Lean Engineer Responsibilities

The lean engineer is a professional who helps in increasing the efficiency and thus the productivity of the engineering department within the manufacturing engineering organization. The lead engineer responsibilities contribute to help in the continuous development process to improvise and increase the amount of engineering intelligence for each and every dollar that has been invested by the organization. For this, the engineering professional reviews the current scenario to look out for the inefficiencies and takes planned steps so as to justify the changes made, thus ensuring better success for the organization.

Key Responsibilities of a Lean Engineer

The lean engineer's prime role is to identify the customers, to determine the value of their tasks, and the relevant deliverables that are created. Once this task has been done, it is essential to determine what exactly are the process improvements required and accordingly this professional helps in determining the output of the engineering intelligence and assists in increasing this output. To increase this output, this professional works on two different areas for improvement, i.e., processes and resources. In the end, it is necessary that the changes made should not only increase the efficiency, but also increase its profitability from the business point of view and help in getting an edge over the competitors. To get a better and a more clear idea, given below are some of the key responsibilities that need to handled by this lean engineer:

1. To be responsible for the lean enterprise integration as well as deployment and to identify and share the best knowledge and practices inside and outside the manufacturing plants
2. To track, assess, support and report progress with respect to the implementation and utilization of the lean engineering techniques within the organization
3. To assist in development of strategies by interacting with the senior management personnel and to evaluate and prioritize the requirements based on the inputs provided by the stakeholders within an organization
4. To initiate the lean engineering projects and coordinate them with the production and other associated supporting functions
5. To assist the employees to implement all the elements associated with the lean enterprise by providing them with technical directions and support and helping in facilitating learning activities
6. To actively participate in various activities related to process improvement via lean as well as work out things that would help in ensuring the quality, safety, delivery, and reducing the cost abnormalities

In addition to the above duties, the lean engineer is responsible for assuring a safe and clean working environment for all the employees working within an organization and takes precautionary measures by emphasizing on preventing any possible problems and ensuring that the working conditions are suited to deliver quality work. He/she leads and trains the subordinates on OSHA safety compliance programs and ensures that there is adherence with environmental permits and that the hazardous waste material is disposed in an appropriate manner. He/she is responsible for coordinating the day to day activities related to maintenance to ensure that all the processes and equipment are operating smoothly. He/she provides support to carry out functions that will help in resolving unforeseen equipment or process problems. Thus, in short, he/she is responsible for defining and supporting the lean strategies and the related continuous improvement programs, activities, and structures.

Essential Skills

To ensure success in this field, the individual should have at least some of the following essential skills:

• Should have a proven ability to analyze the system inefficiencies and look out for ways to improve the overall performance of the team as well as the organization and convince them to make the necessary changes
• Should be strongly achievement oriented, self starter with a strong personal drive, initiative to excel in the given functional area
• Should be ready to face challenges and demonstrate high levels of determination even if there are any setbacks
• Should be able to train and mentor the subordinate members to improve the efficiency
• Should have the ability to work effectively with ambiguity, be comfortable to deal with a diverse range of population and be result oriented and driven to seek the latest information and stay updated

Educational Background

The basic educational requirement is that the candidate should have completed a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in mechanical engineering or any other relevant engineering background. He/she should be the one who is passionate to promote the culture and guide the people on Six Sigma Lean.

Work Schedule

This professional needs to work during the standard business hours, but needs to be flexible whenever there is a requirement to stay back for longer hours.

Salary Details

According to the information provided on one of the job portals, the lean engineer can get an average annual salary ranging in between $48,000 to $64,000. This variance is largely dependent on the academic background, experience, and skills of that particular individual. Equally important are some of the other factors like size of the organization and its location.

Career Prospects

Nowadays, more and more engineering firms are employing the lean engineers to support them in improving the efficiency as well as the quality of their products. So the career prospects really look bright and promising for the individuals aspiring to establish themselves in this field. Those with relevant experience have better scope for growth in their career.

Thus, as you are now well aware of the lean engineer responsibilities that need to be shouldered, you can enter this field with more confidence and ensure a successful and rewarding career ahead.