What does kaizen mean to you?

"To me, kaizen is not just implementing changes here and there or conducting structured events every so often. Kaizen is a way of thinking where one is always questioning how things are done and looking for opportunities to make things better. I live and breathe kaizen at work and home. I am always looking for ways in which I can streamline and improve my day-to-day activities. I am constantly looking for small improvements in the workplace that will make work easier and more efficient for myself others."

Literally, kaizen roughly means good change. The concept of kaizen is that continuous small improvements are in aggregate more effective than just a few large changes. True kaizen activities should focus on low-cost, short lead-time improvements that make an immediate impact. More generally, kaizen thinking really means that someone is always looking to make improvements. This is a good opportunity for the candidate to demonstrate their understanding of kaizen thinking.

What is the difference in a lean activity and cost reduction activity?

"If properly executed, lean activities should drastically reduce operating costs for a business. However, the method by which these cost reductions are pursued is much different than a traditional cost reduction activity. In a lean activity, the team is engaged in developing solutions thateliminate waste and make the work less cumbersome. The cost reductions realized in a lean activity are an effect of the positive work which has been completed."

This is a tricky question; many practitioners are quick to confuse lean activities with traditional cost reductions. While lean and TPS related activity must reduce costs to be effective, they are implemented differently than traditional cost reduction activities. In lean thinking, waste is always sought to be eliminated, people are always considered, and only sustainable and perene solutions would be considered.For example, a traditional labor cost reduction may mean that a manager decides to cut their staff by a (more-or-less) arbitrary percentage to reduce their labor spend. A labor cost reduction in a lean environment means that jobs have been studied and waste has been identified. Once the waste had been reduced or eliminated, the staffing will be reduced to match the new work content.To answer this question, the candidate should show that they understand that lean activities are focused on engaging team-members and reducing waste for sustainable results, rather than just cutting costs for a short-term benefit.

What is your biggest weakness? or, What do you think your biggest hurdle would be regarding this position?

"Since I am a recent graduate and this will be my first engineering job, I think my biggest weakness is my lack of experience. This is certainly something I look at overcoming in the coming months and years."

This is a common question. Even though candidates are told to expect this question, they often don't answer the question as best as possible. The candidate should be honest with their answer and make sure to present themselves in a desirable light. The candidate should avoid answers that would preclude them from the job or portray them negatively (i.e., I tend to procrastinate when I don't want to do something, I don't really like working with others). The candidate should also avoid an answer that seems disingenuous (i.e., I am just too much of a perfectionist, I hate being late too much). If the candidate is early in their career or coming to a new company or industry, it is acceptable to mention that they do not have a detailed knowledge of the business and processes they will be working around.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in engineering? More specifically, what made you interested to study Continuous Improvement?

"I chose to study engineering because I have always had an analytical mindset. As a kid, I enjoyed math and science, so engineering was a natural fit. Once I began to study engineering, I was attracted to continuous improvement because it allows me to work directly with other people and see the results of my work happen very quickly."

There are many good answers to this question. The candidate should be honest but use this to discuss personal traits that could be desirable for the employer. This is a perfect opportunity for the candidate to sell themselves.

Why are you interested in this industry?

"When I first saw this posting, I didn't realize there was this type of opening in the healthcare industry. After doing some research, I learned that there is a big opportunity to apply lean thinking to improve lead times and the overall patient experience in hospitals. The idea of improving the effectiveness of health care offered to people is fascinating to me because it would allow me to help others and make a positive impact on society."

While CI engineers and similar functions are generally associated with the manufacturing industry, they now exist in most industries. The candidate should have researched the industry they are applying to work in and have some speaking points ready for that industry's interests. The candidate should avoid any response that implies that they are indifferent to the industry they are applying to work in.

Making changes is a core part of a CI engineer's job function. How do you make sure that the changes you implement don't cause adverse effects on quality or other KPIs?

