A production support professional ensures that a company’s manufacturing or production processes run smoothly. They identify and correct production line issues with the engineering and management teams. Also, they ensure that customers and suppliers are satisfied with the products or services they produce.
You must be prepared to answer many tough questions if you want to enter a production support career. Here are the top 30 interview questions with answers you can use to prepare for your interview.
1. What Is Production Support?
IT systems/applications are supported by production support. End users submit requests to production support executives, who analyze them and respond to them with the best solution.
Shortly, a Production Support Analyst maintains and supports specific systems and applications.
2. What Is Incident Management?
Incident management aims to identify, analyze, and correct problems to prevent them from recurring in the future. There was either an incident response team or an incident management team involved.
3. What Are Stages If A Product Lifecycle?
The stages of the product lifecycle are
- Market Research
- Development
- Documentation
- Mass production
- Launching
- Marketing
- Branding, etc.
4. What Is Six Sigma?
It is an approach and methodology based on data. Whether in manufacturing or finance, it eliminates defects.
By identifying and eliminating defects, Six Sigma improves business operations. My previous experience with Six Sigma involved analyzing production line data to identify improvement areas. I could develop strategies for reducing waste and increasing efficiency by doing so.
5. What Is QMS?
QMS stands for the quality management system. All the necessary information and operational controls are documented in it. Ensure that the company delivers a continuous reporting, monitoring, and training product.
As a formalized system for achieving quality policies and objectives, a quality management system (QMS) documents processes, procedures, and responsibilities. Coordinating and directing an organization’s activities can meet customer and regulatory requirements and continuously improve its effectiveness and efficiency.
There are various approaches to quality management systems, but ISO 9001:2015 is the most popular. It’s important to note that while some use the term “QMS” to define the ISO 9001 standards or the group of documents detailing the QMS, it refers to the entire system. It is only to describe the system where the documents exist.
6. What Is Capa And How To Do CAPA?
In CAPA, a product failure is investigated to correct its current occurrence and prevent similar events in the future.
Corrective And Preventive Action is a methodological approach for mitigating risks and improving processes, identifying the root causes of actual or potential issues, planning solutions, and documenting the solutions to prevent future similar problems. In CAPA, a series of actions are taken to eliminate recurring events and causes of nonconformities in the company’s processes. In a CAPA system, the focus is on identifying the root causes of particular problems and risks so that neither corrective Action nor preventive Action will be required in the future.
- How to Do CAPA?
Managing customer complaints and non-conformances in real-time and ensuring stakeholders take impactful, proper actions is the backbone of rectifying problems in the digitally connected enterprise.
A Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) process follows the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle to resolve unexpected events. You will begin by identifying non-conformities in your processes and determining the type of problem you are facing. Internal or external audits, customer complaints, or internal reports may reveal non-conformities.
Corrective Action is required for systemic issues to eliminate a problem and prevent its recurrence. At the same time, Preventive Action is necessary for non-systemic issues to reduce the probability of such an adverse event occurring.
The Corrective Action and Preventive Action approaches can be improved using various techniques. In Root Cause Analysis (RCA), problems are identified and rectified by identifying their root causes. An effective proactive approach also incorporates Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), which provides input for your CAPA activities. In the automotive industry, APQP (Advanced Product Quality Planning) is generally used to improve the quality of mobility products. Also, the 5 Whys technique can be used to discover the cause-and-effect relationships behind a given problem.
7. How Often Have You Made Recommendations For Process Improvements In Your Previous Roles?
In my previous role as production support professional, I noticed that our team had trouble meeting deadlines on certain projects due to communication bottlenecks between departments. The production team could communicate more effectively with the help of an online collaboration tool I developed. Consequently, we were able to meet client expectations with fewer delays.
8. Did You Ever Face Any Issues Because Of Caching? When To Do Caching?
There have been times when old pages have been rendered from the cache to the user. Then, I tried to investigate what caused the problem by clearing the cache. The comparatively high refresh interval is often the cause of these issues. Cache refresh intervals should be reduced at that point.
In computer systems, CPU caches, disk caches, and web caches are common types of caches. CPU caches store frequently accessed data in memory so the CPU can access it quickly. The disk cache stores frequently accessed data on the disk so that the disk drive can access it quickly. Data frequently accessed on the web is cached on the web so that web browsers can access it quickly.
- When To Do?
