Senior Manager Operations Excellence at Amsted Rail in Overland Park, Kansas

Job Description:

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.

Duties and Responsibilities

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.


• Background in manufacturing, preferably within Automotive industry.


• 50% + travel required to Wheel plants.

• 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.


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

We are a privately held, 100% employee-owned company! As an Amsted Rail employee, you are an owner. Our commitment to employee's professional satisfaction includes creating space and opportunities to be creative and an integral part of our innovation journey and business success; for employee's personal fulfillment, we invest in everyone's growth and development while ensuring a work environment that values them as an individual, with their unique set of strengths and beliefs.

Amsted Rail is an industry leader that can offer more than a chance to succeed. Through our competitive wages, outstanding benefits, and internal development and advancement opportunities, you will have the chance to create a career of which you can be proud, whether inside Amsted Rail or within one of our other five businesses within Amsted Industries.

Benefits include being an employee-owner participating in our ESOP program and benefiting from an additional full range of benefits including medical, dental, vision and 401(k) matching.

Amsted Rail's commitment to Affirmative Action:

Amsted Rail is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

To review our EEO Policies or to request assistance please go to www.amstedrail.com/careers/ and select EEO Compliance/Statements. To learn more about us, please visit us online at www.amstedrail.com.