"Once a project is identified, I will review the associated changes with all departments who could be affected. If other departments are adamant that the proposed change carries too much risk, I will respect their opinion. If I am making the change as a direction from my management, I will escalate the concerns to my manager to assess the risk and make a final decision. I will usually be the owner of the change management process and make sure that all procedures are followed and that any appropriate documents are updated to reflect the change correctly."

CI engineers are expected to be change agents and challenge the status quo. While change is necessary for success, it can carry drastic risks if not managed properly. There are departments in most organizations whose primary function is ensuring that abnormalities are minimized (i.e., a Quality Control department). While there is some expected healthy conflict between departments who want to minimize disruptions and a CI engineer whose primary function is a disruptor, there is definitely a right and wrong way to make changes. The candidate must let the interviewer know that they will be part of the team and adhere to the organization's change management policy while carrying out their job.

Please give an example of a large project which you have sucessfully managed.

"At my last job, I was responsible for a layout change in a large assembly area. The purpose of the change was to create space for a new project. To create the needed space, eight different assembly cells had to be moved. These cells were in the production of Tier 1 automotive components, so the timeframe was very tight, and failure to execute carried substantial consequences. With the support team's help, I created a plan to execute the move over six weeks in four different phases. During the most critical parts of the moves, I had the schedule defined with targets every 2-3 hours. By managing the project to this schedule, we were able to complete all scheduled moves with no disruptions to our customer."

A large part of a CI engineer's job will likely be managing projects. Often, the engineer will not be directly responsible for completing all the work themselves but rather managing schedules and timelines to make sure that other members and/or outside contractors complete the necessary tasks. The answer to this question should highlight the candidate's ability to make and execute a plan. If there were difficult constraints in project implementation, the candidate should bring this up, so the interviewer understands that the candidate can work under pressure and within a specific timeline.

What are your technical abilities outside of CI (CAD, PLCs, Maintenance, etc.)?

"While I am primarily an expert in CI and kaizen, I do have some experience with solid modeling and CAD applications. During college, I had an internship at a plastics facility, so I understood injection molding processes and parameters."

While CI engineers are generally not expected to be technical experts in other fields, there are often opportunities for their responsibilities to overlap with other disciplines, especially in smaller facilities. A candidate should not harp on their expertise in other fields or give the impression that a career in CI is their second choice, but it is good to make any additional skills known during the interview. Working technical knowledge in other fields can be seen as a big plus during the interview.

What is your level of understanding of financial statments as they apply to operations?

"While I am certainly no accountant, I do have a working knowledge of financial statements. I can read a budget or P&L and quickly identify gaps from the target. In the past, I have used P&Ls to identify high-level areas of focus for projects."

As a CI engineer, it is beneficial to have at least a working knowledge of financial statements (especially income statements - sometimes also called profit and loss statements or P&Ls). For candidates who are early in their career, it is understandable that they may have minimal expertise in this area; however, taking some time to research financial statements would be advisable. This is not a subject that is generally covered in an engineer's formal training, so this is a good opportunity for candidates to differentiate themselves by demonstrating their knowledge.

After you have implemented a change to a job, you have a particular team-member who refuses to adhere to the change. How do you handle this?

"If I see a team-member not adhering to a change, then I will speak to them and remind them of the change to make sure that they haven't simply forgotten what they are supposed to do. If they don't comply after I have gently reminded them, I will explain why the change is made and understand why they are not complying. If there is something simple I can do to make the job easier for them or satisfy their complaints; I will do it. Usually, after these steps, the team-member will come around and do what they are expected to. If they don't, then I will escalate this to their direct manager so corrective action can be issued."

Changing a person's habits can be very difficult, especially if it is something they have grown accustomed to over a long period of time. With that being said, once a change is implemented in an organization, it is an expectation that it will be adhered to by the entire team. CI engineers are often responsible for implementing changes but do not have direct supervisory responsibility for the team that must adhere to the change. This can put the engineer in a tricky spot, as their main means of changing behavior is through influence rather than direction.The answer to this question should show that the candidate will be assertive and try to influence the team-member to correct behavior before escalating to the person's direct manager.

