Plant Change Agent II - Zeeland, MI

Sara Lee Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of high-quality, brand-name products for consumers throughout the world. The Corporation has operations in 58 countries and markets branded products in nearly 200 nations. Sara Lee Corporation employs 137,000 people worldwide.



Sara Lee markets some of the world's best loved brands, including Sara Lee?, Hillshire Farm?, Chef Pierre?, Douwe Egberts?, and Superior Coffee?.? Sara Lee Food & Beverage is proud to be the second-largest producer of fresh bread and baked goods, fourth-largest producer of frozen baked goods, and No. 2 producer of frozen desserts in the United States.


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Position Summary:


The primary objective in this position is to, with the Corporate? Engineer's input, lead plant performance improvement through Lean production system design, effective problem-solving techniques, the design and management of performance improvement initiatives, and the training and coaching of plant personnel to accomplish the same.? In order to accomplish this, the Plant?Change Agent? will need to effectively communicate with plant management and the Corporate Engineer, and coach frontline supervisors and operating managers in how to better incorporate performance improvement activities into their daily workload.? This position would be located at the plant site and be the primary Real Time Results representative for the site.


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Position Responsibilities:

Help establish meaningful plant metrics to monitor performance at a level sufficiently detailed to illustrate the real nature and cause of problems, and demonstrate the skills and focus needed for improvement.
Organize the plant idea generation and improvement initiative planning to level up and stabilize performance and seize more significant improvement opportunities.
Diagnose and evaluate performance (cost, quality, delivery) challenges stemming from plant demand management and forecasting, inventory management, capacity and production planning, and production process design and execution.
Develop and implement plant solutions based on Lean Production system design and transformation principles, tools, and techniques (also the tools of Six Sigma).
Lead plant root cause problem solving initiatives.
Assist in the design of work standards, quality control charts and systems, and other elements of superior manufacturing practice to aid plant improvement.
Assist in the creation of alternative methods of production control and scheduling that use best practice techniques and better connect the plant and its suppliers with customer and seasonal demand patterns.
Train and coach plant personnel in Real Time Results and its measurement as it pertains the their site.
Assist the general manager and operations director in assessing the progress of?Lean Manufacturing?initiatives and programs underway at the plant.


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Challenges:

Coordinating?Continuous Improvement?activities and priorities between the Corporate? Engineer and plant management.
"Selling"?process improvement?measurements, etc. to plant management in situations where they feel different measurements would work better.
Coaching front line managers to manage their time, activity, and behavior so that they shift from reactive problem-solving to planned and scheduled opportunity generation and capture.



Education & Experience:Bachelor's degree in a relevant engineering or business discipline preferred; Master's degree a plus3 + years of experience implementing Lean manufacturing techniques Broad manufacturing experience including responsible management rolesIn-depth knowledge of manufacturing processesKey Insights into cost savings initiativesLean Production System; Six Sigma

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Competencies:SupervisoryProblem SolvingCommunicationsLeadershipTeam Commitment