Production Team Leader

Company Overview

Waupaca Foundry, Inc. is North America’s leading supplier of iron castings and has a history of innovation with a legacy of product quality. Waupaca Foundry employs approximately 4,400 people company-wide.

Waupaca Foundry is committed to relentless improvement, forward-thinking sustainability initiatives, and providing a reliable experience to the millions who use our castings every day. Our goal is to employ individuals who take pride in their work within a culture of continual innovation.

Waupaca Foundry is proud to be an employer of choice for those driven and skilled individuals seeking rewarding careers by producing top quality castings.

You will be right at home at Waupaca Foundry.

• Ensure you and all of the employees are following the safety rules, procedures, and regulations 100% of the time.
• If you see an unsafe condition or action, respond to the situation immediately.
• All 1st aid cases, forklift accidents, fires, and spills must be taken care of with the employee make sure Supervisor is notified immediately. Use the Near Miss/Safety Suggestion system as a way to elevate and communicate safety issues in the department.

• Follow-up and enforce 6S requirements daily. Hold individuals accountable for not meeting these expectations. This includes shadow boards and change over boards. Shadow boards must be full of all tools at the end of each shift. Pattern Change Boards must be completed for each changeover.
• Ensure down time is utilized properly during the shift to clean up work areas.
• Ensure cleanup time is being utilized during the shift and you hand each VMM off to the next shift in the way you would want to receive the machine at the beginning of your shift.

• Process sheet and Procedure adherence-100%.
• Any deviation from process must be handled with a waiver or sample sheet. Notify Foreman. Waiver = You cannot run your Process.
• Sample = Something we choose to change in the Process.
• Process changes to increase Molds Per Hour cannot be implemented without a fully approved waiver or sample.
• Audit e-process and procedures daily and make necessary changes and ensure all employees are signing off on the process.
• Make sure blocks, wafers and iron temperatures are all taken on time every time.
• All audits must be completed and turned in daily.
• Pattern Changes and Set Ups must be completed as correctly and efficiently as possible. Do not sacrifice set up quality for a fast pattern change. Set ups must be good first.
• If you have issues with cores, patterns, core setter or the VMM that keep you from setting up a job correctly and efficiently, escape and communicate those issues to your Foreman or Dept. Manager so they can be resolved. Do not live with problem jobs!
• Achieve scrap goals for area of responsibility.
• Ensure Hot Checks are pulled and looked at timely for all jobs.
• Escalate Problems with equipment if not 100% right or cannot follow process to your supervisor.

• As a Team Leader you need to lead by example and dress appropriately.
• This applies to PPE as well.
• Clean up areas and get employees involved.
• Continuously train employees.
• Monitor and support professional communication on the radios.
• Need to be part of the team when it comes to management decisions. Discussion can be done prior to decisions being made, but when the course of action is determined, it is expected that you support and comply with that decision.
• Run a Line meeting, and get your employees involved with actions from previous days results based on Department Head’s daily output on Level 4 board.
• Team leaders, shift to shift, are responsible to drive communication between both shifts and have a brief hand off meeting at your line with the previous shift to review any issues and housekeeping.
• Work as a team, all decisions made shall be for the greater good of the entire department and plant, not just the shift.
• Must communicate all aspects of what happened during the shift, both positive and negative, through written shift notes and face-to-face conversation.
• Ensure that issues are communicated thoroughly and timely.
• Track DT and or problems you face while running your line daily. This will help drive communication and to be able to send good, detailed shift reports.

• Work with all employees more (especially the newer employees) so that you are confident they are performing all aspects of their jobs 100% of the time. Train, coach, mentor.
• Reinforce the “Run to the Process” philosophy. You can never be wrong if you are following your process.
• Help to retain employees in our plant by treating them how you would like to be treated. Support them, answer their questions. Involve them in the daily problem solving of how to run better. The more they know, the better and happier employee they will be and the easier your job will be.
• Absenteeism-