How do you go about building rapport with a team that you will be working with?

"To build rapport with the team, I try to get to the know the team I will be working with. I will not develop close personal friendships with each of them, but I think it helps to know one another on somewhat of a personal level. It is easier to work together, especially in trying situations, if the team and I have some level of personal respect for one another. Other than that, I ask the team to allow me to follow through on what I say. I make sure that when I tell the team that I will help them with something, that I follow through. I make sure that the communication is open with the team, even if the information I may be communicating is not to their liking. I find that people respect honesty and transparency much more than just getting lip service or having someone tell them what they want to hear."

For a CI engineer, rapport is essential. The more that the engineer can rely on the team around them to identify problems, the more the engineer can solve them. There are many ways to build rapport, and each person's style could lend itself to different methods. Almost always, honesty and transparency go a long way regardless of an individual's style. The answer to this question should highlight the candidate's self-awareness and interest in developing trust with teams.

How do you go about completing a time study on a process you are unfamilair with?

"Before completing a time study, I think about the desired outcome and establish a level of detail that will be required. Some studies may only require a resolution of minutes, while others will require a resolution of < 1 s. After I establish the detail needed, I will familiarize myself with the process being studied through observation. In some cases, I may ask the team member if I can complete the task to become more familiar with the operation. Once I understand the process, I will establish elements and begin timing. After I have collected all the necessary data, I will formalize the study in a report which can be used to identify improvements."

Completing time studies will be a key part of almost all CI engineer's jobs. Many companies have their own requirements and methods for completing time studies. The candidate should answer this question in a way that shows their practical experience completing time studies and their understanding of the importance of the data.It is worth mentioning that the detail and resolution required in a given time study could greatly depend on the process being studied and the information the engineer expects to garner from the study. For example, a time study completed on an assembly line to identify bottlenecks may be completed with just a handful of elements and a few data points on each operation. In contrast, a time study that will be used to justify the reduction of a position may require numerous elements and 30 or more data points.When answering this question, the candidate must explain that they will become familiar with the job being studied before completing the time study.

How do you use Value Stream Mapping to drive improvement?

"Once a current state VSM has been created, I will look for constraints and wastes that are evident in the map. Often problem areas can be identified around large inventory accumulations. Once a problem area is identified, I will work to understand what is causing the constraint and then work to implement projects to alleviate the constraint. Always I treat the VSM as a tool to drive cost reduction, rather than a paper exercise to satisfy a requirement."

Value Stream Maps are a useful and powerful tool that can be used to understand complex processes and organizations. However, many organizations fall short in their implementation of VSMs. Oftentimes the Value Stream Mapping activity is completed to satisfy a corporate requirement rather than drive meaningful change. This question is less about the candidate's ability to read or create a VSM and more about the candidate's ability to identify impactful improvements based on the information contained in the VSM. The candidate should focus on their practical experience and improve business results using Value Stream Mapping.

Are you familiar with the 8 wastes? How do you go about reducing waste in the workplace?

"I am familiar with the 8 wastes; as an engineer, I am constantly looking for ways to identify and eliminate waste in all systems. While I have had success identifying and eliminating waste through studies and structured events, my best success has come from implementing employee suggestions and focusing on fixing problems brought to me by team members themselves. When eliminating wastes, I try to prioritize actions that will directly make someone's job easier or actions that will have a substantial cost impact."

Identifying and eliminating waste is a key part of lean thinking and TPS. While the wastes can differ slightly by an organization, they are generally accepted as intellect, waiting, overproduction, rejects/defects, motion, processing, inventory, and transportation. While eliminating all waste is good, CI engineers need to eliminate waste that can create a direct cost reduction in the workplace. There are many ways to reduce waste, so there are many good ways to answer this question. This is a good time for the candidate to reiterate their ability to engage others, make improvements, and express their CI/kaizen mindset.

How do you handle conflict in the workplace?

