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Dairy technologist

Dairy technologist

Health and science

Level 5 - Higher Technical Occupation

Providing expert technical advice and support on a variety of aspects of dairy production and activities.

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Reference: OCC0393

Status: assignment_turned_inApproved occupation

Average (median) salary: £42,362 per year

SOC 2020 code: 2129 Engineering professionals n.e.c.

SOC 2020 sub unit groups:

  • 2129/06 Food technologists
  • 8111/02 Dairy workers

Technical Education Products

ST0393:

Dairy technologist

(Level 5)

Approved for delivery

Employers involved in creating the standard:

Arla, Glanbia Cheese, Langage Farm, Müller UK and Ireland, Ornua, Saputo Dairy UK, Yeo Valley

Summary

This occupation is found in the food and drink manufacturing sector in the dairy industry.

Dairy products include liquid milks, cream, cheeses, ice creams, powders and ingredients, yoghurt, butter, sports drinks, baby formulas, and plant-based dairy alternatives.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to provide expert technical advice and support on a variety of aspects of dairy production helping to drive a quality culture. They provide dairy technical specialist knowledge in audits. They help investigate operational issues and come up with innovative solutions. They support projects, these may focus on continuous improvement or introducing new processes or products. Developing technical dairy knowledge within the team is also part of the role.

In their daily work, dairy technologists interact with cross functional teams and stakeholders. Internally this may include operations, quality assurance, continuous improvement, engineering, financial, commercial, marketing, and the site leadership team. Externally, this may include suppliers, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), customers, and visitors.

They may spend time in the production environment, laboratory, or office.

They may work alone or as part of a team depending on the task. They typically report to the head of quality, plant manager, or technical manager.

Dairy technologists are responsible for ensuring dairy products are food safe and meet quality requirements along with customer expectations. Health and safety, environment and sustainability, financial considerations, and ethical working practices must also be met. They are expected to keep up to date with regulations and dairy product developments.

Employers involved in creating the standard:

Arla, Glanbia Cheese, Langage Farm, Müller UK and Ireland, Ornua, Saputo Dairy UK, Yeo Valley

eco

Mid Green occupation

Typical job titles include:

Cheese specialist
Dairy process manager
Dairy quality analyst
Dairy quality assurance manager
Dairy quality control manager
Dairy quality leader or co-ordinator
Dairy research and development manager
Dairy specialist
Dairy technologist
Qesh (quality environment health and safety) co-ordinator
Quality manager
Technical manager

Keywords:

Dairy
Food Production
Food Safety
Food Science
Manufacturing
Product Development

Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs)

K1: The dairy industry structure. Financial considerations. Ethical business practices.
K2: Different teams and functions involved in dairy production. Dairy technologist role. Limits of scope of practice: when to seek input from others and when to escalate.
K3: Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). Production and operational planning concepts.
K4: Health and safety. Health and Safety at Work Act – responsibilities. Health and safety culture. Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (CoSHH). The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR). Manual handling. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Types of hazards. Risk assessments, mitigation methods, and method statements (safe systems of work).
K5: Principles of food and dairy safety. Allergenic control. Good Hygienic Practice (GHP). Microbiology and food borne illnesses. Biological, physical, allergenic (cross-contamination), and chemical contamination of dairy and related products. Food storage, temperature control and preservation of dairy products. Hygienic design, construction and maintenance of food premises and equipment, and their cleaning and disinfection. Pest control. Personal hygiene and training requirements. Food safety culture. Traceability.
K6: Food safety legislation principles: Food Safety Act, Regulation (EC) 852/2004, The General Food Law Regulation (EC) 178/2002, The Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations, The Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations, The Food Hygiene (Wales) Regulations, The Food Information to Consumers Regulations (EC)1169/2011, Food Information Regulations, Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 on Microbiological criteria for foodstuffs, The Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations. Sources of information for legislation changes.
K7: Food safety management control of dairy and related food systems: Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), Threat Analysis of Critical Control Points (TACCP), and Vulnerability Assessment of Critical Control Points (VACCP).
K8: Principles of dairy chemistry. Chemical properties. Compositional milk and dairy product analysis. Quality testing of milk and dairy products.
K9: Principles of dairy microbiology. Types of micro-organisms and their structure. Cultivation conditions and procedures. Aseptic conditions and Good Laboratory Practice (GLP): organisation and discipline within the laboratory. Hygiene monitoring and auditing. Laboratory analysis techniques. Indicator organisms. Interpretation of microbiological data as an indicator of risk.
K10: Milk and dairy derivatives as raw materials. Primary production. Dairy farming practice. Composition of milk and dairy produce. Additives. Dairy products as an ingredient in other foods and associated allergenic issues. Dairy alternatives (non-milk based ingredients).
K11: Function of quality assurance within the dairy industry. Quality assurance schemes and factors affecting the Quality Management Plan (QMP).
K12: Cleaning, disinfection, and sterilisation. Different techniques: chemical, heat, steam technology and ultraviolet - when they should be used. Components of Clean In Place (CIP). New developments in cleaning technology. Environmental impact of cleaning. Cleaning validation, verification, and optimisation techniques.
K13: Basic physical and hygienic design principles of dairy process engineering: mass and energy balances, modes of thermal transfer, principles of fluid flow, and rheology (deformation and flow of materials - solids and liquids).
K14: Principles of food industry unit operations. Preservation operations. Dairy industry unit operations. Factory service operations.
K15: Product development processes: recipe development, specifications, market gap identification, acceptance testing and process design, packaging requirements, and nutrition and organoleptic characteristics.
K16: Milk processing: end-to-end. New concepts in milk processing. By-products.
K17: Cheese and fermented product technology. Cheese and cheese related products. Yogurt and related products. Soured creams and crème fraiche.
K18: Butter and milk fat technology. Butter manufacture. Yellow fat and dairy spread manufacture. Ice cream manufacture. Dairy dessert manufacture.
K19: The chemistry of whey protein. Whey processing techniques and technology.
K20: Leadership and management techniques: influencing, negotiation, and conflict management.
K21: Change management principles and techniques.
K22: Project management roles and techniques: planning, prioritising, organising, stakeholder management, and risk management.
K23: Problem solving and fault finding: 5 whys, root cause analysis, Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA).
K24: Continuous improvement principles and techniques: Plan-do-check-act (PDCA), Lean, 6 Sigma, and Statistical Process Control (SPC). Lean manufacturing tools. Process mapping.
K25: Data analysis techniques. Data analysis and reporting systems.
K26: Dairy supply chain: mapping and risk management. World dairy economic drivers. Milk and dairy product supply and demand factors. Food security.
K27: Environmental Protection Act and environmental management systems.
K28: Measuring environment impact and environmental audit requirements.
K29: Dairy automation and process control. Control systems. Instrumentation. Control theory principles. Machine communications and networking. Integrated control and automation systems. Digital manufacturing. Dairy industry automated processes.
K30: Information technology: Management Information Systems (MIS), spreadsheets, presentation, word processing, email, virtual communication and learning platforms. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Cyber security.
K31: Communication techniques.
K32: Report writing techniques.
K33: Workplace training and development techniques: coaching and transfer of knowledge.
K34: Equality, diversity, and inclusion. Unconscious bias.

