Process Improvement Engineer

About the role

The Process Improvement Engineer position is based at the Whiting Mill in Stevens Point, WI. This is a key member of the Operations team reporting to the Operational Excellence Regional Lead.

Responsibilities

• Actively seek daily, proactive safety interaction with employees and incorporate safety into routine and non-routine activities.
• Provide support to projects that focus on enhancing our safety systems.
• Support HOP and Just Culture through learning team participation.
• Consider from the perspective of the worker & seek solutions with highest level of control hierarchy.
• Be the primary, site driver for our OpEx / EDGE framework: Daily Direction Setting (DDS) and Daily Layered Accountability (DLA).
• Optimize organized, cross-functional team structures to promote great execution daily.
• Provide organizational enhancements to support daily, digital dashboarding Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and People.
• Tiered Escalation and Mission Control Support operations with timely updates of leading and lagging performance metrics to enable decision making and problem solving.
• Lead and coach problem solving: Be an expert in defining problems, utilizing formal methodologies and engaging others in the process of solving problems.
• Lead Process Improvement projects: Team-based events that follow the A3 methodology or Kaizen framework.
• Regularly update project documentation and be able to speak to progress and/or barriers.
• Process control & automation: Leverage the mill’s DCS, QCS and plant information systems to provide engineered solutions vs administrative solutions to routine problems.
• Identify optimization such as loop tuning & grade change improvement with Process Control Engineer and E&I.
• Business intelligence and data analytics: Champion for operational data integrity and performance metrics (Work Order Variances, Rates of Operation, ERP transactions).
• Analyze trends and patterns in data to quantify either opportunities or improvements made.
• Further our evolution from a system of knowledge to a system of process: Identify opportunities by mapping out knowledge-based gaps then delivering with solutions.
• Define decision points, proper triggers and appropriate responses for more predictable outcomes.
• Collaborate with our talented workforce to understand the best-known ways and create standard work.
• Complete cost optimization projects: Take initiative to implement organic product and process solutions or drive CAPEX solutions with quantifiable improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in pulp and paper science, chemical or industrial engineering, or a related field with five plus years’ experience of demonstrated process troubleshooting and analytical problem-solving abilities.
• Experience applying formal process improvement methodologies (such as Lean or Six Sigma) in a process-oriented manufacturing environment.
• Experience implementing Visual Management.
• A demonstrated track record of proven performance and ability to manage projects and lead teams at all organizational levels.
• Has a high degree of professionalism with high standards in quality of work.
• Experience leading teams to solve complex problems.
• Solid business acumen.
• Strong group facilitation with clear communication and presentation skills.
• Enjoys working and collaborating with members of cross-functional groups outside of operations such as marketing, customer service and supply chain.
• Strong computer skills including a working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to multi-task and pivot quickly in a fast-paced production setting.
• Must be able to wear required PPE when needed, and travel through the facility to perform tasks in areas that are hot and humid.

Preferred

• Desired software experience: Oracle, MS Project, Power BI, Minitab or other statistical software.
• PREFERRED CERTIFICATIONS: Third party certification in Lean or Six Sigma.

Competencies

• Exercise strong problem solving and analytical skills.
• Strong teamwork and collaboration skills, with the ability to explain concepts to a varied audience when required.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines with minimal supervision.

About Mativ

Mativ is a global leader in specialty materials headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia. The Company offers a wide range of critical components and engineered solutions that connect, protect, and purify our world. Mativ benefits say a lot about how we care for each other. Our employees and their families have many different needs. As a result, our benefits offer choices on many levels and are high in quality, competitive in the marketplace, and affordable. Mativ’s two segments, Filtration & Advanced Materials and Sustainable & Adhesive Solutions, target premium applications across diversified and growing end-markets, from filtration to healthcare to sustainable packaging and more. Mativ’s broad portfolio of technologies combines polymers, fibers, and resins to optimize the performance of our customers’ products across multiple stages of the value chain. Mativ drives innovation and enhances performance, finding potential in the impossible.