Grade 4 - Plant Worker

Grade IV Union Position

Job Responsibilities included, but are not limited to:

General

• Follow all safety and food safety procedures
• Keep work area clean
• Perform other duties assigned by Management not described below.

Grading

• Determine grade and ripeness of fruit by observing external appearance.
• Remove fruit of predetermined grade and/or ripeness from the packing line and place them in another location as directed.

Treatment

• Help load and prepare chambers for treatment.
• Unload chambers after treatment.

Packing

• Determine by external appearance, size, grade, and ripeness of fruit on packing table.
• Remove fruit of predetermined size, grade, and ripeness from the table and place them in a container for culling or regrading.
• Pack fruit based on orders.
• Assemble container as required.
• Place packed container on case conveyor.
• Examine packed container for proper packing method, material, and carton size.
• Check weight of packed container as required.
• Record information from the container as required.
• Verify packing specifications and apply labels.
• Close carton boxes with tape machine.

Stacking

• Verify proper sealing of carton boxes.
• Verify size and color on the container
• Segregate containers and stack them for shipping or holding.
• Stack containers for shipping and load shipping containers as directed.
• Deliver packing material to packing station as directed.

Shipping

• Receive supplies
• Prepare pallets for shipment
• Load containers
• Complete documentation for shipping

Competency 

To perform the job successfully, the employee should demonstrate the following competencies:

• Oral Communication: able to follow directions and get clarification; respond well to questions.
• Written Communication: able to read and interpret written information.
• Organizational Support: follow policies and procedures; support organization's goals and values.
• Planning/Organizing: follow work plans as directed; use time efficiently.
• Professionalism: approach others in a respectful manner.
• Quality: demonstrate accuracy and thoroughness.
• Adaptability: manage competing demands; able to deal with frequent change, delays, or unexpected events.
• Attendance/Punctuality: attend work consistently and arrive on time; adhere to schedule to ensure that warehouse goals and responsibilities are executed, follow company procedures when absent.
• Dependability: follows instructions, responds to management direction, take responsibility for own actions, and keep commitments; completes tasks on time or notifies appropriate person with an alternate plan.

Basic Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an employee must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Education: high school diploma is preferred, but not required.
• Job Experience: experience handling food in a manufacturing environment is preferred.
• Language Skills: be able to comprehend simple instructions.
• Reasoning Ability: apply common sense understanding to carry out detailed but uninvolved written or oral instructions.

Physical Requirements:

• Regularly required to talk or hear.
• Frequently required to walk, stand, reach with hands and arms, and use hands to handle product.
• Occasionally stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawls.
• Regularly lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Work Environment

While performing the duties of this job, the employee:

• Is required to wear personal protective equipment (hair net, smock, sleeves, long pants, and non-slip water resistant footwear).
• May need to work in a cold and/or hot environment
• Must be aware of the hazards of moving machinery.
• Must be cognizant of body and limbs and avoid being too close to machinery.

Food Safety & Food Security Responsibilities

All persons within the company have responsibilities to ensure that threats to the safety and security of our final product are minimized. Responsibilities for this position include:

• Compliance with Calavo’s Good Manufacturing Practices [GMPs]
• Reporting any unauthorized persons in or about the facility as well as incidents of employee tampering to management.
• Reporting any unsafe practices to supervisor.
• Understanding basic concepts of food borne illness.

“Calavo Growers is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Prohibits Discrimination and Harassment of Any Kind: Calavo is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at Calavo are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national, social or ethnic origin, sex (including pregnancy), age, physical, mental or sensory disability, HIV Status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, past or present military service, family medical history or genetic information, family or parental status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. Calavo will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics.”