Manufacturing Operations Manager in New Berlin, Wisconsin at Wenthe-Davidson Manufacturing

About Us

At Wenthe-Davidson, we’ve been leaders in custom tubular metal fabrication for over 80 years. As a 100% employee-owned company with more than 200 dedicated team members, every person here has a direct stake in our success. This means that our employees don’t just work for Wenthe-Davidson, they own a piece of it. Our commitment to continuous improvement, investment in state-of-the-art equipment, and long-term growth has fueled the recent expansion of our 109,000 sq. ft. facility with a new 27,000 sq. ft. addition.

What we're looking for

The ideal candidate will have a focus on safety, quality, delivery and cost, while also driving performance standards with a servant leader mindset.

Job Summary

This position oversees day-to-day manufacturing operations, including safety, quality, delivery and cost. Assists in establishing standards of performance, measuring results, analyzing workflow and driving improvement efforts directly and through supervisory staff.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide daily leadership for the successful, efficient, and safe operation of the facility.
• Manage and enhance the safety, organizational and lean culture.
• Manage key performance indicators, improvement efforts and organizational goals, ensuring systems are in place to monitor and improve where needed.
• Gain and maintain an in-depth understanding of our products, processes, customers and markets.
• Promote and implement continuous improvement and cost reduction programs using lean and other best practices.
• Understand key reporting and paperwork processes between sales, scheduling, production, purchasing and shipping, to understand how they coordinate to result in accurate reporting results and identify deficiencies and areas for improvement.
• Oversee staffing levels and assignments to ensure all goals are met.
• Ensure quality standards and expectations are being met by ISO 9001 procedures, requirements, and customer expectations.
• Ensure shop floor to supervisor-level employees receive adequate training to perform their roles successfully.
• Coach assigned staff including training, performance reviews, etc.

Key Deliverables

• Analyze, define, and implement plans that clearly define team roles and responsibilities.
• Implement, drive and measure operating mechanisms to support goals and objectives that support the company’s goals around safety, quality, delivery and cost.
• Drive accountability, ownership and results.
• Increase operator efficiency and machine utilization.

Minimum Qualifications

• High School Diploma or equivalent. Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Engineering, or a related field preferred.
• Five (5) years’ people management experience.
• Five (5) years of experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated success with leading 5S, Kaizen, Lean, or related manufacturing process improvements or projects.
• Proven critical thinking skills and utilization of root cause problem solving and counter measures.
• Strong sense of urgency is required in this just-in-time (JIT) production environment.
• Ability to create accountability and lead by example.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral.
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with colleagues at various levels of the organization.
• Ability to “roll up the sleeves” and implement change.
• Strong team building, decision making and people management skills.
• Solid computer skills.
• Mechanical aptitude.
• Experience in a rolling, welding, and/or machining environment preferred, but not required.

Physical Demands

• The ability to bend and lift up to 25 pounds.
• The ability to stand and/or walk on concrete for up to eight (8) hours per day.
• Manual Dexterity: The ability to use hands to manipulate objects (i.e. perform complete set-ups, etc.).