Head Engineering, Utilities & Maintenance

JOB DESCRIPTION-Head – Engineering,
Utilities & Maintenance

Location: Bihar

Department: Engineering, Utilities
& Maintenance

Reporting to: Unit Head

Position level: Senior Management

Candidates who have
worked only in cement, steel, pharmaceuticals, general manufacturing or other
unrelated industries will not qualify unless they also have substantial,
relevant distillery experience.

1. Position Objective

To lead the engineering, utilities, electrical,
instrumentation and mechanical maintenance functions of the grain-based ethanol
distillery and captive power plant, ensuring high plant availability, reliable
operations, energy efficiency, equipment integrity, statutory compliance and cost-effective
maintenance.

The Engineering Head will work under the overall direction
of the Unit Head and will be responsible for the technical reliability and
maintenance performance of the plant, including the power plant, turbine,
boilers, electrical distribution, instrumentation, automation and mechanical
equipment.

Mandatory requirement: The candidate must have substantial
hands-on experience in the distillery industry, preferably in a grain-based
ethanol plant. Candidates from unrelated industries without direct distillery
experience should not be considered.

2. Key
Responsibilities

A. Captive Power Plant and Utilities

* Oversee the operation, reliability and maintenance of the
captive power plant, including biomass-fired boilers, turbines, generators and
associated auxiliaries.

* Ensure reliable steam and power supply to fermentation,
distillation, dehydration and other plant operations.

* Monitor boiler efficiency, steam consumption, power
generation, auxiliary power consumption and overall energy performance.

* Develop preventive and predictive maintenance programmes
for boilers, turbines, pumps, fans, compressors and other utility equipment.

* Coordinate major shutdowns, annual overhauls, inspections
and critical equipment repairs.

* Monitor biomass fuel handling and feeding equipment, fuel
consumption, ash handling and associated mechanical systems.

* Investigate recurring boiler, turbine and utility
breakdowns and implement permanent corrective actions.

B. Electrical
Engineering

* Ensure reliable operation and maintenance of HT/LT
electrical systems, transformers, switchgear, MCCs, PCCs, motors, VFDs, DG
sets, generators and electrical distribution networks.

* Establish preventive maintenance and condition-monitoring
programmes for critical electrical equipment.

* Ensure proper earthing, electrical protection, relay
coordination, insulation testing and thermographic inspection.

* Investigate electrical faults, cable failures, fires,
motor burnouts and recurring tripping incidents.

* Maintain electrical safety procedures, isolation and
lockout/tagout systems, and statutory inspection records.

C. Instrumentation,
Automation and Control

* Lead maintenance of DCS, PLC, SCADA, field instruments,
transmitters, control valves, flowmeters, temperature and pressure instruments,
and process interlocks.

* Ensure proper calibration and reliability of critical
process instruments.

* Maintain the integrity of control systems, alarm systems,
safety interlocks and equipment protection systems.

* Investigate instrument failures and abnormal process
readings.

* Ensure proper access control, backup, change management
and audit trails for critical control-system configurations.

* Ensure the integrity, calibration, access controls and
audit trails of weighbridge systems and associated data, in coordination with
IT, security and finance.

D. Mechanical
Maintenance

* Lead the mechanical maintenance team responsible for
pumps, gearboxes, agitators, conveyors, elevators, crushers, mills,
centrifuges, heat exchangers, condensers, evaporators, columns, piping, valves
and other process equipment.

* Establish preventive and predictive maintenance schedules
based on equipment criticality.

* Improve equipment availability and reduce repeat failures,
unplanned shutdowns, leakage and excessive vibration.

* Supervise alignment, balancing, bearing replacement,
lubrication, welding, fabrication and major mechanical repairs.

* Ensure proper inspection and maintenance of pressure
vessels, rotating equipment, steam lines and other critical equipment.

* Maintain an approved spare-parts inventory and ensure
availability of critical spares.

E. Maintenance
Planning and Reliability

* Prepare an annual maintenance budget and a rolling
maintenance plan.

* Implement a Computerised Maintenance Management System
(CMMS), or an equivalent controlled maintenance register.

* Establish equipment-wise maintenance histories, failure
records, work orders and spare-parts consumption records.

* Conduct root-cause analysis for major breakdowns and
implement corrective and preventive actions.

* Plan shutdowns with clear scopes, schedules, manpower
requirements, budgets and post-shutdown inspection reports.

* Monitor MTBF (mean time between failures), MTTR (mean time
to repair), equipment availability and maintenance cost per litre of ethanol
produced.

F. Safety, Statutory
Compliance and Asset Integrity

* Enforce permit-to-work, lockout/tagout, confined-space
entry, work-at-height and hot-work procedures.

* Ensure compliance with applicable boiler, electrical,
factory, fire and pressure-system safety requirements.

* Conduct regular engineering safety inspections and close
identified deficiencies within defined timelines.

* Investigate equipment-related incidents and ensure that
technical findings and corrective actions are documented.

* Maintain inspection certificates, maintenance records,
safety-test reports and statutory documentation.

* Coordinate with the EHS team and external inspection
agencies as required.

G. Team Leadership
and Accountability

* Lead the electrical, instrumentation, mechanical and
utilities maintenance teams.

* Define responsibilities, reporting arrangements, duty
rosters, performance standards and escalation procedures.

* Ensure adequate technical supervision during breakdowns,
night shifts and plant shutdowns.

* Train engineers, supervisors and technicians in safe work
practices and technical troubleshooting.

* Assess team performance and develop the capabilities of
existing personnel.

