Hands-On Production Leader: Safety & Lean Champion

Trevor Frances Recruitment; Calgary; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Trevor Frances Recruitment is partnering with a growing Calgary manufacturing site to recruit a hands-on Production Manager to lead the rebond carpet cushion operation. This is a leadership role focused on safety, engagement, and continuous improvement on the production floor.

You will be visible on the floor, coach operators, own safety culture, monitor metrics, and collaborate with Maintenance, Procurement, and HR to drive performance and a safer, more efficient plant.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of production or manufacturing leadership experience.
• Experience in rebond or carpet cushion manufacturing is an asset, but not required.
• Demonstrated success building or strengthening safety culture within a production environment.
• Experience leading teams in a unionized manufacturing environment.
• Practical experience with Lean, Kaizen, Six Sigma, or other continuous improvement methodologies — formal certification is not necessarily required.
• A track record of identifying problems and implementing practical improvements that deliver measurable results.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive the plant's safety culture, making safety a visible and consistent daily priority.
• Lead daily and weekly safety huddles and toolbox talks that are practical, relevant, and engaging.
• Build a strong near-miss and hazard reporting culture where employees feel comfortable speaking up and know their concerns will be addressed.
• Investigate incidents thoroughly and ensure corrective actions are completed and communicated across shifts.
• Spend significant time on the production floor through regular floor walks, shift-start conversations, and one-on-ones.
• Build genuine relationships with operators and supervisors and become someone employees feel comfortable approaching with concerns or ideas.
• Observe processes with a critical eye to identify potential safety hazards, bottlenecks, and quality concerns before they elevate.
• Recognize and reinforce safe behaviours, good catches, and strong performance.
• Champion open, two-way communication and create an environment where employees feel heard and respected.
• Partner with HR on onboarding and training to ensure new employees are properly supported and equipped to work safely from day one.
• Hold supervisors accountable for maintaining the same standards of safety, communication, and employee engagement across every shift.
• Plan and oversee daily production activities to meet volume, quality, cost, and delivery objectives.
• Lead production employees through effective scheduling, coaching, development, and performance management.
• Monitor key production metrics including throughput, yield, waste, quality consistency, and on-time completion.
• Communicate plant performance and identify opportunities to improve operational results.
• Partner closely with Maintenance to maximize equipment uptime and minimize unplanned downtime.
• Coordinate raw material and finished goods flow with Procurement and Warehouse teams.
• Identify opportunities for improvement by combining data with floor insights.
• Lead root-cause analysis and problem-solving initiatives with supervisors and operators directly involved in the process.
• Drive improvements in product consistency while reducing waste, scrap, and rework.
• Apply Lean, Kaizen, Six Sigma, or similar continuous improvement principles to improve flow, reduce variability, and increase efficiency.

Skills

People leadership

Safety culture

Continuous improvement

Communication

Education

Post-secondary education in Operations/Engineering/Manufacturing

Tools

Lean Kaizen Six Sigma

Job description

Trevor Frances Recruitment is partnering with a growing Calgary manufacturing site to recruit a hands-on Production Manager to lead the rebond carpet cushion operation. This is a leadership role focused on safety, engagement, and continuous improvement on the production floor.

You will be visible on the floor, coach operators, own safety culture, monitor metrics, and collaborate with Maintenance, Procurement, and HR to drive performance and a safer, more efficient plant.