PRODUCTION LINE MANAGER - Maitland, Cape Town

Our client requires a Production Line Manager for their 2nd Operations department. This is a floor-level leadership role with full accountability for output, quality, people, machine reliability, cost, and safety within the 2nd Operations area. The 2nd Operations department performs secondary machining and processing operations including heat treatment of materials. It is a high-volume, technically demanding environment. The successful candidate will be a qualified Artisan with at least 5 years of hands-on production management experience — not process supervision, but team leadership and output accountability. This is not a role for someone who manages from a desk. The Production Line Manager is expected to be physically present on the floor, running a structured daily routine and holding their team to a consistent standard every shift. 

Non-negotiable requirements:

• A completed trade qualification (Toolmaker or Fitter & Turner) OR a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering — one of these three is required. All other engineering qualifications are not equivalent for this role.
• Minimum 5 years managing a production team independently — not supervising a process.
• A floor-present management style — this person walks the line, not the corridor.
• Demonstrated ability to hold a team accountable — including managing IR matters. • ERP / SAP experience at works order level.
• Legally authorised to work in South Africa. Advantageous:
• Secondary operations or machining environment experience.
• Heat treatment of materials knowledge.
• Lean manufacturing experience — 5S, standard work, visual management.
• Bottleneck identification and resolution experience.
• Knowledge of IMDS quality requirements.
• Solid Edge or similar CAD software.

Day to day, the Production Line Manager is accountable for:

• Achieving and recovering the daily production plan — output, quality, and cost.

• Monitoring production rates in real time and intervening before shortfalls compound.

• Ensuring heat treatment of materials is carried out correctly.

• Ensuring first-off approval before every production run commences.

• Signing off operator-level machine maintenance every shift.

• Managing attendance, performance, behaviour, and development of a production team.

• Enforcing 5S and safety standards throughout every shift.

• Completing timesheets, ERP entries, and works orders before leaving — no ghost orders.

• Delivering a structured, specific written handover at the end of every shift.

• Completing the Leader Standard Work (LSW) sheet in real time — not retrospectively.

What does Success Look Like in the first 90 days?

• Plan attainment consistently above 92%.
• Scrap rate trending down from the baseline recorded at appointment.
• LSW completed in real time every shift — the line manager can review any day and find it accurate.
• Team holds the standard without the PLM having to repeat the same instruction.
• Handover book is specific, dated, and the incoming shift can manage from the first minute.
• No open ghost works orders in SAP at shift end.
• Skills Matrix rated for every team member.