Industrial cleaning production manager job description
An industrial cleaning production manager decides how every crew cleans and degreases plant equipment. That covers which chemicals they use and how those get mixed, plus training crews, watching quality and finish dates, and changing any method that proves slow, unsafe or wasteful.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building services companies · BLS, May 2025
Industrial Cleaning & Degreasing - Production Manager
Company Name:
[INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE]
Department:
Operations
Reports to:
[Operations Manager]
Location:
[INSERT LOCATION HERE]
1. Position Summary
Lead and oversee complex industrial degreasing tasks while ensuring stringent adherence to chemical handling and safety protocols. Drive operational efficiency and quality in the execution of production processes within the industrial cleaning sector. Serve as a key contributor to maintaining regulatory compliance and upholding best practices in chemical usage and degreasing procedures.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Supervise and coordinate daily degreasing operations to ensure accuracy and high quality outcomes.
Ensure all activities comply with strict safety, environmental, and chemical handling regulations.
Develop and implement process improvements to optimize production efficiency.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to resolve production issues and maintain productivity.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct routine inspections of equipment and work areas to ensure operational safety and compliance.
Oversee the proper mixing, handling, and application of industrial cleaning chemicals.
Provide on-the-job training and guidance to production staff regarding degreasing protocols.
Monitor production schedules and adjust tasks to meet deadlines and quality benchmarks.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Safety compliance rate: 100%.
Production efficiency: Achieve a 95% on-time completion rate.
Customer satisfaction rating: >4.8 stars.
Reduction in chemical waste: Decrease by 10% annually.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related field.
Minimum of 5 years’ experience in industrial production management or facilities operations.
Strong technical knowledge of degreasing chemicals and related safety standards.
Excellent leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience in the industrial cleaning or degreasing industry.
Demonstrated success in managing a production team in a high-volume industrial setting.
Familiarity with state and federal safety regulations and environmental standards.
Proven track record of process improvement in production environments.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 50 lbs and maneuver physical equipment.
Navigate work areas that may include exposure to chemicals and temperature variations.
Stand, walk, and perform repetitive tasks for extended periods.
Work in environments that require strict adherence to personal protective equipment protocols.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Regular business hours with the possibility of overtime during peak production periods.
Occasional on-call duties to address urgent production concerns.
Work environment includes industrial sites with exposure to chemicals and machinery.
Minimal travel required between multiple facility locations as needed.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans.
401(k) retirement plan with company match.
Additional fringe benefits include paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
Our company is committed to fostering a growth-oriented and inclusive culture where innovation is celebrated.
We thrive on teamwork, continuous improvement, and a dedication to excellence in every project we undertake.
Our environment champions safety, respect, and professional development to help you level up your skills and career.
Join a dynamic team that values customer satisfaction and operational integrity above all.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
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What changes for a production manager in industrial cleaning
Production here isn't a factory line. It's the methods, chemicals and crew skills behind every plant job. Changing any one of them brings duties under federal rules.
A new chemical hazard means new training
OSHA's hazard communication rule calls for training on the chemicals in a work area. It applies when a worker starts, and again any time a chemical hazard new to them enters the work area. So when a new degreaser or an acid descaler brings a hazard the crew hasn't been trained on, train them first. Do it before the first drum ships, not after a tech asks what it is. Source: OSHA: Hazard communication, employee information and training (29 CFR 1910.1200).
A method change needs a fresh PPE assessment
Under OSHA's PPE rule, the employer looks for hazards that call for protective gear and picks gear that fits each worker. The employer must also certify that check in writing, with the workplace, the date and who did it. Going from a cold rinse to hot caustic, or from brushing to spraying, changes the splash and burn risk. Update the written check for that method and tell the crews. Source: OSHA: Personal protective equipment, hazard assessment (29 CFR 1910.132).
Check solvent cleaners against EPA's TCE ban
EPA's December 2024 rule bans most uses of trichloroethylene (TCE), a chlorinated solvent. In October 2026, EPA proposed moving two compliance dates but kept the ban. If a solvent cleaner lists TCE on its safety data sheet, check EPA's page before you buy it or bid a job around it. Where a water-based cleaner does the work, the question goes away. Source: EPA: Risk management for trichloroethylene (TCE).
Set the mix, then take the guessing out
Pouring concentrate by eye wastes chemical and changes results from job to job. Use dosing pumps where you can. Post the mix ratio for each product on every truck. Check strength with the supplier's test kit on a few jobs a month. The template's chemical waste target depends on this more than on buying.
Write a method for each kind of equipment
A spiral freezer, a CNC machine and a paint booth floor each need their own cleaner, heat, pressure, soak time and rinse. Write one short method for each kind of equipment, with photos of a good result. Then crews in different plants clean the same way, new techs learn faster, and sales can price the work from a known crew time.
