Plant Machine Maintenance Manager

Primary Purpose of Role:  

The Associate Director of Plant Maintenance is accountable to lead a team of salaried and hourly technical staff in support of plant operations. A champion of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), this role is responsible for managing TPM initiatives and implementing the Allison Operational Excellence through exceptional collaboration, leadership, and guidance. This role provides input and support to overall plant strategy such as capital planning projects, workforce planning, annual budget & forecasting activities, and employee development. 

Key Responsibilities: 

Leadership / Managerial responsibilities: 

• Hire, lead, and manage a dynamic team to create an inclusive and collaborative work environment   

• Monitor, evaluate, and provide regular feedback on employee growth and implementing improvement as needed.   

• Drive employee engagement and retention initiatives to maintain a motivated workforce – positively represent corporate communications to influence outcomes that support business strategies.   

• Ensure compliance with Allison Policies and manage employee relations matters as needed. 

• Directly manage a team of Supervisors, Maintenance Planners, and Maintenance/Reliability Engineers with indirect oversight of 40+ hourly employees. 

• Responsible for full employee life cycle including selection, training, development, employee relations, and performance management.  

• Responsible for performance management, training and development of team members aligned with career ambitions and areas of opportunity to improve, including annual performance reviews and Individual Development Plans (IDPs). 

• Serve as a leader, trainer, and coach of Lean Manufacturing and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) principles, which includes Operator Autonomous Maintenance execution and continuous improvement.  

• Leads team and implements departmental objectives aligned with plant & company objectives through day-to-day management, annual performance reviews, and corrective actions.  

• Manages and provides guidance to team on utilization of problem-solving tools such as 4Ds and 8Ds to implement permanent corrective actions. 

• Create, develop, and sustain a can-do climate and high levels of frequent communication, cooperation, rewards and recognition, training, and mutual support among departments.  

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to implement the Allison Operational Excellence system with focus on maintenance pillars such as good equipment performance, prevent equipment failure, repair equipment quickly and prevent recurrence. 

• As a leader in the organization, you will provide a physical presence in the workplace to lead and promote a culture of accountability and teamwork.  

• Ensures Allison Transmission policies and procedures are adhered to and executed in area of responsibility. 

Union relationship management:  

• Engagement with shop committee 

• Grievance management 

• Adherence to Collective Bargaining Agreement 

• Provide input and support the Allison Apprenticeship Committee and Plant Maintenance Committee 

Shopfloor Accountability:  

• Drive performance across area of responsibility aligned with overall plant objectives and strategy. 

• Facilitate floor operations to meet safety, quality, production cost, and schedule requirements through the utilization of established manufacturing processes and methods.  

• Supports internal customers with care and urgency in managing machine down time to support production demands. 

• Develop and implement preventive, predictive, and scheduled maintenance programs to effectively reduce emergency maintenance downtime and drive pro-active results.  

• Lead cross-functional teams focused on Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and Units per Hour (UPH) continuous improvement activities in support of the Allison Operational Excellence system with emphasis on maintenance / machine pillars. 

• Leads Workplace Organization (WO) initiatives across plant operations. 

• Lead improvement across plant through production performance, machine availability and quality.  

• Monitor and provide input on spare parts inventory levels. 

Strategic / Forward Looking Responsibilities: 

• Provide input to company budget and forecast processes, managing budget in area of responsibility. 

• Develop and manage continuous improvement plans with defined action items, resource allocation, and planned timing. 

• Support workforce planning activities based on company strategy and plant volumes to identify resource needs and training gaps. 

• Collaborates cross-functionally in support of capital planning. 

• Work with support teams to develop annual budget, optimize resources, and ensure ongoing execution of department plans. 

Key Performance Measures: 

• Safety 

• Quality 

• Cost 

• Productivity 

• Responsiveness 

Competencies and Behaviors: 

Required: 

• Exceptional leadership, communication and interpersonal skills to leverage the power of teamwork effectively with others at all levels of the organization and cross-functional to motivate employees and elicit work output. 

• Ability to adapt to changes in responsibility based on business needs. 

• High level of analytical ability for solving complex problems, using creative thinking to find and implement solutions / improvements. 

• Skilled in managing challenges and conflicts as they arise in alignment with Allison’s values and core competencies. 

• Makes decisions that positively impact the current and future state of the business.  

• Continuous improvement mindset improving overall team performance to achieve plant and company objectives. 

• Expertise in manufacturing standards and metrics (e.g., KPIs) for safety, quality, production, labor and material variances, lean manufacturing, and employee relations and retention. 

• Strong organizational, planning and time management skills. 

• Strong attention to detail 

• Comfortable presenting at direct report, peer, and senior leadership level 

• Demonstrated ability in forecasting, budgeting, and P&L management. 

• Strong technical aptitude to support manufacturing environment (assembly operations, machining operations) 

• Strong computer skills (Microsoft tools, Power BI, Workday, Maximo) 

• Strong understanding of CNC, PLC controls and Robotics. 

• Ability to interpret blueprints and engineering drawings. 

• Strong understanding of and ability to train on mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic concepts. 

Qualifications: 

Required: 

• Associates degree in Maintenance or related technical field, or Bachelors degree in Engineering or related technical program 

Experience: 

Required: 

• 10+ years’ experience in maintenance/facilities role including 5+ years’ experience leading a team of maintenance/facilities staff in manufacturing environment. 

• Experience building, developing, engaging, and overseeing high-performing manufacturing teams, with a track record of questioning behavioral norms and driving cultural change. 

• Experience in applying Lean manufacturing concepts to reduce cost and improve productivity; experience developing and organizing continuous improvement programs; demonstrated track record of driving positive change. 

Preferred: 

• Experience in Union environment, ideally leading a team of Union employees 

• Hands-on experience as an industrial tradesman, service mechanic/engineer or maintenance engineer. 

Scope Factors 

• Second Level Manager: Experienced manager with focus on managing the operations of a department, work unit, brand, and contributing to planning for the function or business unit. 

• Manages lower-level supervisors, managers, or team of professional/technical employees. 

• Occasionally interacts with senior leadership team. Frequently interacts with peers of the same level or lower. Interactions generally within the same function but some cross function interactions.  

• Fully seasoned managerial level with responsibility for significant specialized functions within a department. 

• Greater size, impact, and/or technical complexity of the activities managed than Manager level. 

• Manages professional employees or supervises large complex operations/teams. 

• Adapts departmental plans and priorities to address resource and operational challenges. 

• Areas of responsibility are typically unique within the department or function.  

• Accountable for the performance and results of a team within own discipline or function; conducts performance reviews and recommends pay actions. 

• Erroneous decisions will result in critical delay(s) in schedules and/or unit operations and may jeopardize overall business activities