JOB DESCRIPTION

Plant Head ÔÇô Forging

1. Position Details

Position: Plant Head ÔÇô Forging
Department: Operations / Manufacturing
Function: Forging
Reporting To: Director / Chief Operating Officer / Managing Director
Location: [Ballabgarh Saroorpur Faridabad]
Experience: 15ÔÇô25 years in Forging / Manufacturing, including relevant plant leadership experience
Employment Type: Full Time

Salary: 10 to 12 LPA

2. Job Purpose

The Plant Head ÔÇô Forging will be responsible for the overall operations, performance, profitability, and strategic development of the forging plant.

The incumbent will lead Production, Quality, Maintenance, PPC, Tool Room, Stores, Engineering, Safety, and other plant functions to ensure achievement of Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, Productivity, and People (SQCDP) objectives.

The role requires strong hands-on knowledge of forging processes, forged products/components, raw materials (RM), dies and tooling, heat treatment, production systems, quality requirements, and plant operations.

3. Key Responsibilities

A. Overall Plant Operations

- Take complete responsibility for the day-to-day operation and overall performance of the forging plant.
- Develop and implement plant objectives in line with the company's business strategy.
- Establish and monitor annual, monthly, and daily operational targets.
- Ensure achievement of production, quality, delivery, productivity, cost, and safety targets.
- Drive coordination between Production, Quality, Maintenance, PPC, Tool Room, Stores, Purchase, HR, and other functions.
- Monitor plant performance through defined KPIs and initiate corrective actions for deviations.
- Build a culture of ownership, accountability, discipline, and continuous improvement.

B. Forging Product & Process Knowledge

The candidate must have strong practical knowledge of forged products and forging processes.

Responsibilities include:

- Thorough understanding of different types of forged components/products and their manufacturing requirements.
- Understanding of component drawings, specifications, tolerances, GD&T;, and customer requirements.
- Knowledge of hot, warm, and cold forging processes, as applicable.
- Knowledge of closed-die/open-die forging and processes such as upsetting, bending, piercing, trimming, sizing, and coining.
- Understanding of forging process parameters and their impact on product quality.
- Knowledge of forging defects such as cracks, laps, folds, underfill, mismatch, scale pits, die marks, dimensional variation, overheating, and decarburization.
- Ability to analyze forging defects and implement effective root-cause and corrective actions.
- Support process development and manufacturing feasibility for new forged products.

C. Raw Material (RM) Knowledge

Strong knowledge of forging raw materials is mandatory.

The candidate should have knowledge of:

- Carbon steel, alloy steel, micro-alloyed steel, and other grades used for forged components.
- Raw material specifications and standards.
- Chemical composition and mechanical properties.
- Hardness and metallurgical requirements.
- Heat number and batch traceability.
- Material Test Certificates (MTC).
- RM inspection and acceptance criteria.
- RM yield, material utilization, and scrap control.
- Selection of appropriate RM grade and size for forged components.
- Identification and resolution of RM-related quality issues.
- Coordination with Purchase, Stores, Quality, and suppliers for RM quality and availability.

D. Production Management

- Plan and achieve daily, monthly, and annual production targets.
- Optimize machine loading, manpower utilization, and production capacity.
- Improve productivity through cycle-time reduction, line balancing, process optimization, and automation.
- Monitor OEE, machine utilization, productivity, downtime, and changeover time.
- Reduce rejection, rework, scrap, and material losses.
- Ensure adherence to production schedules and customer delivery commitments.
- Establish and maintain effective SOPs and work instructions.
- Ensure proper control of WIP and finished goods.





E. Quality Management

- Ensure consistent quality of forged products as per customer specifications.
- Work closely with the Quality team to reduce internal and customer rejection.
- Drive systematic root-cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions.
- Ensure effective implementation of PFMEA, Control Plans, SPC, inspection standards, and process controls.
- Lead resolution of customer complaints through appropriate problem-solving methodology such as 8D.
- Support customer audits and quality improvement initiatives.
- Ensure compliance with applicable quality management systems such as IATF 16949 / ISO 9001, as applicable.

F. Tooling & Die Management

- Ensure availability and effective management of forging dies, tools, fixtures, and related tooling.
- Monitor die life and tooling consumption.
- Improve die life through appropriate material selection, heat treatment, design, lubrication, and process control.
- Coordinate with Tool Room for die development, repair, modification, and maintenance.
- Analyze premature die/tool failures and implement corrective actions.
- Control tooling costs and maintain adequate availability of critical tools and dies.

G. Maintenance & Equipment Management

- Ensure preventive, predictive, and breakdown maintenance of all plant equipment.
- Maximize equipment availability and minimize unplanned downtime.
- Monitor MTBF and MTTR.
- Ensure effective maintenance of forging presses, hammers, heating systems, furnaces, trimming presses, hydraulic systems, compressors, cooling systems, and material-handling equipment.
- Ensure availability of critical spare parts.
- Drive initiatives to improve equipment reliability and OEE.