"Due to my position, making changes to other people's jobs, I expect that I will experience conflict in the workplace. Usually, these conflicts arise when implementing changes to the way that others are expected to do things. When someone is unhappy, I listen to their feedback and give them a chance to vent about what is bothering them. Oftentimes there is some valid feedback at the root of their complaints. After giving someone a chance to vent, I will explain my way of thinking and why we have made a change. I always make it clear that we are open to adjusting and value the feedback of each person. Usually, after working together, we can resolve the conflict and end up with a better solution. Occasionally if someone is unreasonably hostile, then I would escalate this behavior to their direct supervisor."

As a CI engineer, the candidate will be studying and eventually making changes to how others work. Most people are resistant to change, especially when it comes to the way they do their job. For this reason, CI engineers will inevitably experience some conflict in the workplace. To be effective, it is critical that the CI engineer can mitigate this conflict without damaging relationships or losing motivation. An effective answer should demonstrate emotional intelligence and show assertiveness without seeming overly standoffish.

Why are you interested in the role of Continuous Improvement Engineer?

"I am interested in this role because I see the opportunity to apply my training in CI methodologies to improve the bottom line for the company. I excited about the opportunity for me to hone my skills while helping the company meet and exceed it's KPIs."

This is a simple question that often leads off an interview. This is an opportunity for the candidate to sell themselves to the interviewer and give examples to differentiate themselves from other candidates. There are many ways to answer this question well, but the candidate should focus on answers that explain mutual benefit for the candidate and the company. The candidate should avoid answers which don't convey a strong interest in the position (i.e., I am just looking for a foot in the door, and I saw this position was available).

Why is standardized work important?

"Standardized work is significant for many reasons. By adhering to standardized work, the team member ensures that they are working safely and producing the required quality standards. Standardized work is integral to all lean systems because things cannot be improved until they are standardized. Standardized work gives an organization a stable base to improve."

Standardized work is the foundation of all lean systems. It is impossible to make improvements until there is a base level of standardization. The first step in improving a system should be documenting and standardizing the current processes. This question is very general, so there could be a lot of good answers. The key here is that the candidate expresses the importance of standardized work and demonstrates their understanding of the topic.

Please explain the importance of a pull-system and how you may go about implementing a pull-system in a new work place.

"Pull systems are a key aspect of any lean system. Many wastes are inherently eliminated by capping inventory levels and controlling up-stream processes based on their customer demand. Many companies employ kanban systems to control their inventory. While this is a very effective solution, kanban systems can be difficult to implement and very resource-intensive to manage. If I were tasked with implementing a new workplace pull system, I would focus on creating well-defined min/max inventory levels for key processes. Once appropriate min/max levels are established, I would easily implement visual management controls to control the inventory upstream and downstream processes. Once success was demonstrated in a few areas, I would work to yokoten to other areas."

Pull systems are an integral part of a lean environment. Fundamentally, a pull system can be created in any system just by establishing min and max inventory or work in process (WIP) levels. While all kanban systems are pull systems, all pull systems don't have to be driven by kanban. Kanban systems can become very complex and difficult to manage, especially in an environment where kanban is not engrained in the culture. This question is used to gauge whether the candidate has a practical understanding of pull-systems or only knows about these systems through classroom training. The candidate should focus on simple and practical examples of pull systems that could be implemented very quickly.

How do you handle feedback?

"Of course I welcome and thrive on constructive feedback, but many times even un-constructive feedback contains important information. No matter how information is presented to me, I always try to reflect and understand how a person feels and what information they are actually conveying. If a person offers negative feedback, it is because they are frustrated or having some problem. In that case, I try to look past their tone or negativity and understand the problem that is frustrating them so I can work to offer a solution."

This is a simple question that many candidates struggle with. Lots of candidates will respond that they take constructive feedback well. Of course, it is a hard expectation that employees will take constructive feedback well. This question is really asking: how does the candidate handle all feedback, and are they going to be dismissive of peers' and team members' feedback at lower organization levels. If negative or unconstructive feedback is offered, the interviewer will gauge how well they will handle this by seeing if they have the emotional intelligence to cipher through all feedback offered and extract the useful parts without damaging relationships.This is an opportunity for the candidate to differentiate themselves by demonstrating their emotional intelligence and ability to communicate with all organization levels regardless of how others communicate with them.

