Production Controller / Planner

Production Controller /Planner

Interesting and varied role in this successful, expanding sub contract precision engineering company. This medium sized company is growing and developing, and we have an opportunity for someone with a strong understanding of CNC Manufacturing to help plan and then coordinate efficient production across the shopfloor. The company are now introducing a structured and visual approach to planning and production control and this person will be in the heart of it using their machine shop experience to ensure work flows smoothly through the factory.

Role Overview

In this role, you will be responsible for job planning on machines, maintaining visual planning boards, leading daily briefings, and proactively identifying potential delays or capacity issues. You will act as a crucial link between planning, production, and management, ensuring that jobs remain visible, on track, and progress smoothly throughout the production process.

Key Responsibilities

Planning & Scheduling

• Convert job travellers into actionable daily plans for each machine.
• Design magnetic job labels/cards containing essential job information for visual planning boards.
• Schedule and prioritise jobs based on collaboration with sales, quality, and shop floor teams.

Visual Planning Management

• Keep magnetic whiteboards updated by machine or work centre.
• Ensure that job cards accurately represent real-time progress and operational changes.

Daily Shop Floor Coordination

• Conduct structured morning floor walks to assess progress and gather updates.
• Monitor potential delays, tooling shortages, or job hold-ups, escalating issues as needed.

Progress & KPI Reporting

• Maintain a job tracking log (either manual or digital).
• Identify jobs that may be at risk and assist in load prediction (e.g., machine overloads, bottlenecks).
• Contribute to basic KPI reporting, including OTD, WIP hours, and machine utilisation.

Communication & Issue Resolution

• Act as the daily point of contact between production, planning, and management.
• Keep all stakeholders informed of status changes and constraints.
• Foster continuous improvement by proposing optimisations in planning and workflows.

Required Skills & Experience

Essential:

• Experience in a CNC machining or manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of production workflows and job routing.
• Exceptional organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Comfortable leading brief meetings and conducting floor walks to gather updates.
• Ability to read route cards, job packs, and basic engineering drawings.
• Confident in communicating at all levels.

Desirable:

• Experience with visual planning tools (e.g., job boards, Kanban, magnets).
• Familiarity with basic KPI tracking (Excel, Google Sheets).
• Previous experience in production planning or shop floor coordination.
• Exposure to lean methodology or continuous improvement practices.
• A calm and practical problem-solver with a hands-on approach.

What We Offer

• A permanent position in an innovative engineering company.
• The chance to make a significant impact on our planning and production processes.
• Comprehensive training and support as we enhance our systems.
• A collaborative and respectful work culture.
• Opportunities for professional growth as the company expands.

This is a permanent job with a starting salary dependant on experience. You must have current UK right to work to be considered. HRGO are a recruitment agency supporting UK Manufacturing. We aim to respond to all applications.