Production Planner

Hartwell Manufacturing is a family-run engineering business with nearly 50 years of experience delivering high-quality acoustic enclosures and heavy steel fabrication projects. Operating from its Ossett headquarters with additional manufacturing sites in Sheffield and Bradford, the business supports clients across the power, data centre and industrial sectors and is known for its hands-on, operational culture.

The Role

Hartwell Manufacturing is seeking a Production Planner to take ownership of the weekly production schedule across three manufacturing sites. The role works closely with Site Managers and Operations teams to ensure production plans are realistic, resources are aligned and delivery commitments are met. A key part of the role is monitoring labour hours against quoted allowances and highlighting risks to cost, efficiency and programme.

Key Responsibilities

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Create, maintain and issue the weekly production schedule across all three sites

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Liaise with Site Managers and Production Supervisors to confirm capacity and labour availability

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Balance customer demand with production capability when building schedules

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Monitor progress against plan and adjust schedules due to breakdowns, labour shortages or material issues

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Communicate programme changes clearly to relevant stakeholders

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Track actual labour hours against quoted or planned allowances

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Identify trends, variances or inefficiencies and escalate where required

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Highlight risks to programme, cost or delivery performance

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Work closely with Supply Chain to ensure materials support the production plan

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Track and report schedule adherence, labour efficiency and constraints

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Support continuous improvement in planning, sequencing and workflow

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Maintain accurate planning and costing data using Excel and internal systems

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Participate in weekly production and operations meetings

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Build effective working relationships across operations and commercial teams

Skills and Experience

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Experience in production planning or scheduling within a manufacturing environment

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Experience tracking labour or production performance against plan or quote

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Strong Excel capability

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Understanding of job costing, estimating or project-based manufacturing

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Confident communicator with the ability to challenge constructively

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Strong organisational and analytical skills

Personal Attributes

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Takes ownership of planning and performance visibility

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Comfortable working with numbers and operational data

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Calm and resilient under pressure

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Collaborative, practical and commercially aware