Central Power Plant Operations Superintendent

Operations Superintendent

The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Campus has an opening for an Operations Superintendent at the Central Power Plant (CPP). The CPP supplies much of campus and the University Hospital system with electricity, compressed air, domestic hot water, and high and low pressure steam. The Central Power Plant has boilers, HRSGs, steam turbines, air compressors, combustion turbines, and many associated systems. The facility operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, generating 2 billion pounds of steam and 200 million kwh of electricity per year, as well as compressed air and domestic hot water for use by the central and medical campuses.

This position leads the Central Power Plant Operations group, comprised of 16 operators on rotating shifts, one apprentice operator, and a salaried Operations Coordinator. The primary responsibility of this position is to ensure that these staff are prepared and empowered to carry out their daily work. This includes all aspects of recruitment, promotion, training, scheduling, creation and administration of policies and procedures, and budget oversight. This individual will plan and guide the work of these employees, administer the union contract, and provide coaching, corrective feedback and discipline as needed. The primary goals of the plant are to maintain and improve facility safety, reliability, and efficiency. The Operations Superintendent is responsible for aligning the operating philosophy of the plant with these goals.

This position is a critical member of the CPP management team and will report directly to the Central Power Plant Associate Director. This person is expected to work with a variety of individuals at many levels of the organization, working both independently and as part of a team. The successful candidate will be self-directed and is expected to provide insights into plant operation while enacting proactive improvements to processes and programs. The staff of the CPP hope to achieve excellence in all they do, striving for the utmost reliability, ensuring compliance with environmental regulations, while maintaining fiscal responsibility, and ensuring a safe and positive work environment.

Responsibilities*

• Ensure compliance with all environmental, health and safety policies, laws and regulations.
• Establish and sustain a culture that promotes a safe and inclusive work environment.
• Ensure that the Lock out/Tag out system is being applied in a compliant manner, as well as the Confined Space Entry and Hot Work control programs.
• Perform all supervisor / human resources responsibilities for the operations team, ensuring that they perform all of the duties necessary to safely and efficiently operate the plant equipment, meet dispatch and availability requirements, and complete all required operational and human resources reports. Communicate effectively to staff members addressing any issues in a proactive manner.
• Responsible for all operational activities of the plant including:
• Developing operating instructions balancing the need for reliability and efficiency of the facility
• Directing operations team for compliance with dispatch instructions, operational routines, and switching operations
• Planning and conducting an annual capacity test
• Monitoring equipment operating trends, taking initiative to prevent equipment trips and damage
• Reporting of any utility outage cause and effect
• Assist the operating staff in responding to/attend any operational incidents or emergencies on a 24/7/365 basis.
• Improve standard plant operating procedures, emergency control procedures and control room practices, including bringing them into accepted industry standards.
• Manage the training program for the group. Ensure operations staff is trained and fully qualified to perform their duties. Continue the improvement and refinement of the operator qualification courses, books, and manuals for all operation systems, including safety programs as they relate to the operations staff.
• Identify opportunities and take actions to improve the CPP efficiency, availability, and reliability.
• Coordinate 13.2kV switching with the Utilities High Voltage team.
• Prepare and manage the CPP operational budget. Perform Monthly reviews on the operating performance data to ensure the CPP is operating within budget and identify opportunities to improve the operating efficiencies within the CPP.
• Lead efforts to fill open or vacant operating positions in the team, per University Hiring Policies.
• Ensure that all regular scheduling, vacations, and other time off work for operations team members are properly documented for payroll and attendance records.
• Manage labor relations issues and process union grievances according to the union contract.
• Responsible for ensuring plant environmental compliance is maintained during operation of the boilers and combustion turbines. Also responsible for the plant hazardous waste management.

Required Qualifications*

• A minimum of ten (10) years related operational experience in the power industry, merchant marines or similar environment, including at least five (5) of those years at the supervisory level.
• Bachelor's degree in a related engineering discipline or technical area, or equivalent experience and training.
• Considerable knowledge of the operation and maintenance of high-pressure boilers, electrical generating equipment, and related mechanical equipment in a steam and/or electric generating power plant. Must understand the stand-alone operating and maintenance characteristics of equipment, how groups of equipment function together to form a system, and how all the systems interrelate.
• Extensive people management skills and experience with engaging people at various levels in the organization.
• Strong communication and organizational skills with the ability to manage and operate effectively in a team environment.
• Experience with writing and implementing operations procedures.
• The ability to interact with various internal and external stakeholders and departments.
• Desire for personal continuous growth and development.
• Ability to analyze the performance and operating efficiency of the systems to optimize energy use and production.
• Analytical skills necessary to dispatch and optimize equipment operation.
• Ability to use Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Google Suite.
• Must be able to perform the full range of duties, with or without a reasonable accommodation, in the classification in an environment that has high levels of heat and noise. This position constantly positions self to inspect powerhouse equipment in various locations that may be located between 0 and 40 feet from the floor and potentially beneath or around immovable objects or in confined spaces.
• Act in accordance with the Facilities and Operations' guiding principles: collaboration, respect, proactive, solutions-based, and responsibility to the environment.

Desired Qualifications*

• Ability to apply fault diagnostic concepts to identify the root cause of a problem.
• Experience with the AspenTech Data Management System or similar system.
• Experience in the development and management of department budgets.
• Management experience in a union environment.
• Experience with working a rotating shift schedule.

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The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.