Process Control and Machine Operators in Food and Beverage Processing

Nature of work

Process control and machine operators in this group use machines to process and package food and beverage products. They work in fruit and vegetable processing plants, dairies, flour mills, bakeries, sugar refineries, meat plants, breweries, and other food and beverage processing companies.

Job duties

Process control operators:

• Use process control machinery through control panels, computer terminals or other control systems to grind, extract, mix, blend, cook or otherwise process food products and to bag, box or otherwise package food products.
• Use process control machinery to grind, extract, mix, blend, distill, ferment or otherwise process alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages and to bottle, can or otherwise package beverages.
• Watch gauges, computer printouts and video monitors to verify specified processing conditions and adjust process variables like cooking times, ingredient inputs, flow rates and temperature settings.
• Maintain shift log of production and other data.

Machine operators:

• Set up and adjust processing and packaging machines before use.
• Use machines to grind, extract, mix, blend, dry, freeze, cook, or otherwise process food, beverage or related products.
• Use machines to box, can or otherwise package food, beverage or associated products.
• Check products to make sure they meet company standards and clear machine blockages as needed.
• Record production information like quantity, weight, size, date and type of products packaged.
• Make corrective machine adjustments, clean machines and immediate work areas.

Sample job titles

• brewery worker
• cheese maker
• cider maker
• coffee roaster
• dairy plant machine operator
• fruit and vegetable machine operator
• packaging machine operator - food processing
• press operator - food and beverage processing
• process control operator - food and beverage processing
• winemaker - food and beverage processing

Skills

You should be responsible, alert, and in good physical health. Coordination, agility, and mechanical skills are important. You must also be able to take direction and carry out instructions given by a supervisor.

Job requirements

• High school may be required.
• On-the-job training is provided.

Other considerations

Shiftwork is common in these jobs. Experience as a labourer in food, beverage or associated products processing may be required for machine operators while experience as a machine operator in food, beverage or associated products processing is usually required for industrial process control operators. There is little movement among the various types of process control operators within the food and beverage processing industry while movement options exist among machine operators within the food, beverage and associated products processing. Process control operators may move to supervisor positions in food and beverage processing with experience while machine operators may move to process control operation or supervisor positions with experience.

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