HOD of Heat treatment

Head of Heat Treatment job responsibilities for Iron & Steel Foundries

Head of Heat Treatment Job Responsibilities (Iron & Steel Foundry)

1. Heat-Treatment Operations Management

• Plan and control all heat-treatment processes for iron and steel castings (annealing, normalizing, stress relieving, quenching & tempering, solutionizing, aging, isothermal processes, etc.).
  
• Ensure correct furnace loading, cycle programming, and temperature uniformity to achieve required mechanical properties.
  
• Coordinate with molding, melting, fettling, and machining departments for smooth production flow and timely dispatch.
  

2. Metallurgical Process Control

• Define and validate heat-treatment parameters for various grades (SG iron, grey iron, carbon steel, alloy steel, low-alloy steels, manganese steel, etc.).
  
• Monitor and optimize microstructure development—graphite morphology, pearlite/ferrite ratio, carbides, grain refinement, phase transformation, and hardness consistency.
  
• Troubleshoot metallurgical issues such as distortion, abnormal hardness, microstructural deviation, cracking, or retained austenite.
  

3. Quality Assurance & Compliance

• Verify heat-treatment charts, hardness results, mechanical testing, Charpy testing (for steel), and metallurgical lab reports.
  
• Ensure castings meet international standards like ASTM, ISO, EN, IS, and customer-specific requirements.
  
• Lead root-cause analysis of heat-treatment defects and implement CAPA (Corrective & Preventive Actions).
  

4. Furnace & Equipment Management

• Oversee operation, calibration, and maintenance of furnaces (batch, continuous, electric, gas-fired), quench tanks (oil/water/polymer), agitation systems, and temperature controllers.
  
• Ensure periodical calibration, TUS (Temperature Uniformity Surveys), SAT (System Accuracy Tests), and thermocouple health checks.
  
• Improve furnace efficiency, reduce fuel/energy consumption, and maintain refractory integrity.
  

5. Safety & Environmental Control

• Implement safety standards related to high-temperature equipment, quenching operations, gas systems, and handling heavy castings.
  
• Ensure compliance with pollution control norms, quench oil management, and furnace emission standards.
  
• Conduct HIRA (Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment) and safety training for heat-treatment personnel.
  

6. Team Leadership & Skill Development

• Lead a team of furnace operators, heat-treatment technicians, hardness testers, and maintenance staff.
  
• Train staff in SOPs, temperature control, quenching practices, metallurgical basics, and safety procedures.
  
• Monitor workforce discipline, performance, and skill enhancement.
  

7. Documentation & Reporting

• Maintain accurate furnace logs, heat codes, cycle charts, calibration certificates, quenching records, and traceability documents.
  
• Prepare daily/weekly/monthly reports for production output, furnace utilization, energy usage, rejections, and cost performance.
  
• Support customer audits, ISO audits, and metallurgical investigations.
  

8. Improvement & Cost Reduction Initiatives

• Reduce cycle times, improve yield, and minimize rework and rejection in heat-treated castings.
  
• Implement Lean, Kaizen, 5S, and energy optimization practices in the heat-treatment section.
  
• Evaluate and introduce advanced heat-treatment technologies where beneficial (e.g., automated quenching, PID-controlled furnaces, improved insulation).
  

9. Customer & Interdepartmental Coordination

• Work closely with metallurgy, quality, and pattern/design teams to define heat-treatment requirements for new products.
  
• Interact with customers to address technical queries, special test requirements, and quality approvals.
  
• Provide technical expertise during casting development and failure analysis.
  

Interested candidates sent resume - avijit.dey@kiswok.com,soma.mukherjee@kiswok.com, recruitment@kiswok.com.