Production Supervisor

Company: Refresco
Location: Fort Worth
Posted on: February 17, 2020

Job Description:

Objectives and Challenges:
Drive production/manufacturing results through ownership and accountability. Ensure budgeted performance is reached on all lines. Meet line performance objectives including changeover objectives, maintaining washouts to required timelines, limiting downtime. Work with Maintenance to ensure appropriate operations/maintenance "handshakes", PM program adherence, training/knowledge sharing. Communicate and redirect maintenance efforts to meet quality and productivity goals. Develop and implement systems to improve production efficiencies that are sustainable and repeatable. Document issues on processes to review the next time issue comes up or process is followed. Utilize this information to improve each process or system as it comes up to rule out/eliminate negative impact.
Challenges:

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• Must constantly focus on improving line performance, limiting downtime, improving changeover time on all lines. Must correct issues permanently, and not just until they occur again. Insure mechanical knowledge is passed on to all techs and operators as needed.
  
• Manage people to ensure all are performing to expectations and optimizing their contributions.
  
• Plan and execute effective line startups, ensure cleaning on all equipment is maintained, plan new product runs effectively.
  
• Encourage an environment of idea generation, not complaints. Handle complaints as they arise and develop solutions quickly.
  
• Must communicate clearly with team what is expected.
  
• Continual monitoring and updating of SOP's as needed. Hold people accountable. Monitor people performance and address inefficiencies thru coaching and positive motivation and/or formal disciplinary action if required.
  
• The effective supervisor will develop a system to ensure responsibilities are met and then ensure people do what they are supposed to do.
  
• Follow up and develop improvement plans when required. Build upon experts.
  
• Develop employees to the "expert level" of there are of responsibility. Cross training of hourly employees to allow more flexibility in scheduling.
  
• Implement the Production Department training matrix to maintain an accurate record of employees in need of training. Complete weekly evaluation of employees in training to keep all on track and aware of where they need to improve.
  
• Document expert knowledge and develop training program around that information. Track effectiveness of training thru weekly evaluation form. Certify each employee has completed training and are fully qualified and periodically validate.
  
• Demonstrate leadership and strong people interactions skills and practices. Address difficult issues with employees, push back on people issues when needed, listen to people and react to their concerns, be objective and listen to all sides of an issue, reward people for job well done, have the ability to positively say no when needed. Focus on training and developing people including cross training. Delegate work to develop employees who show potential to progress.
  
• Communicate effectively and follow up. Develop and deliver effective briefs, reports, meetings. Be direct and concise but, professional. Attend all inter-department meetings each day to coordinate plans, complete any required safety items, cross train employees, ensure GMP and SQF compliance, verify QC checks on running product, verify all line checks are being performed, and complete visual observation of running product. Know what is important to share and utilize in daily briefs to communicate to employees. Over communicate details and specifics, insuring all employees know the plan for the day and what is expected. Employees are kept informed of customer required changes and new products, new raw materials, etc. Discussing shift performance and gather info to be passed on to the next shift and supervisor.
  
• Understand and know the short-term as well as long-range goals and targets for production and how they tie to the daily/weekly/monthly production plan. Execute the plan and communicate any opportunities or deficiencies. Use analytical thought processes and root cause analysis to solve problems. Focus on planning, organization and achieving daily results by informing all employees of expectations and plans.5. Commitment to hours and shift work including weekends. Getting acclimated to the work environment. Six and seven day work weeks are not uncommon, working 9 to 10 hour or more shifts are not uncommon, summers are the busiest time of the year.
  
  Key Technical Skills:
  
  
• An understanding of electrical and mechanical systems and how they affect all aspects of the operation is a plus. Gaining basic knowledge/theory of how the major pieces of equipment work and being able to troubleshoot equipment problems, understand all support equipment and how it affects the process in QA department, assist in overseeing the batching process and how it relates to an effective production schedule. Knowing how the equipment is supposed to run will improve line efficiencies in the end.
  
• Develop plant operations knowledge of the main support systems needed to run an effective plant. Know the major pieces of support equipment that are essential to running the plant and the impact of problems with these systems. Develop a checklist to verify all are in proper working order and if not report and follow-up as needed.
  
• Have an understanding of SQF, responsibility for Food Safety /Food Quality and the responsibility to take action when notified or becomes aware of any Food Safety or Food Quality issue.
  
  Key Team Skills:
  
  
• Direct and lead their shift of 15 -- 20 hourly employees. Other than machine operators the supervisor will interact with lab techs, maintenance techs, forklift operators, other supervisors and managers, production schedulers. Projects will include capital improvements on production lines and support systems, new product runs, packaging or container changes to existing products, consumer complaint issue investigations, line issue investigations including six sigma tool uses.
  
• Run meetings with employees at the end of a shift (debrief) and at the beginning of the next shift (brief) communicating information from the previous shift such as things to be on the lookout for and any particulars pertaining to product runs. Review use to tools required to be used in the course of their jobs such as line check sheets, downtime sheets, filler operator sheets, checklists for changeovers, etc.
  
• Attend daily interdepartmental meetings to discuss status of the day and upcoming needs on the shift. Line performance issue will be communicated in this meeting and the impact on the production schedule going forward. Notes of these meetings should be forwarded to the oncoming supervisor at shift change. Will also attend safety meetings and lead process improvement teams to generate ideas to improve efficiencies on the lines or any topic so designated.
  
  Degree Preference: Engineering
  Troubleshooting and Lean manufacturing experience.

Keywords: Refresco, Fort Worth , Production Supervisor, Professions , Fort Worth, Texas