1 Introduction This manual is one of a series dealing with materials and manufacturing procedures for biscuits. It describes, in general terms the most important ingredients used to make biscuits by type, function, handling and storage. Most of the ingredients are used to make biscuit dough. The techniques for mixing doughs are dealt with in Manual 2, Biscuit doughs and other aspects of biscuit manufacturing technology are described in later manuals. If you are a member of a manufacturing team you should know how to do your tasks and the reasons for doing things in a specified way. You should also understand the possible implications of not doing a task correctly or not communicating difficulties promptly. The nature, uses and functions of the ingredients are described so that you will know about these materials and the sort of problems that may arise if the qualities or quantities are not correct. If you work in a food factory you must accept some responsi- bilities. These to a greater or lesser extent will include: 1 Responsibility for the quality of the company’s products if you are a member of a production team. Depending on your job you may not be asked to do quality control checks on the ingredients used but if you observe critically and know what to look for and expect, a fault could be prevented from occurring in manufacturing. 2 Responsibility for the safety of consumers who will eat the products you help to make and pack. The procedures and precautions you should observe are described. 3 Responsibility for the machines and equipment with which you are required to work. The procedures and precautions you should observe are described. 1 2 Biscuit, cookie and cracker manufacturing manuals 1.1 Vocational qualifications The approach to training in industry is changing. Instead of a reliance on knowledge which has typically been assessed by set piece examinations, there is now a focus on competence which is assessed in the workplace. This means that a worker must not only know what he or she should be doing but also has to demonstrate that he or she can do it! Typically, set piece examinations require the examinee to achieve a ‘pass’ mark which may be as low as 40%. This accepts the fact that by no means all of the subject matter is known well enough for the examinee to pass the examination. Under the competence system, to qualify, the worker must satisfy the examiner, usually known as the assessor, in all matters. The worker must demonstrate knowledge, ability and communication skills as required for the level of the qualification being assessed. These qualifications are known as vocational qualifications (VQs). There should be VQs for all employees from the newest and youngest to the most senior. Through training, workers may progress to higher and higher levels. In the developing British system there is a framework of five levels which can be described as: Level 1 - Competence in the performance of a range of varied work activities, most of which may be routine and predictable. Level 2 - Competence in a significant range of varied work activities, performed in a variety of contexts. Some of the activities are complex or non-routine, and there is some individual responsibility or autonomy. Collaboration with others, perhaps through membership of a work group or team, may often be a requirement. Level 3 - Competence in a broad range of varied work activities performed in a wide variety of contexts most of which are complex and non-routine. Often considerable responsibility and autonomy, and control or guidance of others is required. Level 4 - Competence in a broad range of complex, technical or professional work activities performed in a wide variety of contexts and with a substantial degree of personal responsibility and autonomy. Responsibility for others is often present. Level 5 - Competence which involves the application of a significant range of fundamental principles and complex techni- ques across a wide and often unpredictable variety of contexts. Substantial personal autonomy and often significant responsibility Introduction 3 for the work of others and for the allocation of substantial resources feature strongly, as do accountabilities for analysis and diagnosis, design, planning, execution and evaluation. It should be possible to categorise all jobs within a company in one of these five levels. To achieve accreditation at any level it is necessary to satisfy fhe assessor in a defined number of units (each of which has a number of elements). There are some mandatory (core) units and some optional units, a defined number of which must be selected, for each level. This reflects the fact that workers at a given level may have jobs that are biased towards production or production support and may be more technical or supervisory. In many respects there will be overlaps between levels and the greatest difficulty tends to arise between levels 3 and 4. The flavour of level 3 should be ‘optimise, prioritise and improve’ and of level 4 ‘plan, initiate, develop and manage’. Thus, it can be seen that as the level of competence progresses there is a change from understanding, to seeking ways of improving and helping the business to become more efficient. For all jobs and tasks there is a need to define What, Why and How? In biscuit making there are technical aspects which include, what are the ingredients, products, processes and machines, why particular ingredients, packaging materials and processes are needed for different products and how machinery is controlled and maintained. Technical knowledge and skills are needed for problem solving, and to ensure good hygiene and safety in the workplace. Communication skills are also needed which include reporting to and supervising others. Competence cannot be achieved only from a book but reading and thinking are an aid to learning about ingredients, processes and machinery and understanding what variations may occur. Thus, a book can provide essential underpinning knowledge and is a source of reference when something new or unusual happens. Using this manual will help you to become a competent employee involved in biscuit manufacturing. The underpinning knowledge with respect to ingredients that is contained here is relevant particularly to most of the technical aspects of levels 3 and 4, as defined above.