Production Planner Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Are you searching for a production planner job description? Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a production planner. Feel free to use our production planner job description template to produce your own production planner job description. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a production planner.
Who is a Production Planner?
A Production planner is also known as a Production scheduler. Production planners are responsible for formulating weekly, daily, or monthly production schedules to guarantee that production deadlines are met. They determine the material, labor, and equipment, prepare status, and performance results, and resolve any issue. To achieve this, they work with members of the production team which are the suppliers to designers to ensure that everything works out smoothly. Production planners may be saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that quality standards are met throughout the processes of production. This might include auditing vendors and suppliers to ensure they meet up with quality standards and identify potential issues and design plans. They organize, manage, and resolve issues and modify direct production schedules to ensure that products are delivered at the expected time.
Production Planner Job Description
What is a production planner job description? A production planner job description is simply a list of duties and responsibilities of a production planner in an organization. Below are the production planner job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a production planner job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The following are the duties and responsibilities of a production planner:
- Coordinate Product Workflow
Production planners are responsible for coordinating workflows for different products. They research in-depth into the production equipment, raw materials, and the efficient labor that will make the production successful. The production planner after analyzing the whole procedure will submit a report to the management team of the organization about the duration which the production staff can complete a product order.
- Prioritize production and operations
Production Planners are responsible for setting priority for products and for them to achieve this they, first of all, identify priority products and operations to optimize workflows for them to meet up with the acceptable standard. This might imply that they have to prioritize specific clients’ orders to meet up with the specific time requirements to build relationships with clients. The production planner decides which product will take priority and ensure that the product needs are met.
- Arrange raw materials
Production planners are responsible for providing the needs of a project and they achieve this by coordinating raw material needs with shipping staff and the warehouse. This might make them submit raw materials necessity each day and record which raw material will be utilized at that particular moment of production. The number of raw materials and the product that will be utilized each day by the team. This is very paramount to the production process because accurate raw materials requests ensure that production is progressive.
- Address Production issues and setbacks
Production planners also address any issue, quality control, or setbacks that concerns the production process. These issues can be identifying production setbacks, creating solutions, or identifying any other extra need for a project. For instance, if a project demands more labor than planned, the production planner may demand that more employees should be stationed at the production line.
- Research Output Information
Production planners are researchers because they research to examine output information during a production process to be more efficient. They gather data, by using software to collect and then analyze production output and also examine quality control data. Production planners employ the use of different metrics to determine production efficiency, cost of production, and the consistency of quality.
- Submit Status Reports
Production planners typically report to the production manager or other supervisory staff. They are responsible for submitting oral or written reports about production quality, consistency errors, and any other information they feel is relevant to the company. They might also be participants in production meetings for them to contribute their ideas to reduce production costs and increase the company’s revenue.
- Attend to Production paperwork
Production planners prepare and document the necessary paperwork for the company’s executives to review. These can be quality control reports, batch tracking information, production report, and material report. This information is very vital in identifying a company’s overall production costs and provides a guideline to cost reduction efforts.
- Collaborate with quality control, production managers, and Staff
Production managers often work with a team of experts and it can be: warehouse staff, production managers, quality control departments, and other staff. They join hands together as a team to create quality and high-efficient processes for the company. They achieve this by communicating needs, attending meetings, and submitting correct paperwork to each departmental unit.
Other job responsibilities they perform are:
- Study new technologies in the industry and recommend them to management
- Survey employee performance to guarantee that production goals are met
- Scrutinize problems during production and find solutions to them
- Remain updated with market trends in the industry
- Appoint equal work to all employees and complete production on time
- Instantly informing the relevant departments of any change in a current production schedule.
Qualifications
Education: The educational qualification is a bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, business management, or other related fields is preferred although there is no specific educational qualification for anyone who wants to become a production planner as some employers will prefer someone who has an associate degree in a specific field, such as business management or industrial engineering.
Training & Experience: Production planners need to have the requisite job training and experience for them to be successful in the role they play. The job training can be learning the company’s specific software and computer programs as well as the procedures and workflow of the company. Production planners may receive training based on the industry they have decided they want to work in, for instance, a production planner in the manufacturing industry may learn about different production processes of products.
Certifications & License: Production planners are not mandated to have any certification but certification can help them in their career. It can also help them to have extensive knowledge of their field and prove that they are competent for the job. They can be Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) accreditation or other relevant certification that can be beneficial.
Skills: A Production planner should possess the following skills: excellent organizational skills, time management skills, outstanding communication skills, project management, computer skills, and proficiency in all Microsoft office applications.
Essential Skills
- Communication Skills: A Production planner take orders from the production manager and inform another team of employees about the manager’s message. They need to possess excellent communication skills both verbal and written to be able to speak, listen and direct other employees. Communication has a very significant effect on delivery timelines because just a small focus on communication can ensure that a product is completed at the appropriate time. Production planners are mandated to draft reports about the overall process of production and that is why communication skills are very essential to a production planner.
