Planner

Description

Job Purpose

The Planner plans and prepares a Master Schedule for the manufacturing of products, taking into account the customer requirements,  sales forecast, and new product introduction while balancing those requirements against other key inputs such as backlog, material  availability, capacity availability, staffing resources, quality concerns, storage availability and organizational policies and goals. 

This person will work closely with leaders of Raw Materials, Foundation, LFA, DDR and EIA, Supply Chain, Quality, Sales and the Director  of Manufacturing to ensure that product inventory is appropriately stocked, meeting customer orders with minimal stock outs.  

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Create and Maintain Production Schedule to Meet Demand 

• Lead the entire manufacturing scheduling process and be the central source of information. 
• Plans and schedules workflow for each department and operation according to previously established manufacturing  sequences and lead times. 
• Expedites issues that delay schedules and alters the schedule to meet unforeseen conditions. 
• Analyzes customer, production, and other supporting departmental requirements in conjunction with resource availability  (machine, personnel, space, materials, time, warehouse space) to determine optimal utilization of those resources in  fulfillment of the schedule. 
• Oversee accuracy of master data including labor hour, equipment capacity and cycle time assumptions.
• Attend daily meetings related to schedule. 
• Resolves backorders quickly and efficiently. 
• Manage and communicate with procurement the required schedule for supplies and production needs. Adjust production  based on material constraints.  
• Review material requirements for availability, planning and coordinate appropriately. 
• Work with internal areas to adjust timelines and schedules to account for new product launches, installation of equipment, and space changes. 

Monitor Production Progress  

• Quickly identify if the schedule is off track and determine root cause. 
• Quickly resolve issues that delay schedules and adjust the schedule to meet unforeseen conditions. 
• Interface with Production Supervisors, Product Line Managers, Customer Service and Procurement and resolve concerns  regarding schedules, material and component shortages, back orders, etc. 
• Publish results across all departments to display current overall schedule execution status. 
• Keep abreast of production capabilities, operational issues and their impact on production scheduling and procurement in  order to expedite operations that delay or alter schedules. 

Continuous Improvement 

• Analyze the data and make recommendations to improve efficiencies. 
• Determine path forward to utilize the scheduling and planning functions of the ERP software. Work with Production Team to  accomplish.  
• Escalate scheduling issues to leadership with options and alternatives to consider. 
• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives focused around improving the overall scheduling/purchasing system and  processes. 
• Meet company specific goals to ensure standards are attained including but not limited to on-time delivery, production  efficiency, schedule attainment, right first time, stock outs, Scheduled asset capacity utilization %, manpower capacity  utilization %, Unit cost attainment %, inventory and quality. 
• Optimize inventory to ensure good trade-off between inventory turns, product availability and cost. 

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, operations management, supply chain or 3 years in a planning role.
• 5 Years experience working in a manufacturing setting. 
• Familiarity with the manufacturing processes and techniques used in the medical device industry. This includes understanding production equipment, materials, and workflow. 
• Experience with ERP software. 
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to make data-driven decisions. 
• Continuous Improvement mindset. 
• Effective communication skills to collaborate with various departments. 
• Proficiency in scheduling software or spreadsheet software and other relevant tools. 
• Highly organized.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience working in a regulated environment, such as medical device or food. 
• 10 years of experience in a manufacturing setting with increasing responsibility.