Several factors prompt the need for a cache in our system. Often, this begins with observing a dependency’s latency or efficiency at a given request rate. A dependency might throttle or otherwise be unable to meet the expected load, for example. Caching has been helpful when we encounter uneven request patterns that result in hot-key/hot-partition throttling. A cache with a good cache hit ratio across requests would be a good candidate for caching data from this dependency. Multiple requests or operations can use the results of calls to the dependency. A cache would have a negligible hit rate if each request required a unique query to the dependent service with unique results for each request. It is also important to consider how tolerant a team’s service and its clients are to eventual consistency. For caching to succeed, both the service and the client must compensate for cached data becoming inconsistent with the source over time. Depending on the source data’s rate of change and the cache policy for refreshing data, the data will tend to be inconsistent. There is a connection between these two. Long-term caching is possible for data that is relatively static or slow-changing.
9. There Is A Common Mistake Among Production Workers That Is Impacting Quality. What Is Your Strategy For Implementing A Change?
In the past, I worked with a production worker who often forgot to check his products’ quality before shipping them out. We lost money and damaged our reputation due to several customers returning defective products. In my conversation with him, I explained the importance of double-checking his products’ quality before sending them out. Since then, no issues have arisen.
Your credibility should not be strained here. What was the positive lesson you learned from a small mistake you made in the past?
10. What Are The Few Most Important Skills For A Production Support Professional To Have?
Communication and problem-solving skills are two of the most important skills for production support professionals. My responsibilities as a production support professional include communicating with other engineers and managers about production issues. I am also responsible for finding possible solutions to these problems using my problem-solving skills. Keeping organized and completing tasks on time is another essential skill for this position.
11. How Do You Identify And Address A Quality Issue With A Product Or Service?
As a production support professional, I observed increased customer complaints about product durability. The company had changed suppliers for one of the components of the product without updating the design specifications, I discovered after investigating the issue. I worked with the engineering team to update the design to accommodate the new supplier’s component.
12. Do You Think Teamwork Is A Mannndatory Part Of The Production Support Job? Provide Us With An Example Of A Time When You Identified A Way To Improve The Efficiency Of A Production Process.
Production support people usually work alone. Product support specialists can, however, form part of support teams in some cases. Good teamwork is always beneficial.
While working at my last job, I noticed a bottleneck in a certain type of production line. Inefficient assembly caused the bottleneck. To organize the parts within the final product, I created a new system based on their location within it. The assembly time of each unit was reduced by 15% as a result. Our revenue increased as a result of producing more units per day.
13. If Hired, How Would You Prioritize Your Tasks During Your First Few Weeks On The Job?
First and foremost, I would like to learn as much as possible about the company’s production process during my first few weeks on the job. I look forward to working with the team to improve our efficiency and quality control. Developing relationships with the production support team would be another priority for me. For any team to succeed, open communication is crucial.
14. What Are The Levels Of Production Support?
- Level 0/ Level 1 support – Initial level helpdesk deals with basic user issues with scripted solutions.
- Level 2 Support – This level provides technical support for the application or software. If possible, they can examine the flow of the application and fix the problem. In that case, escalate the issue further. This production support executive should have extensive experience on a particular platform.
- Level 3 Support: Professionals in this field work on bug fixes and enhancements. A Windows Admin or Oracle database expert is preferred.
15. What Do You Think Can Be The Mandatory Skills To Become A Great Production Support Professional?
- Consistency: This is the production support profession’s first and foremost skill. One can achieve the same by offering an accurate solution to the customer.
- Attention to Details: Production support professionals should have great precision, particularly when operating dangerous machinery.
- Leadership is another vital skill that can’t be ignored in the product management job. As a production support executive, you should be able to lead a team and resolve problems that may arise between your team members.
16. How Well Do You Perform Under Pressure?
I am capable of high-pressure handling situations quite well. It has been my experience to work on several projects where deadlines were tight. Though it was sometimes stressful, I prioritized my tasks to meet the project’s objectives. I can only accomplish a task without making mistakes is to focus on one at a time. I feel less stressed knowing I’m doing everything I can for the company.
17. Tell Us About Your Experience Working With A Team Of Engineers To Implement Large-Scale Changes To Production Processes.
My last position as an engineer involved working with a team of five other engineers to implement new production processes for our client’s factory. Our changes ensured they did not negatively impact product quality while reducing costs. Although the project took several months to complete, it improved production efficiency by 10%.
18. What Is System Security?
The goal of system security is to prevent viruses and malware programs from entering the computer system. It can be achieved by implementing antivirus software and firewalls and restricting users’ online activity.
