Graeme Acheson, Production Supervisor

Customer safety

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"That's really important to a lot of consumers, that the food they're eating is very safe. As a supervisor you have to ensure you're on top of that sort of stuff.

"You have to pay attention to the employees, the yield, how efficiently you're running your labour but also what's very important is that the products that you're sending out at the end of the day is safe for your consumer."

Where I work

I work for Maple Leaf Fresh Foods. Ours is a "cut plant", which means we bring in hogs that have been slaughtered at another facility. Professional butchers cut them up and then we make shelf-ready products or prepare things for further processing.

This plant employs over 600, but Maple Leaf is a very large company with sales reps all over the world that also owns brands like Schneider's, Dempster's and Olivieri. The company is Canadian-owned. Our head office is in Burlington, Ontario.

Solving problems

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"As supervisor, you're facing a number of different types of problems. If it's conflict between employees, you have a lot of meeting with people and making sure their differences are sorted out.

"You're always looking for opportunities to make the company more profitable. A large portion of your job is to be out there on the floor identifying something you can change to make us run more efficiently."

Supervising production

I supervise a staff of about a hundred employees. I'm the HR representative but also responsible for quality assurance, labour management and conflict management.

I also liaise with sales. I make sure we're producing the right products. If there are new products that require testing, I make every effort to help them efficiently develop these new products.

On the cut floor

Our cut floor is one huge open room. It's a very large plant without windows. For food safety, the plant floor is kept at seven degrees, so it's pretty cool. You learn to adjust to the temperature and wear warmer clothes.

I do quite a bit of standing and walking when I'm on the floor, which is three to four hours a day. My department is particularly big, so I walk from end to end checking with my different lead heads.

In the office

The supervisors all share a general office. There's one big room on a mezzanine above the cut floor with windows so I can watch what's happening on my line. Within the mezzanine there are about eight or ten desks, so we all work close together.

I collaborate with supervisors in Sales, Quality Assurance and Human Resources to ensure there is enough labour to get the job done, to fix problems customers have concerned about and to understand any changes to their contract.

Summer getaway

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"One of the things I'd like to do when I get older is own a cottage, a nice get-away for a weekend. My great aunt had one when we were growing up and I always loved going to the cottage for the weekend.

"Going to Grand beach, one of the nicest fresh water beaches in the world, that's always fun for a nice get-away in the summer. "

Family connection

My dad worked for Schneider's for years. He started with them when he was in his mid-twenties and moved back and forth between Ontario and Winnipeg a couple of times. When I was ten, he opened an M & M Meat Shop franchise in Winnipeg.

When I was in university, he suggested I apply at Schneider's because he knew it would be constant hours. Dad had some friends who worked for Schneider's, so I had a foot in the door.

Hockey fan

January and February are long months because it's pretty cold and you don't have any long weekends. I miss having an NHL team. I'm a big hockey fan, so I'd be a huge supporter if Winnipeg had an NHL team. I'm remaining optimistic it might happen again.

My girlfriend and I have a ten game mini-pass for the Manitoba Moose. Whenever I can, I try to get out to Calgary for at least one NHL game a year. It would save the cost of flight and accommodations if we had a team here.

Playing hard

I'm very active. I enjoy mountain biking. My girlfriend and I and a number of my friends are on a co-ed soccer team. We also play Ultimate Frisbee and softball. I enjoy playing hockey. I like to ski and try to get to Alberta once a year for a ski trip.

I camp with my girlfriend nearly every weekend in the summer. We like to get out of the city and go to Bird's Hill Park or Riding Mountain National Park. Her family has a cabin so we'll go there once in a while.

Separating work and home

Both my girlfriend and I work long days but also have weekends off and appreciate the time together. My sister and I are working together to take over Dad's business so he can retire. There are franchisees who run their store while working at other jobs. It keeps me busy.

Weekends are something I look forward to, even if I just go to a friend's house, ride my bike ride or hit the gym. It helps me forget the other stuff on my plate.

Daily order

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"We cut up different hogs from many different suppliers. I refer to the cut sheet, just like an order sheet. It shows all your orders for the day, what needs to be produced.

"You have your input - how many hogs and you're making sure you have the right supply, the right number of boxes ready to pack the product, the labels so you're communicating that to employees so they know how to pack everything off correctly."

