Packaging Maintenance Supervisor

Title:

Packaging Maintenance Supervisor

Location:

Scottsbluff, Nebraska

Position Overview

The Western Sugar Cooperative is seeking a results-driven Packaging Maintenance Supervisor to lead maintenance planning, execution, and reliability improvement within our packaging and warehouse facility in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Reporting to the Packaging/Bulk and Terminals Director, with a strong dotted-line partnership to the Maintenance Manager, this role owns the maintenance strategy for packaging line equipment - driving Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), disciplined maintenance planning and scheduling, and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) improvement across all packaging assets.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on, reliability-minded leader who understands value stream thinking, champions waste elimination, and builds operator ownership of equipment care through a mature TPM program.

Essential Functions

Maintenance Planning & Scheduling (Primary Focus)

* Own maintenance planning and scheduling for all packaging line equipment - building weekly and daily schedules that balance preventive maintenance (PM), predictive maintenance (PdM), and corrective work orders against the production plan.

* Maintain a prioritized maintenance backlog, ranking work orders by risk, criticality, and impact on line uptime, and coordinating planned downtime windows with the packaging schedule.

* Ensure parts, tools, and procedures are fully kitted ahead of scheduled work to eliminate wrench-time delays.

* Partner with Procurement and the central Maintenance team on spare parts inventory, applying pull-system and min/max principles to ensure critical packaging spares are available without excess carrying cost.

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Leadership

* Lead the site's TPM program on packaging lines by championing the Autonomous Maintenance pillar - training and coaching packaging shift leads and operators to perform basic cleaning, inspection, lubrication, and minor adjustments (CIL) as part of daily standard work.

* Own OEE for assigned packaging lines, systematically attacking the six big losses (breakdowns, setup/adjustment, minor stops, reduced speed, startup rejects, process rejects) through structured problem-solving and data-driven prioritization.

* Apply structured root cause analysis methodologies (5-Why, fishbone/Ishikawa, A3 thinking) to chronic equipment failures, driving permanent corrective actions and updating PM plans to prevent recurrence.

* Collaborate closely with the Maintenance Manager and reliability resources to continuously mature the TPM program, including Planned Maintenance and Focused Improvement pillar activities, reducing unplanned downtime and improving OEE.

* Develop, standardize, and sustain PM procedures, CIL checklists, and maintenance Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs); train personnel to standard and hold teams accountable to consistent execution.

Team Supervision & Development

* Lead and develop packaging maintenance technicians and shift leads using lean leadership principles - setting clear expectations, supporting daily accountability, and coaching teams to drive measurable improvements in safety, quality, delivery, and cost (SQDC).

* Foster a culture of employee engagement and continuous improvement by actively listening to frontline ideas on equipment reliability, facilitating problem-solving, and recognizing contributions at all levels.

* Ensure seamless shift-to-shift transitions for open work orders and equipment condition through structured shift handoff processes and visual management tools (equipment tags, OEE boards, backlog boards).

* Partner with Procurement to maintain reliable packaging material flow, applying pull-system and inventory management principles to minimize shortages and excess.

* Collaborate closely with the Maintenance team to execute and continuously improve a robust Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) program, reducing unplanned downtime and improving overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).

* Lead by example in demonstrating the Cooperative's Core Values:
Safety, Integrity, Openness & Trust, Teamwork, Entrepreneurship, and Social Responsibility.

* Ensure…