Production Manager jobs in United Arab Emirates

Job Code: 338/001/232

Industry: Steel Fabrication

Department: Production / Manufacturing

Reporting To: Operations Manager

Job Brief:
The Production Manager is responsible for planning, executing, monitoring, and continuously improving manufacturing operations for pressure vessels, skids, and fabricated products. The role ensures compliance with ASME standards, client specifications, delivery commitments, cost targets, and organizational goals. It emphasizes production efficiency, manpower optimization, safety, quality, and on-time delivery, while driving continuous improvement through data-driven decision-making and disciplined shop-floor management.

• Pressure Vessels (ASME U / U2 / ADNOC compliant)
• Process Skids & Modular Packages
• Structural & Heavy Fabrication
• Multi-project, multi-bay manufacturing environment
• Direct management of shop-floor teams (fabrication, welding, fit-up, blasting & painting, assembly)

• A. Production Planning & Execution
  • Execute production activities according to approved project schedules, shop drawings, and Material Take-Offs (MTOs).
  • Coordinate with Planning, Engineering, Quality, Procurement, and Projects departments to ensure uninterrupted production flow.
  • Ensure daily, weekly, and monthly production targets are achieved without compromising safety or quality.
  • Validate work sequences for pressure vessels and skids, including rolling, fit-up, welding, PWHT coordination, NDT, hydrotest, blasting, painting, and dispatch.
• B. Production Efficiency & Man-Hour Control
  • Maintain man-hour reporting project-wise and group-wise.
  • Track actual vs planned man-hours and initiate corrective actions for variances.
  • Document and approve manpower transfers between groups.
  • Drive productivity improvement initiatives to reduce rework, idle time, and bottlenecks.
  • Ensure production overrun is controlled within acceptable limits; overruns beyond defined thresholds trigger root cause analysis and action plans.
• C. Manpower Management & Leadership
  • Lead and manage supervisors, foremen, and production teams.
  • Allocate manpower efficiently based on project priorities and skill requirements.
  • Conduct regular toolbox talks, daily coordination meetings, and weekly performance reviews.
  • Support training, mentoring, and skill development of welders, fitters, and supervisors.
  • Promote a culture of ownership, discipline, accountability, and teamwork.
• D. Quality & Compliance
  • Ensure all production activities comply with approved drawings, WPS/PQR requirements, ITPs, Quality Plans, client specifications, statutory regulations, and ASME/ISO codes.
  • Coordinate closely with QA/QC for inspections, NDT, hold points, and documentation readiness.
  • Minimize rework through right-first-time execution and strict adherence to procedures.
• E. Safety, Health & Environment (HSE)
  • Ensure strict compliance with company HSE policies and site safety rules.
  • Enforce safe work practices during lifting, welding, confined space work, hot work, and heavy fabrication.
  • Participate in incident investigations and implement corrective/preventive actions.
  • Support sustainability and environmental objectives.
• F. Coordination & Communication
  • Conduct daily production review meetings and weekly coordination meetings with Planning and Projects.
  • Provide clear and timely production status updates to management.
  • Highlight risks related to schedule, manpower, material availability, or equipment at an early stage.
  • Support client visits, audits, and inspections.
• G. Continuous Improvement & Digitalization
  • Use historical production data to improve planning accuracy and execution efficiency.
  • Support implementation of production dashboards, man-hour tracking systems, and performance KPIs.
  • Identify opportunities for automation, process improvement, and layout optimization.
  • Lead or participate in Lean / Kaizen initiatives.

• Delivery & Planning: On-time completion of production milestones, schedule adherence.
• Productivity & Cost: Planned vs actual man-hour variance, production efficiency improvement, rework percentage, overtime control.
• Quality: First-time-right acceptance rate, NCRs from production, and client inspection pass rate.
• Safety: LTIFR, safety violations/near misses reported and closed.
• People & Process: Manpower utilization rate, training hours per employee, supervisor, and workforce stability.

• Experience in Manufacturing Products such as Pressure Vessels: Specifically those compliant with ASME U / U2 and ADNOC standards, Process Skids & Modular Packages, Storage Tanks, Enclosures and rooms, etc.
• Industry: Steel Fabrication
• Open to candidates from abroad.
• 5+ years of experience as a production manager in the steel fabrication industry.
• Experience with quality and compliance.

• Bachelor’s Degree or Diploma in Mechanical, Production, or Industrial Engineering.
• Minimum 15 years in fabrication/manufacturing; 5–7 years in a managerial role. Proven experience in pressure vessels (ASME), process skids, modular fabrication, and heavy welding/fabrication operations.
• Technical Competence: Strong knowledge of fabrication processes, welding, codes, GA drawings, fabrication drawings, weld maps, ITPs, man-hour estimation, and productivity tracking. Familiarity with ERP/planning tools is preferred.
• Skills & Competencies: Leadership and people management, planning and prioritization, decision-making, data-driven mindset, analytical skills, communication, coordination, problem-solving, root cause analysis, high responsibility, discipline, accountability.
• Authority & Decision-Making: Allocate manpower within approved limits, stop unsafe or non-conforming work, recommend corrective actions, process improvements, and disciplinary actions per company policy.
• Interfaces: Internal – Projects, Planning, Engineering, QA/QC, HSE, Procurement, Stores, HR; External – Clients, Inspectors, Third-party agencies, Subcontractors.

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