Job Purpose

The Head Operations will lead and manage the complete manufacturing operations of the plant, ensuring optimal productivity, consistent quality, cost efficiency, workplace safety and timely delivery.

The role will oversee the end-to-end order-to-dispatch cycle, coordinating Production Planning and Control (PPC), Production, Quality, Maintenance, Tooling, Stores, Purchase, Subcontracting, Finishing, Assembly and Dispatch.

The primary objective is to establish a safe, efficient, disciplined and scalable manufacturing operation that consistently delivers the right quality, right quantity, right cost and right time, with zero accidents.

Key Responsibilities

1. Production Management

- Plan, control and monitor daily, weekly and monthly production activities to achieve planned targets and customer delivery commitments.
- Ensure smooth production flow from raw material receipt to finished goods dispatch.
- Optimize machine loading, capacity utilization, manpower deployment and production throughput.
- Manage operations across turret punching, laser cutting, shearing, CNC press brakes, mechanical and hydraulic presses, welding, clinching, riveting, grinding, deburring, surface finishing, powder coating and assembly.
- Identify bottlenecks and implement corrective actions to minimize machine idle time, setup time, rejection, rework and production losses.
- Ensure adherence to standard operating procedures, work instructions and production schedules.

2. Production Planning & Control (PPC)

- Coordinate with PPC, Sales, Purchase, Stores, Quality, Maintenance and Dispatch to ensure production readiness and timely execution.
- Develop realistic machine-wise and process-wise production schedules based on order priorities, capacity and process constraints.
- Ensure the availability of raw materials, drawings, tools, dies, fixtures and manpower before production starts.
- Monitor order status, work-in-progress (WIP) and delivery risks; implement recovery plans for urgent and delayed orders.
- Optimize production sequencing and prevent unnecessary accumulation of WIP.

3. Sheet Metal Process Management

- Oversee sheet-metal fabrication and downstream manufacturing processes, including:
- CNC laser cutting, turret punching and shearing
- CNC press brake bending and other forming operations
- Mechanical and hydraulic press operations
- MIG/TIG and other applicable welding processes
- Clinching, riveting and mechanical joining
- Grinding, deburring and surface preparation
- Powder coating, painting, plating and other finishing processes
- Mechanical assembly and applicable electrical/mechanical integration
- Final inspection, packing and dispatch readiness

- Continuously improve processes to reduce cycle time, manpower requirements, material wastage and manufacturing costs.

4. Quality Management

- Ensure products conform to approved drawings, specifications, customer requirements and applicable quality standards.
- Work closely with the Quality team to reduce rejection, rework, process defects and customer complaints.
- Establish in-process quality controls and first-piece approval procedures wherever required.
- Conduct root cause analysis (RCA) and implement corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
- Promote right-first-time manufacturing and maintain traceability of critical components and processes.
- Support customer inspections, customer audits and quality system audits.

5. Cost Control & Productivity Improvement

- Control manufacturing costs through effective utilization of materials, manpower, machines, power, consumables and tooling.
- Monitor material yield, scrap generation, labour productivity and machine productivity.
- Reduce sheet-metal scrap through nesting optimization, process improvements and better material utilization.
- Control overtime, avoid unnecessary manpower deployment and improve operational efficiency.
- Identify opportunities for automation, mechanization and cost reduction.
- Lead productivity improvement initiatives to increase output without a proportionate increase in operating costs.

6. Machine & Equipment Management

- Coordinate with Maintenance to ensure preventive maintenance schedules are followed and equipment breakdowns are minimized.
- Monitor machine availability, utilization, performance and critical spare-parts requirements.
- Review machine capability and capacity to support current and future production requirements.
- Support the planning, installation and commissioning of new machinery.
- Track key maintenance indicators,



including Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) and machine availability.

7. Tooling, Dies & Fixtures

- Ensure the availability of punches, dies, bending tools, welding fixtures, assembly fixtures and other critical tooling.
- Establish tooling maintenance, replacement and tool-life monitoring systems.
- Reduce setup and changeover time through effective tooling management.
- Coordinate with the Tool Room and Engineering teams to develop and improve special tools and fixtures.
- Maintain proper records of tooling availability, consumption, maintenance and replacement.

8. Manpower & Team Management

- Plan manpower requirements according to production loads and operational priorities.
- Allocate manpower effectively across machines and manufacturing processes.
- Develop multi-skilled operators and maintain operator skill matrices.
- Monitor productivity, identify training requirements and strengthen shop-floor capabilities.
- Guide and develop supervisors, production engineers and team leaders.
- Maintain discipline, accountability and adherence to safety and work instructions.
- Build a performance-oriented production culture focused on productivity, quality and continuous improvement.

9. Subcontracting & Outsourced Process Management

- Manage and monitor outsourced processes such as powder coating, galvanizing, plating, heat treatment, machining, laser cutting, special fabrication and surface finishing, as applicable.
- Ensure subcontractors meet defined quality, quantity and delivery requirements.
- Coordinate with Purchase and Quality for subcontractor selection, development and performance monitoring.
- Track outsourced orders and proactively address quality or delivery risks.

10. Material & Inventory Control

- Coordinate with Stores and Purchase to ensure timely availability of raw materials and production consumables.
- Maintain proper material identification, traceability, storage and FIFO practices wherever applicable.
- Control WIP, excess inventory, obsolete materials and unnecessary material handling.
- Ensure accurate stock records and finished-goods storage.
- Manage engineering materials such as CRCA, GI, HR steel, stainless steel, aluminium and other relevant materials.

