Jesse Stephens
Gainesville,GA
Summary
Dynamic individual with a proven track record at many levels within the food processing industry, excelling in project management and process improvement, with a strong background in reliability implementation.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
Work History
Complex Maintenance Manager
John Soules Foods
08.2023 - Current
- Planned scheduled maintenance outages as part of preventive maintenance program.
- Overall owner of department KPIs
- Increased uptime and decreased downtime
- Manages employee performance, preventive maintenance, and safety.
- Manage team consisting of 55 hourly employees, 5 supervisors, 1 superintendent
- Oversee all plant capital projects and installations
- Manage waste water and grounds maintenance
- Overall owner of department budgets
- Manage and oversee Ammonia refrigeration & PSM program.
Director of Maintenance & Engineering
Farmer Focus
07.2021 - 08.2023
- Oversee all capital projects, installations and building improvements.
- Planned scheduled maintenance outages as part of preventive maintenance program.
- Set company goals and expectations for maintenance, refrigeration, and waste water
- Supervised employee performance, preventive maintenance, and safety.
- Prepared and reviewed maintenance contracts with external service providers to offer mutually binding agreements.
- Forecasted and reviewed maintenance budgets to establish cost-effective measures.
- Created and implemented maintenance program to optimize operational efficiency and reduce downtime.
- Collaborated with other departments to verify completion of maintenance tasks.
- Manage 6 salary positions and 94 hourly employees over 2 plants 1 kill, 1 further processing
- Successfully assisted with the start up of a brand new further processing facility by building a maintenance and refrigeration team.
Maintenance Manager II
Pilgrims Live Oak
03.2018 - 06.2021
- Manage plant installs and capital projects
- Successfully managed budgets and effectively decreased departments cost
- Successfully manage a team consisting of 78 hourly employees, 5 supervisors, 1 refrigeration manager and 1 superintendent.
- Overall owner of department KPIs
- Owner of the successful implementation of Pilgrim’s maintenance pillars
- Implement new department training program to improve techs skills and development
- Successfully managed ammonia refrigeration and brought PSM score from 87 to a 95
Maintenance Superintendent
Pilgrims Pride
03.2015 - 03.2018
- Managed 68 hourly team members
- Increased uptime and decreased downtime
- Promoted the safety culture to pass well over 1 million work hours without a lost time incident (maintenance team went 7 years without a recordable)
- oversaw daily production in kill facility at just over 300k birds a day.
Field Service Engineer
Marel Stork Poultry Processing
02.2011 - 02.2015
- Provided technical support to troubleshoot, repair and maintain operational efficiencies in hydraulic, mechanical and electrical systems
- Inspected equipment and processes to reduce maintenance-related downtime incidents and mitigate equipment failures
- Trained personnel to align objectives, strengthen competencies and standardize operations
- Repaired and calibrated systems and equipment post-installation
- Performed onsite installation, modification and maintenance of systems and equipment
Maintenance Supervisor
Fieldale Farms Corporation
09.2008 - 02.2011
- Increased productivity by reducing downtime, budgeting effectively, allocating tasks, and maintaining high standards of safety and work quality.
- Supervise 18 hour mechanics on 2nd shift
- Perform equipment rebuilds and changeovers as needed
- Managed the weekend preventive maintenance on a rotating schedule
- Insured all work orders were completed and time was properly applied in SAP
- Decreased overall downtime and increased uptime specifically in 1st processing, from 95.7% kill efficiency to 99.78%
- Hire and promote hourly techs to improved department skill levels.
Education
No Degree - Physical Education And Coaching
University of West Georgia
Carrollton, GA04-2008
Skills
- Strong mechanical aptitude
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Bilingual Spanish/English
- Strong team player/Team Builder
- Project management
- Efficient in Microsoft Office
- Expert In Cut-Up and Debone
- People First Certified
- Capital project management
- Department budgeting
- Ammonia Refrigeration
- Process Improvement
- Strong focus in asset reliability
- KPI Driven
Timeline
Complex Maintenance Manager
John Soules Foods
08.2023 - Current
Director of Maintenance & Engineering
Farmer Focus
07.2021 - 08.2023
Maintenance Manager II
Pilgrims Live Oak
03.2018 - 06.2021
Maintenance Superintendent
Pilgrims Pride
03.2015 - 03.2018
Field Service Engineer
Marel Stork Poultry Processing
02.2011 - 02.2015
Maintenance Supervisor
Fieldale Farms Corporation
09.2008 - 02.2011
No Degree - Physical Education And Coaching
University of West Georgia