Operations Management Trainee Jobs

Culture and Values

At ZXP, our values define how we live and work. We provide a quality product, service, and technology to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations with a skilled and knowledgeable workforce that embraces our vales of Safety, Teamwork, Accountability, Results, and Service.

ZXP is a manufacturer of premium branded lubricants products that are blended on site from multiple components (base oils and additives), and then either shipped out in bulk (via tank truck or railcar) or sent to the packaging lines to be packed out in bottles/ cases, pails, drums, or totes. A large percentage of ZXP finished product goes into the consumer packaged goods (CPG) retail network for sale at major retailers across the country.

The Operations Management Trainee is a unique opportunity for candidates who aspire to acquire experience in a variety of operational areas within a manufacturing plant environment. The Operations Management Trainee (Rotation) program is designed to give candidates exposure to 2-3 departments (blending/ packaging/ warehouse/ maintenance) within the manufacturing plant over a 3 year period. Candidates will get experience and exposure to leading teams and running continuous improvement (CI) projects in various departments over their tenure and at the end of the program will be placed in a permanent role within one of those departments.

Responsibilities & Accountabilities:

• Will include supervisory activity that involves leading teams directly (and through lead hands within those departments) to deliver against the operating plans and goals for the department. Management time horizon is typically shift to day to week. The candidate will learn how shop floor work activity is generated and planned in the operating area where they are assigned, and understand how that work is executed in each work area, understanding the asset capacity, the resources and competencies required to run the assets in the work center, and how production is executed safely, and in conformance to the quality standards through the comprehensive quality check program.
• Will develop the skills to lead implementing corrective actions from incidents and continuous improvement initiatives through the Line Leads and their respective teams.
• Will develop the skills and knowledge to develop performance improvement action plans, and work with the team to implement the changes required to deliver that improvement.
• Will develop relationships with associates from other operating departments and functions through routine meetings (ie. Daily production meeting) and ad-hoc engagements to ensure that needs of the assigned operation are met and identify the touchpoints/ hand-off’s required between the upstream and downstream operating areas.
• Will develop the skills and knowledge on people development and performance management of the team in conjunction with the Operating Department Supervisors, Managers, and HR, ensuring performance exceptions are properly captured and documented with HR, and effectively communicated back to employees in line with HR policy.
• Will develop the skills and knowledge (working with the HSSE Team) to lead work center teams and Line Leads to achieve the safe execution of activities within the assigned area
• Will develop the skills and knowledge on communication and engagement of the team, sharing performance from prior shift/ day/ week at daily team meetings to ensure understanding and alignment of performance vs target and the status and progress of action plans to address performance gaps, safety and quality lessons learned, continuous improvement initiatives, and change initiatives (MOC and/or Projects) which impact the area and/or department.
• Will models the appropriate values and behaviors expected from all team members by re-enforcing safety expectations, demonstrating respect for all employees in all engagements, and committing to take appropriate ownership for the results as part of One ZXP Team before.
• Will develop the skills and knowledge to drive Continuous Improvement (CI) projects to enable performance of the team in line with targets and goals for the assigned Operating area.
• Will develop the skills and knowledge to track and trend key performance indicators (kpi’s) with the operating area, understanding how those metrics are derived, where the data for the metrics sourced, and how the metrics compare to targets for the purpose of identifying gaps in performance and identifying actions required to close those gaps through process improvement, team member skills and capabilities development & performance management, and asset performance.
• Will develop the skills and knowledge (working with the Quality Team) related to application of quality inspection standards and requirements within the assigned operation, including quality check sheets, quality requirements embedded with standard operating procedures, and how ISO9000 quality system applies to the work area.
• Will work with other supervisors and managers to develop the skills and knowledge to coach, mentors, and develop team members to effectively achieve their respective goals and expected outcomes (safety, quality, service, efficiency) for the shift, day, and the week.
• Will works seamlessly with other Operations Supervisors, Specialists, and Managers within assigned area to ensure that movement of people resources across the Operating area occurs optimally to support the needs of the Operating department. Will understand how people are scheduled, how time is tracked and reported through the HR information system for hourly employee’s payroll management.
• Will review, understand, and ensure the application of standardized processes and procedures within the assigned operating area and identify opportunities for improvement in the SOP’s where applicable, and conduct audits to ensure adherence to established Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s).

Routinely:

• Learn and apply computer skills to complete, communicate, and generate production paperwork as well as status updates including production reports in Excel, and production performance tracking in the Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) system.
• Learn how to identify, report, contain, and manage workplace hazards, workplace incidents and accidents, or potential issues related to personnel, quality and environment control.
• Learn to schedule employees within the operating area assigned, and administer payroll (including adjustments as required) to support the weekly payroll processing requirements.
• Learn to produce and review and assure that shift status reports are generated and communicated for own assigned operating area.
• Learn to reports on performance in own assigned operating area of accountability.
• Learn how to identify, report, contain, and manage quality exceptions in own operating area and how to drive corrective actions in conjunction with Quality Control/ Assurance as appropriate.
• Learn how assets within own Operating Area are maintained, and how the system (Asset Essentials) for PM’s, repairs, and upkeep of assets within own area is initiated, planned, and executed.
• Learn to conducts daily meetings in own operating area.

• Learn to tracks and reports employee attendance.
• Performs other job-related duties that may be assigned.
• Participates in daily production planning meetings.
• Engages in public speaking their respective teams

• Strong interpersonal skills – able to engage and communicate effectively one on one or with teams or groups of people required
• Strong computer skills (MS Office) is required
• 1-2 years of prior work experience in a manufacturing environment is preferred.
• Strong problem solving skills – able to recognize deficiencies and collaborate with others to identify and implement solutions required
• Associates degree (minimum) or Bachelor degree (preferred) in Industrial Engineering, or Mechanical/ Chemical Engineering, or Supply Chain is required.
• Prior experience in ISO9000 quality standard work environments is preferred.

Math abilities include:

o add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals and basic knowledge of statistical process

o compute rate, ration, and percent

o draw and interpret bar graphs

o perform conversions of gallons/grams/liters and pounds per gallon

Language, Writing and Reasoning:

Must be proficient in the English language (bi-lingual in Spanish is an asset) and able to:

o read, write, and understand instructions

o interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions and procedure manuals

o speak effectively before groups of customers or Team Members

o understand the similarities and differences between words and between a series of numbers

o solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables

o interpret instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, and schedule formats

Basic Computer Operating Skills:

• Familiarity with Windows operating systems and applications (Excel/ Work/ Powerpoint)
• Prior experience with Inventory and Maintenance management systems would be an asset.
• Required basic computer operating skills knowledge to include word processing software and spreadsheet software.

Physical Demand and Work Conditions:

• Operations Management Trainees will:
• A high volume of walking, sitting, and standing is part of the daily schedule at ZXP.

o Frequently stands, walks, uses hands to finger, handle, or feel, reaches with hands, arms, and feet, stoops, kneels, crouches, and crawls

o Frequently talks and listens

o Occasionally moves 50 – 100 pounds

o Specific vision abilities are required to perform this job. They include, but are not limited to distance vision, peripheral vision, color vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

• All ZXP employees are exposed to weather conditions consistent with the Texas region. Also, frequent exposure to moving equipment, and high noise levels typical of a manufacturing plant with occasional exposure to fumes, airborne particles, and toxic or caustic chemicals is expected.
• A mandatory Dress Code Policy applies to all employees and may be found in the Safety Training Manual and ZXP Employee Handbook.

ADA: ZXP adheres to the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) in providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. For more information refer to Employee Handbook or contact the Human Resources department.