Director of Operational Excellence at Amsted Rail in Overland Park, Kansas

Job Description:

JOB SUMMARY/PURPOSE
This position will have responsibility for Operational Excellence, leading and guiding the manufacturing sites in knowledge and understanding of metrics and measurements which impact the overall performance of the organization. This position is responsible for establishing, planning, and implementing the daily management system to improve safety, productivity, costs, equipment uptime and overall process reliability.

PRINCIPLE ACCOUNTABILITIES• Ensure that the Operational Excellence methodology is utilized to drive sustainable manufacturing and business process improvements that optimize capacity and productivity, reduce lead-time, minimize inventories, introduce best practices and improve process flow.
• Supports process improvement and implementation in safety and environmental systems.
• Guides and oversees TWI deployment, 5S, Kaizen activities and value stream mapping. Assists leadership in establishing baseline and target metrics for key processes.
• Establish Operational Excellence standards, tools, and metrics.
• Lead a consistent approach across the organization in lean projects, i.e., SMED, Lean Production, Lean Support, with the Production, Engineering, support functions, and work with local plant management teams to create the Lean vision for the plants.
• Lead facility layout and design projects with the engineering and manufacturing teams. This includes process improvements, process flows, & Value Stream Maps that clarify and/or resolve relevant operational issues.
• Support value improvement and waste elimination projects for the manufacturing and overhead areas that drive plant and company performance improvements while championing the development and advancement of the lean culture within the organization.
• Develops an implementation plan, conducts risk assessments and develops contingency plans to accommodate unforeseen events. Recognizes and removes barriers to project completion. Recognizes the broader implications of actions and proposals on the overall business. Support production in the creation of visual management tools, lean deployment, and standard work sequencing and production task time adherence.
• Participates and or leads team meetings to provide ideas, methods, or processes for performance improvement.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

JOB KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
• BS/BA Degree from an accredited college or university.
• Minimum of 5 years' professional experience executing large, cross functional national initiatives or related continuous improvement/project management roles.
• Experience with the following methodologies and practices: Kaizen, Lean tools, 5S, Visual Factory Aids, SMED concepts, VSM, TWI and Poke Yoke.
• Lean / 6 Sigma Certification, American Society for Quality Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence or American Society for Quality Certified Quality Engineer.
• Background in manufacturing, preferably within Automotive industry.
• Lean principles approach.
• Change management, specifically the ability to influence and promote cultural change.
• Develop relationships across the business that help create a culture of continuous improvement.
• Able to sustain improvement initiatives across the organization.
• Facilitation and coaching skill.
• Experience troubleshooting and finding multiple solutions to a complex problem.
• Experience working within both a team environment and independently.
• Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously.
• Must be able to interrelate well with personnel at all levels and possess good oral and written English communication skills.
• Strong project management skills.
• Strong analytical/statistical problem-solving skills.

WORK CONDITIONS
• Must be able to travel frequently to the different plants in the US and Canada

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)