Profession dairy processing technician

Dairy processing technicians supervise and coordinate production processes, operations, and maintenance workers in milk, cheese, ice cream and/or other dairy production plants. They assist food technologists in improving processes, developing new food products and establishing procedures and standards for production and packaging.

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Personality Type

• Enterprising / Realistic

Knowledge

• Curdling of cheese

  Process of curdling: the separation of the milk into solid curds and liquid whey. Usually this is done by souring the milk and adding rennet, either from a calf's stomach or increasingly bacterial rennet.

• Food safety principles

  Scientific background of food safety which includes preparation, handling, and storage of food to minimise the risk of foodborne illness and other health hazards.

• Legislation about animal origin products

  The applicable legal rules on temperature, waste materials, traceability, labelling, trading, and the transport of animal origin products. 

• Quality assurance methodologies

  Quality assurance principles, standard requirements, and the set of processes and activities used for measuring, controlling and ensuring the quality of products and processes.

• Dairy manufacturing specifications

  Specifications, regulations and standards to be followed in the field of dairy manufacturing. Safety of products from raw materials through to packaged state.

• Milk production process

  Managing the milk production steps in production plants such as pasteurising, separating, evaporating, drying, cooling, storing and so on.

• Food and beverage industry

  The respective industry and the processes involved in the food and beverage industry, such as raw material selection, processing, packaging, and storage.

• Microbiology of fresh milk

  Types of bacteria present in milk before pasteurisation.

• Dairy products

  Variety of products deriving from dairy products such as milk, butter, cheese, and evaporated milk in liquid, solid or powdered form.

Skills

• Follow written instructions

  Follow written directions in order to perform a task or carry out a step-by-step procedure.

• Check quality of products on the production line

  Check products for quality on the production line and remove defective items before and after packaging.

• Work in a food processing team

  Collaborate in a team with other food processing professionals in service of the food and beverages industry.

• Manage staff

  Manage employees and subordinates, working in a team or individually, to maximise their performance and contribution. Schedule their work and activities, give instructions, motivate and direct the workers to meet the company objectives. Monitor and measure how an employee undertakes their responsibilities and how well these activities are executed. Identify areas for improvement and make suggestions to achieve this. Lead a group of people to help them achieve goals and maintain an effective working relationship among staff.

• Give instructions to staff

  Give instructions to subordinates by employing various communication techniques. Adjust communication style to the target audience in order to convey instructions as intended.

• Apply GMP

  Apply regulations regarding manufacture of food and food safety compliance. Employ food safety procedures based on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).

• Follow hygienic procedures during food processing

  Ensure a clean working space according to hygienic standards in the food processing industry.

• Write work-related reports

  Compose work-related reports that support effective relationship management and a high standard of documentation and record keeping. Write and present results and conclusions in a clear and intelligible way so they are comprehensible to a non-expert audience.

• Act reliably

  Proceed in a way that one can be relied on or depended on.

• Perform sensory evaluation

  Evaluate the quality of a given type of food or beverage based on its appearance, smell, taste, aroma, and others. Suggest possible improvements and comparisons with other products.

• Apply requirements concerning manufacturing of food and beverages

  Apply and follow national, international, and internal requirements quoted in standards, regulations and other specifications related with manufacturing of food and beverages.

• Apply HACCP

  Apply regulations regarding manufacture of food and food safety compliance. Employ food safety procedures based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP).

• Follow production schedule

  Follow production schedule taking into account all requirements, times and needs. This schedule outlines what individual commodities must be produced in each time period and encapsulates various concerns like production, staffing, inventory, etc. It is usually linked to manufacturing where the plan indicates when and how much of each product will be demanded. Utilise all the information in the actual implementation of the plan.

• Mitigate waste of resources

  Evaluate and identify opportunities to use resources more efficiently with continuously striving to reduce waste of utilities.

• Oversee production requirements

  Oversee production processes and prepare all the resources needed to maintain an efficient and continuous flow of production.

• Monitor milk production deviations

  Monitor milk production processes for deviations and non-conformance.

• Use dairy test materials

  Use the appropriate equipment for a range of tests on dairy in order to obtain reliable results.

• Schedule regular machine maintenance

  Schedule and perform regular maintenance, cleaning, and repairs of all equipment. Order necessary machine parts and upgrade equipment when necessary to ensure optimal performance.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB