
Production Planner and Scheduler
- Sauget, IL
- Permanent
- Full-time
Responsibilities:Production Planning & Scheduling
- Develop and coordinate production schedules that support 24/7 operations by effectively allocating work across three shifts: Day Shift (Monday–Thursday, 6:30 AM–5:00 PM), Night Shift (Monday–Thursday, 8:00 PM–6:30 AM), and Weekend Shift (Friday–Sunday, 6:00 AM–6:30 PM), ensuring balanced workloads and consistent output across all teams.
- Create and update production schedules on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to align with confirmed customer orders, demand forecasts, and current inventory levels/ objectives.
- Analyze order volume and lead time to ensure production is balanced across all lines and shifts.
- Plan for make-to-order and make-to-stock items, adjusting schedule priorities based on customer urgency or order type.
- Collaborate with production supervisors/leads and align scheduling plans with actual floor capacity and constraints.
- Achieve On-time Delivery goal of above 95% to customer requested date.
- Evaluate available machine hours, tooling, labor, and shift coverage before finalizing production schedules.
- Identify and escalate capacity constraints or labor shortages and recommend mitigation strategies (e.g., overtime, rescheduling, outsourcing).
- Work with maintenance planner to schedule preventive maintenance windows and equipment downtime without disrupting critical production targets.
- Balance long-run vs. short-run jobs to fully utilize production assets without creating backlogs.
- Monitor work-in-progress (WIP) and actual performance against schedule daily; adjust timelines as needed based on real-time feedback.
- React promptly to disruptions such as material shortages, machine breakdowns, or rush orders, while maintaining schedule integrity.
- Communicate schedule changes clearly and proactively to operations, warehouse, sales and customer service teams.
- Coordinate closely with the finance team to avoid delays caused by late or missing components.
- Enter and update schedules and job orders in the company’s ERP (Vista).
- Ensure all planning data (BOMs, routings, standard run times) is current and accurate to support reliable scheduling.
- Generate and distribute production schedules, job travelers, or work orders from the system.
- Monitor and resolve discrepancies between planned vs. actual output using system reporting tools.
- Track and report on key scheduling KPIs such as:
- On-time delivery (OTD)
- Schedule adherence
- Capacity utilization
- Analyze historical trends to forecast labor or machine demand.
- Participate in weekly production meetings and planning reviews.
- Recommend and implement scheduling improvements to enhance throughput, reduce lead time, and improve flexibility.
- Collaborate with the Supply Chain Manager to monitor purchase orders for raw materials and supplies.
- Maintain accurate records of purchase orders, delivery confirmations, and vendor communications.
- Ability to create and manage production schedules using advanced Excel skills to meet customer deadlines.
- Experience ordering materials and working with suppliers to get the right items on time and at the right price.
- Comfortable using ERP systems to plan materials and track orders
- Strong ability to stay organized and manage multiple tasks and deadlines.
- Able to quickly find solutions to issues like late shipments or scheduling conflicts.
- Clear and professional when speaking or writing to coworkers, suppliers, and other departments.
- Works well with others, including production, engineering, and customer service.
- Careful and accurate when working with orders, schedules, and inventory.
- Able to prioritize tasks and stay on schedule in a fast-paced environment.
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Business, or related field preferred.
- 3–5 years of experience in a manufacturing environment in a scheduler, planner role.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office (especially Excel).
- Familiarity with ERP/MRP systems.
- Strong organizational, analytical, and communication skills.
- Walking on the production floor, which may involve exposure to manufacturing noise and equipment.
- Periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
- Ability to lift up to 50 pounds (e.g., moving small boxes or samples).
- May require wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) when on the production floor (e.g., safety glasses, hearing protection).
- Ability to perform tasks that require fine motor skills, such as typing and handling paperwork.