Plant Engineer at Astral Foods Ltd

The required qualifications, skills and experience for this role are:

• Possession of a Government Certificate of Competence (GCC) is essential
• Bachelor in Engineering, B-Tech or equivalent; Electrical / Mechanical
• Must have at least 3 years maintenance and engineering experience within a poultry / FMCG / food manufacturing environment, or similar
• Microsoft Office Suite (MS Word, MS Excel, MS Outlook and MS PowerPoint)
• Working knowledge on AutoCAD is a great advantage
• Excellent administration and problem-solving skills;
• Ability to work under pressure and timeous resolving of queries;
• Basic understanding of the 20 Keys concept is essential;
• Must be able to work independently
• Must be a strategic thinker and able to advise the relevant stakeholders of continuous improvement strategies within the engineering space to better support operational efficiencies
• It is essential that the successful candidate be self-motivated, deadline driven and great attention to detail
• Excellent leadership and communication skills is essential

The main tasks and activities of this role are:

• To ensure the safe operation of the processing and utility operations as per the OHS Act 85 of 1993;
• Continuously improve and enhance the sustainability of the operational environment into effective energy and resource allocation & utilisation, thereby reducing the environmental impact and carbon footprint of the County Fair operations
• The continuous reduction of downtime within the processing environment through focused and results driven management and engineering strategies;
• Planning, costing and execution of capital projects delivered on time and within budget;
• Daily management of key utilities; energy, coal, refrigeration and water
• Daily management of equipment up-time – OEE improvements
• Continuous Improvement of all aspects under your control using the 20 Keys workplace improvement program;
• Approve designs, calculations and specifications
• Manage, and therefore continuously strive, to improve plant reliability / operational performance;
• Align engineering strategy with production and safety targets
• Daily effective problem-solving (RCA) and implementing mitigation strategies
• Ensure equipment selection suits chemical service (corrosion, temperature & pressure)
• Ensure modifications comply with the OHS Act, plant standards, commissioning and handover
• Compiling of the annual maintenance budget and overall cost control within the maintenance environment;
• Assist in the management of the engineering & maintenance teams;
• Daily interaction with a large number of suppliers in an endeavour to proactively source the most cost effective and quality intrinsic solutions, thereby maximizing plant uptime and output; 
• Daily interaction with various departmental and Astral Group role players at senior management level.
• Lead, develop and mentor engineering team of Management, Foreman and Artisans
• Collaboration with operations, SHEQ and management teams