H. PPC, Stores & Supply Chain

- Coordinate with PPC to ensure production plans are aligned with customer requirements.
- Ensure timely availability of RM, consumables, tools, dies, and other production requirements.
- Maintain optimum inventory levels of RM, WIP, and finished goods.
- Minimize inventory carrying costs and avoid obsolete/slow-moving inventory.
- Coordinate with Purchase and suppliers for timely RM and consumable availability.
- Ensure complete material traceability throughout the manufacturing process.

I. Cost Reduction & Continuous Improvement

- Drive plant-wide cost-reduction initiatives.
- Improve RM yield and reduce material consumption.
- Reduce scrap, rejection, rework, energy consumption, tooling costs, and conversion costs.
- Drive Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen, 5S, TPM, and other continuous improvement initiatives.
- Identify opportunities for automation and process improvement.
- Develop and implement productivity-improvement projects.
- Track and report financial benefits from improvement initiatives.

J. Manpower & Team Management

- Lead and develop the plant management and supervisory team.
- Determine manpower requirements based on production and capacity.
- Ensure optimum utilization of direct and indirect manpower.
- Develop skill matrices and competency development plans.
- Identify training requirements and ensure technical development of employees.
- Build a strong second-line leadership team.
- Conduct regular performance reviews and ensure accountability across departments.

K. Safety & Environment

- Establish and maintain a strong safety culture throughout the plant.
- Ensure compliance with statutory safety and environmental requirements.
- Conduct regular safety audits, risk assessments, and safety training.
- Ensure proper PPE usage and adherence to safe operating procedures.
- Control safety risks associated with hot forging, presses, hammers, furnaces, heavy components, and material handling.




- Investigate accidents and near misses and ensure corrective actions.
- Maintain proper housekeeping and 5S standards.

L. New Product Development

- Provide manufacturing inputs during development of new forged components.
- Review drawings and specifications for manufacturability.
- Support RM selection, process design, die design, and process trials.
- Coordinate APQP, PPAP, trial production, and production validation.
- Ensure smooth transfer of new products from development to mass production.
- Optimize manufacturing processes to achieve required quality and cost targets.

M. Customer & Supplier Management

- Participate in customer meetings, audits, and technical discussions.
- Support resolution of customer quality and delivery issues.
- Coordinate with suppliers to resolve RM and tooling-related issues.
- Monitor supplier performance relating to quality, delivery, and cost.
- Develop long-term improvement plans with critical suppliers.

4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The Plant Head will be responsible for monitoring and improving:

- Production achievement %
- OEE
- Machine utilization
- Productivity
- RM yield %
- Material consumption
- Scrap %
- Rejection %
- Rework %
- Customer PPM
- Customer complaints
- On-time delivery %
- Machine downtime
- MTBF / MTTR
- Die life
- Tool consumption
- Energy consumption per ton/part
- Conversion cost
- Labour productivity
- Inventory levels
- Safety incidents
- Absenteeism
- 5S performance
- Kaizen / cost-saving achievements

5. Educational Qualification

Mandatory

- B.Tech / B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from a recognized university/institute.

Preferred

- Additional qualification in Production Engineering, Manufacturing, Metallurgy, or Operations Management will be an advantage.

6. Experience Requirements

- 15ÔÇô25 years of total experience in forging/manufacturing operations.
- Significant experience in a forging plant or forged-component manufacturing environment.
- Previous experience in a senior Plant Head / Operations Head / Plant Operations leadership role preferred.
- Strong experience in managing Production, Quality, Maintenance, PPC, Tooling, and manpower.
- Experience in automotive or industrial forging will be preferred.
- Experience in capacity expansion, new product development, productivity improvement, and cost reduction will be an advantage.

7. Mandatory Technical Competencies

The candidate must demonstrate solid working knowledge of:

- Forged products and components
- Forging raw materials (RM)
- Forging processes and process parameters
- Hot/warm/cold forging
- Forging dies and tooling
- Billet heating and temperature control
- Trimming and finishing operations
- Heat treatment
- Forging defects and troubleshooting
- Material yield and weight optimization
- Engineering drawings and GD&T;
- Metallurgy fundamentals
- APQP / PPAP
- PFMEA / Control Plan
- SPC / MSA
- 8D / RCA / CAPA
- Lean Manufacturing
- TPM / Kaizen / 5S
- Production planning and capacity management
- Maintenance management
- Cost reduction
- Safety management

8. Leadership & Behavioral Competencies

- Strong leadership and team-management skills.
- Excellent decision-making and problem-solving ability.
- Strong analytical and data-driven approach.
- Ability to manage multiple plant functions effectively.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
- High level of ownership and accountability.
- Ability to work under pressure and meet challenging targets.
- Strong customer focus.
- Continuous improvement mindset.
- Ability to develop and mentor teams.
- Commercial and cost-conscious approach.

9. Overall Accountability

The Plant Head will have overall accountability for the Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, Productivity, People, and Profitability of the forging plant.

The ideal candidate should be a strong technical and operational leader with deep knowledge of forged products, forging processes, and raw materials, combined with the ability to manage the complete plant independently and deliver sustainable improvements in quality, productivity, cost, delivery, and profitability.

📌 Plant Head – Forging (India)
🏢 Mounee Consulting Services
📍 India