Continuous Improvement Leader

Position Summary

The Continuous Improvement (CI) Leader will be responsible for coordinating and supporting continuous improvement initiatives within our manufacturing facilities, specifically focused on producing high-quality equipment for the oil and gas industry. This role will identify opportunities to improve manufacturing processes, drive operational excellence, and ensure lean methodologies are adopted to enhance efficiency, reduce waste, and improve safety. The CI Leader will work cross-functionally with shop floor and leadership to implement sustainable process improvements that align with our company’s strategic objectives and ESG commitments.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead Continuous Improvement Projects: Plan, coordinate, and support execution of CI initiatives along with area leaders to optimize production processes, improve quality, reduce costs, and increase productivity.
• Lean Manufacturing Implementation: Drive the adoption of lean manufacturing principles such as 5S, Kaizen, Value Stream Mapping (VSM), and Six Sigma to improve operational efficiencies.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Collect and analyze operational data to identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and areas for improvement. Develop KPIs and dashboards to monitor progress.
• Root Cause Analysis: Utilize problem-solving tools like Fishbone Diagrams, 5 Whys, and Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) to identify and address root causes of defects and delays.
• Standardize Processes: Collaborate with engineering, quality, and production teams to develop standard work processes, ensuring consistency in manufacturing practices.
• Change Management: Drive efforts in managing change across the organization, ensuring that employees are trained, engaged, and aligned with CI initiatives.
• Continuous Training & Development: Provide training and mentorship to employees on CI methodologies and tools, building a culture of continuous improvement throughout the facility.

• Safety & Sustainability Focus: Ensure CI initiatives align with environmental, health, safety (EHS) standards, and ESG objectives, fostering a culture of safe and sustainable manufacturing.
• Collaboration: Work closely with cross-functional teams including procurement, engineering, and quality assurance to align CI efforts with business goals.
• Supplier Engagement: Collaborate with suppliers to identify process improvements that can contribute to cost reduction, lead time improvements, and overall product quality.

Education and skills

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, or Operations Management (relevant experience considered)

Experience

• Minimum 3 years of experience in a manufacturing environment, preferably in the oil gas or heavy equipment industry,
• Experienced in leading and executing continuous improvement initiatives, including hands-on experience with lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies.
• Certifications: Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification is a plus
• Technical Skills: Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, supply chain dynamics, and production workflows. Proficiency in CI tools such as VSM, 5S, and Kaizen.
• Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams, influence decision-making, and drive cultural change.

Core Competencies

• Customer Focus: Ensuring that the internal or external customer’s perspective is a driving force behind strategic priorities, business decisions, organizational processes, and individual activities, crafting and implementing service practices that meet customers’ and own organization’s needs, and promoting and operationalizing customer service as a value.
• Decision Making: Identifying and understanding problems and opportunities by gathering, analyzing, and interpreting quantitative and qualitative information, choosing the best course of action by establishing clear decision criteria, generating and evaluating alternatives, and making timely decisions, and taking action that is consistent with available facts and constraints and optimizes probable consequences.
• Driving for Results: Setting high goals for personal and group accomplishment, using measurement methods to monitor progress toward goals, and tenaciously working to meet or exceed goals while deriving satisfaction from that achievement and continuous improvement.
• Driving Innovation: Creating an environment (culture) that inspires people to generate novel solutions with measurable value for existing and potential customers (internal or external), and encouraging experimentation with new ways to solve work problems and seize opportunities that result in unique and differentiated solutions.
• Emotional Intelligence Essentials: Establishing and sustaining trusting relationships by accurately perceiving and interpreting own and others’ emotions and behavior, and leveraging insights to effectively manage own responses so that one’s behavior matches one’s values and delivers intended results.

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Ability to stand, sit and/or walk on a hard surface as well as safely bend, stoop, reach, climb steps.
• Lift to 25 pounds.
• Vision abilities required: close vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. Vision to accurately read all related distribution documents and computer monitor screens.
• Travel 25%.

Other Skills/Abilities

• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to prioritize multiple projects.
• Requires advanced customer service skills.
• Knowledge of Business Intelligence software is a plus (Power BI, Qlik Sense)
• Requires expertise in operating Microsoft Office programs.