Role Purpose
- To safely set up, operate, monitor, clean and perform approved basic maintenance on the continuous hot air nut roaster and its feeding, conveying and cooling systems. The operator is responsible for achieving the approved roast profile consistently, protecting product quality and traceability, controlling yield and preventing fire, contamination and equipment damage.
Key Responsibilities
Pre Start Inspection and Roaster Readiness
- Review the work order, released raw material, product specification, approved recipe, target roast profile, required output and batch identification before start up.
- Verify that the roaster, hopper, feeder, conveyor belt, roasting chamber, air circulation system, burners or heaters, extraction system, discharge and cooling system are clean and correctly assembled.
- Inspect guards, interlocks, emergency stops, temperature controls, alarms, sensors, air paths, fire prevention controls and utility connections before operation.
- Confirm line clearance, absence of previous product and correct status of all contact surfaces, tools and collection containers.
- Complete required pre start records and report any unsafe condition, contamination risk or equipment defect before energizing the machine.
Start Up and Continuous Roasting Operation
- Start and preheat the roaster in the approved sequence, confirming stable temperature and airflow before introducing nuts.
- Set and monitor temperature zones, airflow, conveyor or belt speed, feed rate, product bed depth and residence time in accordance with the approved roast profile.
- Maintain uniform product feed and distribution to prevent channeling, uneven roast, scorching, congestion, excessive breakage or machine overload.
- Coordinate feeding, discharge and cooling so that roasted nuts move continuously without mixing batches, excessive holding or moisture pickup.
- Make only approved parameter adjustments, record each significant change and notify the Production Supervisor and Quality team of persistent variation.
Roast Quality and In Process Control
- Collect representative samples at the prescribed frequency and submit or perform approved checks for colour, aroma, flavour, texture, moisture and visible defects.
- Recognise indicators of under roasting, over roasting, scorching, uneven colour, rancidity, contamination, excessive breakage or abnormal product behaviour.
- Respond promptly to results approaching or exceeding process limits by stopping feed, segregating affected product, adjusting within authority and escalating the deviation.
- Maintain clear batch boundaries and identify the start and end of suspect product after a stoppage, parameter excursion, utility interruption or quality failure.
- Follow monitoring and corrective action requirements for any roasting control designated as a critical control point or operational prerequisite in the food safety plan.
Safe Operation and Emergency Response
- Monitor the roaster continuously for unusual smoke, odour, heat, vibration, noise, air restriction, product accumulation, belt tracking problems or repeated alarms.
- Prevent accumulation of nut dust, fines, oil and product residues in hot zones, extraction points, conveyors and surrounding areas.
- Apply the approved emergency shutdown and escalation procedure in the event of fire, excessive smoke, temperature runaway, loss of airflow, conveyor stoppage or safety control failure.
- Never bypass guards, interlocks, alarms or fire controls, and isolate energy sources before cleaning, clearing jams or accessing hazardous parts.
- Report incidents, near misses, burns, leaks, unsafe conditions and equipment damage immediately and preserve the area for investigation where required.
Cleaning, Changeover and Allergen Control
- Complete product and batch changeovers in the approved sequence, including controlled emptying, product reconciliation, line clearance and Quality verification where required.
- Clean the roaster, feed system, conveyors, collection points, cooling equipment and accessible air paths using approved tools, methods and chemicals.
- Protect clean components from recontamination and prevent allergen cross contact, product mixing, foreign material introduction and cleaning chemical residue.
- Inspect belts, seals, scrapers, trays, screens, filters and accessible product contact parts for damage, wear or retained material before reassembly.
- Manage fines, rejects, rework and waste according to status controls and reconcile product at the end of each batch and shift.
Basic Maintenance, Records and Handover
- Perform approved autonomous maintenance, inspection, lubrication and minor adjustments within training and authorisation limits.
- Record equipment condition, alarms, parameter changes, downtime and defects accurately and raise clear maintenance requests when specialist work is required.
- Support preventive maintenance and trials, and confirm that guards, sensors, tools and components have been restored before start up.
- Complete roast logs, traceability records, quality checks, cleaning records, product reconciliation and shift reports accurately and in real time.
- Provide a complete handover covering batches processed, settings, product status, deviations, holds, maintenance concerns and pending actions.
Decision Authority and Escalation
- Stop feed or shut down the roaster where there is an unsafe condition, fire risk, loss of airflow, uncontrolled temperature, equipment damage, contamination risk or process result outside specification.
- Adjust operating parameters within the approved recipe and authorised control range, with required documentation and Quality verification.
- Segregate and identify suspect product generated during start up, shutdown, stoppage or process deviation pending assessment.
- Escalate any fire or smoke event, critical alarm, repeated quality failure, unplanned utility loss, safety control failure or inability to maintain the approved roast profile immediately.
Minimum Qualifications and Experience
Education and Training
- Craft certificate, technical certificate or diploma in Food Processing, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Plant Operations or a related discipline.
- Training in machine safety, fire safety, Good Manufacturing Practices, HACCP awareness and food allergen control is preferred.
Experience
- At least two to three years of hands on commercial nut roasting experience is mandatory.
- Direct operating experience on a continuous hot air type nut roaster, including temperature, airflow, feed rate, belt speed and residence time control, is mandatory.
- Experience roasting macadamia or other high oil nuts, working with continuous conveyors and cooling systems, and controlling batch traceability is strongly preferred.
Knowledge, Skills and Competencies
- Strong practical understanding of the relationship between time, temperature, airflow, feed rate, bed depth, cooling and roasted nut quality.
- Ability to recognise normal and abnormal machine behaviour and roasted product characteristics using controls, observations and sensory checks.
- Mechanical awareness, disciplined troubleshooting and sound judgement about when to stop, isolate and escalate.
- High safety and fire risk awareness, with consistent compliance with hygiene, allergens, traceability and standard operating procedures.
- Numerical accuracy, careful record keeping, reliability and clear communication during shift handover.