Once you identify a potential project, how do you evaluate if it is a worthwhile use of resources?

"After I have identified a project based on my observations or feedback from the team, I will estimate the benefits based on historical data and an estimate of the effect of the project. Once a conservative estimate of the effects are established, I will create a project cost estimate. After the costs and benefits are understood, I will make a presentation detailing the project's benefits and proposed pay-back period to present to management for approval. Occasionally, there are projects where the fincancial benefit is difficult to measure, in this case I would detail the soft benefits and include in my presentation. "

Typically any project should be justified with a financial cost to benefit analysis, however, sometimes the effect of an improvement can be difficult to measure. It is OK for some projects to be justified based improved morale or general workplace beautification. Each company will have their own requirement for an acceptable pay-back period, with many companies targeting <18 months. Usually one should be conservative in this analysis. The answer to this question should demonstrate the candidates ability to be business minded and think analytically.

Why is 5S important in the workplace?

"5S is the foundation of an effective and efficient workplace. By creating an organized workplace, a lot of inefficiencies can be eliminated. To implement a visual management system, there must be a base level of organization in place. Additionally, there can be substantial productivity improvements realized just related to the improvement in morale once a workplace is more well organized."

While the specific 5 Ss can be different for each company, the overall concept of orderliness in the workplace is accepted by almost all businesses. In layman's terms, 5S can be summarized as a place of everything and everything in its place. 5S activity is usually the first step in any lean transformation. If a workplace is cluttered or disorganized, productivity and quality improvements can be realized by successfully implementing a 5S program.There are many real impacts from improving 5S: elimination of wasted time hunting for supplies or parts, improvement in inventory control by reduction of lost stock, reduction of inventory levels by the establishment of correctly sized storage locations, etc. Many ancillary effects can be equally important. Generally, morale is much better in a clean and orderly environment than in a chaotic and disorganized environment.Most lean systems are built on the concept of visual management; it is almost impossible to have a visual management system without having a neat and well-defined workplace.

If you identify an opportunity to reduce a position (or positions), how do you go about explaining this to the workforce?

"Over my career, I have been involved with the reduction of numerous positions. For labor reduction projects to be successful, the workforce and the management team have to buy-in to the project's idea before it is implemented. To gain their buy-in, I always communicate the project concept early on and ask for feedback from the stakeholders. Once we have a firm idea, I will meet with all stakeholders for a project review. I will present all studies and facts and ask the workforce for any concerns they may have. I will reassure them that this will not result in the loss of anyone's job and that any staffing reductions will be handled through attrition. After implementing a project, I will follow up with the team regularly to see how it is working and see if there are any additional opportunities for improvement."

Labor is one of the highest controllable costs in many organizations; there are often opportunities for low-cost improvements that drastically reduce the labor required to complete a given task. Implementing projects to reduce labor cost can be a core function of a CI engineer. Labor reductions can be a very touchy subject with the workforce because they can be worried that team members will lose their jobs or that the reduction in positions will mean everyone else has to work harder. If the project is implemented correctly, there should be a reduction in overall work content, which means that the remaining workforce should not have to work any harder after the reduction than they were before.Hopefully, the employer will handle reduced positions through attrition rather than layoffs or terminations, but this may not always be the case. For a labor reduction to work, the remaining workforce (and management) must buy-in to the change. When reducing positions, how the activity is communicated to the workforce can dictate the activity's success or failure. This question aims to understand the candidate's ability to engage the workforce and create buy-in for a labor reduction project. When creating buy-in on these types of projects, it is important that there is clear communication and that the workforce senses transparency from the company. When explaining the answer, the candidate should focus on selling a project and addressing concerns from the workforce.

What is Takt Time is, and how it should be utilized to manage a process?

