Continuous Improvement Manager

Plant Continous Improvement Manager 

Location: Friedberg, Germany

Reports to: Plant Manager (solid line) and Regional CI (dotted line)

Reports to: Plant Manager (solid line) and Regional CI (dotted line)

Job Description Summary:

The purpose of this position is to significantly improve profitability in the Operations, guiding a common approach for identification of improvement opportunities and elimination of waste. This is possible using the Lean/CI concepts and tools, based on people engagement at all levels, aiming for outstanding levels of service and satisfaction of our customers, while maximizing operational efficiency.

The Plant CI Manager leads Lean and continuous improvement process implementation in alignment with P3 Operating System, facilitates improvement workshops, is actively involved in the development of the plant productivity improvement plan, implement VSS initiative (Value Stream Simplification) and is a key player to support Return On Sales and Divisional Cash Flow improvement. The plant CI manager actively cooperates with GME team in order to ensure “state of the art” technical improvement in the plants and ensure best practices implementation across similar product lines.

Responsibilities/Duties:

Lean / Continuous Improvement / Problem Solving :

• Define, drive and execute plant CI strategy that includes the development and execution of a roadmap of implementation of the P3 Operating System, in cooperation with plant management team
• Coordinate and Lead Lean implementation within the plant : both technical and managerial aspects.
• Contribute to Plant performance improvement by promoting the use of Lean tools and techniques, aligned with P3 Operating System. Organize / facilitate Lean events / workshops.
• Coordinate the creation of the yearly Plant Productivity Improvement plan, using WAVE. This includes yearly plant productivity target setting, in alignment with plant management team and regional leadership.
• Identify, prioritize and drive / support the identification & implementation of CI initiatives across entire plant (not only production areas) that provide the highest impact on financial results, involving plant controller and group controller
• Ensure that productivity improvement projects are defined with clear targets, roles and responsibilities
• Track the activities on a regular basis (frequency to be defined based on Plant priorities), using WAVE
• Report the progress on regular basis to the plant management team and to upper management (regional leadership)
• Promote a Continuous Improvement culture. Facilitate regular Kaizen events.
• Serve as a change agent with the plant, continually challenge conventional thinking, drive accountability, promote the use of Lean Management tools (ie : daily routines, gemba walks, tiered meetings, layered process audits, TPM, …), in alignment with P3 Operating System.
• Support all departments to achieve their goals regarding productivity improvement by providing appropriate tools and corresponding training.
• Partner/Support the Value Stream Managers, Supervisors and support functions managers on improvement and problem solving activities (5 Whys, Ishikawa diagram, …) or Six Sigma tools if needed.
• Ensure best practices sharing and implementation in the plant / in the region and within entire PT.
• In cooperation with finance, ensure that actual and forecasted savings reported in WAVE are accurate
• Ensure that actual monthly savings of month M are reported in WAVE by the end of the 5th working day of month M+1
• Ensure, in cooperation with productivity projects leaders, that WAVE hygiene is maintained
• Initiate change processes and drive implementation with plant management team

Training / Best Practices sharing :

• Develop plant resources by identifying training needs and facilitating corresponding training sessions or workshops (on the various Lean tools), in alignment with P3 Operating System.
• Identify and develop/coach future Internal Trainers on basic Lean tools (SME : Subject Matter Expert).
• Mentor Teams Leaders, Supervisors, WAVE projects owners and departmental leaders to ensure proper CI projects execution and ensure that WAVE productivity target are met.
• Identify and share Best Practices (within the plant and also the Business Group when applicable / PT). Ensure implementation of applicable best practices in the plant.

Other :

• Support Logistics for the Inventory Reduction initiatives by providing tools or facilitating workshops.
• Lead VSS initiative (Value Stream Simplification) initiative by doing some analysis, by being the plant contact person, by providing guidance and tools, by bringing a different perspective, etc…
• Participate in the development of specifications for new equipment to comply with Lean principles and our P3 Operating System standards

Position Requirements:

• Successful candidates must have a strong manufacturing background, combined with an aptitude for training and leadership.
• Previous experience in a Lean environment (or ideally in Lean implementation) is a significant plus.
• Must have excellent interpersonal skills and have the ability to work in a team environment with little guidance.

Specific Skills :

• Knowledge of Lean tools & philosophies and P3 Operating System + strong willingness to learn.
• Shopfloor orientated and very good ability to observe.
• Strong oral and written communications skills, ability to train/coach others.
• Experience of 5+ years (ideally) in Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering.
• Must be able to speak English and the local language.
• Strong Mathematical and analytical aptitude, demonstrated problem solving capacity.
• Ability to work both in teams and independently.
• Humble, self-motivated, creative and innovative thinking.
• Must have at least some basic project management experience/skills.
• Ability to motivate / energize others, has excellent teaming and interpersonal skills.
• Must have proven ability of getting breakthrough results through improvement tools and techniques.
• Must have some facilitation skills (conducting improvement workshops + problem solving activities).
• High energy, positive "can-do" mindset, leads by “Go and Do” & “Go and See” philosophy.

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