Maintenance Planner/Scheduler

Job Purpose

The Maintenance Planner and Scheduler prepares maintenance work so it can be completed safely, efficiently, and with minimal disruption to production. The role turns approved work requests into complete job packages and builds realistic schedules based on equipment availability, job priority, materials, and available craft labor. The position supports equipment reliability by maintaining accurate work history and using technician feedback to improve future plans.

Your Key Accountabilities

Work Request Review and Backlog Management

Review maintenance requests for a clear problem statement, correct equipment or functional location, and sufficient supporting information. Confirm scope and priority with Operations and Maintenance, identify duplicate or incomplete requests, and maintain accurate backlog status. Separate work awaiting scope, materials, approval, or equipment access from work that is ready to schedule.

Field Walkdowns and Job Planning

Visit the job site and consult technicians to understand access, work sequence, equipment condition, and execution constraints. Develop job packages with task steps, drawings or references, tools, spare parts, services, and acceptance criteria. Identify permit, isolation, lifting, scaffolding, or other support requirements for review and execution by authorized site personnel.

Labor Estimates and Resource Requirements

Estimate task duration, craft requirements, crew size, and total labor hours. Distinguish elapsed duration from labor effort; for example, two technicians working four hours require eight labor hours. Account for task dependencies and specialty support, and validate unfamiliar work with experienced technicians or engineering before committing it to a schedule.

Materials and Service Readiness

Confirm required part numbers, quantities, availability, and delivery dates with the Storeroom and Purchasing. Initiate or support reservations and purchase requests within assigned authority, track long-lead items, and coordinate contractor requirements. Verify that parts and services will be available before presenting a job as ready to schedule; route substitutions through the appropriate technical approval process.

Weekly Scheduling and Production Coordination

Build and maintain a weekly schedule that matches ready work to available mechanical and I/E craft hours, production windows, and equipment access. Lead or support the scheduling meeting, resolve constraints with stakeholders, and publish the agreed schedule. Identify overloading, coordinate approved changes, and record reasons for work that is added, delayed, or carried over. Supervisors remain responsible for field assignments and execution.

SAP PM and Maintenance Records

Maintain complete and accurate work-order planning data in SAP PM, including scope, operations, work centers, planned hours, dates, materials, and relevant status information. Use IW38 work-order information and IW47 confirmation information to review backlog and execution results. Follow up on missing actual hours, completion notes, and equipment history; support closeout in accordance with site procedures and delegated authority.

Preventive Maintenance and Shutdown Support

Coordinate preventive and predictive maintenance due dates with production needs and resource availability. Escalate work at risk of becoming overdue and route deferrals through site approval requirements. Support shutdown scope development, job packages, resource loading, sequencing, contractor coordination, and material readiness. Maintain a forward look at major work and flag constraints early enough for action.

Who we are looking for

Essential Experience and Technical Skills

Industrial maintenance experience with demonstrated responsibility for planning or scheduling work. A practical understanding of manufacturing equipment, maintenance work methods, and the coordination required between mechanical and instrumentation/electrical crafts. Experience translating field observations into clear job scope, labor estimates, material lists, and executable work packages.

• Working knowledge of SAP PM or a comparable maintenance management system, with the ability to maintain work orders, review backlog, and interpret confirmation and work-history data.
• Strong Excel skills for organizing work-order data, filtering and sorting backlogs, comparing planned and actual hours, and preparing resource-balanced weekly schedules.
• Ability to read relevant drawings, manuals, and equipment information, recognize planning constraints, and obtain technical input when required.
• Understanding of maintenance safety planning, permit and isolation coordination, and the limits of the planner’s approval authority.
• Clear written and verbal communication, accurate recordkeeping, and the ability to manage competing deadlines without losing control of detail.

Preferred Background

Maintenance planning in a manufacturing or batch-process plant; hands-on craft experience; shutdown or turnaround coordination; and direct use of SAP PM, including IW38 and IW47. Familiarity with Microsoft Project, equipment BOMs, spare-parts planning, preventive maintenance optimization, and reliability measures is beneficial. Relevant technical education or maintenance/reliability certification may strengthen a candidate’s profile.

Working Style and Behavioral Expectations

Organized, dependable, and comfortable working both in the field and with maintenance data. Builds credibility by listening to technicians, asking practical questions, and following through. Shares knowledge, accepts feedback, and raises concerns early. Maintains professional relationships while challenging incomplete scope, unrealistic resource assumptions, or work that is not ready to execute.