S1: Apply food safety management systems.
S2: Apply food and dairy hygiene practice principles.
S3: Comply with food safety regulations and procedures.
S4: Comply with health and safety regulations, guidelines, and procedures.
S5: Comply with environmental regulations, guidelines, and procedures.
S6: Apply sustainable working practices. For example, efficient use of resources, waste minimisation.
S7: Apply quality control processes.
S8: Apply extended knowledge of underlying dairy concepts.
S9: Identify, review and evaluate, and select scientific techniques, procedures, and methods in the context of new and different areas of work.
S10: Apply scientific techniques, procedures, and methods to undertake tasks.
S11: Apply engineering concepts and principles to analyse dairy performance.
S12: Collect data. Analyse, interpret, and evaluate data, scientific and technology information, concepts, and ideas including use of statistical methods.
S13: Apply changes to dairy processing unit operations.
S14: Apply problem solving techniques, identifying issues. Propose solutions to problems.
S15: Use continuous improvement techniques and make recommendations.
S16: Apply project management techniques: planning and prioritising tasks, organising resources, managing stakeholders and risk management.
S17: Conduct environmental impact assessments.
S18: Develop technical written content. For example, operating procedures, working instructions, and reports.
S19: Communicate with others for example, colleagues, customers, and stakeholders. Use industry terminology where appropriate.
S20: Create and deliver presentations.
S21: Negotiate with and influence colleagues or stakeholders; manage conflict.
S22: Use information and digital technology.
S23: Identify training needs. Coach individuals.

B1: Take personal responsibility for and promote food safety and health and safety.
B2: Take personal responsibility for and promote sustainable working practices.
B3: Act in a professional manner.
B4: Take responsibility for the quality of work and enable others to work to high standards. For example, decisive, self-reliant, and motivated.
B5: Respond and adapt to work demands and situations.
B6: Recognise limitations, seek input from others and escalate issues when required.
B7: Collaborate with others for example, within teams, across disciplines, and external stakeholders, promoting inclusion.
B8: Ambassador for the dairy industry.
B9: Committed to maintaining and enhancing competence of self and others through Continued Professional Development (CPD).

Duties

Duty D1

Provide dairy technical knowledge to support efficient and optimised production from milk intake to finished product.

Duty D2

Develop dairy technical knowledge within other functions (knowledge transfer): such as, engineering, finance, production, continuous improvement, and demand and supply). For example, training and coaching others.

Duty D3

Identify and resolve dairy product quality issues using resources and stakeholders.

Duty D4

Conduct dairy process and product optimisation activities. For example, dairy component, unit operations (a piece of equipment with a specific dairy output for example, homogenisation effect), or production or process analysis.

Duty D5

Lead or contribute to cross-functional dairy production process or product improvement projects. For example, product loss reduction, or resource efficiency.

Duty D6

Support dairy production research and development projects. For example, testing of new or improved dairy processes or products.

Duty D7

Lead or contribute to cross-functional teams to implement new or improved dairy products or processes.

Duty D8

Provide dairy technical input to product and process documentation. For example, standard operating procedures.

Duty D9

Provide dairy technical specialist knowledge in audits.

Duty D10

Make technical recommendations based on dairy knowledge, taking account of financial considerations. For example, dairy recipe or formulations, mass balance, fluctuations in dairy prices (commodity), plant and factory running costs, and bill of materials.

Occupational Progression

This occupational progression map shows technical occupations that have transferable knowledge and skills.

In this map, the focused occupation is highlighted in yellow. The arrows indicate where transferable knowledge and skills exist between two occupations. This map shows some of the strongest progression links between the focused occupation and other occupations.

It is anticipated that individuals would be required to undertake further learning or training to progress to and from occupations. To find out more about an occupation featured in the progression map, including the learning options available, click the occupation.

Progression decisions have been reached by comparing the knowledge and skills statements between occupational standards, combined with individualised learner movement data.

Technical Occupations

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Levels 4-5

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Levels 6-7

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Level 5

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