Fabrication Supervisor

We are looking for an established Fabrication Supervisor who would be responsible for the safe, efficient day-to-day running of the fabrication workshop. You will lead a team of around 30 people to deliver high-quality work to agreed specifications and production times, coordinating labour, materials from the press brake workshop, machines, and priorities to achieve on-time delivery. The role includes monitoring quality output, driving continuous improvement, and handling day-to-day people matters in line with company policies.

Based in Chadderton this is a full-time position in a factory/workshop setting. PPE is required and will be provided in accordance with site rules.

Monday to Thursday 6am to 16:30 with flexibility to support production requirements, including occasional overtime.

Pay is dependent on Experience with an initial Salary range of -38k42k p/a.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the workshop team (approx. 30 people): set daily expectations, allocate work, monitor performance, and maintain good discipline and morale.
• Plan and control workflow: coordinate job priorities, labour, and machine capacity, to keep work moving efficiently through the workshop.
• Adhere to production times and delivery commitments: ensure jobs are completed to route/standard times, identify bottlenecks early, and implement corrective actions to protect on-time-in-full (OTIF) performance.
• Quality management: ensure output meets drawings/specifications, workmanship standards, and customer requirements; carry out in-process checks and ensure final inspection requirements are met.
• Health & Safety leadership: enforce safe systems of work, PPE compliance, risk assessments, COSHH controls, and housekeeping; investigate near misses/accidents and implement preventative actions.
• Manage day-to-manage attendance/timekeeping, holidays, minor conduct issues, informal grievances, return-to-work conversations, and capability concerns in line with HR procedures; escalate appropriately.

• Training and competence: support onboarding, identify skill gaps, arrange on-the-job training, and ensure operators are competent/authorised for equipment and tasks.
• Continuous improvement: drive 5S, waste reduction, rework reduction, and practical improvements to methods, layouts, tooling, and standard work.
• Materials and WIP control: liaise with planning/stores/engineering to ensure drawings, cut lists, materials, consumables, and tooling are available; maintain control of WIP and job packs.
• Reporting and communication: provide clear shift handovers, production updates, and escalation on risks to safety, quality, delivery, or cost.
• System discipline: ensure accurate job tracking, clocking, paperwork completion, and traceability records as required.

Key Measures of Success (KPIs)

• On-time delivery / OTIF performance against plan
• Labour efficiency and adherence to standard/estimated times
• Right-first-time quality, rework and scrap levels
• Health & Safety performance (near misses, incidents, audit findings, housekeeping/5S)
• Absence, timekeeping, and team stability (turnover/retention)
• WIP control and throughput (bottleneck performance)

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

• Essential: Proven supervisory experience in a fabrication/manufacturing environment, ideally sheet metal.
• Essential: Strong working knowledge of fabrication processes (cutting, forming, welding, finishing) and interpreting engineering drawings.
• Essential: Demonstrable ability to plan workflow, prioritise, and deliver to time and quality requirements.
• Essential: Confident people manager with experience handling day-to-day employee issues fairly and consistently.
• Essential: Strong Health & Safety mindset with experience enforcing safe working practices in an industrial setting.
• Essential: Clear communication skills and the ability to work with planning, engineering, quality, and supply chain.
• Desirable: Formal H&S training (e.g., IOSH Managing Safely) and/or first aid/fire marshal training.
• Desirable: Experience with lean/continuous improvement (5S, standard work, root cause analysis).

• Desirable: Familiarity with MRP/ERP systems, job tracking/clocking, and quality documentation/traceability.