General Production - Fabrication

Job title

Fabrication - General Production

Reports to

Fabrication Supervisor

Job purpose

Fabrication workers are responsible for preparing cattle carcasses by trimming, cutting, and packaging, while using food safety precautions, so the product may be put into inventory and shipped.

Duties and responsibilities

Duties of this role maybe be one or any combination of the following :

• Remove bones and cut meat into standard cuts in preparation for packaging.
• Cut, trim, sort, and wash viscera of slaughtered animals to separate edible portions from offal.
• Tend assembly lines, performing a few of the many cuts needed to process a carcass.
• Trim head meat, and sever or remove parts of the animals, heads or skulls.
• Saw, split or scribe carcasses into smaller portions to facilitate handling.
• Grind meat into hamburger, and into trimmings used to prepare other meat products.
• Slice meat into portion cuts of steak.
• Package meat products by sealing, bagging, and / or boxing.
• Weigh and label boxes.
• Load boxes onto pallets and label for inventory or shipping.
• Remove excess trimmings and by-products from packaging area.
• Sweep, mop, and spray down production area.
• Use approved sanitation procedures to clean equipment and work areas.
• See the "Job Task Analysis" for particular tasks.

Qualifications

Qualifications include :

Working conditions

The job requires working in extremely cold refrigerated and sometimes noisy conditions for several hours at a time. The use of PPE is required such as : Steel toed / rubber boots; earplugs; hair nets; hard hats; goggles; metal mesh aprons; metal mesh gloves; rubber or cloth gloves; rubber protective aprons and pants; and other PPE gear as instructed for specific roles and tasks. Jackets are permitted for cold environments. Thick gloves, such as ski gloves, are not allowed as it limits dexterity which is needed while doing tasks. Cotton or rubber gloves will be supplied.

Physical requirements

The job requires the following minimum physical abilities : Standing for long periods of time (up to 8 hours per day with breaks); Ability to withstand refrigerated (very cold) and noisy environments for several hours at a time; Using both hands and arms in unison handling and manipulating objects and equipment; Communicating verbally with supervisors or coworkers; Replicating movements / processes when shown; Performing physical activities that require considerable use of arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, reaching, balancing, bending, twisting, walking, stooping, and handling of materials; Grasping objects such as meat, knives, levers and water hoses. Visually inspecting carcasses on all sides by bending and moving head for various vantage points; Watching for and then grabbing large heavy carcasses hanging on hooks that are moving on an assembly line coming from the right or left; Utilizing pedals with foot that will raise and lower the platform the employee is working on in unison with handling knives or other equipment. Walking across wet and slippery floors while wearing heavy, steel-toed rubber boots. Climbing stairs, walking on metal grated surfaces, some tasks will be above floor level on platforms, some are moving platforms.

For example : Leaning forward reaching across a table, grasping a large piece of meat, lifting it off a moving conveyor belt, bringing it toward the body, then laying it on a table to work on, using a knife or saw to cut or trim it - then similarly leaning forward to return it to the conveyor belt repeating this over and over through a shift lasting up to 8 hours with a break.

Some tasks require lifting moderately heavy boxes, carrying them several feet, and lowering or lifting them into position on a pallet; this may require lifting up to 60 pounds.

Direct reports

This position has not direct reports.

Purpose of this document

This Job Description is not intended to be a complete listing of all duties and is in no way an employment contract. The purpose is to give guidance and clarity of the position, overall duties, and how this role fits in with the organization as a whole.