Cleaning In Place

For the past two days in the kitchen, my training courses have consisted of reading Job Safety Analysis, Process Operating Guides, and On the Job Training. After all of the required reading was finished, I was taken to the "start of the line" where the cleaning process begins. The main thing I was taught was how to flush out the hoppers that are filled with chocolate while the line is running, flush out the pipes, and run the cleaning solvent through the loop. It sounded simple up until that point, but once I got out to the start of the line, it was an entirely different ballgame. There are so many different valves that need to be turned on and off constantly in order to flush certain points of the line. There are five touch screens that are involved in the flushing process, different pumps are used for different hoppers, and different air pressures are used for the various sizes of pipes. Not to mention the concoction of flammable and explosive chemicals that are used. It's no wonder why there are only three people in the plant that are qualified to flush the loop for the changeover process on the kiss line. Just the responsibility of the clean and changeover is enough to overwhelm anyone. I followed alongside my trainer, listening, participating, and asking as many questions as possible in order to better familiarize myself with the process; but to no avail. At the end of the night, I was so confused and exhausted, I didn't know which way was up. It's so completely baffling, and if I were to say I had the least little inkling of what actually went on...I'd be lying. I told my trainer about my feelings and concerns, and his response basically was to suck it up, step up, and try to take in as much as possible next time. After that conversation he told me to relax, that it takes anyone and everyone at least 10 cleanings to get a handle on it and everything will come in time. That was actually reassuring, but at this point, my confidence with the process is minimal at best. It'll be fine though, I won't be the trainee that quits because I'm intimidated. It's just going to take time and experience.

Chocolate Temper

The first thing I'm told that I need to understand in the kitchen is that chocolate has temper. Temper was explained to me with the following anology; if you think of freezer burn having crystals that's considered "bad temper", if you think about the crystals within ice cream, that's considered "good" or "correct temper". Temper needs to be tested every two hours by collecting a sample from both of our chocolate depositors and running computer checks. This is to ensure the chocolate has the correct consistency and temper to be molded for the kisses. When chocolate comes into the plant, it's about 65 degrees in a climate controlled trailer because our chocolate is "shocked" at 54 degrees, this is where temper occurs. After it is "shocked" it is brought up gradually in a hopper to 81 degrees where the crystals have melted away and it is now ready to be deposited. When we conduct our checks we are checking the temper and slope of the chocolate. Just like algebra in high school we record the temper on a graph chart to make sure the temper is within its parameters. If the slope is high or low, we must then adjust the temperature accordingly to ensure the temper is within its parameters at our next check. We have a changeover coming tonight when I go in, so I will be learning everything that goes into cleaning and changeover tonight.

First week on training completed

Finally, after creating my first post two weeks ago, I have completed my first week of training sessions in the kiss line kitchen. I have to start by saying that I have a new found respect for Milton Hershey and Willy Wonka. There is a lot more to making candy than I first thought. The kitchen itself is over 2,000 square feet. It’s absolutely enormous and just as intimidating when you look at everything you’re responsible for. A filled Hershey kiss has about a 10 step process before the candy actually hits the line and is ready to be wrapped and bagged for the customers. First, just the tip of the kiss is deposited, then it goes over a shaker to even out the chocolate at the tip. Then it goes through a cooler before another deposit of chocolate is dropped into the mould and a smaller mold that measures 28 degrees is placed inside of the original mould to give the kiss its outer shell. Once that is completed, the mould goes under a “licking roller” to wipe of the excess chocolate. It goes through another depositor where the filling is dropped in, rolls over another shaker and rolls into another cooler. Then the bottom of the kiss is poured in, rolls over another shaker, it’s cooled again, and then it goes under another “licking roller” where the excess chocolate is wiped off of the mould before it is twisted like an old ice tray, flipped upside down, and placed on the line.

During this process there are many things the operator must maintain. Every two hours we check for micro bacteria, chocolate temperatures, temper of the chocolate, magnetic screens, and temperature of the coolers. All of this is done while keeping up on the housekeeping, paperwork, computer checks, controlling alarms, and maintaining an allergen free work environment. To this point, I know very little details, as I have just a very rudimentary understanding of the entire overall process. Next week promises to be a little more in depth each night.

I got my first taste of kitchen work on Sunday night/Monday morning. I was a little disappointed at start up to find out that the person who I was to shadow was on vacation. After a short talk with my supervisor, I was able to talk him into letting me get involved in the kitchen process for the night. I was assigned "creme attendant" where the only responsibility the job entails is mixing the ingredients for the pumpkin spice hershey kisses we are running this week. I was shown once how to complete the task and then was told "alright, go make another batch". At first this was a little intimidating, but after talking myself through it and realizing it's just chocolate, it was no big deal at all. So for the remainder of the night, the only thing I did was mix creme and chocolate recipes and haul them from the chocolate control room to the kitchen. Talk about redundant, mundane work.

Monday night/Tuesday morning I finally got into the kitchen to see what everything was about. It's about 100 degrees in there, and I got to sit all night reading the Job Safety Analysis (JSA). Hopefully tomorrow morning when I get off of shift I will have had the opportunity to get some hands on training, and I will have something more interesting to write about.

Kiss Line Down

Unfortunately I don't have anything exciting to report after the first week of my blog. When I got to work Sunday night I was told that the Kiss Line was down due to a "change over." Then I was moved to first shift for the remainder of the week where I learned "inspection" which is a skill level 1 position along with "bulk packaging" which is a skill level two position on the Filled Shapes Line. Neither of which were very exciting. Honestly, you could train a monkey to do either of the positions. Anyone right off the street could pick these positions up and run with them from day one. However, I was told by my boss that when I returned to work this Sunday night that I would begin my training sessions as soon as the shift starts. Apparently there is a huge learning curve in the kitchen and most employees have around four months worth of training sessions. I'm excited and eager to learn a skill level four position with the possibility of receiving a full time position in the kitchen and obtaining a skill level six. We'll have to wait and see what Sunday night/Monday morning holds.

Kiss Line Kitchen Operator

I recently started a new job with The Hershey Company in Stuarts Draft. While I won't have the opportunity to work on any "projects" in the near future, I am permitted to progress as a production worker and try to obtain a higher skill level. There are six skill levels on the production floor and as your skill level increases, so does your pay. When hired, I was given a skill level two job as a "hand packer". Most new hires are given a skill level of one or two, then after their training period ends, they are given the opportunity to train on a different part of the line to advance their skill level. My training period ended last Friday 5-3-13. I talked to my group leader about my current enrollment in the AHRD program at JMU and asked if there were any openings on our line for higher skill level positions. I explained my belief to him that if a person is going to manage others, he or she is more respected and accepted if they are knowledgeable about the job in which they are managing. I won't say that he agreed with my opinion, but he has agreed to let me begin training sessions as a "kitchen relief operator" which is a skill level four. If a full time kitchen operator position were to come open, and I have completed my training program, I would be given the position along with skill level six pay.