11. Dispatch & Customer Delivery

- Coordinate with PPC, Stores and Dispatch to meet customer delivery commitments.
- Monitor daily dispatch schedules and ensure completed orders are released without unnecessary delays.
- Prioritize critical customer orders and develop recovery plans for potential delivery delays.
- Maintain communication with Sales and Customer Service teams regarding order status and delivery risks.

12. Safety, Housekeeping & 5S

- Ensure compliance with plant safety requirements, machine guarding standards and PPE usage.
- Conduct regular safety inspections, housekeeping reviews and safety audits.
- Promote safe machine operation, material handling and workplace practices.
- Investigate accidents and near-miss incidents and implement corrective actions.
- Drive 5S implementation and maintain a clean, organized and disciplined shop floor.
- Promote a zero-accident culture across all manufacturing activities.

13. Lean Manufacturing & Continuous Improvement

- Lead continuous improvement initiatives involving 5S, Kaizen, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), SMED, visual management, line balancing, Poka-Yoke and standard work.
- Identify and eliminate manufacturing waste, including overproduction, waiting, transportation, over-processing, excess inventory, unnecessary motion and defects.
- Improve cycle time, setup time, production flow, plant layout and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
- Encourage employee participation in productivity, quality and cost-reduction initiatives.

14. New Product Introduction & Engineering Support

- Coordinate with Design and Engineering teams for new product introduction, prototypes and production readiness.
- Support design-for-manufacturing (DFM), process planning, tooling and fixture requirements, and process validation.
- Review manufacturability, production feasibility and cost implications of recent products.
- Provide practical inputs on bend feasibility,



welding sequence, tolerances, material utilization and assembly requirements.
- Support cost estimation and the transition from prototype to regular production.

15. ERP, MIS & Operational Reporting

- Ensure accurate and timely recording of production and operational data in ERP/MRP systems and other reporting tools.
- Prepare daily, weekly and monthly operational reports covering:
- Production achieved versus plan
- Machine and capacity utilization
- Rejection, rework and scrap percentages
- Labour productivity and OEE
- Machine downtime and availability
- WIP and inventory status
- On-time delivery performance
- Production cost and cost-reduction initiatives
- Customer complaints and corrective actions
- Safety performance and 5S compliance

- Present operational performance, risks and improvement plans to senior management.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The Head – Operations will be evaluated on the following parameters:

KPITarget / ObjectiveProduction Achievement95–100% of approved production planOn-Time DeliveryTarget of at least 98%Rejection and ReworkContinuous reductionMachine Utilization and OEEContinuous improvementMaterial YieldContinuous improvementScrap GenerationMinimize through process optimizationMachine DowntimeMinimize; improve availabilityLabour ProductivityContinuous improvementCustomer ComplaintsContinuous reductionWIP LevelsControlled as per production requirementsSafety IncidentsZero-accident objective5S ComplianceHigh and consistent standardsManufacturing CostContinuous reduction without compromising quality

Final KPI targets should be aligned with the plant's current baseline, product mix, production capacity and customer requirements.

Authority & Decision-Making

The Head – Operations will be authorized to:

- Allocate manpower and machines according to production priorities.
- Reorganize production schedules based on capacity and customer urgency.
- Stop production where serious quality or safety risks are identified.
- Recommend overtime, additional manpower and subcontracting when required.
- Recommend the purchase, replacement or upgrade of machinery, tooling and equipment.
- Initiate process improvement and cost-reduction projects.
- Implement corrective actions for operational performance issues.

Major capital expenditure and strategic decisions will remain subject to Management approval.

Organisational Interfaces

The role will work closely with the Managing Director/COO and coordinate across:

- PPC / Production Planning
- Production
- Quality
- Maintenance
- Stores and Purchase
- Tool Room / Tooling
- Engineering / Design
- Powder Coating / Finishing
- Assembly
- Dispatch
- HR / Administration

Required Experience & Technical Skills

Experience

- 12 - 20 years of experience in sheet-metal fabrication, engineering or manufacturing operations.
- Proven experience managing production and plant operations in a sheet-metal fabrication environment.
- Senior-level experience in production planning, shop-floor management, quality, cost control and delivery execution.
- Experience handling medium- to high-volume manufacturing operations will be preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive measurable operational improvements.

Technical Skills

- Strong knowledge of sheet-metal fabrication processes and manufacturing workflows.
- Understanding of CNC laser cutting, turret punching, CNC press brakes, shearing, forming, welding, riveting, clinching, finishing and assembly.
- Knowledge of production planning, capacity utilization, machine loading and WIP control.
- Familiarity with quality tools, RCA, CAPA, preventive maintenance, lean manufacturing and 5S.
- Understanding of tooling, dies, fixtures, material utilization and scrap reduction.
- Working knowledge of ERP/MRP systems, production MIS and MS Excel.
- Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings and manufacturing specifications; AutoCAD/CAD familiarity is desirable.

Personal & Leadership Competencies

- Strong leadership and people-management skills.
- Excellent production planning, execution and problem-solving abilities.
- Data-driven decision-making and analytical thinking.
- Ability to work under pressure and manage competing priorities.
- Customer-focused approach and commitment to delivery.
- Strong communication and cross-functional coordination skills.
- Cost-conscious mindset and focus on productivity.
- Continuous improvement orientation.
- Ability to build and lead a disciplined, accountable and high-performing manufacturing team.

📌 Head Operations (Bhiwandi)
🏢 Samarth Aircon
📍 Bhiwandi