Elements and Performance Criteria

Range description
Work is carried out according to company policies and procedures, regulatory and licensing requirements, legislative requirements, and industrial awards and agreements
Legislative requirements are typically reflected in procedures and specifications. Legislation relevant to this industry includes the labelling, weights and measures legislation; and legislation covering food safety, environmental management, occupational health and safety, anti-discrimination and equal opportunity
Workplace information may include Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), specifications, production schedules and instructions, manufacturers' advice, standard forms and reports
Mixing/blending equipment may include measuring and weighing equipment such as scales, load cells, dosing equipment, mixers, pumps, and agitators. Common mixer types include ribbon and vertical screw mixers/conveyors
Materials may include bulk and non-bulk ingredients and additives
Ingredient addition is typically manual
Operation of equipment and processes may require the use of simple process control panels
Services are appropriate to the process to be operated. Typical examples include power, compressed and instrumentation air
Shutdown procedures may include cleaning. In some cases cleaning may be carried out by a dedicated cleaning crew

Ability to:
Access workplace information to identify mixing/blending requirements
Select, fit and use personal protective clothing and/or equipment
Confirm supply of necessary materials and services
Conduct pre-start checks. This may involve inspecting equipment condition to identify any signs of wear; selecting appropriate settings and/or related parameters, cancelling isolation or lockouts as required, and confirming that equipment is clean, correctly configured for processing requirements and that all safety guards are in place and operational
Add/load materials in correct quantities and sequence. This typically involves manual addition
Start and monitor the batching/mixing process to achieve required outcomes. This may include monitoring control points and conducting inspections as required to confirm process remains within specification
Monitor supply and flow of ingredients to and from the batching/mixing process. This may include visually inspecting quality of ingredients
Pace mixing/blending to meet production requirements
Take corrective action in response to out-of-specification results
Respond to and/or report equipment failure within level of responsibility
Locate emergency stop functions on equipment
Follow procedures to shut down and clean equipment within level of responsibility
Complete workplace records as required
Maintain work area to meet housekeeping standards

May include ability to:

Use simple process control screens

Knowledge of:
Basic operating principles of equipment used. This may include an operational understanding of main equipment components; status and purpose of guards; emergency stop, isolation and lockout controls; equipment operating capacities and applications; and a knowledge of services required and action to take if services are not available
The flow of the mixing process and the effect of mix preparation on downstream processes
Ingredient handling requirements and shelf-life/coding
Quality characteristics required of ingredients used
Required attributes of the mixed/blended output such as visual appearance of the mix
The effect of the mixing/blending parameters such as length of mix time on mixing outcome
Contamination/food safety risks associated with the process and related control measures. This includes an awareness of product compatibility and cross contamination risks and associated cleaning requirements
Operating requirements and parameters and corrective action required where operation is outside specified operating parameters. This may involve reporting to appropriate personnel
Procedures and responsibility for reporting production and performance information
OHS hazards and controls
Shutdown and cleaning procedures. This includes awareness of isolation, lock out and tag out procedures and responsibilities
Environmental issues and controls. This includes waste/rework collection and handling procedures related to the process

May include knowledge of:

Cleaning and sanitation procedures

Relationship with other standards
Pre-requisite units
There are no pre-requisite units for this competency standard.
Co-assessment of related units

This unit should be assessed together with core units and other units of competence relevant to the function or work role. In addition, the following optional or ancillary units may be relevant:

FDFZCSCS2A Clean and sanitize equipment

Resources required for assessment

Assessment must occur in a real or simulated workplace where the assessee has access to:

Personal protective clothing and equipment
Work procedures including advice on safe work practices, food safety, quality and environmental requirements
Information on equipment capacity and operating parameters
Production schedule/batch/recipe instructions
Specifications, control points and processing parameters
Mixing/blending process equipment, services and related storage facilities as required
Ingredients and additives required for the mixing/blending process
Sampling schedules and test procedures and equipment as required
Cleaning procedures, materials and equipment as required
Item of equipment to be operated and relevant materials, consumables and services
Workplace records as required
Cleaning procedures, materials and equipment as required

Assessment requirements
For information on how to assess this competency standard and who can assess, refer to the Assessment Guidelines for this Training Package.