Jobs / Management and business operations / 11-3051.00

Industrial Production Managers

Plan, direct, or coordinate the work activities and resources necessary for manufacturing products in accordance with cost, quality, and quantity specifications.

US jobs
246,250
Median wage
$126,060 a year
Job family
Management and business operations

Can agents do the work of industrial production managers?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Management and business operations:

  • Task levelPartialOnly adjacent evidence. On TheAgentCompany, which gives agents workplace tasks inside a simulated software company, the best agent resolves 42.9% of tasks (a November 2025 result). No task-level benchmark in our collection maps directly to management or business operations.
  • Project levelPartialMixed. OpenAI reports that GPT-5.5's GDPval deliverables won or tied against professionals' work in 84.9% of comparisons, and the best agent passes 73.5% of APEX-Agents tasks on the first try. Running a business is weaker: on Vending-Bench 2 the best model ends a simulated year with $15,515, about a quarter of Andon Labs' estimate for a good strategy.

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in management and business operations, not always this occupation's tasks.

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • Set and monitor product standards, examining samples of raw products or directing testing during processing, to ensure finished products are of prescribed quality.
  • Direct or coordinate production, processing, distribution, or marketing activities of industrial organizations.
  • Review processing schedules or production orders to make decisions concerning inventory requirements, staffing requirements, work procedures, or duty assignments, considering budgetary limitations and time constraints.
  • Review operations and confer with technical or administrative staff to resolve production or processing problems.
  • Hire, train, evaluate, or discharge staff or resolve personnel grievances.
  • Develop or implement production tracking or quality control systems, analyzing production, quality control, maintenance, or other operational reports to detect production problems.
  • Prepare and maintain production reports or personnel records.
  • Review plans and confer with research or support staff to develop new products or processes.
  • Develop budgets or approve expenditures for supplies, materials, or human resources, ensuring that materials, labor, or equipment are used efficiently to meet production targets.
  • Maintain current knowledge of the quality control field, relying on current literature pertaining to materials use, technological advances, or statistical studies.
  • Coordinate or recommend procedures for facility or equipment maintenance or modification, including the replacement of machines.
  • Initiate or coordinate inventory or cost control programs.
Other job titles for this occupation (47)

Area Plant Manager · Assembly Manager · General Production Manager · Manufacturing Coordinator · Manufacturing Manager · Plant Manager · Product Line Manager · Production Control Manager · Production Manager · Sub Plant Manager · Bulk Plant Manager · Car Construction Superintendent · Concrete Mixing Plant Superintendent · Correctional Facility Industries Superintendent · Factory Manager · Factory Superintendent · Food Processing Plant Manager · Food Production Manager · Gas Operations Manager · Gas Operations Superintendent · General Milling Superintendent · Industrial Production Manager · Manufacturing Department Manager · Manufacturing Director · Manufacturing Operations Manager · Manufacturing Planner · Manufacturing Plant Manager · Manufacturing Production Manager · Manufacturing Project Manager · Materials Coordinator · Materials Planner · Plant Chief · Plant General Manager (Plant GM) · Plant Superintendent · Production Control Supervisor · Production Foreman · Production Managing Supervisor · Production Shift Manager · Production Superintendent · Quality Assurance Manager (QA Manager) · Quality Assurance Supervisor (QA Supervisor) · Quality Control Manager (QC Manager) · Quality Manager · Quality Supervisor · Sawmill Manager · Value Stream Manager · Vinous Liquor Wine Maker