Engineering Manager | Vector Logistics

Job Purpose

• Manage the operation and maintenance of refrigeration plants and equipment across the inland sites.
• Manage the facilities, plant and equipment projects through planning, prioritizing, scheduling and allocating tasks to different disciplines of the engineering department.
• Effectively manage the maintenance and capital expenditure budgets for the region.
• Lead the operations engineering team across the region.
• Ensure adequate resources are available to support the maintenance and project plan.
• Monitoring, evaluation and controlling the maintenance costs, refrigeration plant availability and efficiency, projects costs and utilities utilization.

Key Responsibilities

Project Management:

• Develop and execute annual capex budget with a focus on reducing plant down time and improving efficiencies of the refrigeration plant.
• Drive the preparation of the conceptual design and preliminary costing estimates for capex preparation.
• Manage all building and construction projects in the region or work with nominated project management specialist company.
• Plan and schedule the projects execution in line with operations requirements, deadlines and set milestones.
• Drive the risk management process and ensure health and safety requirements are adhered to with regards to facilities and equipment.
• Manage and control the fixed asset register and ensure that it is updated as per policy and depreciation is in line with group standards.
• Ensure that all project work on site is carried out and completed to the highest level of trade-man ship quality and to safe food requirements.
• Manage outside contractors to ensure the integrity of the engineering team and carry out corrective action when required.
• Conduct weekly project meetings to ensure all disciplines are aligned and that capex targets dates met in view of the year planner.
• Preparation of all capitalized major maintenance and capital request motivations and supporting documentation.
• Complete project reports and effectively communicate changes to the year planner.

Maintenance Management:

• Develop and implement an effective maintenance program for the facilities and refrigeration plants across the region.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives on asset care and resources utilization to optimize R&M costs in the region.
• Drive the maintenance planning, execution and reliability engineering to deliver required plant availability and refrigeration plant performance across the sites.
• Drive and ensure key maintenance metrics (planned maintenance compliance, backlog, artisan utilisation etc.) meet set targets.
• Ensure the plant, buildings and accessories are maintained in line with risk, security, safety, health, HACCP AND ISO22000, 14000, 18000 and food safety requirements.
• Ensure all electrical equipment and installations are maintained or installed in accordance with statutory requirements and business needs.
• Manage maintenance team and ensure that planned maintenance is effectively executed to enable optimal asset utilisation.
• Ensure that maintenance practices and procurement processes are aligned to business standards.
• Effective management of outsourced services, service level agreements and contracts.
• Effectively manage the breakdown, call-out and escalation process to ensure facilities temperatures are maintained.
• Lead the engineering team across the region and ensure the required tools, support, performance reviews and development plans are in place.
• Performs work inspections and sign off major maintenance, overhauls and statutory inspections/checks to ensure completeness of tasks.
• Management of utilities operation, monitoring usages and implementation of savings initiatives.
• Reporting on maintenance metrics, utilities usages and facilities risk mitigation plan.

Risk Management:

• In terms of design, use and maintenance, ensure all facilities comply with health, safety, security and other legal requirements.
• Management of risk-based inspections and maintenance on fire detection and fire protection systems.
• Ensure refrigeration plant compliance with SANS 10147 and other relevant legislation.
• Ensure that all legislative and industry standards are met.
• Responsible for health and safety with regards to all equipment and plants to ensure a safe environment to operate and work on for all staff.
• Ensure that the required focus is given to all audit requirements and findings.

Leadership:

• Lead the maintenance team towards meeting targets through regular communication and utilization of the full organizational talent management tool set.
• Contribute to the development of new training solutions in collaboration with other regional engineer/s.
• Train and mentor teams to improve performance.
• Ensure alignment of teams on action plan/s and key objectives.

Financial Management:

• Manage costs to ensure lowest cost maintenance and the optimal utilization of assets.
• Report to EE/ROE on a weekly basis on actual KPI’s versus budget and work with team to address and areas of nonconformance or concern proactively and timeously.
• Report on and manage all input costs and manage any over or underspend appropriately to ensure that issues are escalated before significant financial loss occurs.
• Manage engineering expenses within level of authority and monitor spending activity within teams to ensure compliance with financial and ethical standards.
• Implements and encourages cost cutting initiatives within the team where these do not impact on long term business sustainability.
• Provide input into CAPEX documentation considering return on investment, resourcing, and sustainability requirements.
• Manage suppliers and contracts in collaboration with the procurement team to ensure agreed service levels are met, escalate areas of concern to the ROE where necessary.
• Manage contractors daily to ensure that correct standards of work and agreed timelines are achieved.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience Required for the Job

Qualifications and Experience

• Relevant engineering degree (Essential).
• Experience working with refrigeration systems (Essential).
• Plant maintenance within medium to large scale facilities.
• An additional Refrigeration Qualification (advantageous).
• GCC factories (Advantageous).
• 8 years’ trade experience of which at least 5 years in a management category.
• Excellent understanding of mechanical, refrigeration and electrical engineering.