Production Planner

THE GEORGE EVANS CORPORATION•Moline, IL

About The Position

The Production Planner is responsible for planning, scheduling, and balancing daily production activities for steel reel manufacturing and miscellaneous fabrication operations. This role ensures production orders are released accurately, labor is balanced to meet demand, and all production paperwork is completed, tracked, and closed in a timely manner. The Production Planner serves as the key link between sales, engineering, purchasing, and the shop floor, ensuring on-time, efficient, and safe production.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent
2+ years of experience in production planning, scheduling, or manufacturing coordination
Experience in a fabrication or metal manufacturing environment
Strong organizational and time-management skills
Proficiency with ERP systems (GSS Preferred) and Microsoft Excel
Strong attention to detail and data accuracy
Ability to manage changing priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment
Effective communication with both office and shop floor personnel
Problem-solving mindset with a focus on solutions
Ability to analyze production data and labor performance

Nice To Haves

Experience with steel reels, welded fabrication, or custom manufacturing
Knowledge of routing, bills of material, and labor standards
Experience working closely with shop floor supervisors and production teams

Responsibilities

Create and maintain daily, weekly, and short-term production schedules for steel reels and miscellaneous fabrication jobs
Balance labor, machines, and work centers daily to meet production targets and due dates
Sequence jobs to optimize material flow, machine utilization, and labor efficiency
Adjust schedules in real time based on material availability, labor constraints, equipment downtime, or priority changes
Review daily labor availability and allocate work to ensure balanced workloads across departments
Monitor actual vs. planned labor hours and production output
Work with supervisors to rebalance schedules when production variances occur
Assist in tracking productivity, efficiencies, and bottlenecks
Release work orders with complete and accurate routers, bills of material, and drawings
Ensure travelers, job packets, and production documentation are issued, updated, and closed correctly
Track job progress and update ERP system with production status and completions
Verify labor time, quantities, and scrap are accurately reported
Support inventory accuracy by coordinating job closeouts and material usage
Communicate daily schedules and priorities to production supervisors and shop personnel
Coordinate with purchasing and inventory to ensure materials are available for scheduled jobs
Work with engineering and estimating to resolve discrepancies or missing job information
Support on-time delivery by identifying risks early and escalating as needed
Identify opportunities to improve scheduling efficiency, workflow, and paperwork accuracy
Support lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives
Follow and support company safety policies and procedures
Maintain organized and auditable production records