"Takt time is the cadence at which a process must produce to meet it's demand. To calculate takt time you divide the production time available in a day or week by the demand over the same period. Takt time is a very important piece of information required to manage any process. Once the takt time is understood, the process should be studied to identify it's cycle time based on it's current operation condition. The relationship of takt time and cycle time is used to evaluate if staffing needs to be added or removed, or if hours of operation need to change."

Takt time is the cadence at which a process has to operate to meet it's demand. This concept can be applied to any process that has a defined amount of deliverables over a given time. It is important that the candidate shows that they understand that the takt time of a process is driven by customer demand rather than the cycle time of the process. There are many ways to use takt time to manage a process, but at its core, the takt time should be used to dictate the staffing and hours of operation required for a given process.

What is your experience leading kaizen events?

"Over the past few years, I have led several formal kaizen events and innumerable informal kaizen events. I have found that often the success of an event is a direct result of the level of preparation by the facilitator. When I lead an event, I make sure that I complete all possible pre-work before the event starts, so that the team can focus on solving the problem at hand. After the event is complete I always follow up on open items with a routine cadence to ensure that the team doesn't lose sight of the actions identified during the event. During my most successful event, the team was able to identify and implement actions that reduced the scrap rate of a stamping press by 30% over 3 weeks."

Leading kaizen events is often an integral part of the function of a CI engineer. As with structured problem-solving methodologies, each company will likely have a specific and preferred method for completing kaizen events. For this reason, it is less important that the candidate shows a specific understanding of an exact method, but rather that they highlight their skills in facilitating teams and driving improvement. Kaizen events are usually completed with the core-team over a period of hours or days; however, the event's success is usually predicated by the level of preparation and follow-up by the facilitator. This is the time for the candidate to demonstrate their effectiveness as a team facilitator rather than an individual contributor. This would be a good time to include specific data points that show success as a facilitator.

How does the concept of Heijunka apply to day to day operations in a manufacturing setting?

"The importance of level-loading a production area cannot be overstated. There are many benefits to reducing batch sizes and creating a routine cadence in a production schedule. As batch sizes go down and change-over frequency goes up, the inefficiencies involved with change-overs come to light. This drives a reduction in changeover time, which can subsequently lead to further decrease batch sizes. Level-loading across shifts also has the ancillary benefit of ensuring proper training for all shifts on all products. Heijunka should be pursued with the ideal vision of single-piece-flow in all processes, even though this visoon can often not be fully realized due to practical constraints."

Heijunka is the concept of level-loading a process or operation. This concept is related to the aspirational goal of single piece flow in all processes. This question is meant to evaluate the candidates practical understanding of these concepts. A good answer will express the candidates understanding of these ideas as an ideal-state vision, while demonstrating their ability to work within the constraints of a real-world system to develop a practical solution.

What is your ideal career path, how does this position fit into your long-term career aspirations?

"I am unsure of the exact career path I desire, but I am very interested in manufacturing and look forward to advancing in this field. I feel that the position of CI engineer gives me exposure to many facets of the manufacturing industry. This position will give me the opportunity to create an immediate benefit for the company while developing my skills to move into a leadership role down the road."

CI engineers can be ideal for advancement into a variety of roles. Their skillset is desirable because they are trained in methodologies to solve problems and make improvements that could be applied in many fields. The exact aspiration of the candidate is less important than the fact that they are interested in advancing and that they are thinking of how they will continue to develop. This is an ideal time for the candidate to further express the mutual benefits of this position for the candidate and the company.

Please explain your understanding of cause and countermeasure.

"When solving a problem it is important to understand the root-cause so an effective countermeasure can be implemented. If a solution is generated before the root-cause is understood then it is unlikely the problem will be eliminated. A true countermeasure prevents a problem from ever occuring rather than just resolving the effects of the underlying problem."

This question is meant to evaluate the candidates ability to apply a structured way of thinking when solving problems. As mentioned before, western thinkers tend to focus on solutions before a problem is fully understood. This way of thinking leads to expensive and ineffective solutions to problems. It is important that a CI engineer fully understands what is causing a problem and implements a solution that prevents a problem from occurring rather than just focusing on treating symptoms of the underlying problem.