How much industrial cleaning production managers make
The closest BLS group for industrial cleaning production managers is project management specialists. Project management specialists who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $72,540 a year ($34.88 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $102,320 median for project management specialists in all industries. About 6,970 of the 1,066,670 project management specialists in that survey work for building services companies.
Salary is standard here, frequently with a bonus for safe jobs that finish on time. BLS has no code for this role at cleaning companies. The figures shown are for project management specialists in the building services sector, and the template pays more than their median.
Building services companies
$72,540$72,540 median Middle half $59,040–$85,030 10th–90th $49,140–$103,990
All industries
$102,320$102,320 median Middle half $78,440–$133,100 10th–90th $61,580–$167,970
$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k$175k$200k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Building services companies
$49,140
$59,040
$72,540
$85,030
$103,990
All industries
$61,580
$78,440
$102,320
$133,100
$167,970
BLS doesn’t publish pay for industrial cleaning companies on their own. These figures cover services to buildings and dwellings, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Knows how alkaline, acid and solvent cleaners work on oil, grease and scale
Has led production or maintenance crews across more than one site
Writes step-by-step methods a new technician can follow
Turns safety data sheets into handling and PPE rules
Uses job records to find where crew time and chemical go
Teach these on the job
Your customers' plants, equipment and approval rules
Your job costing and scheduling software
Your chemical suppliers and their product lines
How your sales team scopes and prices jobs
The sign-off checklist each plant uses
The production manager works from job costing software, dosing pumps, and test kits that check mix strength. Add every machine the crews run, from heated washers to foam units. Name your main cleaning methods in the ad.
Industrial cleaning production manager interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Food plant allergen changeover
A food plant asks your crew to clean a line between a run with peanuts and a peanut-free run. How do you plan the cleaning?
A strong answer: Follows the plant's written allergen changeover procedure, takes apart and cleans hidden spots, uses dedicated or cleaned tools, rinses chemicals off food-contact surfaces, and leaves verification and line release to the plant's quality team.
Behavioral · Fixing procedures after misses
Tell me about a time you rewrote a cleaning procedure after a quality miss or near miss, such as residue left on food-contact equipment.
A strong answer: Names the miss, how they found the root cause, what changed in the written procedure (rinse steps, residue or pH checks, sign-off), how crews were trained, and whether repeats stopped.
The template's targets make a rough first pass. Reset them from last year's jobs and go over the results monthly with your operations manager.
Safety compliance rate
Each month, pick some jobs and check them against your written methods, PPE rules and permits. Score every item as met or not, and report misses by method and by crew.
Production efficiency
Compare each job's real finish with the finish the plant agreed to. Write down why each late job ran late, such as added scope, a broken machine or a short crew.
Customer satisfaction rating
Get a score from the plant after every job. Then sort the scores by method and by plant to see which kinds of work draw complaints.
Reduction in chemical waste
Track chemical bought against chemical the job tickets show used, by product and method. Count drums thrown out unused, and compare each year with the one before.
Career path
Field supervisorRuns crews on site and learns every method the company uses.
Production managerSets methods, chemicals, training and quality for all crews.
What physical work does a production manager do on plant jobs?
This is a hands-on manager. The lifting line covers moving chemical containers, hoses and test gear up to 50 pounds. The chemical and temperature line means walking plant floors near caustic cleaners, hot water and cold rooms. Repetitive tasks come from showing a method on equipment while training a crew. The PPE line means wearing the face shield, gloves, boots and suit each method calls for. Name these duties in the posting, and settle any accommodation request with the candidate directly.
How much does an industrial cleaning production manager make?
Project management specialists who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $72,540 a year ($34.88 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $59,040 and $85,030 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Does an industrial cleaning production manager need an engineering degree?
An industrial or chemical engineering degree is the template's ask, and it helps with cleaning chemistry and process work. Some strong candidates come from technical service at a chemical supplier instead, or from running sanitation at a food plant. Decide before posting whether you'd interview them. Ask every candidate to explain a cleaning method they changed and why.
How can you test a production manager's cleaning chemistry in an interview?
Describe a real job. For example, a CNC machine sump is full of cutting oil and metal chips, and the plant restarts in the morning. Ask which cleaner they'd use, how strong and how hot, and how long it should sit. Ask how they'd rinse it, where the waste goes, and what PPE the crew needs. Good answers start with questions about the metal, the drain and the plant's rules.
When should a production manager say no to a new cleaning method?
Say no when the crew hasn't been trained on it, the equipment isn't in the shop yet, or there's no written method and PPE plan. A plant may ask for a method your crews haven't run, often because another contractor offers it. Agree to a trial date once the method, training and gear are ready. Don't learn it on the customer's equipment.
