Lab Technician

**AVI Ltd. **is known for its leading household brands across many categories including: hot beverages, sweet and savoury biscuits and snacks, frozen convenience foods, personal care products, cosmetics, shoes, accessories, and fashion apparel.

**NATIONAL BRANDS LIMITED** operates 5 manufacturing sites, offering world class manufacturing facilities in Isando (Johannesburg), Rosslyn (Pretoria), Westmead and Durban (KZN). It is home to some of the best-known South African tea, coffee and creamer brands, including our delicious range of much-loved savoury and sweet biscuits, and our melt-in-your-mouth snack range.

An exciting opportunity exists for a **Laboratory Technician **at **NATIONAL BRANDS LIMITED Isando Coffee & Creamer.** The successful incumbent will be responsible for carrying out physical and chemical analysis as required on standard and non-standard raw materials at incoming and in-process (where required) and finished products and/ or carrying out analysis as required on packaging materials at incoming and in-process (where required) and finished products. To perform all quality/hygiene-related duties in accordance with the laid down Quality Assurance Management System and to ensure that the laboratory equipment is fully functional and calibrated.

**Line Manager**: Laboratory Supervisor

**Job Specification**:
**Key Performance Areas**:

- ** Incoming Material Control - raw materials**
- Sample (as per the NBL Sampling plan) and inspect incoming raw materials on a daily basis, conducting the required physical and chemical analysis against specifications/SAP Inspection plan using established test methods
- Verify the COA (Certificate of Acceptability) against the specification
- Using correct procedure test and report on acceptability/ rejectability of raw materials
- Effective control of raw materials held for inspection
- Capture results on SAP and complete the usage decision to release stock as well as complete NCR’s for stock not within specification.
- Generate product trends in the form of graphs
- Stock control of chemicals for carrying out required analysis
- Maintain laboratory in a clean and tidy condition
- Test in-process materials as required and communicate results. Deviations from standard to be highlighted to the Laboratory Supervisor/ QA Manager immediately
- ** Incoming Material Control - packaging materials**
- Sample (as per the NBL Sampling plan) and inspect incoming packaging materials on a daily basis and conduct required physical and visual analysis against specifications/SAP Inspection plan using established test methods
- Verify the COA (Certificate of Acceptability) against the specification
- Using correct procedure test and report on acceptability/ rejectability of raw materials
- Effective control of packaging held for inspection
- Capture results on SAP and complete the usage decision to release stock as well as complete NCR’s for stock not within specification.
- Generate product trends in the form of graphs
- Stock control of chemicals for carrying out the required analysis
- Maintain clean and tidy hygiene condition
- Test in-process materials as required and communicate results. Deviations from standards to be highlighted to the Laboratory Supervisor/ QA Manager immediately
- **
Incoming Material Control - new samples (suppliers), NPD and other factories in the group**
- Analyze standard and non-standard raw materials as requested by NPD, Group QA
- Analyze the finished product as required
- Play an active part in Continuous improvement teams as relevant to your position
- **
Process Control**
- Complete tests on any in-process materials as required. Monitor and maintain records of relevant data and report on out-of-control situations
- Work with multi-disciplinary teams to investigate issues with material and resolve quality-related issues.
- Raise NCR’s for any issues identified.
- ** Hygiene and Housekeeping Maintenance**
- GMP audits completed as per schedule
- Areas of concern highlighted to Managers when necessary
- ** Training in basic Laboratory techniques**
- Train students for a given period in the routine laboratory methods and tasks required
- Ensure students are able to report correctly on results achieved.
- Train students in the methods of hygiene inspections and ensure that they understand the reports and their distribution.
- Training of QCs on analytical tests
- ** Non-Conformance Handling**
- Raise NCR’s for raw or packaging materials from initiation to completion and sign off. NCR App used for external NCR’s and Shopware used for Internal NCR’s.
- Ensure product is isolated and quarantined and is sampled as per the NBL Sampling plan
- Ensure in-process investigations include a multi-disciplinary team.
- ** Plant hygiene and microbiological audits**
- Collect microbial swabs monthly on agreed areas, as per the schedule requirements and prepare them for dispatch to the service provider.
- Collect monthly samples of finished produc