Production Specialist - AM Shift

Grande Cheese Company•Town of Jefferson, WI

5d•$22•Onsite

About The Position

Grande Cheese Company is a family-owned enterprise dedicated to tradition, quality, and outstanding performance, fostering cultural pride, professional excellence, and respect for its Associates. The company operates under a High Performance Work Team (HPWT) structure, emphasizing continuous growth and improvement through a Skill Block model that aligns Associate abilities with job areas. This role encompasses various duties across different skill levels within cheese/whey manufacturing, processing, and distribution, ensuring products meet company specifications, quality, and safety objectives. Production Specialists may work in Dairy Production, Packaging, Equipment Operations, Intake, or Receiving & Inventory/Warehouse, with all roles requiring adherence to sanitation, regulatory compliance, and safety standards.

Requirements

High School or GED preferred
Prior related work experience and/or training in a food manufacturing organization is preferred.
Math, reading, and writing skills
Ability to comprehend and follow technical instructions/policies/procedures in written, verbal, or diagram form.
Computer skills

Responsibilities

Carry out production duties from preparatory to critical stage processes, including loading/unloading, setup/monitoring of equipment, stirring/mixing, cooking, testing, analyzing, inspecting, final preparation, recording data, and providing feedback.
Setup, monitor, calibrate, and troubleshoot equipment to ensure effective operation and make necessary adjustments.
Ensure production runs efficiently and processes adhere to Grande and regulatory standards.
Operate packaging equipment, monitor product flow, and ensure proper execution of processes for various products.
Monitor for proper positioning, spacing, sealing, and correct codes/labels, making decisions to correct and prevent issues.
Perform visual inspection for defects and rework or discard defective products.
Setup, calibrate, adjust, troubleshoot, and perform general maintenance on packaging equipment.
Operate, inspect, calibrate, adjust, and troubleshoot dairy manufacturing equipment, and perform preventive/general maintenance.
Monitor instruments and equipment to ensure processes are moving correctly and production is flowing efficiently.
Perform sampling and testing related to temperatures, moisture, consistency, fat, protein, pH, etc., and record data.
Coordinate unloading of milk from trucks and transfer to proper storage units, following all Grande and regulatory procedures.
Ensure prevention of expired milk by prioritizing and unloading trailers correctly, and ensure operation of critical control points (CCP).
Verify seals, wash tags, and weights from farm pick-up slips to ensure milk has not been tampered with.
Properly agitate, collect milk samples for quality testing, and for payments in accordance with regulatory standards.
Load out cream, whey, and milk from storage areas for appropriate processing.
Perform monitoring of equipment, temperatures, and sanitation to ensure milk quality.
Maintain inventory and order supplies (e.g., seals, filters, starter) to keep production running efficiently.
Operate, inspect, and troubleshoot intake equipment, and perform general maintenance.
Handle receiving of materials from approved suppliers, inspect condition of trailers, unload and inspect incoming materials for accuracy and quantity.
Ensure received items are properly placed in designated areas and accounted for.
Assist packaging operations to prepare pallets for transfer and storage.
Setup internal transfers with other facilities.
Coordinate the packaging, shipment, and return of materials due to defect or damage, and communicate any issues.
Coordinate outbound shipments, including customer and transfer orders, bill of lading, pick list, sample requirements, and commodity C.
Analyze physical storage location of material for efficiency and proximity to point of use, utilizing FIFO procedures.
Receive and store chemicals according to procedures, ensuring identification and MSDS paperwork.
Operate forklifts and perform inspections, troubleshooting, and general maintenance of forklifts, hand carts, and racking.
Conduct cycle counting of materials and supplies to assure proper levels for production, log and alert discrepancies, investigate root cause, and take corrective action.
Assist with questions related to supplier service, delivery times, service, or quality issues.
Perform sanitation of production areas and equipment, including vats, conveyors, machines, tanks, pipes, fans, silos, hoses, and other dairy and packaging equipment.
Maintain a clean working area by performing general sanitation of walls, floors, windows, sinks, scales, drains, footbaths, and electrical panels.
Complete all required documentation, recordkeeping, and reporting as required by law and/or regulatory agencies.
Follow all SAFETY (food & workplace) policies and procedures.
Complete required paperwork, logs, and data entry into required computer systems.
Thoroughly understand processes and independently make decisions that affect product quality.
Follow company policies and procedures.
Be a resource and assist with training new Associates on equipment and procedures.
Provide back-up relief as needed.
Provide recommendations and feedback to Process Leaders and Managers regarding improvements for quality, safety, efficiency, waste elimination, cost savings, and redundancy elimination.
Obtain & renew licenses/certifications required for this role in a timely manner.