* Manage contractors and vendors through defined scopes, quality
checks, timelines and measurable deliverables.

H. Cost Control and
Management Reporting

* Control maintenance expenditure without compromising
safety or reliability.

* Review purchase requisitions, repair estimates, contractor
bills and spare-parts consumption.

* Prevent unnecessary emergency purchases, repeat repairs,
obsolete inventory accumulation and avoidable equipment damage.

* Submit a monthly engineering performance report to the
Unit Head covering breakdowns, downtime, maintenance costs, energy performance,
pending jobs, safety issues and improvement initiatives.

* Recommend capital expenditure for critical equipment
replacement, energy efficiency and reliability improvement.

3. First 90-Day
Deliverables

First 30 days-

* Complete a technical audit of boilers, turbines,
generators, electrical systems, instrumentation and critical mechanical
equipment.

* Identify the 20 most critical equipment items and their
current condition.

* Review outstanding breakdowns, pending repairs, safety
deficiencies and critical spares.

* Establish a baseline for plant availability, downtime and
maintenance expenditure.

Days 31–60

* Implement an equipment-wise preventive maintenance
schedule.

* Establish breakdown reporting, root-cause analysis and
corrective-action tracking.

* Introduce a critical-spares register, maintenance
work-order system and shutdown planning process.

* Close high-risk engineering and electrical safety
deficiencies in coordination with the Unit Head and EHS team.

Days 61–90

* Submit a comprehensive reliability improvement plan with
cost estimates and timelines.

* Establish monthly engineering KPIs and individual
accountability.

* Reduce repeat breakdowns and unplanned downtime against
the verified baseline.

* Present a 12-month maintenance, overhaul and
capital-replacement plan to management.

4. Educational
Qualifications

* B.E./B.Tech in
Mechanical Engineering or Electrical Engineering from a recognised institution.

* Instrumentation and
control engineering expertise is essential, whether acquired through formal
education or substantial practical experience.

* Candidates with
additional training in power plant engineering, industrial maintenance,
reliability engineering or automation will be preferred.

5. Experience
Requirements

* Total experience: 12–18 years in industrial engineering
and maintenance.

* Mandatory industry
experience: Substantial experience in an operating ethanol distillery,
preferably grain-based.

* Leadership
experience: At least 5 years managing engineering, utilities or maintenance
teams.

* Demonstrated responsibility for captive power generation,
boilers, turbines, electrical distribution and mechanical maintenance.

* Experience in
distillery commissioning, capacity expansion, shutdowns and major equipment
overhauls will be an advantage.

* Experience with biomass-fired boilers and captive power
plants will be strongly preferred.

6. Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs)

The Engineering Head will be assessed on the following:

1. Plant availability: Improvement in availability of
critical utilities and process equipment.

2. Breakdown reduction: Reduction in unplanned downtime and
repeat failures.

3. Preventive maintenance: Completion of scheduled
maintenance within approved timelines.

4. Power and steam efficiency: Improvement in specific power
and steam consumption against an agreed baseline.

5. Maintenance expenditure: Control of maintenance costs
against budget.

6. Safety: Elimination of unsafe maintenance practices and
timely closure of engineering safety observations.

7. Reliability: Improvement in MTBF and MTTR for critical
equipment.

8. Shutdown performance: Completion of planned shutdowns
within approved schedules and budgets.

9. Inventory control: Availability of critical spares with
control over obsolete and excess inventory.

10. Reporting and accountability: Accurate monthly
reporting, timely incident investigation and closure of corrective actions.

Specific numerical targets should be finalised after the
initial technical audit and baseline assessment.

7. Candidate Profile

1.The ideal candidate will be technically strong,
disciplined, hands-on and capable of working under operational pressure. He
should be comfortable personally investigating major equipment failures rather
than relying exclusively on subordinate reports or outside contractors.

2.He must demonstrate sound judgement, high integrity,
systematic documentation and the ability to enforce engineering and safety
standards across departments.

3.He should be able to work closely with the Unit Head,
Production Head, EHS team, procurement, stores and finance.

8. Reporting
Structure and Authority

The Engineering Head
will report directly to the Unit Head.

He will coordinate and supervise the engineering, utilities,
electrical, instrumentation and mechanical maintenance functions. Production
personnel will continue to manage routine process operations under the plant’s
approved reporting structure.

The Engineering Head
will have authority, within approved financial and operational limits, to:

* Assign maintenance priorities and deploy engineering
personnel.

* Stop unsafe maintenance activities and recommend equipment
shutdown where necessary.

* Initiate breakdown investigations and technical audits.

* Recommend procurement of critical spares, specialist
repairs and capital expenditure.

* Escalate unresolved technical, safety and reliability
risks directly to the Unit Head.

9. Recruitment
Conditions

* Distillery industry experience is mandatory.

* Grain-based ethanol distillery experience is strongly
preferred.

* References from previous employers must be verified.

* Candidates must provide details of the size of the plant,
power generation capacity, boiler type, turbine capacity, engineering team
managed and measurable maintenance improvements achieved.

* Integrity, safety orientation and the ability to maintain
accurate technical records are essential selection criteria.

Requirements

Recruitment
Conditions

* Distillery industry experience is mandatory.

* Grain-based ethanol distillery experience is strongly
preferred.

* References from previous employers must be verified.

* Candidates must provide details of the size of the plant,
power generation capacity, boiler type, turbine capacity, engineering team
managed and measurable maintenance improvements achieved.

* Integrity, safety orientation and the ability to maintain
accurate technical records are essential selection criteria.

Benefits