Production Lead - Day Shift - Days Off: Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday

Home Chef • Baltimore, MD

7d • Onsite

About The Position

Home Chef is seeking a Production Lead to guide a line or table of production associates during portioning, meal bagging/kitting, and shipping. This role follows a Day shift schedule, working from 6:30 AM to 5:30 PM, with designated days off on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The Production Lead is responsible for leading, directing, guiding, and training assigned production employees. They will obtain the daily production plan and targets from the supervisor and set up the necessary tables and lines. This role also involves collaborating with the Supervisor to understand production plans, communicating targets and expectations to associates, and ensuring adherence to company policies and procedures. Coordination with the warehouse is crucial for managing product shortages and avoiding downtime. The Production Lead must also conduct ingredient checks for quality, accuracy, and shelf life. A working knowledge of all Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for portioning, meal bagging/kitting, and shipping is required, along with setting up workstations according to SOPs and considering production targets. The role includes managing waste by ensuring efficient portioning and meal bagging to minimize food and packaging waste, and escalating concerns to FSQA and supervisors. For portioning and meal bagging/kitting, the Production Lead oversees all activities, utilizes production sheets, verifies ingredients with FSQA, and ensures hourly meal bag checks. They are responsible for retrieving labels, conducting hourly checks on packaging and labels, and communicating shortages. Portion and meal bag quality checks are conducted hourly. The Production Lead monitors the pace of the portioning and meal bagging line to meet targets and makes adjustments as needed. In shipping, the Production Lead assists the Production Supervisor, has a working knowledge of various shipping lines, and understands the Boxing Call out Sheet and SOPs for transitions. They coordinate with the warehouse to ensure product availability and manage the pace of the shipping line. Output tracking and inventory management are key responsibilities, including collecting counts hourly or bi-hourly, delivering numbers of meal bags and WIP, and ensuring proper labeling and organization of crates and meal bag towers following FIFO processes. The Production Lead is also responsible for promoting and upholding employee and food safety procedures, enforcing GMPs, educating associates on GMPs, and ensuring proper handwashing and glove changes. They ensure associates use proper lifting techniques, attend safety trainings, and escalate safety risks. Pre and post-operative sanitation of work areas and coolers is also required. Supervising Production Associates involves ensuring teams hit production targets, setting an example of work pace, identifying and escalating disruptive behavior, and resolving conflicts between associates. General responsibilities include following and enforcing facility GMPs, ensuring safe working conditions, and supporting the company's food safety and quality programs.

Requirements

• General high school degree, or equivalent, (e.g. GED).
• Strong attendance and performance record as a Home Chef production associate is required for this position.

Responsibilities

• Collaborates with the Supervisor to get the production plans and targets for the day.
• Follows production schedules to ensure order completion during allotted timeframes.
• Effectively communicates the targets and production expectations to the production associates as well as their performance against the target.
• Ensures associates are following HC policies/procedures and escalates any concerns to the Production Supervisor.
• Prioritizes and plans for potential product shortages during production and shipping and effectively communicates exact product and quantity needs to the warehouse runners to avoid any unnecessary downtime while waiting on replenishment.
• Conducts checks on ingredients for quality, accuracy, and shelf life before starting the line and while the line is running.
• Has a working knowledge of all Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for portioning, meal bagging/kitting, and shipping.
• Sets up portioning tables, meal bagging tables, and shipping lines according to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Gives consideration to the production targets and the established production plan when setting up portioning tables and based on number of production associates needed to run a line.
• Shares recommendations for improvements to the SOPs with supervisor.
• Ensures the table/pods has the labels, packaging, and product needed to get started at the beginning of the shift and start of new activity.
• Communicates the production targets and expected rates per hour to the production associates.
• Ensures line does not overproduce portions or meal bags and therefore cause food waste and yield issues (i.e. only producing what is required).
• Oversees associates to ensure they are not creating unnecessary waste of food or packaging (i.e. bags, bottles, jars) while portioning and meal bagging and escalates concerns with production quality to FSQA and a supervisor.
• Identifies and completes all sections listed on the production sheet.
• Works with FSQA to verify all ingredients on the meal bagging/kitting line and complete the meal bag sign off on the production sheet prior to starting the line.
• Works with FSQA to ensure meal bag checks are conducted every hour to minimize errors.
• Retrieves more labels from the label office when needed.
• Conducts hourly checks to ensure packaging and labels are correct for the ingredients being portioned or meal bagged.
• Communicates shortages of labeled packaging to supervisor.
• Conducts an hourly check of the portions and meal bags to reduce the potential for errors.
• Ensures the SOPs for portioning and meal bagging are being followed throughout the shift.
• Monitors the pace of the portioning and meal bagging line and ensures the team is on track to meet the target. If targets are not being met, the lead makes appropriate adjustments to the line.
• Assists the Production Supervisor when running a shipping line.
• Understands the Boxing Call out Sheet and how to use it to set up and verify the line.
• Knows and follows the SOP for transitioning between similar runs (i.e. similar sign off for CHI, use of red trays to cover all meals not included in run for CA).
• Works with warehouse to ensure the line has all required product and does not experience downtime as a result of product shortages.
• Makes sure the SOPs for box packing, shipping, and/or Pick & Pack is being followed throughout the entire shift.
• Manages the pace of the shipping line and makes adjustments as necessary.
• Collects counts every hour (CHI) or two hours (CA) to deliver to Supervisor.
• Delivers numbers of meal bags and WIP produced at the end of each workday.
• Makes sure that the red, grey and green crates all have clear and legible labels.
• Ensures all old labels have been removed from red trays.
• Ensures all completed portion and meal bag towers are tagged according to SOP (i.e. plastic wrap w/ meal name, count, and date for CHI and masking tape for CA).
• Ensures the meal bag towers are moved to the proper storage location and ordered by date. The older meals should be in the front and the newer meals should be in the back. FIFO (First In First Out) processes should be followed.
• Enforces and executes Home Chef Food Safety Policies on the production floor.
• Ensures FSQA is conducting a GMP check on all their associates at the start of the shift and after lunch.
• Calls out and corrects GMP violations when they occur.
• Ensures associates are utilizing proper Lifting Techniques when moving and picking up items.
• Attends all safety trainings to maintain safety compliance.
• Escalates any employee safety risks to the Safety Supervisor.
• Ensures team is accounted for (roll call) and at the designated spot in the event of an evacuation.
• Ensures work area (portioning table or meal bagging line) is clean (i.e. tables have been sanitized and floors are free of spills and debris).
• Ensures plant cleanliness, 5S compliance and GMP practices at all times.
• Ensures coolers have been cleaned and swept and are ready for the next shift.
• Makes sure team is hitting production targets for portioning, meal bagging, shipping and any other assigned activities.
• Sets example of expected work pace for the entire line.
• Identifies and escalates any disruptive behavior (e.g. excessive talking or slow work pace) on the line to a Supervisor and moves associates as needed to improve the line’s output.
• Works to quickly and calmly resolve conflicts between associates on the line.
• Escalates issues between production associates to production supervisor / manager when needed.
• Follows the facility GMPs and helps enforce them throughout the facility.
• Ensures safe working conditions for all team members and corrects and/or escalates safety risks when identified.
• Supports the efforts of the company to maintain our food safety system (SQF) and quality programs.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance available
• Paid holidays, sick time and vacation time
• 401k program
• Flexible spending accounts for qualified medical, dependent care, parking, or transit expenses

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: High school or GED