Plant Superintendent

Hao Wei xps Sdn bhd; Johor Bahru; On-site; MYR 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A manufacturing company in Johor Bahru is seeking a Plant Superintendent/Engineer to lead day-to-day operations, ensuring high standards in safety, quality, and reporting. The role will develop into a Plant Manager position and requires strong operational leadership experience, fluency in English and Chinese, and knowledge of manufacturing disciplines. Candidates should be motivated to establish structured processes and drive continuous improvement within the facility.

Qualifications

• Experience in manufacturing, engineering, or industrial operations.
• Strong operational and technical leadership capability.
• Ability to operate independently on site.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily production activities and priorities.
• Own all production reporting and ensure execution.
• Enforce safety standards and conduct regular audits.

Skills

Manufacturing experience

Technical leadership

Bilingual in English and Chinese

Knowledge of 5S and Kaizen

Experience in plastics or continuous manufacturing

Job description

The Plant Superintendent / Engineer is responsible for providing full day-to-day operational leadership at the manufacturing site, ensuring the plant operates in line with operational, safety, quality, engineering, and reporting standards.

The role exists to establish consistent on-site leadership, stabilise daily operations, embed structured manufacturing, engineering, and quality disciplines (including APQP), and act as the accountable owner for production execution, safety, housekeeping, reporting, and continuous improvement.

This role leads the site operationally and is designed to develop into a full Plant Manager position, with longer-term potential for regional operations responsibility.

Key Responsibilities

• 1. Site Leadership & Operational Control
  • Act as the on-site operational leader for the facility
  • Lead daily production activities, priorities, and execution
  • Provide clear direction to production engineers, supervisors, and zone leaders
  • Establish and maintain daily operational routines (shift handovers, daily checks, issue escalation)
  • Serve as the primary escalation point for production, safety, quality, engineering, and discipline issues
• 2. Production Planning, Execution & Reporting
  • Own all production reporting, including: Output, Downtime, Scrap and yield, Efficiency and utilisation
  • Produce clear daily, weekly, and monthly reports for MD Asia
  • Track performance trends and ensure corrective actions are implemented
  • Ensure production plans are executed safely, efficiently, and consistently
• 3. Safety, Health & Environment (OHS) Leadership
  • Lead site-wide safety culture aligned with Kingspan expectations
  • Enforce mandatory PPE, high-visibility clothing, and safe work practices
  • Ensure forklift safety controls, licensing, and people–vehicle segregation are followed
  • Conduct regular safety walks and follow up on corrective actions
  • Drive the transition from reactive safety to preventive, behaviour-based safety
• 4. Housekeeping, 5S & Factory Discipline
  • Maintain and enforce the 8-zone factory ownership model
  • Ensure daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning schedules are executed
  • Conduct regular 5S audits and follow up on gaps
  • Embed 5S as a daily operating discipline, not a one-off initiative
  • Drive Kaizen-style continuous improvement activities on the shopfloor
• 5. Warehouse, Inventory & Material Flow
  • Ensure structured warehouse zoning and visual controls
  • Enforce correct storage, labelling, and handling of raw materials, WIP, scrap, and finished goods
  • Support implementation and discipline of barcode-based inventory systems
  • Ensure batch control, traceability, and inventory accuracy
  • Support cycle counts and inventory audits
• 6. Quality & Process Discipline (Including APQP)
  • Reinforce strict adherence to approved processes, formulations, control plans, and work instructions
  • Actively support and embed APQP (Advanced Product Quality Planning) principles across operations, including: Process flow definition and validation; Risk identification and mitigation (PFMEA awareness); Control plan discipline and compliance; Structured change management for process, material, and formulation changes
  • Support Quality & Compliance teams in implementing robust in-process and final quality controls
  • Ensure documentation, labelling, and full batch traceability requirements are consistently met
  • Escalate quality deviations promptly and ensure corrective and preventive actions are closed
  • Ensure quality learnings are fed back into process control, APQP reviews, and continuous improvement
• 7. Engineering & Technical Leadership
  • Provide hands-on engineering and operational support to production engineers and supervisors
  • Act as first-line technical escalation for process instability and production issues
  • Support troubleshooting, process optimisation, and changeovers
  • Coordinate maintenance priorities and execution with internal or external engineering support
  • Ensure engineering actions are closed, documented, and reflected in production plans
  • Cleaning and 5S
  • Maintenance support
  • Safety improvements
  • Training and skills development
  • Reduce idle time and improve workforce productivity
  • Maintain a visible, hands-on leadership presence on the shopfloor
  • Enforce discipline and expected behaviours fairly and consistently
  • Support worker welfare initiatives (break areas, rest spaces, working conditions)
  • Act as the primary communication bridge between management and shopfloor teams

Skills, Experience & Qualifications

• Manufacturing, engineering, or industrial operations experience
• Strong hands-on operational and technical leadership capability
• Ability to operate independently as on-site operational lead
• Strong discipline and execution focus
• Comfortable producing structured operational and technical reports
• Fluent in English and Chinese (spoken and written)
• Experience in plastics, insulation, or continuous manufacturing
• Exposure to multinational manufacturing environments
• Knowledge of: 5S and Kaizen; APQP and structured quality / process control systems; Basic OHS and audit requirements; Experience working in bilingual / multicultural factory environments

Personal Attributes

• Highly structured and disciplined
• Calm, firm, and fair leadership style
• Strong ownership and accountability mindset
• Comfortable enforcing standards and challenging unsafe or non-compliant practices
• Clear communicator across technical and non-technical teams
• Motivated to develop into senior site or regional operations leadership

Development & Progression

• This role is designed as a development pathway:
• Short-term: Stabilise and professionalise site operations and engineering discipline
• Medium-term: Progress to full Plant Manager responsibility
• Long-term: Potential regional operations or engineering leadership within Kingspan Insulation Asia