- Monitoring Skills: production planners monitor the daily activities of the entire production process and it is, therefore, paramount for them to have excellent observational skills to monitor the working process performed by team members. They also employ a feedback mechanism by alerting the team of employees if they are doing well or not. They are also able to identify lapses or errors in a production process.
- Leadership Skills: Production planners are responsible for leading their colleague’s teams to ensure high productivity and delivery within the appropriate timeframe. They are saddled with the task of assigning duties to employees, giving instruction and feedback, and ensuring a high level of effectiveness in the entire production process. They need to be excellent leaders to direct their teams appropriately and also bring about high production output. Great leadership skills help production planners to have steady career growth and promotion.
- Time-management Skills: Production planners handle different tasks at the same time and they need to have multi-tasking skills to be able to accomplish that task at the appropriate time. They need to have a master plan of restocking raw materials whenever the raw materials get finished. They also supervise multiple production lines to ensure that all processes as scheduled. Possess time-management skills and knows how to prioritize tasks by arranging tasks according to the order of importance.
- Problem-solving Skills: while working in a company or establishment, a production planner may encounter problems like conflict between employees, machinery breakdown or delay in delivery, and other challenges. They need to be at ease with the situation and look for solutions to such circumstances. Being a production planner demands that you possess the appropriate problem-solving skills and that a challenge should never counterfeit you.
- Organizational Skills: Production planners utilize organizational skills to keep records of production projects, organize paperwork and other processes of production and arrange raw materials. They also track essential production information by utilizing company software and spreadsheet, organizing production lines, and filing paperwork in correct places to maximize efficiency. Organizational skills also help production planners manage their time and carry out diverse duties at the appropriate time.
- Logistics Skills: Production planners comprehend the logistics of manufacturing and they also account for manufacturing necessities. They perform the following role to achieve this: document material and production costs, transport raw materials, and every other information. They also have a perfect understanding of how the company’s supply chain works and how errors in the supply chain can have a drastic effect on production.
How to Become a Production Planner
- Earn the Basic Qualification
To become a production planner starting from high school, you need to combine the necessary subjects that will qualify you to pursue a relevant degree in college or university. You can choose and focus on subjects such as mathematics, commerce, economics, and finance which will give you an edge to become a production planner in the future. Write the entrance examinations and make sure you meet the minimum requirement.
You can now proceed to acquire a degree in Supply chain management, Business Management, or a related field to qualify you to be a production manager. Some employers will also prefer candidates with a master’s degree, so ensure you meet the minimum qualification so that you can acquire your master’s degree.
You can enroll for a master’s degree in business management or any other related field to build your skills for progressive career growth. Candidates with master’s degrees might be given preference and assigned to a managerial position. Enrolling in a master’s degree can build your skills with managerial skills and tools which will make you earn a promotion quickly.
- Gain Experience
Gaining the requisite experience makes you build your skills and increase your employment prospects. You can gain experience by enrolling in voluntary or paid internships during your undergraduate degree days. This will also give you real-life experience working in manufacturing and other production facilities. It can also open the doors for you to get an employer’s attention because most people get full-time employment by starting as interns in an organization.
- Acquire Certification
You can complete skill-based certification to build your skills and give you an edge over other job candidates in the field. There are so many certifications you can acquire as a production planner. For instance, Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM). Completing certifications will go a long way to communicating to potential employers that you are competent for the job.
- Update Your Resume
You can enhance your resume with the latest educational qualification, skills, and experience that you have acquired. Apply for the job opportunity that matches your skills and the industry you have decided to work in. draft a customized cover letter and do your best interview to land your dream job.
Where to Work as a Production Planner
Production Planners typically work in a warehouse or manufacturing plants. Production planners usually work full-time 40 hours per week. They may also travel from one warehouse to another to supervise the production process. Their work setting can also be an office; they can work around the production area or sit in the office.
Production Planner Salary Scale
The salary scale of a production planner varies across countries and below are examples of some countries:
- In the United States, The average production planner salary in the USA is $59,450 per year or $30.49 per hour. Entry-level positions start their career at $46,623 per year while most experienced workers make up to $78,072 per year. The average production planner salary in Delaware is $75,000 per year or $38.46 per hour. Entry-level positions start their career at $55,000 per year while most experienced workers make up to $86,000 per year. The average production planner salary in New York is $64,000 per year or $32.82 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $51,652 per year while most experienced workers make up to $85,000 per year.
- In the United Kingdom, A Production Planner in the UK earns an average salary of £30,200 gross per year, which is about £2,010 net per month. The starting salary of a Production Planner in the UK is around £23,600 gross per year. The highest salary of a Production Planner in the UK can reach and exceed £40,000 gross per year.
- In South Africa, The average production planner salary in South Africa is R 342 000 per year or R 175 per hour. Entry-level positions start at R 240 000 per year, while most experienced workers make up to R 3 900 000 per year.
- In Canada, The average production planner’s salary in Canada is $55,000 per year or $28.21 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $47,500 per year, while most experienced workers make up to $70,000 per year. The salary may differ in some locations in Canada. For instance, In British Columbia is $66,300 and in Ontario is $55,000