When going to a new area, you will be faced with many problems of different types and scopes. How would you decide what to work on first?

"First I would prioritize any items which directly affect safety in the work place. After any safety deficiencies are corrected, I would prioritize my work based on business impact, cost, and speed of implementation. My main focus would be on high-impact projects which carry relatively low cost which can be implemented quickly. If there are any employee suggestions which can be implemented fairly easily, I would try to work those into my schedule to improve morale and build team-member engagement."

There are many correct ways to prioritize one's work, but it is important for the candidate to demonstrate that they will consider the impact as well as the difficulty of projects when prioritizing their work. It is important to remember that workplace safety ALWAYS takes precedent to other items. Assuming there are no pertinent safety projects, then tasks should be prioritized based on impact, cost, and lead-time. There is no magic formula, the engineer just needs to justify their thinking in a reasonable way. For example a project with a relatively small business impact that carriers no cost and that can be implemented on the same day, may be prioritized ahead of a large impact project that takes weeks to complete. It is also important to remember the impact of team-member morale and buy-in. A project with a difficult to measure business impact that will improve the rapport with the team and lead to additional idea generation may be prioritized ahead of other items with a more measurable effect.

How do you use structured problem solving to make improvements?

"I have experience using a variety of methodologies to solve problems, I have used fish-bones, 8Ds, and A3s to solve problems in the past. Depending on the scope and level of complexity of a problem, I have found that different strategies should be used. At my last job, we had a particular defect that occurred in our production process. The defect had been occurring for some time and many team-members had an opinion on what was causing it, but no one had been successful in eliminating the defect. We decided to complete an A3 on the problem, after meeting with the team and fully understanding the problem we identified four contributing factors that lead to the occurrence of this defect. We implemented countermeasures for all four factors and the rate of defect occurrence was decreased by 80%."

There are many ways to use structured problem solving to solve problems and make improvements. Oftentimes different organizations have different methodologies they prefer, they will likely even have different methodologies they apply depending on the type problem at hand (i.e. cost savings follow an A3 approach while quality issues are solved using an 8D). Since the company will likely offer detailed training on their preferred methodology, the intent of this question isn't to determine if the candidate is an expert at a specific problem solving approach. Rather, the question is used to determine whether the candidate has experience using a structured methodology to solve problems. It is common for western-thinkers to focus on solutions before they fully understand a problem, for a CI engineer it is imperative that a problem is fully understood before a solution is generated. This is an ideal time for the candidate to demonstrate their understanding of cause and countermeasure thinking.

Tell me about a time when you engaged other team-members and utilized their feedback to make an improvement.

"At my last job there was a team-member who came to me with a problem they were having with creating delivery pick sheets. After discussing the issue in more detail, I understood that the problem was due to a cumbersome process that required the team-member to manually transcribe order numbers from a spreadsheet to a paper sheet. I met with the department manager and proposed that we make a spreadsheet to automate this process and streamline the pick sheet creation. The manager agreed, so I created and implemented a sheet that eliminated the requirement to manually transcribe information. After implementation the team members were much happier and pick sheet accuracy improved by 15%"

When considering a career in CI, it is important to remember that this is a softer discipline than many other areas of engineering. A successful CI engineer has to engage people and work with teams to develop solutions that the people will buy in to. Often, the human aspects of a solution are just as important as the technical aspects. This question is an attempt to measure a candidates understanding of this. A good answer should focus on explaining how the candidate is an expert at engaging others and listening to their feedback to solve problems. This is not the time for the candidate to harp on their own ideas, but rather to explain how they can facilitate improvement through team engagement.

