Are you looking for a challenging yet rewarding career that allows you to utilize your skills to their fullest potential? Do you want to join a team of hardworking, enthusiastic and creative people and enjoy working with a company that recognizes and embraces diversity? Do you take pride working with a company that is committed to being a great corporate citizen and playing a role in producing the highest quality products and services?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then Pridgeon and Clay is the place for you…
Founded in 1948 by John Pridgeon and Donald Clay, we are one of the largest independent, value-added manufacturers and suppliers of automotive stamped and fine-blanked components in the United States.
The Quality and Lab Manager promotes the quality and engineering systems throughout the organization, making changes as needed to ensure defect free products; ensures customer satisfaction by understanding the needs of the customer; direct the activities of the quality and manufacturing engineering systems to support APQP, continuous improvement, and business plan objectives. This role will also lead the quality launch process and inspection systems and team.
Qualified candidates will possess the following Minimum Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree
- At least eight to ten years in a similar role in the automotive industry
- Prior experience with TS requirements
- Demonstrated experience directly leading teams in an industrial environment (including involvement with the disciplinary, performance appraisal, and hiring processes)
- Prior project management experience, strong analytical and problem solving skills
- Prior exposure with the APQP process and associated quality documents such as SPC, blue print reading, datum schemes, GD&T, CMM applications and associated software, including fit analysis and DOE
- Computer proficiency in Microsoft Office (including Windows, Outlook, Word, and Excel)
- Able to promote the quality system throughout the organization, making changes as needed to ensure defect free products, and ensuring customer satisfaction by understanding the needs of the customer
- Excellent work history, including attendance
- Strong interpersonal, problem-solving, organizational, and collaborative skills
- Ability to perform projects with a high degree of detail
- Exceptional professional attributes, including self-motivation, dependability, and confidentiality
- Ability to build effective work relationships
- Demonstrated growth potential, by having achieved previously established goals, learning new skills, and proven strategic thinking
Essential Functions:
Personnel/Workforce Management:
- Manage a multi-disciplinary team consisting of one or more Quality Managers, Engineers, Lab, Supplier Quality Engineers, Quality Liaison Engineers, and Quality Compliance while working with Director of Quality.
- Participate in future headcount forecasting and propose solutions for fluctuations. Create requisitions, recruit, interview, hire and on-board new team members as needed.
- Lead efforts to enhance team communication, including regular team meetings and status updates.
- Notify team members of technical and training opportunities to promote development.
- Mentor Plant Quality Engineers and guide them to continuously improve on how they perform their job duties.
- Provide consistent feedback to employees regarding job task performance and accomplishment of goals. Address unacceptable performance by fairly administering disciplinary actions using the Company Employee Handbook.
- Complete and present annual performance reviews for all direct report employees, outlining positive and negative performance, and documenting a plan of action for sub-par performers.
Quality Work:
- Prepare/return documents, as well as supply co-workers (from all areas within company) with needed information in a timely manner.
- Apply troubleshooting knowledge to improve processes and equipment with the goal of achieving permanent fixes.
- Accurately calculate and submit cost reductions and cost avoidances using approved guidelines to meet or exceed annual goals.
- Evaluate part measurement and data collection methods in all areas and improve efficiency and accuracy of information. Automate all activities to reduce error and increase consistency.
- Champion the documented standards and expectations for Quality Engineering best practices that will be used within P&C to improve the business.
- Lead special documentation requirements for customer reject responses. Monitor response time and provide responses according to all requirements. Provide all necessary feedback and documentation to customers with assistance as needed.
- Analyze data (customer concerns, external PPM, cost of quality, customer scorecard, disruptions) for errors and trends.
- Participate in the Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) process as an APQP Team Member providing leadership on best practices and lessons learned for the facilities.
Customers:
- Participate in formal problem solving methods in unison with the tooling, operations, and engineering departments to reduce defects, close customer concerns, and deliver zero defect products to Pridgeon & Clay customers.
- Interface with customers on key issues to resolve and communicate action plans as needed.
- Monitor customer scorecards as they are received and coordinate comparison to actual P&C data.
- Jointly complete customer’s system surveys and audits with Pridgeon & Clay support groups.
- Performs the duties of the IMDS System Administrator to troubleshoot problem reporting. Assist and train P&C US users and suppliers.
- Survey outside customers for input regarding satisfaction levels, then chart and communicate results with management staff for each company entity.
- Understand company processes and technology and support manufacturing operations for all issues with P&C parts at customer facilities.
- Provide report of daily activity including interaction at customer and company.
- Lead and serve as a customer liaison for all issues with company parts at customer facilities, providing all necessary feedback and documentation to company manufacturing, quality and engineering personnel. Track action items and follow through on status.
- Analyze problems on the customer’s floor and determine the root cause.
In return, Pridgeon and Clay will provide:
- A competitive total compensation including a comprehensive benefit plan with premium medical and prescription coverage starting at just $5.00 per week for employee coverage, dental, vision, 401(k) with company match, and tuition reimbursement.
- A safe, team oriented work environment with a leadership team that treats you like family and values your input
- An opportunity to participate in shaping the success of the organization through continuous improvement and problem solving events
- A positive work/life balance
- An opportunity for career growth – Over 70% of our leaders have been promoted from within
