Reliability & Maintenance Planner

Reliability Engineer & Maintenance Planner (Overseas Employment)

Work Location:

Te Puke, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

Job Identification:

• Department: Engineering / Operations
• Reports To: Maintenance & Engineering Project Manager
• Direct Reports: None
• Work Location: Onsite – Te Puke, Bay of Plenty (with occasional flexibility by agreement)
• Work Schedule: Day shift; flexible support during shutdowns/critical breakdowns as required

Job Purpose:

To improve equipment reliability and reduce unplanned downtime by owning maintenance planning and scheduling while leading reliability engineering activities. This role prepares “ready-to-execute” work orders (scope, labor, parts, tools, permits, acceptance criteria), coordinates maintenance windows with Operations, ensures spares readiness, and drives reliability improvements through data‑led problem solving, PM optimization, and failure elimination. The role also enforces CMMS (Limble) discipline and machine handover compliance to strengthen maintenance history, safety, and execution quality.

KRA 1:
Maintenance Planning & Scheduling Excellence (45%):

• Build and issue weekly and daily maintenance schedules aligned with production plans, sanitation windows, and shutdown requirements.
• Maintain a healthy, prioritized backlog (planned vs unplanned) and ensure high‑priority work is prepared and scheduled appropriately.
• Convert requests into high‑quality work orders with clear scope, job steps, estimated duration, skill requirements, tools, parts, permits/LOTO requirements, and acceptance criteria.
• Coordinate access windows with Operations to minimize disruption and protect production continuity.
• Track and improve schedule attainment, document reasons for missed work, and drive recovery actions (re‑plan, re‑scope, remove blockers).

KRA 2:
Reliability Engineering & Continuous Improvement (35%):

• Own the site reliability cadence: identify top losses, prioritize reliability actions, and drive sustained reduction in repeat failures.
• Lead root cause analysis (RCA) for recurring failures and significant downtime events; implement corrective actions and verify effectiveness.
• Optimize preventive maintenance strategies (frequency, task content, standards) using failure history, OEM guidance, and practical risk‑based thinking.
• Improve asset performance through reliability initiatives such as criticality ranking, defect elimination, condition checks/inspection routes (where applicable), and maintenance standards.
• Partner with Operations, QA, and Maintenance to improve “maintainability” and execution quality (access, cleaning, changeover constraints, hygiene controls).
• Provide reliability input to shutdown planning (job prioritization, sequencing risks, work pack readiness) and CAPEX/upgrade discussions (risk, ROI, reliability impact).

KRA 3: CMMS Work Management Discipline & Data Quality (Limble) (10%):

• Ensure work orders are closed with complete records (work performed, parts used, labor hours, photos/readings, permits where required) to maintain reliable maintenance history.
• Maintain clean CMMS foundations (asset hierarchy hygiene, PM template administration—administrative ownership only).
• Monitor and report core KPIs (PM on‑time completion, schedule attainment, backlog health, emergency work trends, repeat failure trends).

KRA 4:
Spares Readiness & MRO Governance (10%):

• Own maintenance spares governance: critical spares list, min/max settings, reorder points, lead times, approved alternates, and job kitting requirements.
• Coordinate with Warehouse/Stores and Procurement for cycle counts, variance investigations, and inventory accuracy improvements.
• Ensure parts are kitted/staged ahead of scheduled jobs to reduce delays due to “waiting on parts”.
• Track critical spares stockout risks and elevate early to prevent downtime.

Scope note: Physical custody and daily issuing/receiving is managed by Warehouse/Stores unless otherwise assigned. This role is accountable for readiness, control, and system accuracy.

KRA 5:
Ad Hoc / Governance Support (as needed)

• Verify and audit that proper machine handover is completed before maintenance begins and before equipment is returned to production, following site SOPs and…