Job Summary
The Assistant Plant Manager supports the Plant Manager in overseeing the daily operations of an industrial linen processing facility. This position helps ensure that production goals are achieved safely, efficiently, and according to established quality and customer-service standards.
The Assistant Plant Manager provides hands-on leadership to production supervisors and team members, coordinates workflow across departments, monitors labor and operating performance, and helps maintain a safe, organized, and productive workplace. This individual serves as the acting plant leader when the Plant Manager is unavailable.
The ideal candidate is a dependable and visible leader who can balance employee management, production demands, quality requirements, equipment needs, and delivery deadlines in a fast-paced industrial environment.
Essential Responsibilities and Duties
Plant Operations
- Assist the Plant Manager with the day-to-day operation of the linen processing facility.
- Coordinate production activities across receiving, sorting, washing, drying, finishing, folding, packing, and shipping departments.
- Ensure daily production schedules are completed accurately and on time.
- Monitor workflow throughout the plant and adjust staffing, equipment, or production priorities as needed.
- Help ensure adequate linen inventory is processed and available to meet customer and route requirements.
- Communicate production delays, equipment issues, staffing concerns, and service risks to the Plant Manager and other appropriate departments.
- Serve as the acting Plant Manager during absences, vacations, or other periods when the Plant Manager is unavailable.
Employee Leadership and Supervision
- Provide daily direction and support to production supervisors, leads, and plant employees.
- Help recruit, interview, onboard, train, coach, and develop plant personnel.
- Ensure employees understand their job responsibilities, production expectations, and safety requirements.
- Monitor attendance, punctuality, conduct, and job performance.
- Address employee concerns and workplace issues promptly and professionally.
- Assist with performance evaluations, corrective actions, recognition, and employee-development plans.
- Promote teamwork, accountability, respectful communication, and a positive workplace culture.
- Ensure company policies and procedures are applied consistently throughout the plant.
Production and Labor Management
- Monitor production volume, labor hours, overtime, efficiency, and output by department.
- Help establish and maintain appropriate staffing levels based on production requirements.
- Review production reports and identify opportunities to improve productivity, workflow, and labor utilization.
- Reduce unnecessary overtime, rework, downtime, and production bottlenecks.
- Assist supervisors in meeting established pounds-per-operator-hour, pieces-per-hour, or other productivity standards.
- Participate in daily production meetings and communicate performance expectations to the plant team.
- Help develop and implement corrective action plans when production goals are not met.
Quality Control
- Ensure processed linen meets company and customer standards for cleanliness, appearance, finishing, folding, packaging, and presentation.
- Conduct routine quality inspections throughout the production process.
- Investigate quality concerns, rejected products, shortages, damaged goods, and recurring customer complaints.
- Work with production employees and supervisors to identify the causes of quality problems and implement corrective actions.
- Ensure stained, damaged, or unusable linen is properly identified and handled.
- Monitor wash formulas, processing procedures, and finishing practices in coordination with chemical, equipment, and maintenance providers.
- Promote continuous improvement in product quality and consistency.
Safety and Regulatory Compliance
- Support and enforce all company safety policies, procedures, and training requirements.
- Conduct routine safety inspections and promptly address unsafe conditions or work practices.
- Ensure employees properly use required personal protective equipment.
- Participate in safety meetings, incident investigations, and corrective-action planning.
- Help maintain compliance with OSHA requirements and applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
- Ensure proper procedures are followed for chemical handling, machine guarding, lockout/tagout, ergonomics, bloodborne pathogens, heat exposure, and other plant hazards.
- Maintain accurate safety, training, inspection, and incident documentation.
- Promote a safety-first culture in which employees are encouraged to report hazards and concerns.
Equipment and Facility Coordination
- Monitor the condition and performance of production machinery and facility equipment.
- Communicate equipment problems to maintenance personnel and help prioritize repairs based on operational needs.
- Coordinate production schedules around preventive maintenance and equipment downtime.
- Ensure employees operate machinery properly and report unusual conditions promptly.
- Help maintain a clean, orderly, and sanitary production environment.
- Monitor housekeeping standards, aisle clearance, storage areas, waste removal, and workstation organization.
