: be specific

      1. share second monitor with screen divided between deliverable folder on the left and actual content on the right half

      • Start meeting with blank web page and with one dist directory with one zipped folder in it with timeDateStamp in name when it was made(Job_#jobName_dateTime

  3. Introduction(+0-+3 mins)

    1. Wait for attendees

    2. Greeting

  4. Overview/Recap(+3-+6 mins)

    1. The proposal is included in the deliverable package to ensure consistency between the proposal and the deliverable package, also for reference as to the navigation of the deliverable package.

    2. The summary is included to quickly summarize the specific content within the deliverable package

    3. The assigned recipient of the deliverable package has received all the drawings for manufacturing. A streamlined approval process ensures customer expectations are continually met throughout the duration of the project on at least a daily basis.(TODO: part of each proposal should designate a point of contact for approval)

  5. walk-through

    1. Review each item in deliverable package according to the proposal(numbered items), summary(numbered items), and deliverable directory structure.

      1. Items 1-7(?) in the proposal

      2. Sheets in the spreadsheet pertaining to each item(?)

    1. items in the actual directories

  6. Summary

    1. Review signed drawings(signed already before this meeting can happen)

    2. Review location where deliverable was placed(submitted already to customer shared file location before meeting)

    3. Review invoice

  7. Conclusion

    1. Question, comments, concerns

    2. Invoicee has been delivered and is assumed as received if nop response within 3 business days

    3. Thank you and let us know if there is anything else we can do for you.