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

https://jobeax.com/link/APVGkQpF5j2L97Gx 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.

https://jobeax.com/link/Tk2NjMbUiHreIcBI must demonstrate sound judgement, high integrity, systematic documentation and the ability to enforce engineering and safety standards across departments.

https://jobeax.com/link/OhPR29lCpaugjpd7 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.

Position objective: To ensure that WE operates with reliable engineering systems, disciplined maintenance, safe utilities and clear technical accountability under the overall leadership

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.

Position objective: To ensure that WE operates with reliable engineering systems, disciplined maintenance, safe utilities and clear technical accountability under the overall leadership

Benefits

Based on experience and knowledge

Head - Engineering, Utilities & Maintenance

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