Team Lead

Calderys•Lowellville, OH

26d

About The Position

The Team Lead coordinates and leads the daily workflow of Manufacturing Production Technicians. This is a hands-on leadership role that includes performing direct production tasks and managing shift scheduling and production. Employee safety and health take precedence over all other duties. The Team Lead directs the production team, adapts production to schedules and equipment conditions, ensures standard operating procedures and quality standards are followed, and coordinates with Maintenance to optimize production and minimize downtime. The role also supports continuous improvement, production documentation, team development, and resolution of production-related customer complaints. HWI describes itself as the largest supplier of refractory products and services in the United States, with manufacturing sites, distribution centers, and a research facility across the Americas.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED.
Two to five years of experience in a highly automated production environment.
Previous experience in a flexible, team-based production or manufacturing environment.
Practical experience with continuous improvement or Lean Manufacturing activities.
Basic computer skills, including MS Office.
Physical ability to perform the described activities, including reaching for more than two-thirds of the time and lifting up to 100 pounds for less than one-third of the time.
Ability to meet the listed vision requirements, including accurate close and distance vision, color vision, and ability to focus.

Nice To Haves

Associate degree in a technical or manufacturing field.
Two to five years managing a production shift or team, including conflict resolution, providing feedback, goal setting, and scheduling responsibility.
Previous experience with ERP systems; Oracle is preferred.

Responsibilities

Coordinate shift scheduling and allocate production resources appropriately.
Adjust and operate machinery; anticipate and perform production line changeovers.
Coordinate with Maintenance to ensure adherence to the maintenance schedule and minimize downtime.
Ensure required quality checks are completed and that actions are taken based on results.
Ensure the team performs first-level and autonomous maintenance.
Prepare technical documentation on process phases, methods, and cycle times; document process changes in SOP manuals.
Participate in production sequence definition, cycle-time calculation, and analysis of production work phases; share cycle-time data with internal teams.
Maintain performance indicators, including OEE, adherence to plan, changeover time, and waste, and communicate them to engage the team in continuous improvement.
Promote safe behaviors, hold self and team members accountable, reinforce safety rules, update safe operating procedures, and identify, report, and correct at-risk situations and behaviors.
Lead root-cause analysis for incidents and near misses, communicate safety results in daily meetings, and lead safety improvement projects.
Apply 5S and Lean Manufacturing principles, propose improvements to housekeeping and organization, and lead Lean improvement projects to reduce waste and non-value-added activity.
Support resolution of production-related customer complaints through root-cause analysis and problem solving.
Develop team member competencies and update, modify, and train the team on standard operating procedures.