Team Lead

Company / Location Information

A.O. Smith is a global leader applying innovative technologies and energy-efficient solutions to products manufactured and marketed worldwide. The company is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of residential and commercial water heating equipment and boilers, as well as a manufacturer of water treatment products for residential and light commercial applications. A. O. Smith is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with approximately 12,000 employees at operations in the United States, Canada, China, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Primary Function

The primary function of our Team Leads is to coordinate operations of a manufacturing area in supporting Supervisors with day-to-day management, in effectively leading a group of employees and in ensuring efficient operations through achieving plant metrics (safety, quality, delivery and cost).  This position may be responsible any department in assembly and may report to any supervisor in assembly and may be moved around at any time based on business need.

Responsibilities

• Support our company values & principles and promote them in everyday work activities.
• Instruct assigned teams on safety and emergency procedures and ensure daily accountability of those procedures.
• Work closely with the supervisor to manage and prioritize daily tasks of employees to ensure quality and production goals/schedules are met.
• Understand quality procedures and requirements and ensuring daily accountability by the operators, within the manufacturing areas of responsibility.
• Coordinate, document and execute employee training and cross-training to ensure safety and work procedures are followed and meet quality requirements.
• Update and communicate plant functional manufacturing metrics using assigned Gemba board and facilitate daily team meeting.
• Work closely with cross functional areas, such as Quality Technicians, Engineers, Material Handlers, and Maintenance, to maximize efficiency.
• Determine root cause of problems and implement corrective actions to avoid repeat issues and to mistake proof processes.
• Lead pre-shift safety/training meetings.
• Maintain high standards of product quality complying with the guidelines and regulations of the corporate quality management system.
• Establish plans to achieve or exceed production and quality goals, using the appropriate tools for problem solving.
• Identify and support CI efforts in suggesting waste elimination, efficiency and cost savings
• Support new product launches.
• Sustain and drive lean manufacturing initiatives and 5S activities.
• Assign available manpower to work stations based on cross training matrix.
• Read and interpret part drawings and bills of materials to ensure that manufacturing processes meet quality and engineering specifications.
• Escalate all quality, production and maintenance issues to the supervisor and area manager as per the company’s escalation policy.
• Ensure all scrap generated during the shift is properly documented and accounted for to ensure inventory accuracy. 
• Coordinate all end of shift activities to ensure that the next production shift is set up for success.
• Other responsibilities may be assigned as needed.

Qualifications

• Minimum of three years of manufacturing industry experience
• In-depth understanding of AOS values and metrics
• Ability to multi-task and strong time management skills
• Excellent safety records
• Demonstrate strong productivity, performance, attendance and adherence to company policies.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills to ensure stable operations of the assigned functional areas
• Ability to work with others collaboratively
• Ability to motivate others to meet production demands/schedule
• Ability to communicate effectively through oral and written communication

• Proficiency in with MS Office            

• Demonstrated working knowledge of SAP a strong plus
• Lean manufacturing and/or continuous improvement experience a strong plus
• Strong problem-solving skills
• Ability to manage operators in order to maximize safety, quality, efficiency and output;
• Willingness to report disciplinary issues to Supervisor as required;
• Ability to interact with various functional groups, including Production, Quality, Engineering, Human Resources, etc.
• Willingness to learn new tasks, cross-train, rotate and work as a part of a team;
• Ability to serve as a back-up for other team members to cover absenteeism, vacations and mandatory rotations of responsibility;
• Ability to successfully complete the team lead training courses provided by AO Smith McBee
• Willingness to work overtime as required depending on business need;
• Team leads are often required to begin their shift at least one half hour before the rest of their team – they may also be required to stay over at the end of their shift to complete work activities – successful candidates must have the ability to accommodate this schedule.

Education

Physical Requirements

We Offer

Competitive compensation package and comprehensive benefits plans which include medical and dental insurance, company-sponsored life insurance, retirement security savings plan, short- and long-term disability programs and tuition assistance.

ADA Statement & EEO Statement

In developing this job description care was taken to include all competencies needed to successfully perform in this position. However, for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) purposes, the essential functions of the job may or may not have been described for purposes of ADA reasonable accommodation. All reasonable accommodation requests will be reviewed and evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

We consider all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity and expression, marital or military status. We also provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and applicable state and local law.