Cellar Worker

Job description

1. Load and unload items from machines, conveyors, and conveyances:
a. Items to load/unload on machinery can include pieces of equipment itself (like setting
up the belt on the elevator/conveyer), loading grapes into the hopper, placing buckets
next to machines to sort out MOG (Material Other than Grapes: like stems and leaves),
and during sorting unloading MOG into those separate buckets.
2. operate machinery, or assist machine operators:
a. This includes setting up equipment and tools for picking grapes, reading/recording
weights on the scale, moving picking bins, cleaning sorting equipment (includes a
hopper, elevator/conveyer belt to bring grapes to shaker/sorting table). Other
machinery could include operating equipment like forklifts to move bins and dump
grapes onto sorting equipment. Operating equipment also includes turning equipment
on and off and adjusting speed of elevator/conveyer. “Machine operators” include full
time staff/supervisors who are providing directions and the production helper will be
there to assist to properly operate machinery when it requires multiple people.
3. examine products to verify conformance to quality standards:
a. Grapes are graded for quality standards. The production helper will help evaluate the
grapes as they are picked and record the grade.
4. starting machines or equipment to begin production processes, observing equipment
operations so that malfunctions can be detected, and notify operators of any malfunctions:
a. The production helper will observe operation of equipment from beginning to end of
the process. Pieces of MOG could get stuck in the equipment and cause malfunctions.
5. removing machine attachments, or waste material from machines:
a. There are different attachments to the sorting equipment if the grapes are hand or
machine harvested. Attachments will be removed if it’s hand-picked fruit. Removing
waste materials can include MOG (material other than grapes).
6. lifting materials manually or using hoists:
a. Sometimes if grapes are picked into small buckets, the production worker will just dump
buckets of grapes manually into the hopper. Or if grapes are in large picking bins, a
forklift will be used to dump the grapes into the hopper.
7. measuring lengths of extruded articles:
a. Request for change of verbiage to – “measuring weight of excluded material”. We
measure the weight of the MOG to deduct from harvest weight.
8. measuring weights of filled containers to ensure conformance to specifications:
a. After the grapes are sorted, they then go into separate bins. The grapes in the bins after
sorting need to be certain fill heights. They can’t be too full or else it will crush the
grapes.
9. signal coworkers to direct them to move products during the production process:
a. This could include indicating that MOG buckets need to be emptied, indicating a
different grape is going on the sorting table next and equipment needs to be cleaned
before starting the new lot of grapes, lining up grape bins and indicating the bins that
have already been sorted.
10. cleaning and lubricating equipment:
a. The equipment needs to be cleaned and inspected daily. Inspection could include
adding lubrication to moving pieces on the elevator/conveyer.
11. preparing raw materials for processing:
a. Before beginning any grape processing, production helpers will double check all
paperwork with the grapes is correct, making sure the gross weight of the grapes are
recorded, and the grade of the grapes is also recorded.
12. position spouts or chutes of storage bins so that containers can be filled:
a. This includes opening or closing valves on the sorting table. If the grapes are machine
picked, there is a lot more juice that comes in with the grapes and needs to be drained
off. The juice will be drained into storage containers and needs to be monitored so the
containers don’t overflow. The juice will then be taken by the cellar team (not
production helpers) to be handled.