Maintenance Planner

South Coast Lumber Company; Brookings (AR); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

PTO

On-site clinic

Health insurance

401(k) matching

Job summary

South Coast Lumber Company is seeking a Maintenance Planner to improve maintenance workforce productivity, equipment reliability, and work quality in a high-speed manufacturing environment. You will develop detailed job plans, coordinate labor, materials, tools, and safety requirements, and serve as a key liaison among Maintenance, Operations, and Purchasing/Stores.

The role requires managing weekly and daily schedules, coordinating downtime, and tracking PM compliance and backlog.

Qualifications

• Five years of maintenance, industrial mechanic, or related manufacturing experience.
• Experience with preventive, predictive, and proactive maintenance programs.
• Ability to read and interpret equipment manuals, blueprints, and technical diagrams.
• Strong organizational, planning, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong communication across departments and with cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Serve as liaison between Maintenance, Operations, and other departments to ensure timely, efficient maintenance services.
• Develop and maintain short-term and long-term maintenance plans balancing safety, reliability, and production needs.
• Prepare detailed job plans including scope, labor hours, materials, tools, safety, and permits.
• Build and communicate weekly and daily maintenance schedules with stakeholders.
• Coordinate planned downtime and project maintenance to minimize production disruption.
• Plan and coordinate work orders for preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance.
• Maintain maintenance documentation in CMMS and related systems.
• Coordinate with Purchasing/Stores to verify parts availability and reduce delays.
• Organize technical documentation to support maintenance personnel.
• Monitor reports to identify reliability issues and drive improvements.

Skills

Maintenance planning

Communication

Team collaboration

Problem-solving

Safety compliance

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

CMMS

Microsoft Office

Maintenance planning software

Production reporting systems

Technical manuals & blueprints

Job description

The Maintenance Planner is responsible for improving maintenance workforce productivity, equipment reliability, and work quality by anticipating and eliminating potential delays through effective maintenance planning, scheduling, coordination, and follow-up. This role develops detailed job plans, coordinates labor, materials, parts, tools, equipment access, safety requirements, and planned downtime, and serves as a key liaison between Maintenance, Operations, Purchasing/Stores, and other departments to ensure maintenance activities are completed safely, efficiently, and cost effectively in a high-speed manufacturing environment.

Report to:

Maintenance Supervisor

Qualifications, Requirements, & Responsibilities:

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary liaison between Maintenance, Operations, and other supported departments to ensure timely, efficient, and high-quality maintenance services.
• Develop and maintain short-term and long-term maintenance plans that balance safety, equipment reliability, production needs, maintenance backlog, and available labor and resources.
• Prepare detailed job plans for maintenance work, including scope of work, estimated labor hours, required skills, materials, parts, tools, equipment, drawings, permits, lockout/tagout considerations, PPE, and safety precautions.
• Build, maintain, and communicate weekly and daily maintenance schedules in coordination with Maintenance supervision, Operations, and other affected departments.
• Coordinate planned downtime, shutdowns, outages, and project-related maintenance work to minimize disruption to production.
• Plan and coordinate maintenance work orders, repairs, inspections, preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance, and corrective maintenance activities for plant equipment and facilities.
• Maintain accurate maintenance documentation, including work orders, preventive maintenance schedules, parts information, and equipment records within the CMMS systems.
• Coordinate with purchasing, warehouse, and storeroom personnel to verify parts availability, identify critical spares, stage or kit parts for planned work, and reduce delays caused by missing materials.
• Determine and organize technical documentation necessary to support maintenance personnel.
• Monitor production and operational reports to identify equipment reliability issues and resolve maintenance-related deficiencies.
• Use equipment history, downtime data, technician feedback, and production reports to identify recurring failures and support root cause analysis, corrective actions, and improvements to preventive maintenance plans.
• Coordinate labor, materials, tools, and equipment to maximize maintenance efficiency and minimize production downtime.
• Support preventive, predictive, and proactive maintenance initiatives that improve equipment reliability and plant performance.
• Track, monitor, and report maintenance performance measures such as PM compliance, schedule compliance, backlog aging, open and past-due work orders, work order accuracy, parts availability, downtime trends, and labor utilization.
• Participate in daily and weekly planning meetings with Maintenance, Operations, Purchasing/Stores, and other stakeholders to align priorities, review backlog, confirm schedules, and resolve constraints.
• Ensure compliance with company policies and all applicable EPA, OSHA, and regulatory requirements.
• Assist with audits, inspections, and maintenance reporting as required.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Minimum of five years of maintenance, industrial mechanic, or related manufacturing experience.
• Experience with preventive, predictive, and proactive maintenance programs.
• Experience troubleshooting and maintaining high-speed industrial equipment.
• Knowledge of industrial manufacturing equipment, maintenance planning practices, and equipment reliability concepts.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and CMMS.
• Ability to read and interpret equipment manuals, mechanical drawings, blueprints, and technical diagrams.
• Strong organizational, planning, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to work effectively across departments.
• Valid driver's license, if required to operate company vehicles or travel between company locations.
• Strong commitment to workplace safety and regulatory compliance.
• Ability to work flexible hours as business needs require.
• Successful completion of a post-offer drug screen and background check.

Preferred Qualifications

• Manufacturing experience within the forest products industry, with sawmill, plywood, veneer, engineered wood, panel products, or related wood manufacturing experience preferred.
• Experience planning maintenance work for material handling systems, conveyors, hydraulic and pneumatic systems, kilns, or related industrial equipment.
• Experience with maintenance KPI reporting, shutdown planning, parts kitting, material coordination, or work order backlog management.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation based on experience.
• Vacation/Paid Time Off.
• In-house clinical care facilities for employees and eligible dependents.
• Low-cost health, dental, vision, and pharmaceutical insurance.
• 401(k) eligibility after 60 days with generous company matching options.

Tools & Equipment Used

• CMMS
• Microsoft Office Suite
• Maintenance planning software
• Production reporting systems
• Technical manuals and blueprints

Hours per Day/Week

• 8-10 hours per day
• 40-50 hours per week

Physical Requirements

• Sitting for extended periods
• Walking throughout production areas
• Frequent computer use
• Ability to occasionally move, lift, or carry parts, tools, or materials up to 50 pounds, with assistance or appropriate equipment when needed.

Environment

• Combination of office and manufacturing environments
• Exposure to industrial noise, dust, and temperature fluctuations

Required Personal Protective Equipment

• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Steel-toed footwear as required