Reliability Lead – Indiana Hub & Bethlehem

The Hershey Company

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Requisition Number: 128752

Job

Location Bluffton, Indiana - Onsite 5 days a week (no remote)

Travel: Up to 20%

Position Summary:

The Reliability Lead – Indiana Hub & Bethlehem is responsible for the overall maintenance and asset reliability of process equipment and will lead the maintenance strategies & drive process efficiency in support of the Hershey Lean program. This role will work closely with the cross-functional Factory Leadership Teams, corporate partners, and valued vendors to prioritize day-to-day focus based on risk, business need, and opportunity.

This role will be based at the Bluffton, Indiana plant, but will be a shared resource with responsibility for all four factories in the Indiana Hub. These four factories are all part of The Hershey Company’s Salty Snacks business, manufacturing pretzels for brands like Dot’s Pretzels, puffed corn snacks for Pirate’s Booty, and popcorn for SkinnyPop. This is an exciting time of growth for the Salty Snacks business as we invest in new capacity and integrate new factory teams into the Hershey culture, leveraging our 130+ years of food manufacturing expertise.

The Reliability Lead – Indiana Hub will report to the Sr. Technical Assurance Manager for the Indiana Hub, which includes Bluffton, Plymouth, and Whitestown, IN, as well as Bethlehem, PA. Based in Bluffton, IN, periodic travel will be required to the other Indiana factories, Bethlehem, and occasional travel to other Hershey sites, vendors, or training/tradeshows. This position will collaborate with Factory Managers, Factory Engineering Managers, and Maintenance Managers across the Indiana and Kansas Hubs, as well as the broader Hershey manufacturing network, playing a key role in developing our maintenance practices.

Responsibilities

• Management of the maintenance planning and scheduling processes, through work-order (SAP) prioritization and development of the schedule for maintenance activities.

• The Reliability Lead will drive the improvement of maintenance processes to ensure sustainable asset reliability, including preventative and predictive measures through the analysis of plant maintenance data. Emphasis at any given time will be determined by business priorities, plant performance needs, and asset risk.

• Collaborates with the Technical Assurance group to ensure asset management and inventory accuracy and is responsible for driving related maintenance financial efficiency.

• Assist in development of the 5-year capital plan

• Manage capital projects

• Accountable for the daily management systems supporting continuous improvement efforts, including defect handling and breakdown elimination (root cause analysis), while supporting equipment centerline and autonomous maintenance activities.

• Participates in the daily shift huddles and direction setting meetings, reporting out on performance metrics and counter measures.

• Engages with Mechanics & Operators, providing training and coaching to promote ownership of equipment and processes.

• Time is intentionally directed where it will deliver the greatest value, including:

• Assessing and prioritizing reliability opportunities across plants

• Deploying targeted improvements where gaps are greatest

• Partnering with site leadership to build capability and ownership

• Advancing scalable, sustainable maintenance systems

• Adjusting focus as conditions and priorities evolve

• Lead Short Term Maintenance Strategies

• Provides daily direction and leadership to the maintenance planner and hourly resources assigned to areas of responsibility to support high-impact issues enabling systems and capability development across multiple plants.

• Ensures that equipment is performing effectively and efficiently

• Owner of breakdown elimination efforts as the technical resource for the assign area.

• Provides technical guidance for the preventive and predictive maintenance program.

• Lead Long Term Maintenance Strategies

• Establishes and monitors programs for critical equipment analysis and condition monitoring techniques.

• Reviews equipment breakdown history.

• Responsible for analyzing equipment operating data.

• Responsible for auditing PM program

• Working directly with the planner, develops PM schedules and standards for planned maintenance overhaul work, equipment rebuilds and planned downtime events.

• Reports and monitors key performance indicators (Lean Maintenance planning and scheduling)

• Establishes and monitors programs for critical equipment analysis and condition monitoring techniques.

• Promotes and advises on the use and disposition of stock items, stock quantities and MRO productivity opportunities.

• Promotes equipment standardization.

• Makes cost-benefit reviews of the maintenance programs.

• Optimizes maintenance and Hershey Lean strategies.

Relationships and Contacts:

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• Collaborate with Hershey Maintenance teams.
• Collaborate with third-party commercial maintenance services.