Manufacturing manager (degree)

Reference Number: ST0515

Details of standard

Occupation summary

This occupation is found in manufacturing sectors including food and drink, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, automotive and aeronautical.

The broad purpose of the occupation is oversee the manufacturing process to make sure that performance output meets customer expectations and is cost-effective. This will include planning manufacturing schedules, monitoring operations and quality assurance. Manufacturing Managers may work for organisations of all sizes, overseeing an entire manufacturing plant or a specific area of production; producing one or multiple products, products of high or low value, bespoke items or items produced at scale. Production may be within a fast-paced environment, for example production of sandwiches with a short shelf life. Products may be sold to consumers in the UK and/or exported abroad. The manufacturing industry is increasing becoming more automated, making it an innovative environment to work in.

Manufacturing managers will spend time in the production area and an office. Manufacturing managers may be required to work shifts over a 24-hour basis, weekend shifts and be on call to deal with emergencies.

In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with manufacturing personnel and managers from other departments, for example, commercial, marketing, research and design, technical, quality, human resources and engineering. They may also interact with customers.

An employee in this occupation will be responsible for management of manufacturing personnel, budgets, manufacturing equipment and the manufacturing facility – quantity and value of which will vary depending on the size and type of manufacturing. They are ultimately responsible for the manufacture of safe goods in a safe environment. They will typically report to a senior manager, for example the Operations Director or General Manager. 

Manufacturing managers will complete core duties and duties relating to one option specific to the manufacturing sector.

Typical job titles

Typical job titles include Factory Manager, Operations Manager, Production Manager, Manufacturing Manager, Business Unit Manager and Site General Manager.

Core occupation duties

Option duties

KSBs

Knowledge

K1: Product and Employment Legislation – including Equal Opportunities, Employment Rights Act, Modern Slavery, Competition Law, Bribery and Corruption

K2: Product Supply Chain – the relationship between the supplier and customer; how to accurately forecast and schedule product demand; the impact of fraud and how traceability systems can be used to identify criminal activity

K3: Quality Assurance – Total Quality Management, how product safety and product safety management systems are used to meet legal requirements and codes of practice to produce safe products of the required specification

K4: Principles of Processing Controls and Factory Design – construction of factories including segregation, drainage, construction of walls and floors and utilisation of equipment and its impact on process control; linear workflow

K5: Principles of Engineering – the impact of machinery design on safety, compliance and routing of services and work in progress; use of automation and its impact on resource and profitability

K6: Health & Safety –  Health & Safety at Work Act, health and safety risks and risk assessment practices, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH), Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)

K7: Environmental – environmental controls, Safe Disposal of Waste regulations, recycling, emissions (noise and smell)

K8: Markets – domestic and international dimensions which impact on the manufacture of goods, for example exchange rates, border controls, movement of goods

K9: Business and Financial Awareness – organisation ‘big picture’; how key functions interact; key business systems, performance data, financial statements, principles of costing and budgeting

K10: Managing People and Change – leadership and management tools, including delegation, motivation, union consultation and negotiation, communication, persuading and influencing, change management, time management and leadership skills

K11: Customer Relationship Management – tools and techniques, including product management techniques, customer requirements/value perception, customer segmentation, customer insights, complaint management in order to achieve customer excellence and ensure adherence to customer/industry standards

K12: Critical Thinking and Analysis – how to research, evaluate and present business information; utilising statistical/analytical skills to interpret primary/complex data which will include a diverse range from overall equipment efficiency and financial key performance indicators to customer complaints

K13: Problem solving techniques – for example mind mapping, root cause analysis, six thinking hats

K14: Continuous Improvement (CI) techniques – 6 Sigma, LEAN, Kaizen

K15: Crisis Management and Continuity Planning – how to lead and manage site incidents

K16: Management Information Systems – knowledge of management information systems to store and record data, present information and identify trends

K17: Food & Drink (F&D). Food Safety – allergen management and labelling; food safety standards: Food Safety Act, Animal Welfare Standards, European Food Regulations, Food Hygiene England Regulations; contamination and cross contamination of food by physical, chemical, micro-biological and allergenic materials and substances

