Description
Reporting to the Corporate COO, the Plant Operations & Performance Manager is responsible for overseeing all production activities at a third‑party wood‑products manufacturing facility to ensure optimal recovery rates, cost efficiency, operational performance, and product quality. This role acts as the primary liaison with the contract manufacturer, ensuring that production aligns with company’s standards, specifications, and business objectives. The manager will monitor daily operations, analyze performance data, drive continuous improvement initiatives, and enforce accountability across all plant functions.
Key Responsibilities:
Operational Oversight
- Monitor daily production activities to ensure adherence to production plans, specifications, and throughput targets.
- Track and optimize recovery rates, identifying root causes of loss and implementing corrective actions.
- Ensure the plant follows your company’s manufacturing standards, SOPs, and quality expectations.
Cost & Efficiency Management
- Analyze production costs, material usage, labor efficiency, and yield performance.
- Identify cost‑reduction opportunities without compromising quality or safety.
- Validate and challenge plant‑reported metrics, invoices, and material consumption reports.
Quality Assurance
- Oversee quality control processes to ensure products meet required specifications.
- Conduct regular audits of finished goods, in‑process materials, and raw material handling.
- Lead investigations into quality deviations and ensure timely corrective and preventive actions.
Performance Monitoring & Reporting
- Develop and maintain dashboards for KPIs such as recovery, downtime, scrap, cycle times, and cost per unit.
- Provide weekly and monthly performance reports to senior leadership.
- Benchmark plant performance against internal targets and industry standards.
Relationship & Contract Management
- Serve as the primary point of contact with the third‑party plant’s management team.
- Ensure compliance with contractual obligations, production agreements, and service-level expectations.
- Facilitate communication between your internal teams (engineering, supply chain, quality, finance) and the plant.
Continuous Improvement
- Lead improvement initiatives to enhance throughput, reduce waste, and improve consistency.
- Implement standardized work practices and process controls.
Required Skills & Qualifications:
Technical & Industry Skills
- Strong understanding of wood manufacturing processes, including sawing, machining, laminating, finishing and coating.
- Knowledge of recovery optimization, yield analysis, and material flow in wood‑based production.
- Experience with Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, or other continuous improvement methodologies.
- Ability to interpret customer needs, production specifications, and QC standards.
Analytical & Operational Skills
- Advanced ability to analyze production data, identify trends, and diagnose operational issues.
- Cost‑analysis capabilities.
- Proficiency with KPI dashboards, Excel and production reporting tools.
Leadership & Communication
- Ability to influence and hold accountable a workforce that does not directly report to you.
- Strong negotiation and relationship‑management skills for working with third‑party operators.
- Clear, concise communication style with the ability to escalate issues appropriately.
Problem‑Solving & Decision‑Making
- Skilled in root‑cause analysis and structured problem‑solving.
- Comfortable making data‑driven decisions in fast‑moving production environments.
- Ability to balance cost, quality, and throughput priorities.
Experience
- 5–10 years in manufacturing operations, ideally in wood products or related industries.
- Experience managing or overseeing contract manufacturing is a strong asset.
- Background in quality control, operations management, or industrial technology preferred.
Location: Incumbent will reside in the Lower Mainland Region of British Columbia ideally in the proximity of South Surrey / White Rock area.
Interested candidates should apply online via button below or for further information, contact Ron Hogg at (604) 669-5635.