Group Lead

Group Leader | Production | Ohio

The Manufacturing Group Lead oversees day-to-day production activities within an automotive parts manufacturing environment. This role is responsible for coordinating team members, ensuring safety and quality standards are met, monitoring workflow, and supporting continuous improvement initiatives. The Group Lead serves as the primary point of contact between production operators and management, ensuring operational targets are achieved safely and efficiently.

Key Responsibilities

Production Oversight:

• Lead, guide, and support hourly production team members across assigned work areas.
• Monitor daily production schedules, adjust staffing as needed, and ensure workstations are properly manned.
• Ensure compliance with standard operating procedures (SOPs), quality requirements, and customer specifications.
• Conduct start-of-shift meetings and communicate priorities, changes, or issues.
• Confirm the output hourly to ensure planned production targets are met. If production delays occur, take action to correct the shortfall and notify Supervisor.
• Remain in your assigned area to ensure standardized work is followed, quality practices are in place, and cross training is accomplished.
• Promote and maintain the Usui Production System. Train the operators to observe and follow the guidelines of the Usui Production System.
• Promote and maintain ART-4S. Train the operators to observe and follow the guidelines of the ART-4S System.
• Possess the ability to operate all machinery on your production lines.

Substitute for the operators when operator has stepped away from the line for unscheduled breaks, to ensure the line never stops.

Identify and understand all components.

Responding to ANDON calls:

• Respond promptly to ANDON calls.
• Contact others, Supervisor, Maintenance, Quality, as necessary to resolve issues.
• If unable to promptly respond, then contact Supervisor to seek instructions.

Material Handling:

• Supply the material, parts, and sub-materials for the production lines prior to the depletion of the material and parts. Ensure line is stocked for the next shift.
• Transport products and empty boxes: Transport semi-finished products and finished products and transport empty boxes (internal process). Ensure boxes are disposed of properly.

Other duties as assigned by management.

Quality & Safety:

• Enforce safety policies and promote a safety-first culture.
• Perform safety checks, audit, and ensure proper use of PPE.
• Identify and escalate quality issues; work with the Quality team to execute corrective actions.
• Support root-cause analysis and participate in problem-solving activities such as 5 Why or fishbone analysis.
• Report employee injuries and assist Supervisor in completing accident reports when any injury occurs in the plant.
• Ensure all employees are trained in and following all Quality procedures.
• Train employees in all quality critical requirements.
• Use all Quality issues as coaching opportunities with the employees.
• Promote and maintain ART-4S. Train the operators to observe and follow the guidelines of the ART-4S System.

Team Leadership & Training:

• Provide hands-on training for new employees and cross-training for existing team members.
• Coach team members on performance expectations, productivity, and work standards.
• Assist with performance feedback and recommend improvement plans when needed.

Process & Efficiency:

• Monitor workflow, material availability, and equipment uptime to minimize downtime.
• Support lean manufacturing initiatives (5S, Kaizen, waste reduction).
• Recommend process improvements to increase efficiency, reduce scrap, and enhance output.

Administrative Tasks:

• Maintain accurate production records, downtime logs, and shift reports.
• Track production metrics such as throughput, cycle time, and scrap rates.
• Assist supervisors with shift handoff communication.

Qualifications

Required:

• High School Diploma or GED
• 24 years of experience in a manufacturing environment; automotive preferred.
• Proven ability to lead, coach, and coordinate teams in a fast-paced production setting.
• Strong knowledge of safety standards, quality systems, and manufacturing processes.
• Effective communication skills (verbal and written).
• Basic mechanical aptitude and problem-solving abilities.

Preferred:

• Experience in automotive parts (e.g., stamping, molding, machining, assembly).
• Familiarity with lean manufacturing, 5S, or Six Sigma methodologies.
• Ability to read blueprints, work instructions, and measurement tools.
• PLEX software proficiency.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to stand for extended periods.
• Lift up to 3050 lbs as required.
• Work in a production environment with varying temperatures, noise levels, and moving machinery.

University of Illinois Chicago