Production Supervisor
POSITION SUMMARY
The Assembly Supervisor holds full operational and personnel accountability for the cabinet assembly department. This position is responsible for planning, directing, and continuously improving all aspects of assembly production — from raw component flow through finished cabinet output — while maintaining the highest standards of quality, safety, and efficiency. The Assembly Supervisor leads a multi-tiered team that includes an Assistant Supervisor, Team Leads, and production floor employees, and serves as the primary liaison between the assembly department and plant-level management. This is a strategic and hands-on leadership role requiring deep technical knowledge of cabinet manufacturing, strong people management skills, and a proven ability to drive results in a fast-paced production environment.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Departmental Leadership & People Management
- Hold full supervisory authority and accountability for all assembly department personnel across all shifts, including Assistant Supervisors, Team Leads, and production floor employees
- Set clear performance expectations for all direct and indirect reports; conduct regular check-ins, formal performance reviews, and development conversations
- Lead recruitment, interviewing, and hiring decisions for assembly department roles in partnership with HR
- Administer progressive discipline, up to and including termination recommendations, in compliance with company policy and employment law
- Build a high-performing, cross-trained workforce by identifying talent, developing Team Leads, and implementing succession plans for key roles
- Maintain department morale and engagement by fostering an environment of open communication, fairness, recognition, and continuous development
- Manage workforce scheduling, shift coverage, and labor allocation to optimize productivity while controlling overtime costs
- Partner with HR on employee relations matters, leave management, accommodation requests, and policy compliance
2. Production Management & Operational Execution
- Own end-to-end production execution for the assembly department — from job release through final product delivery to the next stage of manufacturing
- Translate master production schedules into detailed daily and weekly assembly plans; communicate priorities clearly to the Assistant Supervisor and Team Leads
- Monitor production output against established targets in real time; take immediate corrective action when throughput, quality, or efficiency deviates from plan
- Oversee all assembly functions including cabinet building, drawer box construction, face frame fabrication, kitting, and scanning to ensure seamless, coordinated workflow
- Collaborate with scheduling, purchasing, and warehouse teams to ensure materials, hardware, and components are available and staged ahead of production needs
- Lead daily production meetings; present department status, flag issues, and align the team on priorities and adjustments
- Drive on-time delivery performance by proactively managing capacity, workload balancing, and cross-departmental coordination
- Identify and eliminate sources of production downtime, rework, and inefficiency through root cause analysis and sustained corrective action
3. Quality Ownership
- Own the quality outcome of the assembly department — ensure every cabinet, drawer box, face frame, and assembled component leaving the department meets established specifications and workmanship standards
- Develop, maintain, and enforce standard operating procedures (SOPs) and visual work instructions for all assembly processes
- Implement and oversee a robust in-process quality inspection program; ensure Team Leads and assemblers perform checks consistently and accurately
- Lead root cause analysis and corrective action planning for internal quality defects, customer complaints, and warranty returns related to assembly
- Collaborate with the Quality, Engineering, and Design teams to resolve systemic quality issues and update assembly standards as products and processes evolve
- Track and report on quality KPIs including defect rates, rework costs, and first-pass yield; present findings and improvement plans to plant management
- Ensure all non-conforming product is properly identified, segregated, documented, and dispositioned in a timely manner
4. Safety Leadership & Regulatory Compliance
- Serve as the primary safety leader for the assembly department — model safe behavior, enforce PPE and safety policy compliance, and hold all employees accountable to safety standards
- Conduct regular safety audits, equipment inspections, and hazard assessments; ensure all identified issues are corrected promptly and documented
- Lead thorough investigations of all workplace incidents, injuries, near-misses, and unsafe conditions; complete required reports and drive corrective actions to closure
- Ensure all assembly employees receive required safety training, certifications, and refreshers; maintain accurate training records
- Represent the assembly department on the plant safety committee; contribute to the development and implementation of facility-wide safety initiatives
- Ensure departmental compliance with all applicable OSHA regulations, company safety policies, and environmental health and safety requirements
- Maintain 5S and lean housekeeping standards as a non-negotiable baseline for the department; hold the leadership chain accountable for consistent execution.