Capacity Planner

Location: Broadstone

Capacity Planner
CNC Machining
Poole, Dorset
Capacity Planner salary: £36,500 – £44,000

Please note:

only applicants with the full-time, permanent right to work in the UK will be considered.

Capacity Planner Overview:

Move from machining into a technical planning role
Plan machine shop capacity around orders, deadlines, labour and machine availability
Use drawings and machining knowledge to support routings and production flow
Work with MRP/ERP systems to improve scheduling and workshop visibility
Full planning training available for the right CNC or precision engineering background
Are you a CNC Machinist, Setter or Programmer who understands how components are actually made, but wants to step away from the machines?
This Capacity Planner role is with a precision engineering business in Poole and is designed for someone with strong machining knowledge who wants to move into a more technical, office-based planning role. The Capacity Planner will work closely with the machine shop, Manufacturing Manager and Engineering team to plan work through production, balance customer deadlines against available capacity, and make sure routings, schedules and system data are accurate.
This is not a purely administrative planning position. The Capacity Planner needs to understand drawings, machining methods and how work realistically moves through a machine shop.

The Capacity Planner role
As Capacity Planner, you’ll help plan manufacturing work across the workshop, load machines, progress works orders and keep the production schedule moving. You’ll be using MRP/ERP systems, production data and workshop feedback to give the business clearer visibility of what can be made, when it can be made, and where bottlenecks may appear.
The company is open to an experienced Production Planner, Manufacturing Planner or Capacity Planner, but they are equally interested in someone from a hands-on machining background who has the IT skills, attitude and maturity to move into planning.

Day-to-day responsibilities of a Capacity Planner

Use MRP and scheduling systems to plan manufacturing work against customer deadlines
Load and manage machine shop capacity across machines, people and processes
Adjust plans around holidays, sickness, machine breakdowns and changing priorities
Release, monitor and progress works orders through the production cycle
Communicate production priorities clearly to machinists, supervisors and managers
Identify manufacturing bottlenecks and help agree practical solutions
Create, review and maintain manufacturing routing cards
Use engineering drawings to understand how components should be manufactured
Help select suitable machines and processes when creating or updating routings
Liaise with the Machine Shop Supervisor on technical manufacturing requirements
Work with Engineering when additional technical input is needed
Keep manufacturing, routing and production information accurate within the MRP system
Raise purchase orders for subcontract manufacturing operations where required
Purchase production consumables in a timely and cost-conscious way
Monitor production KPIs including schedule adherence, machine utilisation, efficiency and productivity
Support continuous improvement across planning, production flow and workshop processes

What they’re looking for - Capacity Planner

Mechanical engineering, machining or manufacturing background
Practical understanding of how machined components are produced
Able to read and interpret engineering drawings
Exposure to milling, turning, routing, grinding or similar manufacturing processes
Good IT skills and confidence learning MRP/ERP systems
Strong organisation, planning ability and attention to detail
Good communication skills with machinists, supervisors, engineers and purchasing teams
Open-minded approach with a willingness to ask questions and learn
Able to adapt when priorities, machine availability or customer deadlines change
Previous planning experience is useful, but not essential if the machining knowledge is there

This Capacity Planner role could suit someone from:

CNC Machinist
CNC Setter
CNC Programmer
CNC Miller or Turner
Machine Shop Technician
Apprentice-trained Machinist
Production…