Quality Assurance Supervisor

Company Description

Pixelle Specialty Solutions™ is the largest specialty paper company in North America, with fully integrated pulp and paper operations in Chillicothe, Ohio, Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, Stevens Point, Wisconsin and a coating operation in Fremont, Ohio. Supported by an experienced product development team, Pixelle excels in designing customized solutions that help customers bring new products to market. With a long history of leadership in the paper industry, Pixelle delivers the most comprehensive portfolio of specialty papers to help you meet today’s challenging demands.

Job Description

Purpose:

Successful applicant will join the Chillicothe Mill and provide technical support for product quality and consistency.

Key Accountabilities:

• Perform work safely; maintain a safe and orderly work area along with engaging self and others in safety related activities.
• Maintain the mill’s Quality Management System and FDA/GMP documentation. 
• Work with corporate Product Stewardship to become residing mill expert on FDA compliance, GMP’s, and product composition reporting.
• Facilitate open communication with various Pixelle locations regarding best practices, test methods, lab equipment, quality control procedures, and visual standards required to meet customer’s quality expectations.
• Ensure adherence to product specifications and satisfaction of customer’s expectations on product consistency.
• Provide leadership for the Quality Assurance personnel to ensure safety expectations are met, housekeeping is maintained, daily work tasks are performed, and compliance with SOP’s are maintained.
• Manage all aspects of the Paper Test Lab equipment including vendor interface, maintenance, budgeting, replacement, evaluation, calibration and verification of test lab equipment, and ensure correct inventory and cost of lab supplies.
• Support and respond to Sales, Customer, and Customer Service requests in support of Chillicothe’s Technical Field Services team. Ensure a smooth communication channel between customer expectations and Pixelle manufacturing performance.
• Advise Production Line Superintendents of quality assurance actions to be taken. Create and maintain specification documentation including ensuring agreed upon specifications are met. Respond to customer questionnaires.
• Ensure the Certificate of Analysis (COA) system accurately provides customers the information they require.
• Monitor process capability of current grade portfolio and conduct periodic specification reviews to recommend specification changes to the Production teams to reduce waste, cost and product variation.
• Develop productive relations and partner with Quality counterparts at strategic customers and conduct periodic reviews to proactively ensure the Mill’s internal systems align with their needs.
• Maintain knowledge of printing processes and converting operations utilized by customers and, if necessary, support the Technical Field Services team on-site troubleshooting and complaint analysis; jointly decide the disposition of off quality product with production.
• Work with mill production personnel and supervision in providing necessary testing services, quality control procedures, product measurement device calibrations, and advise in the areas of product, process and raw material control.
• Identify and report quality issues and performance shifts at the morning production meeting. Support operations in providing product disposition when the extent of an issue is not sufficiently defined.
• Understand and work closely with the process owners of the Mill’s visual inspection systems to continuously improve product consistency.

Required skills and attributes:

• Passionate about product quality and consistency, with courage to speak for the customer.
• Possess project management skills with ability to drive results through data analysis and justification.
• Possess effective prioritization, organization, influencing and communication skills
• Maintain effective communications and working relationships with all mill personnel and customers.
• Possess ambulatory capabilities to move freely about the mill in carrying out responsibilities.
• Computer skills: Proficient or ability to become proficient at Mini-Tab, Microsoft applications, and various other computer applications required to fulfill position responsibilities.
• Work beyond normal work schedule as necessary to fulfill position responsibilities.
• Work weekend duty; current rotation is 1 in 8 weekends.

Additional Information

Experience and Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in paper science, chemistry, chemical engineering, or related field.
• Minimum 1 year experience in mill technical/quality functions with exposure to market and product aspects.
• Certification, training, or experience in any continuous improvement process highly desirable (Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen, six-sigma, etc.)
• Demonstrated leadership ability.
• An equivalent combination of education, training and experience that would lead to successfully fulfilling the position responsibilities.