Continuous Improvement Specialist

WHAT DOES A CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT SPECIALIST DO?

Updated:
Jan 12, 2025 - The Continuous Improvement Specialist plays a key role in translating strategy into actionable tactics and operational solutions, ensuring the successful implementation of global projects at a local level. This role involves arranging and facilitating Lean training, coaching colleagues, and driving continuous improvement initiatives across departments. Additionally, the specialist leads CI event follow-ups, monitors progress, and contributes to the leadership team's development for future plant leadership roles.

• Safety Leadership:
  Drives a safety-first culture in all aspects of the role, leading by example and setting standards for process and engagement.
• Safety Management:
  Creates and maintains a safe work environment, and promotes a high level of safety awareness among the operations teams and beyond.
• Lean Process Review:
  Uses lean principles to review production process flow to drive efficiency and effectiveness.
• Work Instruction Development:
  Improves, designs, and develops effective and efficient work instructions.
• Operational Improvement:
  Continually improves the existing operation for increased quality, productivity, efficiency, and cost savings.
• Operational Investigation:
  Partners with manufacturing sciences to investigate operational challenges affecting production.
• Data Provision:
  Provides manufacturing data to support teams in resolving issues without affecting productivity.
• Production Data Analysis:
  Provides data on production control charts, reliability, and process capability.
• Process Improvement:
  Improves the process and monitors and measures using process improvement tools such as Six Sigma and lean manufacturing techniques.
• Cost Reduction:
  Identifies ways to reduce production costs through recommendations.
• CI Methodology Expansion:
  Expand the repository of Continuous Improvement (CI) methodologies and tools based on their application within Johnson Matthey, in the interactive JM SharePoint site.
• CI Partnership:
  Partner with all JM business units in all sectors, identify subject matter experts, and align CI methodologies and tools with proven best practice examples within JM.
• Best Practices Identification:
  Actively seek out and recommend best practices, emerging technologies, and techniques from across the region, the wider business industry, and other relevant sectors.
• CI Project Participation:
  Identify and participate in continuous improvement and cost‑saving projects using Lean Manufacturing diagnostic and problem‑solving techniques throughout the Group.
• Lean Training Support:
  Support and facilitate lean training and coaching (online and on‑site) to foster a culture of continuous improvement in processes, equipment, and the engagement and capabilities of people.
• Lean Assessment:
  Assess and support sites on their Lean journeys through Manufacturing Excellence Programmes, driving Lean engagement and value for the businesses.
• Innovation:
  Challenge the status quo through innovative and creative thinking.
• Equipment Management:
  Work with the engineering team to manage equipment development, including effective planned preventative maintenance by the operations teams.
• Training Plan Support:
  Support the sites' training plans where required and drive the quality culture.
• KPI Support:
  Support the production team leaders to ensure key performance indicators are relevant, updated, and used to make improvement decisions.
• CI Goal Alignment:
  Work with the Continuous Improvement Manager to ensure that the site goals and global PPI (Practical Process Improvement) programs are met.
• Plant Performance Improvement:
  Work closely with the department business partners to plan, support, and lead overall activities to improve plant performance, productivity, and decrease costs.
• Strategic Development:
  Assist in the development of strategic A3s for the plant, departments, and 1x1 problem solving.
• Visual Management:
  Champion, deliver, and manage (where applicable) Visual Management systems.
• Gemba Focus:
  Spend 75% of working…