Continuous Improvement Engineer Interview Questions

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1. What does kaizen mean to you?
2. What is the difference in a lean activity and cost reduction activity?
3. What is your biggest weakness? or, What do you think your biggest hurdle would be regarding this position?
4. Why did you decide to pursue a career in engineering? More specifically, what made you interested to study Continuous Improvement?
5. Why are you interested in this industry?
6. Making changes is a core part of a CI engineer's job function. How do you make sure that the changes you implement don't cause adverse effects on quality or other KPIs?
7. Please give an example of a large project which you have sucessfully managed.
8. What are your technical abilities outside of CI (CAD, PLCs, Maintenance, etc.)?
9. What is your level of understanding of financial statments as they apply to operations?
10. After you have implemented a change to a job, you have a particular team-member who refuses to adhere to the change. How do you handle this?
11. How do you go about building rapport with a team that you will be working with?
12. How do you go about completing a time study on a process you are unfamilair with?
13. How do you use Value Stream Mapping to drive improvement?
14. Are you familiar with the 8 wastes? How do you go about reducing waste in the workplace?
15. How do you handle conflict in the workplace?
16. Why are you interested in the role of Continuous Improvement Engineer?
17. Why is standardized work important?
18. Please explain the importance of a pull-system and how you may go about implementing a pull-system in a new work place.
19. How do you handle feedback?
20. Once you identify a potential project, how do you evaluate if it is a worthwhile use of resources?
21. Why is 5S important in the workplace?
22. If you identify an opportunity to reduce a position (or positions), how do you go about explaining this to the workforce?
23. What is Takt Time is, and how it should be utilized to manage a process?
24. What is your experience leading kaizen events?
25. How does the concept of Heijunka apply to day to day operations in a manufacturing setting?
26. What is your ideal career path, how does this position fit into your long-term career aspirations?
27. Please explain your understanding of cause and countermeasure.
28. When going to a new area, you will be faced with many problems of different types and scopes. How would you decide what to work on first?
29. How do you use structured problem solving to make improvements?
30. Tell me about a time when you engaged other team-members and utilized their feedback to make an improvement.

Continuous Improvement Engineer Interview Questions

1. What does kaizen mean to you?

2. What is the difference in a lean activity and cost reduction activity?

3. What is your biggest weakness? or, What do you think your biggest hurdle would be regarding this position?

4. Why did you decide to pursue a career in engineering? More specifically, what made you interested to study Continuous Improvement?

5. Why are you interested in this industry?

6. Making changes is a core part of a CI engineer's job function. How do you make sure that the changes you implement don't cause adverse effects on quality or other KPIs?

7. Please give an example of a large project which you have sucessfully managed.

8. What are your technical abilities outside of CI (CAD, PLCs, Maintenance, etc.)?

9. What is your level of understanding of financial statments as they apply to operations?

10. After you have implemented a change to a job, you have a particular team-member who refuses to adhere to the change. How do you handle this?

11. How do you go about building rapport with a team that you will be working with?

12. How do you go about completing a time study on a process you are unfamilair with?

13. How do you use Value Stream Mapping to drive improvement?

14. Are you familiar with the 8 wastes? How do you go about reducing waste in the workplace?

15. How do you handle conflict in the workplace?

16. Why are you interested in the role of Continuous Improvement Engineer?

17. Why is standardized work important?

18. Please explain the importance of a pull-system and how you may go about implementing a pull-system in a new work place.

19. How do you handle feedback?

20. Once you identify a potential project, how do you evaluate if it is a worthwhile use of resources?

21. Why is 5S important in the workplace?

22. If you identify an opportunity to reduce a position (or positions), how do you go about explaining this to the workforce?

23. What is Takt Time is, and how it should be utilized to manage a process?

24. What is your experience leading kaizen events?

25. How does the concept of Heijunka apply to day to day operations in a manufacturing setting?

26. What is your ideal career path, how does this position fit into your long-term career aspirations?

27. Please explain your understanding of cause and countermeasure.

28. When going to a new area, you will be faced with many problems of different types and scopes. How would you decide what to work on first?

29. How do you use structured problem solving to make improvements?

30. Tell me about a time when you engaged other team-members and utilized their feedback to make an improvement.