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WHAT DOES A CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT SPECIALIST DO?
Updated: Jan 12, 2025 - The Continuous Improvement Specialist plays a key role in translating strategy into actionable tactics and operational solutions, ensuring the successful implementation of global projects at a local level. This role involves arranging and facilitating Lean training, coaching colleagues, and driving continuous improvement initiatives across departments. Additionally, the specialist leads CI event follow-ups, monitors progress, and contributes to the leadership team's development for future plant leadership roles.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Continuous Improvement Specialist 2. Continuous Improvement Specialist Details
Safety Leadership: Drives a safety-first culture in all aspects of the role, leading by example and setting standards for process and engagement.
Safety Management: Creates and maintains a safe work environment, and promotes a high level of safety awareness among the operations teams and beyond.
Lean Process Review: Uses lean principles to review production process flow to drive efficiency and effectiveness.
Work Instruction Development: Improves, designs, and develops effective and efficient work instructions.
Operational Improvement: Continually improves the existing operation for increased quality, productivity, efficiency, and cost savings.
Operational Investigation: Partners with manufacturing sciences to investigate operational challenges affecting production.
Data Provision: Provides manufacturing data to support teams in resolving issues without affecting productivity.
Production Data Analysis: Provides data on production control charts, reliability, and process capability.
Process Improvement: Improves the process and monitors and measures using process improvement tools such as Six Sigma and lean manufacturing techniques.
Cost Reduction: Identifies ways to reduce production costs through recommendations.
CI Methodology Expansion: Expand the repository of Continuous Improvement (CI) methodologies and tools based on their application within Johnson Matthey, in the interactive JM SharePoint site.
CI Partnership: Partner with all JM business units in all sectors, identify subject matter experts, and align CI methodologies and tools with proven best practice examples within JM.
Best Practices Identification: Actively seek out and recommend best practices, emerging technologies, and techniques from across the region, the wider business industry, and other relevant sectors.
CI Project Participation: Identify and participate in continuous improvement and cost‑saving projects using Lean Manufacturing diagnostic and problem‑solving techniques throughout the Group.
Lean Training Support: Support and facilitate lean training and coaching (online and on‑site) to foster a culture of continuous improvement in processes, equipment, and the engagement and capabilities of people.
Lean Assessment: Assess and support sites on their Lean journeys through Manufacturing Excellence Programmes, driving Lean engagement and value for the businesses.
Innovation: Challenge the status quo through innovative and creative thinking.
Equipment Management: Work with the engineering team to manage equipment development, including effective planned preventative maintenance by the operations teams.
Training Plan Support: Support the sites' training plans where required and drive the quality culture.
KPI Support: Support the production team leaders to ensure key performance indicators are relevant, updated, and used to make improvement decisions.
CI Goal Alignment: Work with the Continuous Improvement Manager to ensure that the site goals and global PPI (Practical Process Improvement) programs are met.
Plant Performance Improvement: Work closely with the department business partners to plan, support, and lead overall activities to improve plant performance, productivity, and decrease costs.
Strategic Development: Assist in the development of strategic A3s for the plant, departments, and 1x1 problem solving.
Visual Management: Champion, deliver, and manage (where applicable) Visual Management systems.
Gemba Focus: Spend 75% of working time at Gemba, focusing on employee engagement and observations to deliver and sustain improvement results.
Problem‑Solving Coaching: Coach and develop plant personnel to foster a problem‑solving culture at all levels of the organization.
CI Training Delivery: Deliver Continuous Improvement training and development for all salary and hourly employees.
Lean Methodology Expertise: Provide lean methodology expertise for plant‑wide CI deployment, including core tools: 5S, Flow, MDI, A3 Thinking, Standardized Work, Value Stream Mapping, and Problem Solving.
Analytical Skill Development: Promote and develop analytical skills for the measurement, analysis, and evaluation of process data to accurately identify and document improvements.
CI Team Maximization: Maximize the value of the CI Team services to assist the plant in reaching targets and goals, including development.
Servant Leadership: Lead using a coaching style with a servant leadership mindset.
5. Continuous Improvement Specialist Functions
Strategy Translation: Work with various teams to translate strategy into tactics and operational solutions on the ground, helping implement global projects and processes on a local level.
Lean Training Facilitation: Arrange Lean training for colleagues and facilitate CI workshops.
Lean Coaching: Coach colleagues on Lean principles and liaise with people of all seniority levels across departments.
Improvement Initiative Implementation: Identify improvement initiatives and drive the implementation of all initiatives.
Operations Support: Visit Operations within Belgium, with international travel 1-2 times per year.
Improvement Opportunity Leadership: Lead activities to identify the required improvement opportunities.