- Assist with equipment upgrades, plant improvements, installations, and other operational projects.
Inventory and Cost Control
- Help monitor linen usage, loss, damage, replacement, and inventory levels.
- Assist with controlling labor, utilities, chemicals, supplies, repairs, and other operating expenses.
- Review supply levels and coordinate replenishment of necessary production materials.
- Help identify waste-reduction and cost-saving opportunities without compromising safety, quality, or customer service.
- Support inventory counts, audits, and reconciliation activities.
- Monitor the proper handling and storage of clean linen, soiled linen, chemicals, supplies, and replacement goods.
Communication and Customer Support
- Work closely with service, route, warehouse, maintenance, human resources, and administrative teams.
- Communicate plant capabilities, shortages, delays, and operational concerns before they affect customers.
- Assist in investigating customer-service issues related to quality, shortages, packaging, or product availability.
- Participate in management meetings and provide clear updates regarding production, staffing, safety, equipment, and quality.
- Maintain accurate and timely reports, records, schedules, and operational documentation.
- Build effective working relationships with employees, vendors, contractors, and internal departments.
Continuous Improvement
- Identify opportunities to improve safety, productivity, quality, workflow, employee engagement, and operating costs.
- Help develop and standardize operating procedures and production best practices.
- Use production data and employee feedback to recommend practical process improvements.
- Assist with implementing new systems, equipment, procedures, and training programs.
- Monitor the results of operational changes and make adjustments when necessary.
- Support company growth initiatives and increased production requirements.
Supervisory Responsibilities
The Assistant Plant Manager provides direct or indirect supervision to production supervisors, team leads, machine operators, linen handlers, and other plant employees. Supervisory responsibilities may include:
- Assigning and directing daily work
- Scheduling employees and approving staffing adjustments
- Training and coaching employees
- Monitoring employee performance
- Addressing attendance and conduct issues
- Assisting with hiring and disciplinary decisions
- Enforcing company policies and safety requirements
- Resolving workplace concerns
- Developing supervisors and future leaders
Required Qualifications
- High school diploma or equivalent required.
- Three or more years of supervisory or management experience in industrial laundry, linen processing, manufacturing, production, distribution, or a similar high-volume operation.
- Demonstrated experience supervising hourly employees in a fast-paced environment.
- Working knowledge of production scheduling, labor management, safety, quality control, and performance measurement.
- Ability to read and interpret production reports and use operational data to make decisions.
- Strong leadership, communication, organization, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and respond effectively to changing production demands.
- Basic proficiency with email, spreadsheets, production systems, and standard office software.
- Ability to work flexible hours based on operational needs.
Preferred Qualifications
- Previous industrial laundry or linen-processing experience.
- Experience in hospitality, healthcare, food-and-beverage, uniform, or commercial linen operations.
- Familiarity with automated wash systems, finishing equipment, conveyors, folders, ironers, dryers, and material-handling systems.
- Knowledge of OSHA standards, lockout/tagout procedures, chemical safety, and incident investigation.
- Experience with Lean manufacturing, 5S, continuous improvement, or similar operating systems.
- Bilingual English and Spanish communication skills.
Physical and Work Requirements
- Ability to work in a fast-paced industrial production environment.
- Ability to stand and walk throughout the facility for extended periods.
- Ability to bend, reach, climb stairs, and occasionally lift or move up to 50 pounds.
- Ability to work around heat, humidity, noise, moving machinery, chemicals, and soiled textiles.
- Ability to wear required personal protective equipment.
- Ability to work early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, or extended hours when production needs require.
- Regular and reliable attendance is an essential function of the position.
Performance Expectations
Success in this position will be measured through:
- Safe plant operations and regulatory compliance
- Achievement of daily production requirements
- Labor efficiency and overtime control
- Product quality and reduction of rework
- Equipment uptime and timely reporting of maintenance needs
- Employee attendance, performance, engagement, and retention
- Linen-loss and operating-cost control
- Cleanliness and organization of the facility
- On-time availability of products for customer delivery
- Effective communication with plant employees and other departments
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $65,000.00 - $75,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
