Continuous Improvement Lead

About Us:

BW Filling & Closing is one of three divisions — alongside BW Flexible Systems and BW Integrated Systems — which together comprise BW Packaging, Barry-Wehmiller's packaging machinery group. BW Filling & Closing is best known for its portfolio of leading food and beverage packaging machine brands including Pneumatic Scale, Mateer and Hema fillers; Angelus and Continental/Closetech seamers; Arcil thermoform-fill-seal (TFFS) lines; Dairy Pack fill-seal (FS) lines; Pneumatic Scale cappers and Burt labelers; as well as Zepf Solutions for change parts, container handling, and storage solutions. With more than 20 global locations spanning six continents BW Filling & Closing offers unparalleled local support for every customer.

 

Barry-Wehmiller is a diversified global supplier of engineering consulting and manufacturing technology for the packaging, corrugating, sheeting and paper-converting industries. By blending people-centric leadership with disciplined operational strategies and purpose-driven growth, Barry-Wehmiller has become a $3 billion organization with nearly 12,000 team members united by a common belief: to use the power of business to build a better world.

 

Job Description:

Reporting to the Site Operations Leader, this role is a key member of the site leadership team and is responsible for actively driving high operational performance through continuous improvement and strategy implementation within the “BW Way” system. The Continuous Improvement Leader will partner closely with other operations leaders at the site to identify and drive opportunities for increased effectiveness and efficiency. This leader will promote operational excellence through L3/Lean principles, people-centric leadership, and will have a direct positive impact on the business’s performance. The Continuous Improvement Leader will be an agent of positive change and collaborate to transform the existing operation into a best-in-class site, and by promoting safety 24/7, reducing process variation, standardizing work, improving flow, increasing velocity, and establishing Lean daily management.

Job Responsibilities:

• Co-champion change leadership with the Site Operations Leader to drive operational excellence and optimize business performance.
• Establish excellence standards, quality systems, metrics, visual communications, and best practices to execute efficiently and consistently.
• Instill and maintain a site-wide “Performance Culture” where all team members are focused on driving improvements to the business, including people performance, product innovation/enhancement, internal processes and practices, and delivering on the BWFC Customer Trust Experience.
• Identify opportunities to improve operational performance and reduce costs, develop plans, and lead projects/activities to realize savings and improvements using lean tools and strategy.
• Coach, train, and collaborate with leaders and team members on how to think, work, and lead in a lean organization; develop both existing and new “lean experts.”
• Practice Leader Standard Work as a framework to create new habits of leadership behavior at all levels of the organization.
• Establish, manage, and track Operational Excellence programs and training.
• Implement the “BW Way” business system through communication, training, and execution.
• Participate as a member on multiple product launch teams, and assist with the development of cell designs, determination of manpower requirements, creation of work flows, and establishment of cost standards and routings.
• Lead the development of Strategy Deployment and Operational Improvement Planning initiatives targeting breakthrough performance levels in safety, quality, delivery, inventory management, and productivity.
• Lead the execution of Lean activities that align with Strategy Deployment and Operational Improvement Planning initiatives and targets.
• Partner with the site Accounting team to calculate and verify cost savings, and prepare reporting documentation.
• Partner with the site Production, Quality, and Process Control teams to develop process flow diagrams, Standard Work, and operator work instructions.
• Establish visual KPI presentation and monitoring techniques that support Lean daily management.
• Lead structured problem-solving exercises aimed at root causes

Required Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree is required, preferably in industrial engineering, engineering technology or a related technical field.
• 3+ years of leadership experience in a Lean-focused manufacturing environment.
• 3+ years of Lean deployment experience- leading, training, and applying Lean methodologies with demonstrated success.

Skills:

• A