Leadership team

Every department has a supervisor and a leadership team. Within that leadership team are lead hands, corporate trainers, health and safety reps and food safety reps. I have four lead hands.

When I'm on the floor I walk from lead hand to lead hand, addressing issues and monitoring what's going on in their area. I try to spend as much time on the floor as I can because each lead hand wants face time with me. I need to make sure their concerns are heard.

Meeting daily goals

My day starts with a meeting. The Sales group communicates what the daily requirements are. They give us a cut sheet and we go through every single line, noting what we will be producing. I take this information to my leadership team on the floor.

If someone calls in sick, I need to juggle to fill empty positions. Sometimes other departments need people and I'll free people up to accommodate them.

Saving time

I have a small PDA so I can track appointments, enter holiday time and check my email from the cut floor.

On the floor, there are different technologies to make things more efficient. A skinning machine has replaced using a knife.

Advancements in technology are making things quicker and more efficient. And Maple Leaf is always looking for new ways to make the flow of production more efficient.

Clear communication

Anytime I'm making a change or there's a payroll announcement, I have to make sure it's communicated to my employees. In this industry, many employees have recently immigrated to Canada and English is their second language.

In those cases I sometimes bring another employee who can interpret for me or help me communicate what I need to. It's very important to ensure the message is delivered so I have the same expectations of every employee.

Intense workload

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"One of the challenges is the workload. Being the representative for HR, Health and Safety, Food Safety, Quality Assurance and Sales, you're getting a lot of expectations placed upon you to make sure that stuff is taken care of. You go into the day with a list of things to get accomplished.

"Sometimes at the end of the day, because of some emergency, you haven't had a chance to finish. It's frustrating but they understand the workload is pretty heavy."

Myths vs. facts

People think the industry is unsafe and that the plant is dirty because of the smell in the area. These are myths. The job is physically demanding but we have a very good Health and Safety program and the job is as safe as possible.

The plant and cut floor are clean. Every night, we do bacterial tests on the equipment and swabbing tests. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency regularly audits us so we need to keep the plant pristine to keep our certification.

Efficiency important

Every product has a labour cost attached to it. We receive a daily yield and labour report that tells us how efficiently we ran our labour the day before. I spend time each day analyzing that report and making sure different areas are running efficiently.

If there's a problem, I address that with my lead hand. I also work with Industrial Engineering. When they have a new product, I do the labour tests to ensure they attach the appropriate cost to the product.

Invaluable experience

I appreciate the knowledge of the industry veterans I work with. A lot of times, I see an opportunity to try something different to make things more efficient. They may have seen it tried numerous times before unsuccessfully, so I make sure I bounce ideas off them.

I have experience and knowledge of the work and industry, but they've been there longer. I want their input. It also goes a long way to earning their respect and getting them to work with me.

Supply affects hours

On a typical day we'll cut 6000 hogs but other days we're cutting 4000 hogs yet our employees expect to put in their eight hours. Under the new contract, workers are guaranteed 32 hours a week. If they only work 25, we pay them for 32. Every day we have our cut number.

If we have fewer hogs, we'll slow down the cut and focus on quality. When we slow down a bit, we can see some yield improvements. Sometimes we're still done a couple of hours early, which is a challenge.

Supportive parents

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"My parents strongly supported me going to university and pursuing post-secondary education. They realized the doors it would open for me. Allowing me to live at home and not having to pay rent while I was going to university, that was a real help.

"I know they wanted me to work at the store with them and taking that over from them but they recognize the opportunities I've been given here, working for Maple Leaf and they've supported me in staying here."

On the job learning

I started working for my parents when I was twelve. I worked weekends with Dad when I was in junior high and would work evenings in the store by myself through high school. When I was at university, Dad gave me opportunities to learn different things at the store and continue to develop my abilities.

When my parents went on vacation for a few weeks, I'd manage the store while they were away. It helped me to develop those skills and have that responsibility.

Progressive responsibility

Maple Leaf hired me as a summer student. After that, I worked with the Optimization Group and Finance. They offered me full-time work and offered to pay my tuition while I was going to school. It was a great opportunity so I took courses in the evenings.

I moved onto another role where I developed the yield report for supervisors to use in analyzing labour performance and taught them how to use it. There was an opening for a supervisor. I applied and here I am.

