Granulation Operator

**Job title**: Granulation Operator

Barrs Pharmaceuticals, which is part of the Avacare Health Group, is looking for a Granulation Operator to join our team in Ndabeni, Cape Town.

Avacare Health is an integrated healthcare group serving the African region and beyond through the distribution and supply of pharmaceuticals, medical consumables, consumer health and medical equipment. Founded in 1996 by anesthesiologist, Dr Vikramkumar Naik, with a vision to make a difference to the people of Africa.

Our greatness lies in our commitment to bring affordable healthcare to the people of Africa, and for our products and services to be accessible in every part of Africa and beyond. Operating across 3 continents with presence in 22 countries, our innate passion and commitment to deliver timeously has helped us make our mark in the pharmaceutical and healthcare arena.

**Job Overview**:
**Purpose of the job**: Under the direction of the Pharmacist/Manager/Supervisor/, the Granulation Operator is responsible for all activities related to the wet granulation, fluid bed drying, milling and blending of solid oral dosage products as per formula instructions. Also, responsible for adhering to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) that are in effect assuring the quality and quantity of product produced.

**Key Responsibilities**:
These skills are necessary for the role of granulator machine operator.
- Disassemble equipment: Disassembles equipment using hand tools in order to clean equipment and to perform regular operational maintenance.
- Re-assemble equipment: Reassembles equipment using hand tools after cleaning equipment and operational maintenance.
- Keep task records: Keep written records of the critical process parameters and critical quality attributes of the in-process materials, amount of material, incoming and outgoing products required for the proper operation of services, repairs and maintenance tasks.
- Adhere to standard procedures: Adhere to and follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and Good Manufacturing Practices.
- Work in shifts: Work in rotating shifts, where the goal is to keep a service or production line running around the clock and each day of the week.
- Keep time accurately: Measure the passage of time, often with the assistance of a clock or stopwatch.
- Perform granulation equipment transfer: Perform the loading and unloading of granulation equipment.
- Oversee granulation operations: Oversee the operations performed within the granulation process, i.e., dry mixing, wet granulation, end-point detection, drying of granules, milling, and blending in order to produce in-process materials or granules meeting predetermined critical quality attributes and to detect any deviations or problems, to ensure that quality standards are met and maintained.
- Perform blending operations: Perform powdered ingredients blending adding the correct binding ingredient according to the formula: gelatin, water, alcohol or starch paste.
- Monitor powdered ingredients: Monitor the batch and the ingredients, ensuring the weights and measures are conforming to the specified formula.
- Ability to accurately use platform bench scales to weigh liquid material.
- Load and operate the mixer to evenly distribute binder solution in the blended material.
- Set up and operate equipment; if needed, adjust settings during operation.
- Perform in-process checks until the batch is complete i.e. product temp, spray rate, etc.
- Discharge granules into sanitary containers and calculate yield.
- Can be exposed to allergens such as powders, odours, dust or particles, moving mechanical parts, and vibration. The noise level in the work environment can be loud.
- Ensure proper operation of equipment and promptly reports any concerns to management.
- Clean and sanitize equipment/mixer/hot air cabinet filters/exhaust cabinet filters prior to and/or after use; disassembling and reassembling as needed.
- Develop strong lines of communication with other co-workers to ensure plant efficiency.
- Must wear appropriate gear: hairnets, gloves, hearing protection, dust masks, etc.
- Maintain manufacturing rooms: Maintain the cleanliness of rooms before, during and when the manufacturing process is finished, and the product is completed according to Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
- Batch records: Record in-real-time batch manufacturing actions, parameters, attributes, and events in the relevant documents. Organise and classify records of prepared reports and correspondence related to the performed work and progress records of tasks.
- Analyse granulated mixture: Analyse the mixtures in order to establish the granules are within predetermined critical quality attribute ranges.

**Desired experience, essential knowledge & qualifications**:

- Good manufacturing practices: Regulatory requirements and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) applied in the relevant manufacturing sector.
- Science and Ma