K18: F&D. Environment – food waste reduction, recycling, safe water source and disposal

K19: F&D. Principles of Processing Controls and Factory Design – hygienic design of food manufacturing machinery and premises

K20: F&D. Food processing techniques – for example thermal processing, chilling, canning, irradiation

K21: F&D. Maintenance in food manufacturing environment – requirements including food grade oils, captive tools

K22: F&D. Safe cleaning in a food manufacturing environment – separate storage of cleaning materials, cleaning in place procedures

K23: F&D. Third party food safety audits – for example Food Standards Agency, retailer, British Retail Consortium (BRC); underpinning standards, when and how they are conducted

K24: F&D. Food planning considerations and implications – including seasonal needs, shelf life requirements, cancellations, promotions, consumer trends, healthy eating

K25: F&D. Organoleptic quality testing – five senses to check quality of product: smell, sight, taste, hearing, texture; customer specifications

K26: F&D. Food supply chain – supplier assurance and integrity of raw materials: origin of raw materials; food fraud and raw materials vulnerability

Skills

S1 Identifying, forecasting, planning and scheduling resource requirements

S2 Identifying data requirements; data analysis and interpretation

S3 Using information technology

S4 Reporting, for example manufacturing performance data

S5 Communicating using different techniques, for example verbal, written, visual

S6 Building and sustaining collaborative relationships to influence internal and external stakeholders

S7 Presenting information, for example in staff briefings, customer meetings, management meetings

S8 Managing people, for example recruiting, leading, coaching and motivating a team

S9 Partnership working with local and/or regional union representation

S10 Driving compliance with legal, customer and product standards on site

S11 Devising, implementing and maintaining health & safety and environmental standards to achieve a harm free culture

S12 Producing budget proposals; negotiating budgets with senior managers

S13 Planning site based projects, for example for new capital investment, construction on site, new product lines and new equipment

S14 Managing change

S15 Conducting Continuous Improvement techniques within manufacturing environment

S16 Problem solving/trouble shooting within manufacturing environment

S17 Crisis management; agreeing, leading and implementing a site based disaster recovery plan

S18 Responding to third party audits; managing relationships with audit personnel

S19 F&D. Analysing food safety data, for example cooking/chilling temperatures, metal detection checks, storage and segregation

S20 F&D. Responsive production planning to adjust to customer orders

S21 F&D. Organoleptic testing of food and drink products

S22 F&D. Promoting food safety culture

Behaviours

B1: Ownership of work: decisive; effectively balances short term requirements with long term objectives to achieve goals; puts the customer at the heart of the decision making process to achieve ‘win-win’ commercial deals; plans and prioritises effectively

B2: Integrity and respect: listens to others and seeks to build understanding; embraces the diversity of colleagues and makes complex issues easy for others to understand

B3: Influence and persuasion: inspires others to achieve business goals; adapts language and communication medium to effectively win others over; proactively communicates clearly, concisely and on a timely basis; effectively influences key decision makers

B4: Responsiveness to change: flexible to changing demands; resilient under pressure

B5: Innovation: demonstrates curiosity to foster new ways of thinking and working; seeks out opportunities to drive forward change and improvements for the business

Qualifications

English and Maths qualifications

Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this level prior to taking the End-Point Assessment.  For those with an education, health and care plan or a legacy statement, the apprenticeship’s English and maths minimum requirement is Entry Level 3. A British Sign Language (BSL) qualification is an alternative to the English qualification for those whose primary language is BSL. 

Other qualifications

Mandatory qualification 1: Manufacturing manager

Level of qualification: 6 (integrated degree)

^{Basis for mandatory qualification: Hard sift}

Type of qualification

Type 1 qualification that accredits occupational competence

Evidence for mandating the qualification: please upload 10 job adverts from employers representative of the sector including small employers (fewer than 50 employees) showing the qualification as an entry requirement and provide a summary below of evidence of support for inclusion of the qualification from your consultation on the occupational standard

Mandating qualification agreed on previous submission

Additional details

Occupational Level: 6
Duration (months): 42

Review

This standard will be reviewed after three years.

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