Quality Assurance Officer

**Position Title**:Quality Officer

**Function**:Quality Assurance

**Key Stakeholders**:
Internal: Production Officer, Stores Officer, CP officers

External: Sales

**Educational Qualification**:Graduate in Food Technology/ Msc. Chemistry

**Desired Competencies**:
Familiarity with the tools, concepts and methodologies of quality management.

Basic knowledge of applicable software to infer statistical data. Negotiation skills. Customer Orientation.

**Key Responsibilities**:
**Quality & Food Safety Execution**
- Ensure on-line product quality monitoring & immediate action taken through production officers & CP management to address any non-conformity
- Ensure testing of finished goods as per standard sampling & test method with correct documentation. Participate in product quality exercise regularly.
- Periodic verification of process records, incoming quality check records, ingredient shelf-life records, in-process quality check records
- Regular verification of correct functioning of critical process equipments like weighing balances, metal detectors, sifters,dividers,moulders,oven, slicers and coders
- Ensure basic hygiene, food safety & GMP requirements are complied with in manufacturing.
- Ensure critical to food safety processes are being complied with at any point in time during manufacturing. This would include metal detector, pest control, conveyor
- Conduct training sessions for workers to create awareness on quality standards, GMP, food safety & hygiene
- Regular audit of systems, processes & lab to verify compliance to quality & food safety standards
- Immediate & suitable action against issues related to process/system/norm non-adherence, equipment malfunctioning, quality monitoring, food safety & hygiene to prevent the outcome affecting consumers & brand value.

**Statutory Compliance**
- Ensure wrappers are checked for presence of correct addresses,MRP, veg logo, mandatory declarations & necessary documentation maintained
- Ensure sufficient samples are checked for weight at every stage of production
- Ensure immediate action in process to correct the non-adherence before continuing
- Verification of compliance to pack weights by random sampling on regular basis
- Ensure no lots detected with underweight packs are released without 100% checking & sorting
- Ensure functioning of coder with legible printing on each & every pack across SKUs
- Ensure systems are followed during change in date, shift, supervisor's name with necessary documentation
- Verification of compliance to coding by random sampling on regular basis
- Ensure all weighing balances & dead weights are calibrated as per schedule & not in use without necessary certification
- Consumer Complaints
- Share each & every complaint as & when they are received with CP management & concerned supervisors, operators & shop floor workers
- Identify probable causes of the complaint irrespective of sample availability in consultation with CP management, supervisors, operators & workers
- Assist in designing corrective & preventive measures along with the team & implement the same with immediate effect
- Evaluate the effectiveness of action through regular evaluation of process & product & trend of complaint of similar nature in subsequent months.
- Analyze all complaints registered in terms of category, SKU,extent, trend etc. & share with CP management on regular basis to demonstrate status of improvement & drawing up further action plan

**Benchmarking**
- Visit to retail outlets & distribution points weekly once for understanding customer & consumer quality concerns
- Evaluate competition products in terms of grammage, packaging, product quality features etc.
- Identify improvement opportunities & share action plans with operation & quality for improvements
- Measure effectiveness of improvement through market evaluation & customer feedback
- Process Improvement Initiatives
- Periodically review improvement in the overall quality of processes and systems at the factory
- Management information System
- Send periodic summary report on factory quality performance to quality manager
- Communicate critical to quality & food safety concerns to quality manager & all other concerned as soon as they are observed