JOB TYPE: Full-Time
LOCATION: South Africa, Somerset West
REPORT TO: COO
KEY PURPOSE OF JOB
The Head of Continuous Improvement is responsible for overseeing the production planning processes and driving LEAN initiatives within the organization. This role ensures that production schedules are optimized to meet customer demand while maintaining efficiency and minimizing costs. This person plays a crucial role in implementing continuous improvement methodologies to streamline operations, reduce waste, and enhance productivity. This position requires strong leadership, strategic thinking, and expertise in LEAN principles and production planning.
KEY TASKS
Production Planning:
• Develop and manage comprehensive production plans and schedules to meet customer demand and optimize resource utilization.
• Coordinate with various departments, including procurement, supply chain, and production, to ensure alignment and effective execution of production plans.
• Monitor production progress and adjust schedules as necessary to address any deviations or unforeseen challenges.
Lean Implementation:
• Lead the implementation of LEAN principles and methodologies across the organization to drive continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• Identify areas of waste and inefficiency within production processes and develop strategies to eliminate them.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, engaging employees at all levels in LEAN initiatives and encouraging innovation.
• Deliver training system focussing on lean areas such as value stream mapping, kaizen, daily management, waste and variation elimination, material flow, standard work, cellular flow, SMED, 5S, visual management, lean sourcing, lean office, built-in quality
• Lead employees through workshops designed to improve work processes and reduce cycle time, inventory, labour hours, and scrap.
• Facilitate the rollout and maintenance of 5S, driving for excellence in organization and efficiency.
• Research, design, develop, and implement Lean techniques and tools to optimize operations.
• Assist in assessing capacity utilization across divisions and the track divisional performance for continuous improvement.
Lean Management and Continuous Improvement
• As an expert in the use of the Lean tools / methods and statistics, lead and manage the completion of continuous improvement projects within a given timeframe to meet the department or facility goals in productivity, quality, efficiency, and safety
• Define, develop and report key performance indicators by employing visual management techniques
• Collaborate with leaders to execute Gemba walk process (Managing for Daily Improvement), utilizing and constantly improving the visual management on the shop floor and in the office areas
• Drive flow, pull and material management through the operations
• Support operations and office group to drive the establishment and maintenance of standard work and continuous flow in all areas
• Provides lean status reports for both internal/external communications including metric based accomplishments of the transformation plan
• Empowers employees by leading and facilitating lean workshops to brainstorm current state, embed the understanding of the techniques and tools necessary to continuously implement Lean in own work environment
• Responsible for driving continuous improvement of procedures that document changes resulting from lean initiatives to ensure effective implementation and sustaining effort.
• Be a leader, mentor and coach towards integration of Lean principles, values, philosophies and tools for driving continuous improvement through coaching and guiding operators over multiple projects
Implement and maintain Production Management System(s):
• Responsible for the implementation and maintenance of production management systems such as Syspro MOM (Manufacturing Operations Management)
• Enforce system execution and internal adoption.
• Identifying production problems and Improve processes.
• Transaction Review and Syspro MOM error maintenance.
• Factory Performance Reporting.
• OEE & Factory Loss Reporting/Management.
Team Leadership:
• Build and lead a high-performing production planning and LEAN team, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Provide coaching, training, and mentorship to team members to enhance their skills and career development.
• Ensure effective communication and coordination within the team and with other departments.
Collaboration and Coordination:
• Work closely with other departments, such as production, quality, supply chain, and engineering, to ensure seamless integration of production plans and LEAN initiatives.
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration to address production challenges, implement improvements, and achieve organizational goals.
• Serve as a key liaison between management and production teams, ensuring alignment on priorities and objectives.
Data Analysis and Reporting:
• Utilize data analysis and reporting tools to monitor production performance, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.
• Prepare and present regular reports on production planning, efficiency, and LEAN initiatives to senior management.
• Use data insights to drive continuous improvement and strategic planning efforts.
Strategic Planning:
• Participate in strategic planning and decision-making processes to align production planning and LEAN initiatives with the company’s overall business objectives.
• Develop long-term strategies for production planning and LEAN implementation to support business growth, innovation, and competitiveness.
• Stay abreast of industry trends, technologies, and best practices to drive continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• Other ad-hoc duties as required by company
PREREQUISITES
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE
Qualifications:
• Engineering Degree (Industrial Engineering preferable)
• > 7 years of experience in lean methodologies (manufacturing)
Additional:
• New product introduction/product development experience – Very important
• Experience in electronics hardware manufacturing environment
• Knowledge of satellite subsystems and the space environment.
• Cleanroom, ESD, and optical assembly environment experience
• Lean six sigma Black Belt certified
• Lean manufacturing experience
• Good knowledge and experience in technical support in a manufacturing environment.
COMPETENCIES & SKILLS
• Positive self-motivated, self-starter attitude
• Innovative – thinking ‘outside the box’
• Responsible
• Team player
• Good written and oral communication skills
• Customer focused
• Able to persuade and influence others
• Ability to bounce back
• Flexible and able to multi-task, can work within an ambiguous, fast-moving environment
• Resourcefulness
• Ability to self-manage and set priorities
LANGUAGE
• English
APPLICATION
If you meet the requirements of this vacancy, please send your cv to:
Lm@newspacesystems.com OR contact us on +27 (0) 21 300 0160
To learn more about Newspace Systems, visit our website:
www.newspacesystems.com
