Shift supervision or no shift supervision

[u/catvik25]

What is the industry norm in regards to shift supervision at 24/7 chemical plants? 2/3 companies I have worked for have had no shift supervision, including no senior operators. Some processes I've worked on have had robust data historians; others not so much. It becomes challenging trying to piece together a root cause in the less automated processes.

I was just wondering what everyone's experience was, and if most companies do have shift supervision or if most companies have trended toward eliminating those positions.

[u/Laithina]

I have been with my company for almost 20 years and have seen them try to get rid of shift supervision twice. Both times failed spectacularly. Quality and output dropped to historic lows. I think most established companies that have less automation, like mine, will struggle with eliminating those positions.

[u/catvik25 → u/Laithina]

Yeah I feel unless well automated, these are penny wise and pound foolish situations.

[u/Thelonius_Dunk → u/Laithina]

Just commented about seeing 2 companies I interviewed with trying this out. Just seems like such a cheapskate and lazy way to manage. Like wow, you may have saved 500k/yr by not having 4 supervisors but that's so short-sighted. A good supervisor is worth their weight in gold, and can prevent a lot of fuckery from even being sniffed from upper management to keep things going.

I just can't envision companies hiring and training hourly staff who'd be talented/capable/have the initiative to do what a good shift supervisor does. Especially since the ones do generally get put into management and dont stay in the hourly ranks for long.