Operations

Maintainance Officer At Bollard Consulting Limited

Bollard Consulting Limited·Thika, kenya·Full Time·Contract
OperationsFull TimeContract
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Role Summary & Work Environment

  • The role requires a strong factory-floor presence, practical troubleshooting ability, and complete ownership of equipment reliability. The officer must coordinate closely with Production and QA, respond to urgent breakdowns, and support agreed shift or on-call arrangements. Maintenance activities must be meticulously planned around production requirements while preserving essential servicing schedules and safety checks.

Major Tasks and Key Result Areas

Maintenance Planning and Equipment Readiness

  • Develop and implement preventive maintenance schedules for processing lines, dryers, cold rooms, ETP, boiler, and associate electrical, mechanical, water, and steam systems.
  • Complete daily inspections to identify defects early and prioritize corrective work.
  • Coordinate maintenance shutdowns with Production to ensure equipment readiness and minimize operations disruption.
  • Keep equipment registers, service histories, and maintenance records accurate and current.

Breakdown Response and Equipment Reliability

  • Diagnose equipment faults promptly and complete repairs within the officer's competence and authorization.
  • Escalate breakdowns affecting production, food safety, or personnel safety immediately, giving clear updates on production impact and expected restoration time.
  • Arrang for specialist support where specialized technical knowledge is required.
  • Investigate root causes of significant or recurring failures and implement effective corrective actions.
  • Test equipment and formally hand it back to Production after maintenance, obtaining QA clearance where required.

Processing Lines, Dryers and Cold Room Maintenance

  • Maintain processing equipment, conveyors, motors, gearboxes, bearings, drives, and controls to support consistent production output.
  • Service dryer heating, airflow, fans, and temperature controls to deliver reliable drying performance.
  • Inspect and service cold room refrigeration systems, insulation, doors, seals, drainage, alarms, and temperature controls.
  • Address deviations promptly in coordination with Production and QA to protect product quality and storage conditions.

Boiler, ETP and Utilities Management

  • Supervise the Boiler Operator and monitor boiler operations, servicing, water treatment, steam distribution, condensate return, and safety devices.
  • Maintain ETP pumps, blowers, dosing systems, and associate equipment to support effective treatment; escalate and resolve operating deviations with responsible personnel.
  • Maintain water supply, treatment, recycling, and other vital factory utilities.
  • Schedule required regulatory or compliance inspections and specialist servicing, close out findings, and retain clear records.

Maintenance Safety, Hygiene and Food Safety Controls

  • Apply strict safe isolation, lockout or tagout (LOTO), and relevant permit-to-work procedures during all maintenance tasks.
  • Keep machinery guards, interlocks, and emergency stops fully functional; isolate and escalate unsafe equipment immediately.
  • Carry out maintenance activities in line with QA-approved hygiene and food safety procedures, including tool or component accountability, using food-grade lubricants, contamination prevention, and post-maintenance cleaning.
  • Return equipment to service only after required safety and hygiene check-offs are complete.

Spare Parts, Contractors and Team Coordination

  • Identify critical spare parts, maintained minimum stock levels, and raised procurement requests early to prevent avoidable downtime.
  • Keep maintenance tools and workshop stores well-organized, safe, and controlled.
  • Provide clear priorities and technical guidance to the Boiler Operator and assign maintenance personnel.
  • Coordinate, supervise, and assess contractors and equipment suppliers for quality of work.
  • Train operators in basic equipment care, routine checks, and early fault reporting mechanisms.
  • Support new equipment installation and commissioning projects as required.

Maintenance Performance, Cost Control and Continuous Improvement

  • Monitor and report on key performance indices including equipment uptime, breakdown frequency, downtime hours, repair turnaround, preventive maintenance completion, and maintenance costs.
  • Investigate energy, fuel, and water losses, including steam leaks and inefficient equipment operation.
  • Implement practical improvements to increase reliability, extend equipment life, and reduce overall operating costs.
  • Communicate outstanding defects, critical risks, and overdue maintenance to management alongside clear action plans.

Key Performance Measures (KPIs)

  • Equipment availability and overall uptime
  • Unplanned downtime and repair turnaround time
  • Preventive maintenance completion rate versus schedule
  • Incidence of repeat breakdowns or recurring failures
  • Critical spare parts availability and stock-out minimization
  • Maintenance expenditure control against budget
  • Timely closure of safety-related defects and QA compliance findings

Job Specification & Qualifications

  • Diploma or higher qualification in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Plant Maintenance, or a related engineering discipline.
  • At least three (3) years of relevant industrial maintenance experience, preferably within food processing or a similar structured manufacturing environment.
  • Demonstrated experience maintaining production machinery and utilities, with working knowledge of dryers, refrigeration systems, boilers, pumps, motors, and effluent treatment plants (ETP)
  • Proven ability to develop preventive maintenance schedules, diagnose technical faults, interpret manuals and engineering drawings, maintain accurate technical records, and manage critical spare parts stocks.
  • Strong understanding of safe equipment isolation, lockout/tagout procedures, maintenance-related contamination risks, and hygienic working practices within a food factory environment.
  • Ability to supervise the boiler operator and assigned technicians, effectively manage external contractors, and communicate technical equipment risks clearly to Production teams and senior management.
  • Proactive, organized, dependable, and calm under operational pressure, with strong follow-through and a practical approach to resolving recurring equipment challenges

Key skills

BA/BSc/HNDDiploma

At a glance

Company

Bollard Consulting Limited

Location

Thika, kenya

Employment

Full Time

Experience

Valid until

Not specified

Created

October 6, 2026