Maintenance Planner

Overview

The Maintenance Planner is responsible for managing all scheduled and corrective maintenance operations within a raisin production facility, ensuring seamless workflow and minimizing interruptions to manufacturing processes. This role involves developing, sequencing, and coordinating preventive, predictive, and statutory maintenance across various operational areas, including processing, drying, packing, and utilities, with the goal of enhancing equipment reliability and overall plant availability.

In addition, the planner ensures adherence to food safety regulations, engineering standards, and cost effectiveness while collaborating closely with departments such as Production, Engineering, and Stores to align maintenance objectives with operational requirements. The position requires thorough preparation of maintenance tasks by verifying work orders, labor allocations, tools, and materials ahead of time and maintaining rigorous management of the Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS), specifically SAP, to uphold data accuracy for execution monitoring.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the implementation of maintenance strategies designed to achieve top-tier equipment reliability and maximize plant uptime according to industry benchmarks.
• Develop, improve, and oversee maintenance work plans that include root cause analysis (RCA) and lifecycle management to optimize asset management.
• Create and manage equipment-specific maintenance schedules that comply with Food Safety, Environment Health and Safety (EHS) standards, and the company’s PEMM methodology.
• Monitor, analyze, and produce reports on maintenance key performance indicators (KPIs), trends, and engineering performance scorecards.
• Assist in maintenance budget preparation by examining past data and utilizing zero-based budgeting methods for cost saving.
• Maintain integrity of CMMS data through diligent verification of work orders and proper document control.
• Manage maintenance backlog effectively, ensuring timely completion and closure of maintenance jobs and orders.
• Support reliability engineering by performing analyses such as RCA and translating findings into actionable improvements.
• Provide training and guidance to maintenance and production teams on maintenance procedures and SAP CMMS usage.
• Integrate maintenance schedules with production plans to reduce downtime and enhance operational efficiency.
• Plan maintenance labor and materials in advance for weekly, monthly, and annual tasks.
• Scope and estimate maintenance work, considering priorities, required resources, and specialist services.
• Coordinate contract labor to supplement team capacity during peak maintenance demands.
• Identify critical equipment and spares through systematic criticality evaluations.
• Review and refine maintenance strategies continuously based on operational feedback and evolving standards.
• Ensure at least 95% compliance in SAP work order closure by monitoring and enforcing timely completion of tasks.
• Develop and optimize preventive and predictive maintenance programs across all production and utility areas.
• Lead planning meetings to align teams and contractors on priorities and execution strategies.
• Organize major equipment shutdowns, breakdown responses, and seasonal maintenance with integrated production and cleaning schedules.
• Manage work order prioritization and release within SAP PM emphasizing safety, food safety, and operational impacts.
• Control spares management through criticality-based assessment and maintain relationships with service providers for statutory inspections.
• Oversee work order governance in SAP, ensuring quality data capture including timesheets, materials used, and completion notes.
• Conduct post-maintenance reviews to evaluate execution quality and manage deferred or incomplete work.
• Maintain engineering documentation and asset records aligned with audit requirements.
• Promote cross-department collaboration to synchronize maintenance activities with operational goals.
• Support financial oversight of maintenance functions through budgeting and performance benchmarking.

Essential Qualifications and Experience

• Certificate or Diploma in Engineering related fields (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial) or equivalent.
• Trade Test qualification is considered an asset.
• Formal training or certification in SAP PM or CMMS is advantageous.
• At least 3 to 5 years’ experience in maintenance planning or coordination within manufacturing or fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) environments.
• Proven track record in planning and scheduling maintenance, including preventive, predictive, and corrective actions.
• Experience using CMMS systems, preferably SAP PM, for work order management and reporting.
• Familiarity with shutdown planning, backlog management, and resource coordination.
• Knowledge of food safety, environmental health and safety (EHS) standards, and statutory compliance.
• Experience with automated production systems and modern plant machinery.

Technical Knowledge

• Comprehensive understanding of maintenance planning and scheduling methods.
• Proficient in Root Cause Analysis (RCA) techniques.
• Insight into reliability engineering concepts such as MTBF, MTTR, and asset care strategies.
• Applied knowledge of preventive and predictive maintenance practices.
• Lifecycle asset management expertise.
• Competence in spares management and conducting criticality assessments.
• Understanding condition monitoring methods including vibration analysis and thermography.
• Familiar with engineering documents such as P&IDs, OEM manuals, and standard operating procedures.

Core Competencies and Behavioral Attributes

• Excellent organizational and prioritization capabilities.
• Strong analytical skills with a data-oriented mindset for problem solving.
• Meticulous attention to detail, especially for maintaining data integrity in CMMS and reporting.
• Effective communicator skilled in engaging and coordinating multiple stakeholders.
• Capable of thriving under pressure and adapting to shifting operational needs.
• Leadership qualities with ability to motivate and enforce maintenance standards.
• Proactive attitude geared towards achieving results with accountability and ownership.
• Commitment to ongoing improvement and operational excellence.
• High priority on safety, food safety compliance, and regulatory requirements.