What are the responsibilities and job description for the Continuous Improvement Manager position at Teknor Apex Company?
When Alfred Fain founded a small Rhode Island tire store in 1924, at the time no one could have predicted how Teknor Apex would become an international custom compounder sought out by companies around the world. After a nearly hundred-year journey that’s carried us through acquisitions and expansion, we now have nine U.S. locations, as well as operations in Belgium, Singapore, Germany, and China.
Throughout this global expansion Teknor has remained a privately held company, and today Fain’s grandson sits at the helm, maintaining the family’s tradition of fostering deep employee and customer relationships. These relationships are what allow us—together—to deliver customized compound solutions and help our customer’s create better products.
“Manufacturing is a team sport, and we work together to achieve our goals.” ~Jon Fain, Chairman
Join the team behind our custom compounds.
Position Summary
The Lean Continuous Improvement Manager leads the deployment of Lean manufacturing principles to improve safety, quality, delivery, cost, and productivity across manufacturing operations. This role partners closely Operations Excellence team and plant leadership to implement lean basics as a foundation, improve process stability, and build a sustainable culture of continuous improvement.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead North American Lean Steering Council
- Leading process improvement initiatives
- Own & report KPI related to the maturity of the Lean program (Lean KPIs, Productivity improvements, Cost reduction, etc) – including lean assessment by plant
- Process Optimization: Analyze operational conditions to identify waste and implement Lean Manufacturing projects that optimize manufacturing processes
- Drive implementation of best practices across multiple facilities
- Promote and lead implementation of standard processes across operations group
- Develop and build systematic approach to a lean culture with training and mentoring workforce members in Lean tools and CI techniques.
- Develop Operations leadership as Coaches, to support and maintain the CI culture
- Change Management, act as a hands-on change agent, challenging the status quo and fostering a culture of ownership and results across functional boundaries.
- Visual Management: Maintain visual controls to communicate, track, and sustain performance results.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, electrical, Industrial)- preferred- will consider other backgrounds
- 5 years of experience in manufacturing- Lean or Continuous Improvement roles.
- Proven ability to lead shop-floor improvement initiatives.
- Excellent facilitation, communication, and coaching skills
- Six Sigma Green Belt minimum
Preferred Skills:
- Lean Certification Silver or Bronze
- Leading Programs for Mutli- Site Structure
- Manufacturing Leadership Experience- Supervisor, Production/ Plant Management
- Strong Influencing Skills
- Self Motivated
Physical and Work Environment Requirements
- Frequent hands-on work around production machinery
- Must be comfortable with shop floor conditions
- Ability to climb stairs
- Travel up to 40%
- On site daily
Teknor Apex is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any protected status under state or federal laws. Must be 18 years of age or older to work at Teknor Apex.