Management options

There are a variety of options within management. You can explore different departments like Marketing, Sales, Accounting and Human Resources. I knew I was good with numbers but I wasn't sure that was something that would interest me long-term.

Human Resources and working with people interested me and seemed to present a lot of different options. I liked that. Once I had my degree, I felt there was a lot of potential to find a job.

Experience and education

As far as I know, I'm the youngest supervisor they've hired. The approach I took, school and work experience with the company, to get to this level has worked very well for me.

I've often wondered if my personality, a high school diploma and working here would have been enough for me to do this job as effectively as I do now and I honestly don't know. This route has worked for me and I don't think there's anything I would change.

Opportunities in Manitoba

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"The size of the company is very impressive. They have so many different brands of product and so many different plants and opportunities across the country.

"I'm from Winnipeg, I'd like to stay in Winnipeg and there's still lots of opportunity for me to grow within this company and develop my skills and advance. There are lots of opportunities for younger people if they want to stay in their home province."

Developing skills

I'm a new supervisor so I want to develop my skills over the next little while. I'm responsible for building and developing my direct leadership team. I want to build a team that's works well together.

When you have a large team, there are going to be differences between employees. How do we get past these differences and build a productive, efficient team? How can my leadership team provide a good example for the rest of my employees?

MBA someday

I knew taking this position would open doors. I haven't had the opportunity to supervise the line that manages yield but I'd like to work in that area to see if it sparks my interest. In three to five years, I could see myself being a General Supervisor, an HR Supervisor, or beyond.

I can see myself enrolling for an MBA at some point in my career. I think eventually I'll hit a point where I'll need to enhance my education to move to the next level.

Company growth

This plant has grown in recent years. Before 1997 it was a plant on Marion with about 150 employees. When they built this plant, they hired a lot of new employees. We're at 600 right now but when the plant was first built, we had 350.

Over time, they've created more value-added products. Now we do a lot of vacuum-sealed products that are labour intensive, so we've had to hire more people.

Industry outlook

This industry is pretty stable. People are always going to need to eat. There will always be work. That's not to say that it isn't competitive. I think you have to make sure you're always working to improve.

Maple Leaf puts a strong focus on continuous improvement and developing their people. It's something you can really never stop doing. I feel pretty comfortable that this industry will always have opportunities within it.

Job market info

The official title for Graeme's occupation is "Supervisors, Food Beverage and Tobacco Processing" and its NOC* code is 9213.

Job Futures

Who Hires? - Manitoba Labour Market Information

*Each occupation has an official name and unique number called the 'National Occupation Classification' code or 'NOC'.

Education

High School

Useful High School Subjects*

- Computer-related courses
- Math
- Mechanics
- Industrial Arts

*Source: JobFutures.ca

For those out of school, Adult Learning Centres can help you get or upgrade your high school diploma, including adding subjects that are required for work or further education. All Manitobans are normally entitled to 4 free courses.

After High School

Below are links to various programs and courses that will you on the path to a career as a Supervisor in Food Processing.

University of Manitoba

I.H. Asper School of Business
Department of Food Science
Certificate in Applied Management

Red River College

Business Administration
Business Administration - Integrated
Introduction to Business

Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface

Administration des affaires

Brandon University - Brandon

Business Administration  

Assiniboine Community College - Brandon

Business Administration

University College of the North - The Pas/Thompson

All Programs (PDF)  
Business Administration - page 27
Management - page 86

Essential Skills

The most important Essential Skills* for Graeme's occupation are:
- Oral communication
- Problem Solving
- Working with Others

*Essential Skills provide the foundation for learning all other skills and enable people to evolve with their jobs and adapt to workplace change. For more information on Essential Skills and their importance to this occupation, go to: Essential Skills NOC 9213 .

Professional resources

Manitoba Food Processors Association (MFPA)
Exists to support and promote Manitoba's food industry to the world through ongoing training initiatives, networking, industry publications and sales promotions under the "Manitoba Made" logo

Manitoba Quality Network
A provincial organization providing resources, services and activities to support organizations in their pursuit of quality and organizational effectiveness

Related careers

Supervisors of Meat and Fish Inspectors (NOC 2222)

Machine Operators and Related Workers in Food, Beverage and Tobacco Processing (NOC 9461)

Managers in Manufacturing and Utilities (NOC 0911)