Operational Excellence Manager

Morgan Advanced Materials is a business rich in history and innovation. Founded in the UK in 1856, we have grown into a global organisation with 70 sites in 18 countries. Our model to serve our customers where they need us has led to a diversified product range using our unparalleled expertise in ceramic and carbon materials, which we exploit to solve difficult problems for our customers across a diverse range of markets.

We are a purpose driven organisation. Our purpose is to use advanced materials to make the world more sustainable and to improve the quality of life. We deliver on that purpose through the products that we make, and the way that we make them.

The Technical Ceramics business of Morgan Advanced Materials engineers high performance functional and structural ceramic materials, components and sub-assemblies to address customer-specific technical challenges.

Key Figures: Revenue £1,114.7m (2023), ~8,500 employees, manufacturing in 20+ countries, and a global customer portfolio. A UK PLC with head office located in Windsor, Berkshire UK.  Listed on London Stock Exchange; Member of the FTSE 250 Index.

This role will be responsible for promoting and leading the Continuous and Process Improvements elements of Morgan.  This includes, but is not limited to, working with employees on improvement projects, as a facilitator, teacher or in support with analyzing data, creating visual management aids, creating standard work, aiding management in root cause problem solving, and creating Value Streams and associated value stream maps. In addition, lead/manage teams of Morgan employees on the above projects. This would include agreeing with Leadership Team on business priorities.

The OpEx Site Lead is responsible for all aspects of continuous improvement that assure site and program revenue, profit, and the ability to maintain and advance the Business Unit’s (BU) competitive edge. The accomplishment of these goals is assured through the execution of Strategic Deployment Goals. The OpEx Site Lead will work with Site leadership to identify key improvement areas, deploy & support Strategy Deployment initiatives, and develop strategic plans. The execution of these goals is assured through the use of daily controls and visuals, measurement of key performance indicators, KPI's, process change based on KPI, and the application and training of Lean tools (ie 5S/6S, PDCA strategies, FMEA/RCCA, lessons learned, Value Stream Mapping, etc). The OpEx Site Lead will be measured by the accomplishment of Strategy Deployment goals as outlined in the objectives section of LeanDNA, which is Morgan’s software for KPI and project tracking.

This role will work closely with production, supply-chain management, planning and senior management to understand implementation guidelines, escalation of adoption and maturity targets to achieve company goals. This person will define the focus areas, schedule for functional area adoption and KPIs.  The person will partner with BU OpEx Leaders while sharing best practices and fostering collaboration.

In additional to the above, this resource will also collaborate locally, and at a corporate level, to start the deployment of both Tactical Lean Systems and Strategic Morgan Production Lean Framework that supports company growth and aligns with yearly goals.

Responsibilities

Lead, coordinate, and organize all defined lean activities toward the end of creating and fostering a Lean Continuous Improvement culture:

• Work with OpEx and Site leadership to deploy tactical lean tools and Morgan Production Systems Framework, including the development of the MPS Framework.
• Manage transformation projects necessary to enable the achievement of significant Cycle Time Reduction, COGS Reduction, PPV and efficiency improvements (waste reduction).
• Work with OpEx and Site leadership to drive the process for development of X-Matrix/Strategy Deployment (Hoshin Kanri) within the site using LeanDNA to manage and report out.
• Deploy LeanDNA across site to Establish appropriate measurement systems to identify opportunities and to quantify implemented improvements.
• Manage and maintain LeanDNA Initiatives, Metrics and Targets, and provide LeanDNA administrative support to all site users.
• Work collaboratively with the BU Ops & Site Manager to support development of key frameworks.
• Maintain a continuous performance and quality improvement effort and monitoring and reporting system across all site functions.
• Facilitate the selection, scope, and planning of specific improvement & CI projects.
• Lead and conduct studies in cost, quality, productivity, flow, value stream mapping and root cause analysis.
• Conduct operational audits to identify areas of opportunity across the business.
• Identify and recommend work center specific and company-wide improvement initiatives and opportunities.
• Lead and/or coordinate Kaizens and similar team-based improvement initiatives.
• Train “change agent” employees, in all aspects of lean manufacturing, waste reduction, team effectiveness and continuous improvement.
• Leadership of cross functional CI project teams.
• Work with site teams to establish a daily regiment around key KPI performance and improvement.
• Lead Root Cause Problem Solving projects to improve site metrics in all areas of the business.
• Develop training materials and effectively deliver those materials in a team environment to ensure employees throughout the facilities are trained in CI concepts and philosophy.
• Access & ensure that existing processes maintain a high level of performance.
• With data driven focus, continuously review and refine processes to make site improvements.
• Focus on plant wide issues and inter-plant initiatives including developing synergies and business opportunities to optimize other sites.
• Use standardized tools, instructions, and training to create a performance standard with focus on the continual improvement of not only the shop floor, but office settings as well.

This job may require travel for educational or benchmark purposes in order to gain knowledge of new product or processes within Morgan Technical Ceramics.

Key Measures & Milestones

• Operations Performance (COTTP, WIP/Lead Time, Lead Time)

• Operational and Supplier Key Measures: OTTP, SOTIF, PPV, CDPPM, SDPPM
• Financial Performance (Revenue, Operating Profit, Operating Cash Flow, Order Intake); Profitable Growth; Customer Satisfaction; Operational Excellence; Safety; Talent; Inventory Control. Operational and Supplier Key Measures: OTTP, SOTIF, PPV, CDPPM, SDPPM

Organization Relationship

 Reports to the Site Manager with dotted-line into the Operational Excellence Group

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in engineering discipline, manufacturing or a technical field
• 5-10 years’ experience in deploying and managing Lean Systems.
• Must be fully Bilingual speaker  English & Spanish
• 5 years of directly related experience in Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma/DMAIC methodology in the capacity of a Manufacturing Engineer, Lean Coordinator, or similar positions.
• Strong understanding and application with all LEAN tools – including but not limited to Hoshin Kanri/X-matrices.
• Must be proficient in Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Must be able to communicate and interact effectively with employees at all levels of the organization from Production to Management, both verbally and in writing, including preparing presentations.
• Experience with statistics and Enterprise Resource Planning systems.
• Demonstrated experience in conducting Value Stream Mapping exercises and leading teams through step function changes.
• Demonstrated experience in driving functional excellence initiatives. Experience in conducting and leading lean kaizen events both on the shop floor and in transactional departments, addressing production to takt time, targets & results, and daily/hourly/monthly performance measures.
• Experience in deployment of Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen events and continuous improvement techniques to drive culture change of the organization and encourage employee engagement.

Technical Requirements

A complete understanding of supply chain management and lean principles.

Managerial Experience

Mentor and coach individuals to implement change who are resistant to embracing new processes by using the tools within the Morgan Production System. Tools are not exclusively limited to MPS.

Lifting Requirements

May need to lift up to 25 pounds

Climbing

May need to climb stairs

C: Bending/Stooping/Sitting

Yes / Yes / Yes

D: Walking

Yes

Morgan Advanced Materials is an EEO/AA/M/W/D/V Employer Ind-1

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