CI Event Follow‑up: Lead CI event follow‑up to monitor the progress of planned improvement implementations, ensuring timely action, appropriate management support, and achievement of expected benefits.
Leadership Development: Learn the process and be an active and contributing part of the department leadership team, developing for future plant leadership roles.
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A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Continuous Improvement Specialist 2. Continuous Improvement Specialist Details
Safety Leadership: Drives a safety-first culture in all aspects of the role, leading by example and setting standards for process and engagement.
Safety Management: Creates and maintains a safe work environment, and promotes a high level of safety awareness among the operations teams and beyond.
Lean Process Review: Uses lean principles to review production process flow to drive efficiency and effectiveness.
Work Instruction Development: Improves, designs, and develops effective and efficient work instructions.
Operational Improvement: Continually improves the existing operation for increased quality, productivity, efficiency, and cost savings.
Operational Investigation: Partners with manufacturing sciences to investigate operational challenges affecting production.
Data Provision: Provides manufacturing data to support teams in resolving issues without affecting productivity.
Production Data Analysis: Provides data on production control charts, reliability, and process capability.
Process Improvement: Improves the process and monitors and measures using process improvement tools such as Six Sigma and lean manufacturing techniques.
Cost Reduction: Identifies ways to reduce production costs through recommendations.
CI Methodology Expansion: Expand the repository of Continuous Improvement (CI) methodologies and tools based on their application within Johnson Matthey, in the interactive JM SharePoint site.
CI Partnership: Partner with all JM business units in all sectors, identify subject matter experts, and align CI methodologies and tools with proven best practice examples within JM.
Best Practices Identification: Actively seek out and recommend best practices, emerging technologies, and techniques from across the region, the wider business industry, and other relevant sectors.
CI Project Participation: Identify and participate in continuous improvement and cost‑saving projects using Lean Manufacturing diagnostic and problem‑solving techniques throughout the Group.
Lean Training Support: Support and facilitate lean training and coaching (online and on‑site) to foster a culture of continuous improvement in processes, equipment, and the engagement and capabilities of people.
Lean Assessment: Assess and support sites on their Lean journeys through Manufacturing Excellence Programmes, driving Lean engagement and value for the businesses.
Innovation: Challenge the status quo through innovative and creative thinking.
Equipment Management: Work with the engineering team to manage equipment development, including effective planned preventative maintenance by the operations teams.
Training Plan Support: Support the sites' training plans where required and drive the quality culture.
KPI Support: Support the production team leaders to ensure key performance indicators are relevant, updated, and used to make improvement decisions.
CI Goal Alignment: Work with the Continuous Improvement Manager to ensure that the site goals and global PPI (Practical Process Improvement) programs are met.
Plant Performance Improvement: Work closely with the department business partners to plan, support, and lead overall activities to improve plant performance, productivity, and decrease costs.
Strategic Development: Assist in the development of strategic A3s for the plant, departments, and 1x1 problem solving.
Visual Management: Champion, deliver, and manage (where applicable) Visual Management systems.
Gemba Focus: Spend 75% of working time at Gemba, focusing on employee engagement and observations to deliver and sustain improvement results.
Problem‑Solving Coaching: Coach and develop plant personnel to foster a problem‑solving culture at all levels of the organization.
CI Training Delivery: Deliver Continuous Improvement training and development for all salary and hourly employees.
Lean Methodology Expertise: Provide lean methodology expertise for plant‑wide CI deployment, including core tools: 5S, Flow, MDI, A3 Thinking, Standardized Work, Value Stream Mapping, and Problem Solving.
Analytical Skill Development: Promote and develop analytical skills for the measurement, analysis, and evaluation of process data to accurately identify and document improvements.
CI Team Maximization: Maximize the value of the CI Team services to assist the plant in reaching targets and goals, including development.
Servant Leadership: Lead using a coaching style with a servant leadership mindset.
5. Continuous Improvement Specialist Functions
Strategy Translation: Work with various teams to translate strategy into tactics and operational solutions on the ground, helping implement global projects and processes on a local level.
Lean Training Facilitation: Arrange Lean training for colleagues and facilitate CI workshops.
Lean Coaching: Coach colleagues on Lean principles and liaise with people of all seniority levels across departments.
Improvement Initiative Implementation: Identify improvement initiatives and drive the implementation of all initiatives.
Operations Support: Visit Operations within Belgium, with international travel 1-2 times per year.
Improvement Opportunity Leadership: Lead activities to identify the required improvement opportunities.
CI Event Follow‑up: Lead CI event follow‑up to monitor the progress of planned improvement implementations, ensuring timely action, appropriate management support, and achievement of expected benefits.
Leadership Development: Learn the process and be an active and contributing part of the department leadership team, developing for future plant leadership roles.
#J-18808-Ljbffr