This Dairy Reliability Engineer job description sets out the main duties, qualifications, skills and measures of success for the role, which is also known as Maintenance Reliability Engineer, Asset Reliability Engineer, Condition Monitoring Engineer or Maintenance Planning Engineer. Download it free as a Word or PDF template and adapt it for your own vacancy.
| Job title | Dairy Reliability Engineer |
| Also known as | Maintenance Reliability Engineer, Asset Reliability Engineer, Condition Monitoring Engineer, Maintenance Planning Engineer |
| Department | Dairy engineering and maintenance |
| Reports to | Engineering Manager |
| Direct reports | None |
What does a Dairy Reliability Engineer do?
Sets the maintenance strategy for plant assets at a dairy processing site so that equipment runs reliably at the lowest total cost. Uses failure data, root cause analysis and condition monitoring to prevent breakdowns, reduce losses and improve plant performance.
Dairy Reliability Engineer duties and responsibilities
Maintenance strategy
- Build and update the critical asset register and criticality rankings
- Define a maintenance strategy for every critical asset, choosing between preventive, predictive and run-to-failure approaches
- Develop and refine the asset maintenance plan, removing tasks that add no value
- Write preventive maintenance policies, procedures and task instructions
- Set minimum stock levels for critical spares and report on spares holdings
Failure analysis and improvement
- Track production losses, downtime and high-cost assets to set improvement priorities
- Lead root cause analysis on repeat failures and put engineering fixes in place
- Analyse asset condition, utilisation, OEE and remaining useful life with production
- Introduce condition monitoring such as vibration analysis, thermography and oil analysis
- Support continuous improvement work so reliability gains last
Performance reporting
- Measure and report reliability KPIs such as MTBF, MTTR and planned maintenance compliance
- Monitor completion of preventive maintenance against schedule and budget
- Present findings and recommendations to maintenance and production managers
- Help the maintenance team meet its service, cost and efficiency targets
Projects and new equipment
- Give reliability and maintainability input at the design stage of projects
- Prepare commissioning and maintenance plans for new or modified assets
- Make sure new equipment is set up in the CMMS with spares lists and maintenance tasks
Compliance, safety and food safety
- Make sure maintenance practices meet HACCP, good manufacturing practice and hygiene standards
- Support the calibration programme for quality-critical instruments
- Help induct new starters and contractors and issue permits to work
- Report risks to safety, food safety or environmental compliance and support corrective action
- Support effluent and emissions reduction plans where plant changes are needed
Technical support
- Give technical advice to production, maintenance and engineering staff
- Coach technicians and apprentices in reliability methods
- Work with suppliers and specialists on technical problems
Dairy Reliability Engineer qualifications and experience
Essential
- Trade or degree-level qualification in an engineering discipline, ideally mechanical or electrical
- At least five years' maintenance experience in a manufacturing or process plant
- Good knowledge of CMMS and planned maintenance systems
- Experience of root cause analysis and structured problem solving
- Understanding of food manufacturing regulations and hygiene standards
- Strong computer and data analysis skills
Desirable
- Experience in dairy or food processing
- Certification in reliability engineering or condition monitoring
- Knowledge of RCM, FMEA and Weibull analysis
- Experience of Lean, TPM or Six Sigma
Skills and attributes
- Analytical thinking and data interpretation
- Systematic problem solving
- Planning and organising several tasks at once
- Clear communication and report writing
- Influencing without direct authority
- Building strong working relationships
How success is measured
- Mean time between failures (MTBF) for critical assets
- Mean time to repair (MTTR)
- Unplanned downtime and production losses from equipment failure
- Planned maintenance completed on time
- Maintenance cost per unit of output
Working conditions and safety
Site-based role in a food production environment, combining office work with time on the plant floor in PPE. Safety-sensitive role that needs some flexibility to support breakdowns and shutdowns.
- Follow health and safety rules and safe systems of work, and wear the correct PPE
- Follow food safety, hygiene, HACCP and quality procedures at all times
- Report hazards, accidents, near misses and concerns promptly
Dairy Reliability Engineer interview questions
Use these questions to assess candidates for a Dairy Reliability Engineer role. Each one includes what a good answer shows.
- How do you choose between preventive, predictive and run-to-failure maintenance for an asset?
What a good answer shows: Bases the choice on criticality, failure modes, cost and detectability, and reviews it as data builds up. - Which condition monitoring techniques would you use on a homogeniser, and why?
What a good answer shows: Matches vibration, oil analysis and thermography to likely failure modes, and sets clear alarm and action levels. - How do you review a preventive maintenance plan to remove tasks that add no value?
What a good answer shows: Links each task to a failure mode, uses maintenance history and stops tasks that do not reduce risk. - How do you calculate and use MTBF and MTTR?
What a good answer shows: Calculates them from reliable failure data and uses them to target improvements and track progress. - A filler causes most of the line's downtime, but each stoppage is short. How would you tackle it?
What a good answer shows: Collects and categorises stoppage data, finds the main causes and works with production and maintenance on fixes. - New equipment arrives with no spares list or maintenance tasks. What do you do?
What a good answer shows: Works with the supplier to set up CMMS records, critical spares and tasks before handover. - How do you make sure maintenance changes do not create food safety or hygiene risks?
What a good answer shows: Reviews changes against hygienic design and HACCP, involves quality, and checks parts, lubricants and cleanability. - How do you make sure contractors work safely under proper permits?
What a good answer shows: Issues permits correctly, checks isolations and competence, and monitors the work until it is signed off. - How would you persuade technicians to record failures properly in the CMMS?
What a good answer shows: Shows how the data helps them, makes recording simple, shares results and recognises good practice. - How do you present reliability findings to production managers?
What a good answer shows: Uses clear data and costs, links findings to production goals and gives practical recommendations.
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Frequently asked questions
Sets the maintenance strategy for plant assets at a dairy processing site so that equipment runs reliably at the lowest total cost. Uses failure data, root cause analysis and condition monitoring to prevent breakdowns, reduce losses and improve plant performance.
Employers usually look for: trade or degree-level qualification in an engineering discipline, ideally mechanical or electrical; at least five years' maintenance experience in a manufacturing or process plant; good knowledge of CMMS and planned maintenance systems.
A Dairy Reliability Engineer usually reports to the Engineering Manager.
Yes. Download the free Word template, add your location, contract and salary details, and adapt the duties to your site. You can then advertise the role on Dairy Jobs.
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