Production Planner

Job Description

The Production Planner prepares, coordinates and approves the master production and delivery schedule of all products through complete production and customer delivery cycle. This role interfaces with operations, purchasing, engineering, sales, marketing and management to assure successful execution of projects. The Production Planner analyzes and confirms activity planning data to calculate start dates and sequence activities to meet timeline target dates.

• Work with Project Management, and access reports, schedules, planning boards and various system files to acquire a detailed understanding of project plans, activity timelines, and target dates.
• Attend and/or lead regular planning/scheduling meetings according to the work center's scheduling requirements.
• Initiate direct communication with the project management, planning, and manufacturing groups as required in order to assure a complete understanding and communication of manufacturing plans, activity schedules, and target dates.
• Review specific activity planning data to assure the most practical and cost-effective execution and recommend alternative planning as required.
• Prepares and monitors all delivery reports and prioritizes to meet management directives.
• Review all activity requests, action notices, and other documents or files that describe the activities and target dates to be scheduled.
• Assign activities to appropriate staff, work centers and/or machines.
• Confirm and document activity durations and calculate start dates required to meet timeline target dates.
• Confirm that the planned activity start dates will result in completion of the activities by the timeline target dates.
• Create, post, and maintain work center and/or machine activity schedules that will assure successful execution of all scheduled projects.
• Initiate daily interaction with the work center activity manager and staff to assure a complete understanding and acknowledgement of the planned schedules.
• Monitor activity progress against schedules and notify activity managers and/or planning team when meeting target dates may be in jeopardy.
• Monitor and initiate review of schedule issues with the activity manager to establish a plan for corrective action that satisfies the activity target dates. Provide planning input for re-scheduling options.
• Initiate communication with planners, schedulers, and project managers as required to confirm that schedule issues are being identified and resolved in order to assure that activity target dates are being met.
• Additional duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Manufacturing, Engineering, Production or related fields preferred but not necessary.
• 5+ years of previous production scheduling experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience
• (Routine/Periodic/Occasional) travel either locally, nationally, and/or internationally may be required
• High degree of proficiency in MS Office Suite, Outlook & Internet applications.
• Strong analytical, prioritizing, interpersonal, problem-solving, presentation, budgeting, project management (from conception to completion), & planning skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills (including analysis, interpretation, & reasoning).
• Solid understanding and application of mathematical concepts.
• Ability to develop and maintain collaborative relationships with peers and colleagues across the organization, as well as, internal and external clients.
• Ability to work well autonomously and within a team in a fast-paced and deadline-oriented environment.
• Ability to work with and influence peers and management.
• Self-motivated with critical attention to detail, deadlines and reporting.

PHYSICAL ASPECTS/WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• Regularly required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and talk, hear and see.
• Regularly/Occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
• Regularly/Occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, moving mechanical parts, fumes or airborne particles, extreme cold & heat, risk of electrical shock, and toxic or caustic chemicals.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually low/moderate.