LEW Cheese L1 - Group Leader 12 Hour PM

Cheese L1 Department

Job Title:                    Cheese L1 Group Leader

Wage:                          $35.15

Hours/shift:                12 Hour PM

Days Off:                    Varies

General Summary:

Responsible for monitoring the cheese make from vats to the cage brine and/or ribbon high speed scale and points in between for the Cheese Department Line One including the Separator/Clarifier Room. Will take the lead on day-to-day basis and coordinate maintenance activities and schedule upkeep.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

• Review the Master Sanitation, Equipment Teardown Schedule, operations log book, HTST charts, and daily separator log sheet / MES log at the beginning of each shift.
• Review the make and finish plans for accuracy as soon as possible on the start of the shift.
• Monitor the vat room specs to assure good quality curd.
• Monitor the DMC, PHT, and make adjustments as needed to maintain 100% cheese in spec with zero problem cheese generation.
• Monitor cheese at the mixers, extruders, RMC, and brine to ensure good quality ribbon and block that is acceptable to the processing and packaging departments.
• Document any operational change and all adjustments in appropriate areas in a timely and accurate manner during production and anything out of the ordinary, in the comment section of MES as well as any required data into the MES system.
• Monitor ingredients and supplies necessary for production and ensure their availability to each operator.
• Make necessary adjustments to achieve customer specifications.
• Provide a clean supply of whey to the whey department by performing checks of the fine savers, separators, and clarifiers cleaning them as needed.
• Monitor the whey cream and skim whey specs and samples to assure proper % BF is attained
• Maintain clear communication with the department operators, and group leaders, foreperson, and supervisors of other departments.
• Perform minor separator and clarifier rebuilds, perform pump and valve tear down and rebuild.
• Maintain clear communication with Cheese and Whey Department operators and group leaders, and supervisors.
• Troubleshoot equipment breakdowns and/or stoppages.  Notify maintenance as needed to minimize department downtime.  Follow through to completion with the 
• maintenance technician, group leader, or supervisor as needed.
• Author and submit work orders as needed to ensure proper operation, and maintain the basic upkeep and appearance of equipment and buildings in the cheese department as needed.
• Coordinate action plans in dealing with extraneous issues in all instances.  Author Quality Alerts and Confidential Extraneous Reports whenever either of these conditions occurs.  Immediately call the supervisor whenever you suspect based on trends and existing data that these conditions might exist or will soon exist.
• Adhere to all Company and regulatory GMPs and safety standards.
• Acquire a California Pasteurization License.  Maintain the silo and HTST charts as required by law.
• Maintain the Master Sanitation schedule. Ensure data is accurate and up-to-date.
• Monitor handling of whey cream and mixer liquid cream presses to assure whey cream is properly pasteurized. Maintain and operate presses so that each passes all regulator inspections.
• Ensure all required samples are being pulled at the required.
• Delegate duties to ensure separator room and surroundings areas are clean and orderly. Communicate between, co-workers, departments and supervision as required.
• Must successfully complete JTPR and consistently perform work according to SOP.
• At all times, operate in a manner consistent with safe operating procedures.
• Responsible for providing good quality cheese in accordance with Company Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications & Experience:

• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs repeatedly throughout the shift.

Required Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Ability to lead others, manage competing priorities and ensure projects are completed.
• Ability to obtain a California Pasteurization License.
• Ability to perform charm test, quickly and accurately.
• Knowledge of chemical safe handling procedures preferred.
• Knowledge of sanitation principles, GMP’s and ability to maintain Grade A standards.
• Knowledge of LFC cheese department operations
• Demonstrated strong commitment to safety and quality.
• Strong interpersonal & organizational skills; Self-Starter and ability to motivate others.
• History of employee involvement i.e. (LQ Team member, etc) preferred.
• Computer literacy. Knowledge of MS Word, Excel, and MES system preferred.

Working Relationships: 

• This position reports to the Production Department Manager or a Supervisor.
• This position will regularly interact with other production and support group supervisors. Regular interaction with other plant management.