19. When Performing Quality Checks, Are There Any Common Mistakes You’ve Noticed People Make?
While I was at my last job, I noticed that some of our employees were not performing their quality checks thoroughly enough. Before the next task, they would skip steps or perform only a cursory check. As a result, there were several errors in production, which caused delays and wasted time. All new hires were trained on proper quality checking techniques as part of my training program to address this issue. I implemented regular quality check audits to ensure everyone was following procedures correctly. As a result of these two strategies, errors were significantly reduced.
20. How Do You Stay Motivated At Work?
My first step upon arriving at work is to write down everything I want to accomplish that day. For the last ten years, I have done that. Thus, I do my job in a way that will enable me to accomplish everything I have set out to accomplish. Goals and deadlines are important to me, so I love meeting them. In addition to my passion for the job, I also have a love for positive results that motivates me to perform my daily tasks.
21. How Do You Stay Updated In the Production Support Field?
Continuous learning and improvement are important to me. As an application support specialist, I have always strived to stay one step ahead of the game. As a subscriber to several online journals on application support, I am kept up to date on the latest news and changes in the field.
Also, I am a member of an application support community where we discuss various topics related to application support. At the end of each day, I also read online papers and blogs on application support to verify and check if anything new needs to be avoided.
22. Why Do Prefer Working With Us?
The work culture you have is very admirable to me. Throughout my interactions with your employees, they are always in awe of your management. An organization where everyone feels appreciated will help me deliver better as an employee.
I also have the necessary experience to fit into your organization. As a result of my work experience in firms I’ve worked in, I have ten years of experience modifying and organizing systems. My expertise can benefit your organization, so I am confident I can contribute to its improvement.
23. Walk Us Through How Would You Troubleshoot A Crashing Application?
I deal with application crashes every day as part of my day-to-day operations. During the application’s execution, an unhandled exception occurs. Two important pieces of information help me resolve the application crash. Two types of unhandled exceptions exist exception codes, error messages, and full stack traces.
A crash can easily troubleshoot once these two facts are known.
24. What Do You Usually Focus On Most As You Go About Your Duties?
Ideally, my work should aim to improve the health of application systems. Because of this, I emphasize data integrity since reliable and accurate data is the key to a healthy application system.
25. What Did You Do In Your Previous Job?
Supporting a gaming platform was my responsibility as an application support specialist. Consequently, I spent most of my time dealing with data feed issues and responding to user requests.
Additionally, I used EXCEL formulas and Visual Basic to document my research and performance actions. I conducted quality assurance testing to provide essential information to the superior management.
26. What Time Are You Most Available?
I know that my role as an application support executive requires me to be always available. Therefore, I am available to work any shift. As a former employee, I have worked both day and night shifts. Nonetheless, I ask for timely updates to keep things organized, especially during night shifts.
27. Could You Please Tell Us Some Of The Reasons Why You Left Your Former Job?
It was an amazing experience working at my last job. I wouldn’t have learned much about application support without joining the organization. As well as creating many networks, I have also been able to reach where I am today. We felt appreciated by the bosses, on top of all that.
After five years in the same location, I needed to change my environment. I wanted to challenge myself and step outside my comfort zone, which was my job. In the meantime, I also wanted to allow someone else to carry on where I had left off. Therefore, I resigned and applied for this position.
28. Which Industries Do You Have The Most Experience Working In As A Production Support Professional?
My job experience includes almost ten years in the food production industry, but I also have experience in other fields. For instance, a small bakery could scale up its business after I helped them migrate to an efficient system from an outdated one. I have gained lots of knowledge and valuable insights into how different systems work together and what factors to consider when choosing new technology due to this experience.
29. What Do You Think Is The Most Important Role A Production Support Professional Can Play Within A Company?
The production support professional ensures that the company’s production line runs smoothly. Having worked in several different departments, I know how important communication is when trying to resolve problems. My last job allowed me to work with other engineers to solve production line issues. Our output increased by 10% as a result.
30. Any Questions Do You Have?
Yes, please. I want to ask a few of them if you don’t mind.
- Can you share more about day-to-day responsibilities? What is a typical day?
- What do you think can be the biggest challenges I would face in this job?
- What characteristics and attributes would I need to be successful in this position?
- What issues/gaps are you looking to fill with this role?
- Do you expect some primary responsibilities to change in the next six months to a year?
- What would you like me to achieve in an ideal world in my first 90 days?
- What other functions or departments would this role work with, and do you have any tips to collaborate with each team effectively?
- Can you describe your onboarding process?
Conclusion
We have shared the top 30 interview questions and their answers. They may vary as production support covers several sub-fields, but those mentioned above are the most common ones. Moreover, it also depends on the interviewer and job position, plus numerous other factors.